That Sound

PREP - Sounds mean different things to different people

Some people cannot stand to hear people chew; its therapy for others

Some people love the violin to others its like nails on a chalk board

Context

Some love bagpipes others love to hear bagpipes stop

We all have different

Sounds can make us moves

Sounds can send shivers down our spine

Consider some of the sounds you love and some you don’t care to ever hear again

What sounds drive you crazy?

Context

Jesus continues to answer the three part question he was asked in that is:

· “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

He was asked this after he said that the temple would be destroyed

This alarmed his Jewish disciples and they asked him this 3 part question

This alarmed his Jewish disciples and they asked him this 3 part question

Jesus answered the WHEN part by telling us what it won’t look like, to avoid false teachers, and those claiming to be Christ

We know that man will continue to war

He then says that it will happen after some things take place

That is not entirely clear but we know that the time of salvation is urgent and life will be and is full of suffering and strife

Today Jesus answers the second part of the three part question

“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

What prompted Jesus’ disciples to ask this question of end times?

English Standard Version Chapter 24

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Immediately - As soon as the suffering is complete...

Remember Jesus is talking here and has not yet been crucified. When we read the account of his crucifixion we can see, at least, a partial fulfillment when Jesus is crucified. See

English Standard Version Chapter 27

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The sun, moon, and stars were often seen as heavenly beings and the object of worship; we are reminded here that even the heavens yield in the presence of God

We are reminded here that even the heavens yield in the presence of God

Jesus seems to be blending all of end times together in this one passage of scripture, that is the beginning, middle, and end

With not a lot of regard to an exact time table

I think we err when we try to import an exact time-table to this prophecy

English Standard Version Chapter 24

30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Sign - Not sure what the sign is. Could be a sign preceding the coming of the Son of Man or it could be the coming of the Son of Man itself; What is clear is that it will be in heaven

What is clear is that it will be in heaven

Son of Man - 57 references in the Bible. The most descriptive is . This is another way to talk about the Messiah; the chosen one; the anointed one. This was Jesus’ favorite term to talk about himself

Most descriptive is

This is and was to be believed as the Messiah

This is another way to talk about the Messiah; the chosen one; the anointed one

This was Jesus’ favorite term to talk about himself

Mourn - They seem to know Jesus is coming back for judgment

Here I do not believe we have seen fulfillment

Jesus is speaking in broad terms of the end times

We are living between verse 29 and 30

Jesus has ushered in the kingdom and made a way for us to be redeemed to a Holy God but has not yet returned

It is the already but not yet...

What does already but not yet mean?

After Jesus was crucified and resurrected he ascended into heaven. Some of the disciples watched it and recorded what they witnessed in

After Jesus was crucified and resurrected he ascended into heaven. Some of the disciples watched it and recorded what they witnessed in

English Standard Version Chapter 1

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Verse 30 has yet to happen

At the Ascension angels remind us how it is that he will return

They affirm what Jesus says in verse 30

English Standard Version Chapter 24

they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Remember Jesus is answering the question WHAT will be the sign of your coming

He has already answered the when part of the question

Its not a matter of if, but when he comes back

And when he comes back...

English Standard Version Chapter 24

31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Elect - The idea here is that those whom God has sustained to salvation will be drawn together from all over the world; Election is a great mystery but the premise puts all the glory on God. Without Him we can never know salvation.

Trumpets - Trumpets were used to direct troops before radio communication existed

Gather… Four winds - The idea is gather all the believers from the totality or entire world

This trumpet will be a call to some and a noise to others

Have you

What will it sound like to you?

That sound to some...

To some it will be a call home

To others it will strike utter fear and terror deep into their souls

To some it will be the most recognizable sound they have yet to hear

To others it will be the most foreign tune they will continue to ignore

To some it will be a call to an unimaginable reunion to a Holy God that loves them that produces a joy that the Bible says makes all the suffering in the world look miniscule

To others it will be a casting into a separation that the Bible says will produce unquenchable anguish

I cannot make the trumpet sound sweet to you anymore than I can make you love the bagpipes

But the Holy Spirit can unblock your deaf ears so that you can hear that sweet sound

Ask him to do that for you

Ask him to reveal Jesus to you...

Ask him to