The King Is Coming - 1

Open your Bibles to Romans 13.

Romans 13:11-12 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Introduction: We are introducing this morning a new Sunday School series entitled “The King Is Coming.”

As we watched a video today, really to get you to think about just one aspect of this truth concerning the end times, known as the Rapture.

We will endeavor to cover the basics concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the “things to come.”

As we look at these events along the way, we will ask a series of questions and give some biblical answers.

You might ask why is this important?

Because the Bible places an emphasis on this subject, we ought to pay careful attention to what the Word of God has to say concerning the Coming of the King.

Let’s Pray

There is much that has been written and said concerning the end times.

Quite frankly, there are plenty of folks that have studied much on the subject and there are many books out there written about the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have several books in my library that deal with this subject.

Unfortunately, there is a-lot of confusion and unbiblical views concerning the God’s program of end time events as well.

Just to give you an idea, I’ve had folks approach me in recent years with theories and websites that suppose when some end time events will take place…

Ive seen folks holding signs in NYC supposing to predict when the Lord was going to return… and believe it or not this is nothing new.

According to some sources three Christian theologians (Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, Irenaeus) predicted the return of Christ on 500 AD. One of these based their prediction on the dimensions of Noah’s Ark.

Two different men in 1694 predicted the Lord would come again that year.

Charles Taze Russell the founder of the Jehovahs Witness Cult said the Lord would return in 1874…and when it did not take place said He was invisibly present…the resurrection of the saints was to occur in 1875 and a harvest and a final rapture of the saints in 1878 with the final end of the world and day of wrath being in 1914.

Joseph Smith founder of the Mormon cult predicted the return of the Lord by the time he was 85…and in the minutes of a church meeting held on February 14, that within 56 years the Lord should come…

All of this is to be expected, because our Adversary is at work in this world to spread confusion.

As we begin to study this subject, let us be concerned with what the Bible has to say, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ for what the Word of God doesn’t say.

In other words, we do not need to go any farther than the Word of God.

Anything beyond what we find in the Bible is speculation.

As we look out at the world today, we can certainly see how some of these things spoken about in the Bible could come to pass.

We must be careful then to distinguish our speculation from what the Word of God states.

This series is based on a group of messages preached by Dr. Lee Roberson.

Dr. Roberson thought it was important for God’s people to understand what the Bible teaches concerning the coming of the Lord.

He found that this truth helped Him look forward to the coming of the Lord and helped Him to have the right perspective of what God has called us to do.

With that being said, we begin this morning by answering this first question,

I. Are We Fooling To Look For The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Take your Bibles and look with me in the book of Hebrews chapter 9.

Hebrews 9:27-28 “27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

I want you to notice last part of verse 28.

Oftentimes we will use verse 27 in speaking to a lost person, but notice the last part of verse 28 “he shall appear the second time...”

James Zenker in giving this lesson at Temple Baptist Church said he was driving down the road and saw a man selling tshirts which said on them”Look busy Jesus is coming again...”

This illustrates the mocking attitude that exists among those who deny the Lord Jesus Christ and His Second Coming.

And this of course is to be expected for the Bible tells us.

Notice what Peter tells us in His second epistle, I will read it to you:

II Peter 3:1-4 “1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

People mistake the longsuffering of God for slackness or that He simply will not fulfill what He has said.... or even worse that God does not exist at all.

But in that same chapter of Peter we discover in verses 9-11 these words,

II Peter 3:9-11 “9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,”

The Word of God tells us that the Lord is long suffering not willing that any should perish. But notice it states, But the day of the Lord will come…

The Bible as a matter of fact gives us a confident description on How the Lord will return.

I want you to understand this morning that the Bible assures us over and over again that we can be confident of this truth; the King is Coming.

Turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 1. Let’s read verses 6-11.

Acts 1:6-11 “6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

We see here a vital account important to the return of the Lord given to us in the eleventh verse. These angels tell the apostles, “this same Jesus….shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

According to the Bible, How did the Lord ascend to heaven?

Visibly

Physically

Quickly

Certainly

The Bible teaches that this same manner in which He ascended into heaven, He will come again.

Matthew 24:27 “27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Matthew 24:30 states further, “30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

I want you to understand as we treat this subject, we will touch on more specifically the individual events that will occur.

We will see the Rapture, The Tribulation, The Millennial Reign, The Great White Throne judgment and other events.

When you study the Second Coming of Christ, realize that some will use the term Second Coming exclusively to refer to the Lord’s Return at the end of the Tribulation.

Others use the term Second Coming to refer to the entire program of end time events.

In this series of messages, Dr. Roberson treated the Second Coming as two phases.

In the first phase He will come to catch away His bride, the Church.

In the second phase He will Return to Rule and Reign 1000 years — this is referred to as the Millennial Reign of Christ.

It is recounted in Dr. Robertson’s messages that He that someone put in his hand a pamphlet that was entitled, God cannot lie: There cannot be an earthly millennium … Dr. Robertson said, I can agree with the first part—God cannot lie, but I cannot receive the last part because the Bible speaks specifically of the millennial reign of Christ.

In Revelation chapter 20, the Bible references over and over again the Lord’s millennial reign using the phrase ‘a thousand years...’

This is just one of many many examples of the emphasis that is laid on the Lord’s return.

Revelation 20 - 6 different times the phrase 1,000 years is used.

Revelation 20:2 “...and bound him a thousand years...”

Revelation 20:3 “...till the thousand years should be fulfilled:...”

Revelation 20:4 “...they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years...”

Revelation 20:5 “...until the thousand years were finished.”

Revelation 20:6 “...shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Revelation 20:7 “...And when the thousand years are expired...”

We are certain that the Lord is coming, because the Bible is true.

Let me make three statements concerning the Coming of the King:

I . If Christ Does Not Come Again, The Bible Is Not True

64 out of 66 books, I am told tell us of the second coming of Christ.

I have not searched all of these references out, but

The Coming of the King can be seen:

- In Promise

e.g. Promises to give to Israel, Promises of the glory of God (Hab. 2:14) etc...

- In Prophecy

e.g. The “Day of the Lord”, References to the Millennial Reign of the Messiah

- In Picture

e.g. The flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Enoch and Elijah… just to name of few.

There are at least twice as many prophecies concerning His Second Coming as there are for His first coming.

As we think about that, consider how specific the prophecies are concerning the Lord’s first coming and how precisely they were fulfilled.

“One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s Second Coming in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence.”

One of which we often do not recognize. Look with me at I Corinthians chapter 11.

I Corinthians 11:23-26 “23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

Secondly, realize:

II. If Christ Does Not Come Again, Then The Savior Was False

I know that this sounds like a strong statement, but it is a true statement.

The opposite statement is true as well, which is The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about His Return.

Consider John 14:1-6, “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”

Another important passage is found in Matthew 24:25-28.

You are welcome to turn there if you would like, but I will read what the Bible says,

Matthew 24:25-28 “25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”

Prior to this in Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

At the end of the Bible, in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, three times the Lord Jesus Christ testifies, “Behold, I come quickly…” (Revelation 22:7,12,20)

Earlier we remarked on how all of the prophecies of the Lord’s first coming were fulfilled in precise manner. Included in those prophecies are claims the Lord Himself made concerning His crucifixion and resurrection. If you will remember, the Lord on many occasions spoke to His disciples concerning what was to take place.

In other word, we can look at the testimony of the Word of God concerning the Lord’s first coming and see that it was precisely fulfilled, and we can look at the testimony of the Lord Himself revealing prophetically his death and resurrection and see it was fulfilled. In like manner, we have great confidence that all that the Bible states concerning His second coming and the Lord’s own words will come to pass.

Not only has God declared in His Word over and over again that King will come again. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself has stated the same thing.

Lastly, I want you to make note of this:

III. If Christ Does Not Come Again, Then Man’s Hopes Are Crushed

And we might add to that statement, yea all of Creation.

I have always been intrigued with what I find in the book of Romans concerning the end times.

Romans 8:18-23 “18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

Man has always tried to create a world where there is perfection a utopia.

All of the attempts of man to create some type of utopia have failed.

You can look back through the annals of history and see dictators that have attempted to impose what they believed would be a utopian reign.

Man looks at all that is going on in this world and is endeavouring to figure out how to fix the chaos.

Sickness still reigns, physical death still occurs, famines, natural disasters occur, wars and rumors of wars still take place and the list goes on and on.

There is something that tells us, this is not the way it is supposed to be.

We will see peace when the King comes.

We will see righteous judgement when the King comes.

We will see restoration when the King comes.

And then at the end of it all, the Bible says that God will make a New Heaven and New Earth…

As we close, think about this:

Peter, John, Paul, James, and Jude all expected the Lord Jesus Christ to come again.

They were confident of the Coming of the King, and it affected how they lived for Him.

Romans 13:11 “11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”

James 5:7-8 “7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

Jude 17-18 “17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.”

“21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Revelation 22:20-21 “20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

The question for you and I is this:

What preparations have you made for the Coming of the King?

Are those you know prepared for the Coming of the King?

Titus 2:11-15 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”