Seven Things We Can Know About The Second Coming

Alba 2-4-2024

SEVEN THINGS WE CAN KNOW

ABOUT THE SECOND COMING

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Janine's family had a special treat for breakfast occasionally. When a hog was butchered, their mother would fry pig brains and serve it on homemade bread. In honor of that, it became a tradition at family reunions to have a breakfast of pig brains one morning . The in-laws were less likely to participate.

The family recently was reminiscing about those breakfasts and Janine's sister Beverly made this comment. “I have a vague memory of waiting in the car in Oakes to get a few things (Oakes is in North Dakota where they lived). She came back to the car totally embarrassed because she had asked the guy at the meat counter if he had any brains. He said, 'If I did I wouldn't be here.'”

Did you hear about the fellow who was talking to his next-door neighbor about a speaker he heard the night before. He told the neighbor, "That guy said something that has really stuck in my mind. He said that all of the worlds problems could be summed up in two words: ignorance and apathy. What do you think?"

The neighbor replied, "I really don’t know, and I really don’t care." Ignorance! There is a lot of that going around today. But there are some things we can know if we get them into our brains.

There are at least seven things we can know about the Second Coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ found in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. And the apostle Paul, who wrote this letter, explains these things so that we will not be ignorant about them.

Turn with me to this text as I read. “13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

“15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

When we are troubled by something, or questioning something, comfort comes when we get some answers. That's what we are given here about the Second Coming. The Christians in Thessalonica must have shared with Timothy who told Paul that they were expecting Jesus to come almost immediately. And there were some people who had died or might soon do so. The question was, “What will happen to them? What if they miss Jesus' return?”

In spite of the teaching that Paul had given them when he was with them, they had missed something. And he wanted to provide information so that they would no longer be ignorant about this situation. And we can be glad that he did because it answers questions we would have too.

1. The first thing we can know about the Second Coming is that some will die before Jesus returns. I don't think that any of us have not had family a member or friend pass away. We miss them, and we grieve. Rightly so! And Jesus has not yet come. It would be very unnatural, in fact inhuman, not to mourn when we lose someone near and dear to us. Jesus did at the graveside of his friend Lazarus.

But this scripture makes it clear that we don't have to grieve like those whose only hope is in this world. There is the most glorious hope for those of us who do believe! We have the hope of a life eternal in the heavens! That hope is built on the very fact of Jesus' resurrection from the grave.

For hope to be real, for hope to be able to bring comfort, there should be some evidence to support it. Is there any evidence that the various religions of the world can give us eternal life? None! Has Buddha defeated death? Has Mohammed defeated death? Has Joseph Smith defeated death? The answer to those questions is “No”. But Jesus HAS defeated death!

He proved it by His resurrection. While it was necessary that Jesus die on the cross for our sins, without the resurrection His death would have been in vain. The apostle Paul deals with this in I Corinthians chapter fifteen. In verse 14 he says, “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” But he counters that a few verses later in verse 20 saying, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”