The Coming of the Son of Man
The Olivet Discourse • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Intro
I think a great irony in my life is how often I want to know how things are going to turn out. Because waiting can be miserable. And yet, I am also the type of person that will close my ears and say “no spoilers!” Because I want to be surprised by the twists and turns. I want to see what challenges the characters face and how they deal with them. But the story is exciting BECAUSE I don’t know exactly how it’s going to end. That’s one of the things that is so powerful about the Bible. It is not just the story of a nation, but God’s story of His relationship with His creation, with humanity, from the moment we were created until the end of this world as we know it. Jesus warns us what the end will look like.
We have been looking at the 5th and final discourse, or teaching, of Jesus found in the gospel of Matthew. This discourse, referred to as either the Olivet Discourse, because it takes place on the mount of olives, or the End Time discourse, is found in Matthew 24 and 25, and is a response to a question the disciples asked Jesus. As Jesus is leaving the temple after calling out the pharisees hypocrisy, Jesus tells the disciples the temple would be destroyed. A bit later, out at the Mount of Olives, they ask Jesus “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age. Or the world.”
If you have missed previous weeks, I encourage you to read Matthew 23 and 24 later today. Let me give a brief recap.
Deceivers will come
Deceivers will come
People will claim to be the messiah. Don’t be fooled.
Wars will come
Wars will come
This is just the beginning
Things will get hard
Things will get hard
The disciples will be persecuted and put to death. Many will betray one another. Wickedness will increase and love will grow cold. He promises that those who stand firm to the end will be saved.
The Gospel will be preached to the whole world
The Gospel will be preached to the whole world
In the midst of all the other stuff. The gospel will reach everyone. The good news of Jesus as the messiah. Of His forgiveness of sins. Of His death and resurrection.
He warns then that when we see the abomination, or sacrilegious object, standing in the holy place, the temple, that it’s getting worse. The people of Judea should flee. Because these signs and these events are centered in Isreal.
Now we come to the coming of the son of man. You’ll remember that “Son of Man” is a title that Jesus claims for himself, a title that is taken from the prophecy of Daniel.
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 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 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.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Let’s go back to verse 29
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.’
This is a common theme throughout scripture. These sky getting dark.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
Side observation. John brings back the the lesson from the fig tree that Jesus talked about. So you see this common theme. Let’s bring verse 29 back up.
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.’
Jesus has shifted now. Initially He was talking about the destruction of the temple, which happened in the year 70 AD. Now we’re looking ahead. After all of those terrible things have happened, there will signs. Where? Look up. Let’s add the next couple verses.
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 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 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.
John the disciple was present at this moment, Later John writes in the in the book of Revelation,
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
He is recording what he is seeing. Back to Jesus words.
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 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 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.
Where is Jesus coming from? The sky. Who will see Him? All the peoples of the earth. We’re no longer just talking about Judea. About Isreal. All the people of the earth. When? After the distress of those days. The distress of the the abomination. The distress of fleeing Judea. The distress of what we read about it verse 23-24. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to DECEIVE.
This is the moment when Jesus Himself send His angels to gather the elect, the chosen ones. His children. Imagine the scene. Imagine looking up and seeing Jesus. Then a blast, and His heavenly hosts begins moving throughout the whole world.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
There are signs. Just as there are signs summer is upon us, there are signs that summer is near. Now there’s some confusion around this idea of generation, because obviously the people Jesus were talking to are long gone. He might mean the jewish people. He might mean the Church. He believe He is speaking to a future generation. The one’s seeing these signs. But it could also be a double meaning, as Jesus will do, because the temple WAS destroyed in these people’s generation. But then what does He say? My words will never pass away. I believe His words and warnings had meaning to them then, as well as to us now.
Are we in the last days? As I have said before, I will never stand here and say “this is the year.” The truth is we have been in “the end times” since the ascension of Jesus.
However. Let me tell you what I have observed.
First. Isreal is a nation again. For nearly 2,000 years the nation of Isreal did not exist. And now the jewish people have returned to the land of the promise. That is unprecendented for a people to keep their culture for 2 millennia after being scattered. That has never happened before.
Second. We are more connected than ever. The internet has made our world within the reach of all people.
Third. The advent of AI, artificial intelligence, is now upon us. This is a topic that I have followed very closely for years. I have interacted, and in fact regularly use, things like ChatGPT. I pay attention to the current state of robotics and how AI is being implemented. And let me tell you, if you haven’t been paying attention. It is more incredible than I could have imagined. It’s capabilities are astounding. The rate of progression is mind boggling. I think the magnitude of it’s ability to deceive cannot be understated. Anyone with moderate ability and common hardware can create deepfakes. In the years to come, it will become harder and harder to know what is real. We need to pray for discernment.
Fourth. Another topic I follow very closely is news surrounding UFO’s, or what they are now known as, UAP’s. I started paying closer attention because in 2020, the Pentagon released an official statement that they are real and the government does not know what they are. In the years following, many people have come out of high level government positions and testified under oath about the reality of these. Over the next few years, we will begin to hear more and more on the topic of UAP’s. And I am convinced that these 2 points, the rise of AI, and the conversation around UAP’s and “non-human beings” are going to be key factors in the great deception. Why? Because the prophecies have so much to do with being deceived, as well as signs in the sky.
The final thing I have observed is this: revivals breaking out on college campuses, people who were once Christians abandoning their faith completely, and former atheists and sin filled people boldly proclaiming the redemption of Christ and repenting of their sins. I see incredible boldness on both sides. And to me, it looks like battle lines are being drawn and people are choosing a side. No longer able to sit on the sidelines.
Is the return of Christ soon? Depends what you mean by soon. But it seems like the pieces are in place. Then what? Let’s put verse 30 back up.
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, 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.
There will deceptions of AI. There will be deceptions regarding beings in the sky. Messianic figures. But you remember what Jesus said earlier. His coming will be obvious. And in a moment, all the deception is over. And all the people will mourn. When I picture that day, I think many will mourn because they rejected Him, and now…time’s up. He’s here. It’s real. But when I picture myself seeing Him, I can imagine I will mourn too. Because I know people that reject Him.
The good news is that we can be ready now. We know deception is coming. Make sure you know what Jesus said. Make sure you know the truth of scripture. We know there will be great mourning. Don’t wait to share your faith. We all have a choice, but we also all have a responsibility as a disciple to make other disciples. I’m so thankful that Jesus told us what would happen. Even though we don’t know the day, we can be confident in His plan.
It is Well - Chorus - V4 - Chorus
