62 24.23

The question that Christians have been asking for two-thousand years now is, “Just how soon is soon?” In other words, how soon will Jesus return? How soon will Jesus appear in the clouds and take us to be with him to Heaven? How soon will the events described in the book of Revelation begin to play out on the nightly news?

Of course no one knows when Jesus is going to return. In fact, Jesus said that he didn’t even know. Of course that hasn’t kept people from trying. Although the disciples themselves didn’t try to guess when Jesus would return, they all expected him to return during their lifetime. At the turn of the first millennium so many people were predicting that Christ would return that many farmers didn’t even plant their crops that year. In the 1500’s Martin Luther believed that Christ would return and usher in his kingdom during his lifetime. Luther wrote:

We have reached the time of the white horse of the Apocalypse. This world won’t last any longer.

In 1800 a man named William Miller predicted that Christ would return on or around April 3, 1843. All over the Northeast, half a million of his followers awaited the end of the world. Reportedly some of them made their way to the top of mountains, hoping for a head start to heaven. Others were in graveyards, planning to ascend into heavens with their departed loved ones. But of course it didn’t happen.

Thirty years ago a retired NASA engineer by the name of Edgar Whisenant sold 4.3 million copies of a book that went into great detail outlining his reasons for believing that Christ would return in 1988. I remember getting it in the mail. I didn’t order and have no idea why I received it. Whisenant had come up with a elaborate mathematical equation for calculating the second coming. Of course 1988 came and went and Jesus didn’t return. Whisenant didn’t give up though. He went back to the drawing board so to speak and then predicted that he had just made a mistake in his calculations and that the Lord would return in 1989. Of course he was just as wrong the second time as he was the first.

I do believe that we are much closer to Christ’s return than we’ve ever been. We don’t know when, but we can be sure that he will.

SERMON

SLIDE 1 We are looking at the second half Matthew 24 this evening. As we saw last week, the chapter begins with Jesus leaving Jerusalem and heading up the Mount of Olives. As they do the disciples call to Jesus’ attention the beautiful building of the temple. Herod the Great, in order to appease the Jews, had enlarged the temple mount and had several buildings constructed. It’s said there was so much polished white marble that from a distance it looked like snow on a mountain peak. And there was so much gold on the temple that if the sun caught it right it would blind you. The disciples are impressed with the massive stones in the retaining wall for the temple mount, the white marble in the building, and the gold that adorned the temple. As they talk marvel over them Jesus says:

All this stuff impresses you? Let me tell you, there's not a stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble.

The disciples can’t believe what they’re hearing. Understandably they ask Jesus when this is going to happen. But they also ask a couple of questions that seem to us to be unrelated. They ask Jesus about the sign of his coming and of the end of the age. Those questions may not seem to have anything to do with each other, but the disciples saw the destruction of the temple as an end time event. They would happen at the same time. Therefore it had to accompany Christ’s return and the end of the age. We now know the two events aren’t connected. The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, but we are still waiting for the return of Christ.

In response to these two questions Jesus begins to give some prophetic details about the destruction of the temple and his return. The problem we have is Jesus mixes the two events together in his answer. Most of the events Jesus describes are about his second coming, but there are some that describe the destruction of the temple.

Jesus warns that we be careful that we are not led astray by those who will claim to be the Christ or claim to have the answers that came from Jesus that no one else has.

Jesus talks about wars and rumors of wars and that they are just signs that the beginning of the end is upon us. These aren’t signs, but just a description of of the times we live in leading up to his return.

Jesus warns about how believers will be persecuted for their faith.

Jesus says that before he returns the gospel will be preached throughout the world. And then,

Jesus warns that when the end comes don't run back home, but run for safety in the mountains

Let me remind you of a term I mentioned last week regarding Jewish prophecies. Not all, but many of the prophecies of the Bible are Parallel Prophecies. SLIDE 2 The one prophecy refers to two separate events. That means there are actually two prophecies in one. There is the more immediate or short term event that fulfills some of prophecy and the then there’s the long term event that fulfills all of it. Here are some characteristics in parallel prophecies. SLIDE 3

The events have some similarities

There is a partial fulfillment in the short term event. We know we are dealing with parallel prophecy because not everything is fulfilled in the short term event. The long term event will fulfill it all. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD fulfilled some of the prophecy, but the great tribulation described in Revelation will fulfill all of what Jesus is saying here.

The short term event foreshadows the long term event. The destruction is just a warning shot of what is to come.

The ultimate fulfillment occurs in the long term event.

In this prophecy the short term event is the destruction of the Jerusalem and the temple. The long term and ultimate event is the great tribulation described in Revelation 7.

Let’s hear what else Jesus had to say.

Video

SLIDE 1 I want to go back and make a couple of points before we continue. First, let’s go back to verse 12 where we read:

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12)

Turn with me to 2 Timothy 3. Jesus says that when sin and wickedness abound love for God grows cold. Paul gave a similar warning to Timothy. SLIDE 2

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Aren’t you glad that doesn’t describe our world? Actually, it perfectly describes our world. And maybe, it may sometimes describe us. Not only do these characteristics describe our world, they seem to be intensifying. But once again be cautioned, these are not signs of the end, they are only signs that we are living in the end times. We’re not told how long these signs will continue before the great tribulation begins.

SLIDE 3 Now turn to 1 Thessalonians 4.That leads to the second point I want to make. The doctrine of premallenialism has become popular in the last century. This doctrine teaches that Christ will return and take all Christians with him to heaven in the rapture so that we will not have to endure the great tribulation. Some complain that there couldn’t be a rapture because the word rapture isn’t found in the Bible. The word rapture is Latin for “caught up.” We do find that in the Bible.

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)

I don’t think that is what will happen for two reasons. The first reason is I don’t see the Bible clearly teaching this. That doesn’t mean you can’t find verses in the Bible that support the idea. It’s just that you can also find verses in the Bible that teach the opposite. So I don’t think the Bible is clear on the timeline of events. The second reason I don’t believe God will take all Christians out of the world so we don’t have to face the great tribulation is because that’s not the way God has worked in the past. Can you think of a story where God has removed his people so they would not have to endure pain or hardships? Can you think of a story where God intentionally placed his people in a place where he knew they would fave hardship? The Bible is full of those stories. I can’t think of any of the former. Therefore, while I hope those who teach the rapture are right, I don’t think they are. No Christian will complain if Jesus keeps us from having to go through the great tribulation, but there may be many who are upset if they do since they’re being taught they won’t. Which is right? We’ll just have to wait and see. This is just my humble opinion.

SLIDE 4 Tonight we pick up in verse 23. Jesus is emphasizing events that will unfold with the great tribulation. Jesus says that in that time false prophets will arise. Then he says we will know them knew them because of their miraculous powers. These false prophets will do miracles and because of their power will be able to deceive many. But their power will not come from God. If their power doesn’t come from God, where does their power come from? It will come from the devil.

What they will do with this power is try to convince people that Jesus has already come. “There he is. He’s in such-and-such a city.” Jesus says there will be no doubt when he comes. Missing his coming will be like standing outside during a lighting strike. You can’t miss it. The night is pitch black and suddenly lightning flashes across the sky. Everyone sees it. We don’t know when Jesus is coming, but when he does it will be obvious to everyone.

What we do know is where he is coming. Most believe the ascension took place on the Mount of Olives. Through Old Testament prophecies we know that when he returns, he will return to the Mount of Olives and will enter Jerusalem through the eastern gate. That’s why the Muslims closed up that gate and turned the land outside the eastern wall into a Muslim cemetery. They know that according to Old Testament law entering a cemetery will make you unclean. How will Jesus take care of that? I don’t know, but I trust that he can and will.

The closest Jesus comes to giving us some timing for the second coming is found in verse 29. Jesus says he will return after the tribulation. Jesus quotes a prophecy from Isaiah 34:4 that describes how the sky will go dark and the sign of the Son of Man will appear. Once again Jesus says the sign will be unmistakable. Everyone will know when it happens. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about missing Jesus when he comes.

Jesus then talks about a fig trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fig tree in east Tennessee. I’m not sure if they can even grow here. But they were very common in Israel. Everyone knew that when the fig leaves began sprouting that spring was just around the corner. If Jesus had walked around the hills of Carter County perhaps he would have used a different illustration. Maybe he would have talked about jonquils start blooming spring in around the corner. The point is that just as we know and look for signs of the seasons, we should know and look for the signs of his coming.

Jesus says something that’s a little difficult to understand. In verse 34 he says:

Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. (Matthew 24:34)

How can Jesus say this? It’s been almost two-thousand years. There’s no one alive then that’s still alive today and not everything Jesus said has happened. So what does he mean? How can he say that people will not die till they happen? The answer is Jesus was referring to the people who see these signs. Those who see these signs will not die before they are fulfilled. Once they start they will unfold quickly.

However, Jesus quickly tells us that no one will know when that sequence of events will begin. The angels don’t know. Jesus said even he didn’t know. Only the Father knows. Paul didn’t know. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said: SLIDE 5

. . . 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 4:17)

Why would Paul say “we who are still alive”? He wrote that because he thought Jesus would return at any time. Paul thought it might be within his lifetime. That’s because Jesus could return at any time, but no one knows when that will be.

SLIDE 6 What that tells us is not to listen to those who try to predict the day. As I mentioned last week, there have been people and there continue to be some who will try to predict the day Jesus returns. Don’t listen to them.

Why did Jesus leave us with the impression that his return could happen at any moment? First, because he didn’t know. But second, not knowing when Jesus will return changes the way we live. Having the expectation that Jesus could return at any time affects the way we live.

Jesus then gives some illustrations to show how this works out. The first is the story of Noah and ark. The people saw Noah building the ark but they thought he was crazy. They didn’t believe it would flood and even if they did, they didn’t know when. As a result, they continued life as normal. They went to work, they got married, they had children. Nothing changed in their lives. But you can be certain it did when the rain started, but by then it was too late.

Jesus also gives the illustration of a man’s house being robbed. He goes to bed one night and while he’s sleeping someone sneaks in and steals everything of value. If the man had known he was going to be robbed that night he would have stayed up to protect himself, but he didn’t know.

We don’t know when Jesus is returning. Because of that we need to be ever watchful. Since we know he’s coming we want to be ready. Are you ready? Jesus warns us that many will not be ready. They will either not believe and so not prepare or they think they’ll be able to wait to the last minute to get ready. But they will be caught off guard when he comes. It’s better to be ready at all times.

Jesus ends this section of the prophecy with a short parable. In the next chapter he’ll tell two longer parables. Here he tells a short one asking a question about a faithful and wise servant. The faithful servant is the one who obeys his master when the master is around and when he is not.

When I was growing up my mother would leave chores for my brother and I. Whatever the chore was – mow the grass, clean our room, etc. – we were to have it done before she came home from work. Since we knew she didn’t get off work till 5:00 and it took fifteen minutes for her to drive home, when do you think we started working on the chore? We waited as long as we could. Why start when we got home from school when we could wait till 4:45 or 5:00 and still finish before she got home?

That’s pretty close to what Jesus describes as an unfaithful servant. The unfaithful servant, not believing his master will be home very soon, starts doing whatever he wants and not what the master has told him to do. If the master catches him goofing off the servant will be punished. Jesus says:

He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:51)

That one doesn’t quite make sense to me. The person is going to be cut into pieces and then be punished. How can you cut someone into pieces and then punish them? Isn’t being cut into pieces punishment enough? I guess not. I think it talks to us about the eternal nature of the soul. After you die you will either be punished or rewarded for your deeds. Live in such a way that you will be rewarded.

SLIDE 7 Turn to 2 Peter 3.

Some employees Boeing decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. When they took it for a float on the river, they had a great time until the moment a Coast Guard helicopter began to hover over them. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator that was activated when the raft is inflated. Why did they steal the life raft? They stole it because they didn’t think anyone would know. They didn’t think anyone would find out. But somebody did. As a result, those workers are no longer employed at Boeing aircraft.

In his second letter, Peter describes the second coming of Jesus this way.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Peter 3:10-14)

Peter says we need to be ready for the return of Jesus. We don’t know when it will happen so we need to always be ready.

Charles Swindoll tells of the time he worked for a few years in a machine shop. He said there was a man there named George whose job was to sweep up the shaving from under the lathes and other machines they were running. Swindoll said:

George was born again, and he loved the teaching of scripture. I remember hearing him sing hymns as he worked. Many of them had to do with the coming of Christ, such as “In the Sweet By and By” and “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder.”

Late one Friday afternoon about 10 minutes to quitting time when they were all tired and ready to get out of there, Swindoll looked at George and said, “George, are you ready?” George said that he was. But Swindoll said George was all dirty. He was just obviously not ready. In fact, he looked like he was ready to keep on working. So Swindoll repeated, “Aren’t you ready to go home?” “Yeah, I’m ready.” So Swindoll said, “Look at you! You’re not ready. You’ve gotta go clean up.” “No,” George said, “let me show you something.” So he unzipped his coveralls and underneath were his clean clothes. He had them all ready. All he did when the whistle blew was just unzip and step out of his coveralls, walk up and punch his clock and he was gone. George said, “You see, I stay ready to keep from gettin’ ready – just like I’m ready for Jesus!”

That’s what Jesus is telling us in Matthew 24. Get ready now so you can keep from getting ready when Jesus comes. Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

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