The Glory of Christ: That Blessed Hope
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Text: Titus 2:13
Intro: My prayer throughout our study is that we would see our Glorified Saviour and receive the help that is offered through Him there! I see the doctrine of His second coming as one that frequently is watered down by false doctrine. To the first century church, it was a doctrine that was well recieved and became a practiced truth!
The Church at Thessalonica was encouraged to _________________...
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
They were admonished to __________________ his appearing...
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
And exhorted to ______________ for that blessed hope!
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
We live in a world were great apostacy has dimmed the star of hope on which saints of old were accustomed to gaze upon so intently. May the Lord rekindle a view so clear that we cannot be moved!
Sir Isaac Newton has been called "the greatest scientific genius the world has known." Yet he spent less time on science than on theology. He once stated that, “there is scarcely a prophecy in the Old Testament which does not in something or other relate to the second coming of Christ”.
God’s first act of mercy to fallen man was a promise that was not fulfilled at the first advent of Christ, but will surely be fulfilled through His second! Gen. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In the first advent of Christ, we gain clear understanding as to who the seed of the women is, His death has explained the “thou shalt bruise his heel”, but the part that related to the bruising of the serpents head has yet to be fulfilled. Christ did however defeat His foe, through dying on the cross, being raised and ascending to heaven, but the fatal blow to His head will not take place until the descending Redeemer comes back to this earth in glorious triumph!
The events of His second coming were spoken of by prophets of old...
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
For I know that my redeemer liveth,
And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while,
And I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:
And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,
Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in:
Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming?
And who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
As we study the word of God, we see there is a golden thread of truth that runs through the Old Testament and into the New Testament!
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Again, clearly through the suffering of our Lord in His obedience and humility on the cross, we understand that much of this angelic prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. In His first advent; rather than be King, He became a criminal, rather than being seated upon a throne, He bore a cross, rather than wearing a crown, He wore a crown of thorns, rather than a scepter, He was given a reed, and rather than being glorified, He was mocked. As believers we certainly must look back to the cross, but we look ahead to our blessed hope! We look to the full accomplishment of His visible glory, when He shall part the heavens asunder, and will appear in great majesty!
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 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.