Jesus Will Return

Introduction

In , Luke records the events that happen after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says that Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of 40 days, teaching them about the kingdom of God. He also gives them their mission. He tells them about the privilege they would have of being his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts - Jesus’ story and ascension into heaven.... appearance of the angels

Then, in verses 9-11, Luke gives an account of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. He rose off of the ground and went up into the sky. His disciples were looking up watching Jesus, not wanting to take their eyes off of Him. It is at this point that two men in white clothes appeared to them. Here is what they say to the disciples in v11:

“They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”” (, CSB)

Right after his ascension, we have the first prophecy given about the return of Jesus Christ - how He would return in the same way that He had left.

It is this topic, the great news of the return of Jesus Christ, that I would like us to study this morning.

The New Testament says a lot about the return of Jesus Christ. So much in fact, it is surprising that we do not talk about it more as His people. It seems to me that many Christians I talk to simply seem to believe we go to heaven when we die. They believe that when this life is over, we immediately go to our eternal dwelling place and that’s it. The story is over. This is simply not what the Bible teaches. At times it may seem that Christians over-react to false doctrines about the return of Jesus Christ that we miss the emphasis that the New Testament makes about all of the amazing things that will happen as God brings history, as we know it in this life, to a close.

The return of Jesus Christ is an important part of the Gospel message - the good news that we are given by God. Jesus will return and fulfill all of the promises that He has given to those who serve Him. These promises are what we put our hope and trust in as we live as disciples of Christ in this life.

What to Expect When Jesus Returns

Here are a few things we can expect when Jesus comes back.

1. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

The Bible actually says very little about what existence is like for God’s people when they die. Here are a few details we can piece together:

Jesus simply described it as being at “Abraham’s side” ().

Paul said that it was “gain” and was “far better” to “depart and be with Christ” ().

When Jesus returns, the dead will be raised and transformed, receiving brand new glorious bodies. I know we talked about this in our last lesson in this series, so I will not spend a lot of time on this point. If there is more that you would like to learn about the resurrection, I would encourage you to watch the last lesson we had in this series.

But we are told by the Apostle Paul that the Lord Jesus “will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise... 17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord...” ().

“The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,,a with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” ().

John 5:

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” ().

In the biblical story, death is a curse that has fallen over the whole earth because of our rebellion against God. When Jesus returns, He will remove the curse of physical death that resides on every one of us. Every human being who has ever lived will be resurrected and changed.

See John 5:

2. JUDGMENT FOR ALL MANKIND

In , Jesus talks about the resurrection on the last day, but he also talks about what will happen after this:

““Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (, CSB)

Jesus is calling His entire creation to receive this Good News, to receive Him as King, to bow their knees in humble allegiance to Him. Sadly, the majority of mankind continues to rebel. They continue to choose the way of darkness, the way of death. For them, the Return will not be celebratory reunion.

This passage is where we learn that both those who are Christians and those who are nonChristians will be raised. At this point there will be a great dividing. Those who have done evil will be condemned and those who have served the Lord and received His mercy will receive life.

When Paul was preaching in Athens in , he said “...God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”” (, CSB)

We all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and will be judged by Him. He has given us all of the necessary evidence to prove that the judgment will take place. It will be a time where God’s people will receive the BEST POSSIBLE NEWS for those who know the Lord, but for those who don’t know the Lord, it will be a sad time. Jesus will return with “mighty angels.” He will come in “flaming fire.” As for those who are not living in obedience to the gospel:

Jesus will return with “mighty angels.” He will come in “flaming fire.” As for those who are not living in obedience to the gospel:

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed” ().

Passages like this one show us how important it is for those who are God’s people to get the Gospel out into the world. We know the fate that awaits those who reject the gospel, and it must be our desire to make sure that the judgment will be a time of great news for them.

Neither the living nor the dead, who reject the grace and mercy of God, will escape this fate. The dead who do not belong to the Lord will be raised to face this judgement.

3. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

Peter compares the Day of the Lord to the days of Noah, when the earth was destroyed by water. In those days, God destroyed the wicked world with a flood and gave Noah a brand new place to dwell. The Bible tells us that we are headed toward a second destruction of the world.

“The heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” ().

Everything in the world is under the curse and it will all be destroyed by fire. But it seems creation itself is waiting for this cleansing fire, “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (). even the curse of the earth that happened in will be undone by the Lord. All that had come upon the earth after the first sin will be reversed by the Lord.

After the heavens pass away with a roar, after the heavenly bodies are burned up and dissolved, after the earth and the works that are done on it are exposed, then God’s people will be like Noah’s family when they stepped off of the ark. We will have a “new heavens and a new earth in which [ONLY] righteousness dwells,” as Peter says in .

Conclusion & Invitation

These are the things that we can expect when the Lord returns. Of course, I didn’t include every detail about what will happen on that day, but this lesson at least gives us an idea of what we can expect when the Lord Jesus returns.

As we bring this lesson to a close, I would like to ask just two questions in application:

Do you anticipate the return of Jesus? Do you even think about it?

This is a great promise we have been given by Jesus’ apostles. Something that is worth looking forward to.

This idea of anticipation is something that we understand pretty well...

Anticipating the birth of a child: Many of us know what it is like to anticipate something… One great example is awaiting the birth of a child. Once you find out you are going to have a baby, you get more and more excited as the days past. You look forward to the life-changing event of your baby coming into the world. You anticipate holding your baby for the first time, snuggling that little helpless boy or girl, loving him or her with all the love you can give as a parent.

I wonder how many of us have this kind of anticipation spiritually. As we each day get one day closer to meeting our Lord in glory, do we have this kind of anticipation? This kind of longing? This is what I believe Paul is talking about to Titus whenever he tells him to instruct the Christians in Crete to live in a way that shows they are “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus...” (). We need to wait and anticipate the fulfillment of the promises God has made. Not just going to Heaven, but the restoration of all things… The return of Jesus. The resurrection and glorification of our bodies. Our new dwelling place and home with the LORD of glory. There is so much to anticipate with excitement and joy.

closer to meeting our Lord in glory, do we have this kind of anticipation? This kind of longing? This is what I believe Paul is talking about to Titus whenever he tells him to instruct the Christians in Crete to live in a way that shows they are “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus...” (). We need to wait and anticipate the fulfillment of the promises God has made

Are you ready for His return?

Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that tomorrow is the end. Will we be ready if it is?

After talking about how the heavens and the earth as we know them will be destroyed, Peter makes an application for the Christians he is writing to:

“Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat. But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (, CSB)

Knowing that the Lord could return at any time, we need to be ready. Are we watching? Are we hastening the coming of that day? Are we striving to live in a way that is holy and reflects the character of God as we await this great day?

In the amount of time that the LORD grants each one of us life, we need to make it our aim to please Him and to prepare ourselves for the events that will happen on the last day. We need to abide in Christ so that we can have confidence at his appearing ().

Can we say, with John, “Come, Lord Jesus” ()? If that makes us uncomfortable, then perhaps we ought to rethink where we stand in relation to Him.

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If there is anything we can do for you today to help you prepare for and anticipate the return of Jesus Christ with confidence, we want to help you in any way we can. Make sure you leave here today knowing, that if Jesus returned today, that this would be the BEST POSSIBLE NEWS for you. We can help you obey the Gospel today if you believe the Gospel - that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and was resurrected from His tomb in fulfillment of prophecy. If you believe this message, and want to submit your life to Jesus in everything, you can be baptized into Christ today and have your sins washed away.

If we can help you with a sin you are struggling with or if we can help you obey the Gospel today, why don’t you make your need known as together we stand and sing?