Sermon Tone Analysis

April 4, 2012

By: John Barnett

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Nothing can ever compare to the return of the King.

Earth again will see its Creator no longer shrouded in the form of a humble servant.

Christ's Return is with the blazing glory that slightly glowed from the Mount of Transfiguration, but that on Patmos was as blinding as the Sun in the witness of the Apostle John.

So He come, powerfully splitting open the skies, majestically descending with the clouds.

Before Him nothing can stand, every knee bows, all heads drop, the people of the earth begin to wail and moan.

Their worst nightmares are now reality.

The One who saw every secret, who heard every thought, and who felt every drop of their venomous hatred is coming, and finally—its too late.

The wonderful, merciful Savior has become the Righteous, Awesome Judge.

There is no place that His voice is not heard.

The Grave shivers, the Demons quake, and the Dragon of Old, that roaring lion named Satan, snarls with seething hatred.

His Coming is with:

*Perfect Timing*

The wonder of Jesus is how long He waits to avenge evil upon the earth.

For all of human history since Eden Satan has seemingly triumphed.

For thousands of years sin and death have run riotously around the globe, and He waits.

Every village has felt some injustice.

Every hamlet has seen evil raging.

Every son and daughter born has sin’s dark, black drop staining their heart.

Every life experiences the tears and sorrows of Satan’s lie.

Every home ultimately breaks up by death’s visit.

No family escapes seeing the circle of their home dissolve into the dark depths of the grave.

Every life eventually will end in death.

He waits, as every page of history are deeply stained.

All the un-avenged evils, from the time of the first murder until this present hour are still pending.

Human history has been written in blood, tears and death.

Why does Jesus wait?

Why is Satan allowed to wrap his vicious, slimy, filthy, cruel tentacles around human life and around this earth?

The weak are slain, the helpless are crushed, and people in this earth by uncounted millions and millions are oppressed, living in despair, and it seems that Jesus just waits.

He waits, but somewhere beyond the starry sky there stands a herald angel with a trumpet in his hand, and by the decree of the Lord God Almighty, there is a day, there is an hour, there is a moment, there is an elected time when the angel shall sound and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.

And in that moment Jesus returns.

As we open to Matthew 24:29 we will see that Christ comes in the Glorious Majesty of His Victory on the cross.

Jesus returns.

Listen as Matthew captures that moment.

Matthew 24:29-31

*The Message*: Following those hard times, Sun will fade out, moon cloud over, Stars fall out of the sky, cosmic powers tremble.

30-31"Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man!

It will fill the skies—no one will miss it.

Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven.

At that same moment, he'll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.

*The Amplified*: Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and [a]beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].

31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the universe to the other.

Jesus left after saying He was coming back as was noted 1,257x in the Old Testament and 319x in the New Testament, now he returns!

Jesus left from the Mt.

Of Olives on foot empty handed, He returns to that very spot descending from the skies mounted on a white horse, followed by countless armies clothed in white.

Jesus left in secret, now He returns in blazing glory.

Jesus left with blood stained garments, He returns in shimmering robes of white.

Jesus left still bearing the cuts of a crown of thorns, He returns with the sparkling dazzles of the diadem crown of the King of the Universe.

Jesus left behind His beloved saints going ahead of them alone to Heaven, He returns with the skies filled with His saints all in triumphant procession accompanying their Master, Lord and King.

Jesus left silently worshiped by His disciples, now he returns surrounded by the trumpet blasts of the armies of Heaven, encircled by the shouts of praise of all the redeemed and every eye on planet earth now sees Him.

The climax of all human history is now unfolded in our text.

The purposes of God long hidden in His eternal counsels are now made clear.

Jesus steps back into history, He is no longer the suffering servant, He is Lord of All.

First, remember with me:

*The Elements of Christ's return*

1. *Matthew tells us that first the heavens are opened, and then the sign of the Son of man appears:* (Matt.

24:30);

2. *John adds that the Lord comes through the sky as a rider on a white horse, accompanied by the armies of heaven.

Out of His mouth goes forth a sharp two-edged sword, and He comes as the King of Kings in the wrath of God the Almighty:* (Rev.

19:11-16);

3. *When Christ comes to rule, He has what the Bible calls a rod of iron:* (Rev.

19:15; Psalm 2:9);

4. *He has blood dipped garments:* (Rev.

19:13);

5. *Isaiah saw Him looking like One who treads the winepress:* (Isaiah 63:1-6; Rev. 19:15b);

6. *Micah says He is as one who threshes the harvest floor:* (Micah 4:12-13; Matthew 3:12);

7. *Joel and John add warnings that He is as one who reaps with the sickle of Divine judgment:* (Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:17-18).

Secondly, we saw:

The Horrors of The Rebels on Earth

1. *Thus, will the despised Jesus of Nazareth again appear!

Then will all the families of the earth wail* (Matt.

24:30).

2. *Then has come the Day of the Lord *(Joel 1:15; Amos 5:20);

3. *It is the day of God’s fierce anger expressed through Christ:* (Isaiah 13:13);

4. *It is the great and terrible day of judgment built up:* (Malachi 4:5);

5. *It is a day of darkness, gloominess, clouds, and thick darkness:* (Joel 2:2; Zech.

14:6);

6. *In horror – the lost humans will creep into the clefts and ravines:* (Rev.

6:15); and then they will hide in the caverns of the rocks and the holes of the earth (Isaiah 2:19).

7. *With no place to hide they call to the mountains, “Fall on us!”, and to the hills, “Cover us!”:* (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16; 9:6).

But there will be no escape.

Now today, trace through the Scriptures with me:

*The Wrath of God Seen in Christ*

1. *At the same instant every human on Earth will hear His voice like the sound of a roaring lion *(Joel 3:16 The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel; Isaiah 30:30 The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones); and the slain of the Lord will be many (Isaiah 66:15-16 or behold, the LORD will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many; Psalm 110:6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries);

2. *As they look in the direction of the sound of His voice they can only see the approach of flaming fire (II Thessalonians 1:8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God,* and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; Isaiah 66:15-16 or behold, the LORD will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many);

3. *For the Lord comes as a flash of lightning* (Matt.

24:27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be);

4. *The Earth will be for the lost like a fiery oven *(Mal.

4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch); the wicked will be gathered by angels, like weeds to be thrown onto a burn pile (Matt.

13:41-42 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth); and the destruction overtakes them like an inescapable tsunami (Luke 21:35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.

NIV);

5. *The sudden destruction will “seize all” and no one on Earth can escape* (I Thess.

5:3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.

And they shall not escape.);

6. *There is no escaping His eyes that pierce every hiding place like flames of fire* (Rev.

19:12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.

He had a name written that no one knew except Himself);

7. *There is no place to go to avoid His wrath: as the flood in the days of Noah *(Matt.