The Return Of The King: Judgement Series

The Return of the King: Judgement

Jeffery Anselmi / General Adult

Kingdom Come / Last Judgment; Second Coming / 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

Our lives are to be an ongoing announcement of Jesus’s presence among us.

INTRODUCTION

OPENING SLIDE

• We live in a world that loves countdowns.

• We count down to graduations, weddings, Christmas, and retirements, among other things.

• But there is one countdown that no clock on earth can track: the countdown to the return of Jesus.

• In a world lulled to sleep by comfort, convenience, and the illusion of control, there comes a trumpet sound, distant yet drawing closer.

• It’s the sound of a King returning, not in obscurity, but in glory.

• When kings return in earthly stories, it’s usually with fanfare, parades, and celebration.

• But when the true King returns, the world will not be prepared.

• It will not be a scheduled event on anyone’s calendar.

• No alert will pop up on a smartphone.

• It will break into history suddenly, like a thief in the night.

• As we open the Scriptures to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, we step into a sobering and hope-filled message that shakes us from spiritual slumber and calls us to readiness.

• Paul, writing with love and prophetic urgency, reminds the Thessalonian church, and us today, that the return of Jesus Christ is not merely a theological concept but a reality that demands our attention, our preparation, and our action.

• For the lost souls of the world, it will be a moment of shock and judgment.

• For Christians, it will be a moment of hope fulfilled and glory revealed.

• When discussing the Second Coming, people often focus on the wrong aspects.

• The Apostle Paul encourages us to remain vigilant, not attempting to predict the exact date of the King's return, but to embrace each day as if it could be today.

• The purpose of our passage today isn’t to make us fearful; it’s to make us faithful.

• Our passage today is a call to live now with an eternal perspective.

• For the unprepared, it's a warning; for those in Christ, it's a hopeful promise.

• Today we will explore our passage through three lenses.

• Let’s turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 as we examine the first lens.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 NET 2nd ed.

1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you.

2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.

3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.

› One day—when the world least expects it—the sky will break open and the King will return.

› For some, it will be terror… for others, it will be the greatest joy they’ve ever known.

› The question isn’t if He’s coming—it’s whether we’re ready when He does.

Let’s begin our first thought

MAIN POINT 1 SLIDE

SERMON

I. The Timing

• Paul doesn’t give us a calendar date—he provides us a clear warning.

• The King’s return won’t be scheduled on our timeline; it will break in on His.

• And that’s where this passage begins: with the timing of the Day of the Lord.

• Paul begins by saying, 'Now concerning the topic of times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.'

• The phrase concerning "the times and the seasons” arises following the detailed instruction in the preceding verses (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18) regarding the Second Coming (or parousia), the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the meeting in the air.

• One would think that, upon hearing this exciting news, the people were hungry to know WHEN!

• They wanted something to look forward to, something to celebrate!

• The reason why there was no need for anything to be written to the Thessalonians on this subject was not because the Thessalonian Christians already knew the date of the Lord’s return, but rather, the reason stems from the original instruction given to them by Paul and Silas when they were still present in Thessalonica.

• The instruction they received was that no one other than the Father—not Paul, not Silas, not Jesus Himself—knew the time of Christ’s return.

• Therefore, Paul and Silas were insisting on avoiding date setting, a point that aligns with Jesus’ teaching that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming.

• The Thessalonians had already been taught about Christ’s return.

TIMING SLIDE

• Paul’s point here is simple but vital: the exact timing is not for us to know.