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When Will Christ Return?OverviewScripture Passage: Matthew 24:1-51 Main Point: Because Christ will return to this world, we can live in a falling world with confidence, strength, and hope. Outline: Introduction:The world has long touted its accomplishments and made lists such as the “Top 10” or the “Seven Wonders.” I was thinking about the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World” – what would you put on the list? Personal computers would have to be there. Microwave ovens maybe. I thought that perhaps one item on the list ought to be “Post-it Notes.” Imagine the guy who invented the Post-it glue did it by accident. The batch of glue was a mistake and he must have said something like, “This is terrible … this glue won’t hold anything together. Why it isn’t good for anything but sticking a piece of paper to the wall.” J There is a list of “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” such as the pyramids of Giza, the Parthenon, the hanging gardens of Babylon, etc. I will not ask you to name all seven but the interesting thing is that none of these so-called wonders remains. They were man’s greatest accomplishments! But every one has either disappeared in the eons of time or is a crumbled mess today. Man’s accomplishments in the flesh, however magnificent they seem to us, will simply not last. In Matthew chapter 24, we find Jesus with His disciples at the Temple in Jerusalem. This was the temple that Herod built (there were several “Herod’s” and this was King Herod the Great). And it was a massive building for its time. The eastern wall of the Temple was overlaid with polished gold that reflected the morning sunlight for miles. The disciples marveled at the structure but Jesus made a comment that took their breath away:
The disciples were floored, first of all, that the massive temple of the LORD would be destroyed. It would be like telling someone on September 10, 2001 that the two World Trade Center towers would be turned into rubble – it would have been inconceivable. Moreover, they expected Messiah (Christ) would be primarily a political figure who would kick Rome out and establish His worldwide throne in Jerusalem. Now, they knew that Jesus was the Messiah, so naturally they asked the question: when? Not just when the temple would be overthrown but when Jesus would establish His kingdom. The question what will be the “sign of your coming” (v4) and the “end of the age” (v4) are basically the same question. So there is the question – “When Will Christ Return?” An intriguing question – one that either excites you or haunts you, or maybe both! For over 2,000 years people have been asking this question. Some have scoffed at it saying, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4, NIV). The return of Christ is a critical issue for everyone – believer and unbeliever. Why? Because the answer will not allow you to sit on a fence, wavering in doubt and trying to live with blinders on as though God does not matter. The return of Christ forces all of us to make a choice of whom we will serve: the LORD Jesus Christ or ourselves. And if we know He is coming again, it will greatly impact how we live today. What will Jesus find you doing when He returns? There is much that could be taught about Bible prophecy and the end times. But for this message, we are going to focus on the return of Christ and what it means to us. Let’s sit down with His disciples and hear what Jesus had to say about this in Matthew chapter 24.
1. The Present World without Christ is conflicted and getting worse but our confidence now is always in Christ (Matthew 24:4-8).
I don’t know about you but I grew up with a practical joker. My sister, bless her heart, she was always trying to “deceive” me in a joking sort of way… Jesus told His disciples right up front – when you are considering future events, “Watch out that no one deceives you” (v4). First of all, you need to be aware that there are people that will intentionally try to deceive you. When I was growing up, I just was not aware they would my sister would try to trick me … and she did! So you just need to be aware that there are false teachers, preachers, evangelists, and others – some who even claim to be Christ Himself – who want to deceive you. Why? They want you money, your person, maybe even your soul! So watch out for yourself by checking out what you hear about God’s word on prophecy, end times, or any other subject. I am not trying to deceive you – I’ve done my time in study and prayer. Nevertheless, you need to be a “Berean” (Acts 17:11) kind of Christian and search the Scriptures to see what it says for yourself. Jesus speaks of “wars and rumors of wars … famines and earthquakes in various places” (vv5,7). The last century had its share of war and this one is continuing that pattern. We have seen recently some of the worst earthquakes and resulting tsunamis that I have ever known. Wars, famines, tragedies … are these signs that the world is about to end? No, Jesus said, “Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (v6). The point Jesus is making is not that this is a sign of the end times but a sign of the times. Signs of the present world. He said, “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (v8). When our first child was making her grand entrance into the world, she decided to wait – about 2 ½ weeks after her due date. Mary was quite miserable. In fact, she had a number of episodes of false labor pains and was quite disillusioned that the baby was just not ready. But in the end, she began to have real labor pains. They went on for 2 days and just grew stronger and stronger. The exciting day came and as I got up early to go to work, I noticed a light on downstairs in the house. “You are up awful early!” I said. There was a roar from the first floor that sounded something like, “I’ve been up all night and David Letterman is NOT funny!” Nevertheless, she told me to go on to work and she would call me from the doctor’s office. Instead, I got a call from the hospital – “I guess I was in labor after all … I’m in the hospital!” So I hurried there and got to watch my daughter being born into the world. The point is, the birth pains are not the sign of the birth but an early warning system. The baby is on the way and the birth pains continue to get stronger and faster until the time. But even after nine months and being 2 ½ weeks late, Mary was still caught by surprise when the time came. This is how it will be with the return of Christ. While we may see these birth pains going on and can say, “things are progressing along to the return of Christ,” we don’t know when the “last” birth pain will have occurred. Jesus said, “… see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come” (v6). In this present world, even with wars, famines, and tragedies of all kinds, have confidence in Christ and His word. That is where faith comes from. If you are not confident that Jesus is telling you the truth, your faith will be weak and your impact in His world will be small. But if you simply take Jesus at His word and obey, your faith will become stronger and your impact greater. But it is a bad world according to Jesus and we cannot stop it. So why try? If it’s going downhill and we can’t stop it, why fight it – maybe we should just be happy in Jesus and let the world around us crumble? There was a man walking on the seashore where thousands of starfish had been washed ashore by the tide. As the morning sun came up, it became clear that the starfish would die. In the distance he saw another man and, as he got closer to him, noticed the man picking up a starfish and tossing it into the sea. Then the man stooped down, picked up another starfish, and tossed it into the sea. The first man walked over to him and said, “what are you doing?” “I’m saving this starfish,” he said casually as he tossed it into the sea. “Why, you do not think you can save all these thousands of starfish do you?” “No,” the man replied, “but I can save this one.” And he continued to pick up a starfish and toss it into the sea.[i] You can’t save the world but you can save one. By faith you can save one! Perhaps another. And another. And that person can save one. Perhaps another. What about you? Between now and the rest of your life or until Jesus Christ returns, can you make a difference in the life of just one person? Can you share the love of Jesus and why you love Him with just one person between now and the rest of your life? Maybe with two people?
We, as the church of Jesus Christ, are called to reach people one by one. Now it is Jesus who does the saving not us personally. But Jesus has called you and I to deliver His message of salvation. Do you believe that Jesus will return? We have the resurrection of Christ to prove that everything He said is true. If you believe in the LORD Jesus Christ then you believe in His return. And your faith will show it. You will not be alarmed and living in fear of the fearful things that happen. Instead you will walk by faith, confident in the LORD Jesus and His word. In fact, because you believe He will return, you will want to respond to people going through the fearful tragedies and help them in any way you can. Because you know Jesus will return, you will do all you can to get His message out to your community. Heaven forbid Jesus would return to Noonday Baptist Church and say, “Why are all the people in your neighborhoods sleeping in on Sunday? Did you tell them I was coming back soon?” The present world without Christ is conflicted and getting worse but our confidence now is always in Christ.
2. The Future World without Christ is dangerous and cold but our strength to endure is always in Christ (Matthew 24:9-14, ref. vv15-25).
After talking about the present world and the difficulties it will face (vv. 4-8), Jesus said, “Then …” (v9) indicating a new phase. There is a future world that will get incredibly bad. And “then the end will come” (v15), indicating another new phase. When will this begin? After the birth pains … Jesus does not say specifically. But if the first part was birth pains, then this must be full blown labor. Bill Cosby said when he asked his wife what labor was like, she said, “Imagine taking your top lip and stretching completely over the back of your head!” This future world will be marked by:
I think this hits me the hardest: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (v12). I do not know how you feel but as far as the present world goes – I’m ready to go home now and be in Heaven with the LORD Jesus. But I look at this future and say, “LORD Jesus, come quickly!” Notice that Jesus never really answers specifically when the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. Clearly His response indicates it will happen somewhere in verses 1-15 because “then the end will come” (v15). And we know from history that the temple was indeed destroyed in A.D. 70 and every stone was overturned just as Jesus predicted (v2). However, there is during this future period a tremendous increase in persecution of believers. We live in a world where many countries have a marked hatred for America. But this is nothing like the persecution of Christians to come in this time. This future world will be dangerous. Now the Bible speaks of a future time of great tribulation (Revelation 7:15). This will be a time of judgment upon the world and specifically Israel (“the time of Jacob’s trouble – ref ???) for her unbelief. From the prophecy in Daniel 9 and Revelation, it will be an intense seven-year period of turmoil. Jesus speaks of this period in verses 16-25. Specifically:
Clearly this future world is different from anything we have ever seen in human history. From the description of this time in the book of Revelation, it is clear that literally billions of people will be killed by catastrophic events that will come upon the earth. So what should we do? Do you pull back and just try to play it safe? Do you lose your will to go on in times of great distress? There is the story from years ago of the military officer and his wife traveling aboard a ship when a terrible storm arose. In spite of much assurance from the officer, his wife began to panic. She grabbed his sleeve and yelled, "How can you be so calm?" He stepped back and drew out his sword. Pointing it at her heart he inquired, "Are you afraid of this?" "No", she said. He demanded, "Why not?" Without hesitation she said, "Because you love me too much to ever hurt me." The officer pulled back the sword and thundered, "I know the One who holds the winds and the waters in the hollow of His hand, and He will surely care for us!" No matter what the circumstances, we “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV). Stand firm in your faith no matter how bad things get. This means:
Whether it is this age or the age to come, you keep following Christ! Jesus said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-13, NIV). This is not an indication that you will be saved by your good works – when we compare Scripture with Scripture, we know that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone! (Ephesians 2:8) Two hundred passages in the New Testament testify to this truth. Works cannot save you nor can they keep you saved (Ephesians 2:9). Jesus is talking about standing firm in your faith – that is, continuing to do the things He has called you to do in spite of the grim circumstances. This is mark of one who IS SAVED. During this awful time of “great distress [tribulation]” (v21), you will have to publicly take your stand: Jesus Christ is LORD or He is not. You will either renounce Jesus and live or proclaim the LORD Jesus Christ is your Savior and be persecuted to death. And your faith and your love will NOT grow cold if you believe that Jesus is coming again. Knowing that He could return, you will have an urgent desire to love Him and love one another. Urgency in caring for others and meeting their needs as best you can will be the normal way of life for you. On the other hand, if you do not take His return seriously and think, “Well it’s been a long time and is probably a long time from now…” your love will not only be small but it will grow cold. The distress coming on the world will make it even colder. Stand firm, continue in love, right to the very end – whatever your end may be. Jesus may return before you die or you may die first and enter into that glorious communion with Him. In any event, continue in love. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, NKJV). The future world without Christ is dangerous and cold but our strength to endure is always in Christ. 3. The End World with Christ is a certainty and our hope is always in Christ (Matthew 24:26-31, ref. vv32-51).26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. There is an element of mystery surrounding the return of Christ. There are two events that are sometimes confused as the same event – the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ. There are differences between the two. The Bible teaches that there is an event called the Rapture (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) where Christ returns in the air and believers – both dead and alive – are caught up to be with the LORD Jesus. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, NIV) The Rapture precedes the Second Coming of Christ where Christ returns to the earth and sends angels to gather together the believers and cast away the unbelievers: 29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall
from the sky,and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ 30 “At that
time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the
nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will
send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his
elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other… The Rapture is the return of Christ for His church. The Second Coming is the return of Christ for His world. What if the Rapture happens before the Second Coming of Christ? Does it make a difference to us today? In the final analysis, no. What makes the difference is this: the LORD Jesus is coming again! Do you have a sense of joy and expectancy about the return of Christ? Your hope will rise or fall on whether you take His return seriously. We live in a world without hope. And the future world that Christ predicts looks pretty hopeless. Depression and despair are more common today than ever. Young people in particular are growing up in despair and in a world of despair – and because of despair many simply do not care anymore. Nothing matters when the dark cloud of despair fills your heart. But the soon return of Jesus Christ lights up even the darkest place in our hearts! There is your hope – Jesus will come again! This world is not my home – because of what Jesus has already done on the cross for me, Heaven is real my home! That gives me hope beyond compare … and it should give you great hope to light up your own soul too. The End World with Christ is a certainty and our hope is always in Christ. Knowing that Jesus Christ will return and that it will be obvious to all (v27 & 30), the question we need answered is “when?” What is the word of God on when Christ will return? 36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36, NIV) We do not know when but it could happen at any time – according to Jesus’ own words! But it is not just that we do not know when – it is that it is not for us to know. Shortly before Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, the disciples asked the same “when” question. Jesus answered in this way: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (Acts 1:7, NIV) Why is it not for us to know? Because if we knew we would procrastinate. We would party! But we would not have any sense of urgency or concern until it got real close to the time. That very thing started happening to the disciples in this very passage: They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11, NIV) The angels echo Jesus’ own words: He will come back! Sadly, liberal scholars for years have denied the reality of the second coming of Christ. But then they deny or spiritualize the plain truth of God’s word in every doctrine – this allows them to be freed (they think) from accountability to God for that truth. But keep me straight here – I thought truth was true whether you believe it or not, right? It is a sad state of affairs in the Christian church if people do not believe that Christ will return. In a survey done of protestant pastors in Illinois a few years ago found that 90% of the pastors said they have no expectation whatsoever that Christ will ever really return to Earth![ii] If the pastors don’t believe, what will the church believe? This pastor believes this with absolute certainty: Jesus Christ is coming again! The King of kings and LORD of Lords will return to this Earth! and Jesus is not going to lay in a manger but take his seat on the throne of the whole world! And every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that jesus christ is lord of all!
Conclusion: At the return of Jesus Christ … will you be ready?We know this: Jesus can return at any time! …at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. (Matthew 24:39-42, NIV) So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. (Matthew 24:44, NIV) From the moment Jesus left His first disciples, the real question you have to answer is NOT “when will Christ return?” because it could be literally at any time. The real question is this: “when Christ returns, will be you be ready?” The return of Jesus Christ gives us confidence, strength, and hope for today. You can face today and look forward to tomorrow when He may return. You can continue to walk by faith because you know that Jesus will keep His word. The soon return of Jesus Christ also changes my priorities. It gives me a sense of great urgency. I must not backslide. I must love the LORD with all my heart and do my best to love others in the same way. I must because Jesus is coming again. And I want Him to find me in a state where He can say, “Well done my good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21). And by His grace, I will. And by His grace, you can too! It would be wrong for me to stop without issuing this invitation and warning -- If you have never trusted in Him – even if you think you are just on the fence and considering Jesus Christ as LORD – then you are part of a large group of people on the Earth who will be in tears when Jesus returns: “they will look on the One they have pierced” (John 19:37) and “all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him” (Revelation 1:7, NIV). If you are not absolutely sure that Jesus’ return would be a good thing for you, then you need to get things right with the LORD right away – because you do not know when He will return. And He is coming back – soon! [i] Author unknown. [ii] MacArthur, John (1999). The Second Coming. Crossway Books: Wheaton, Illinois. p. 27. |
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