Sermon Tone Analysis

*Jesus Christ /is/ Coming Again! – Part 3*

/2nd Peter1:16/

 

 

September 9, 2007

Sun Oak Baptist Church

 

 

*Introduction*

 

          A.

Please turn with me to 2nd Peter 3:4.

I encourage you to take out your sermon notes as well that are inside the bulletin.

B.

They had hardly sealed our Lord’s tomb before people began questioning the doctrine of His Second Coming.

By the time the apostle Paul, John, and Peter were writing their letters, false teachers and their followers were questioning the return of Christ.

And we will find that until He comes again throughout the history of the church false teachers always have and always will be questioning our Lord’s Second Coming.

But despite the questions we can be certain of this:  when it comes to the Second Coming it’s not “if” – it’s only “when.”

The bible contains well over 330 prophecies pertaining to Christ’s First Coming and 1,845 references to His Second Coming.

That’s over six-times as many references to the Second Coming as there are for the First.

Remember this:  it’s not “if” Christ is coming again – it’s only a matter of “when.”

It’s like someone said:  “Plan as though Christ were not coming for ten (10) years.

Live as though He were coming in ten seconds.”

“Plan as though Christ is not coming for ten (10) years, but live as though He is coming in ten seconds.”

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.”

Matt. 24:44:  “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Luke 21:27:  “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”

1st Cor.

11:26:  “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes again.”

Heb.

10:24-25:  “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as /is/ the manner of some, but exhorting /one another/, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Rev.

22:20:  “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’

Amen.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

 

          C.

What is the significance of the Second Coming?

What is one of the most crucial applications that we can make to our lives regarding the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ?

Be ready…be ready…be ready…Jesus can come literally at any moment – in a twinkling of an eye – faster than the snap of a finger.

Prophetically speaking, there is nothing I am aware of that needs to be fulfilled prophetically before Jesus comes again.

He can come again at any moment.

Jesus said:  “Surely I am coming quickly.”

And the apostle John’s response to that statement was:  “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”  Are we ready?

Christians need to plan their lives as if His return will be in ten (10) years, but live their lives as if it will be in ten (10) seconds.

*Pray.*

D.

As we know, the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ is so important in the Christian life the apostle Peter devotes one-third of this death bed epistle to it – one-third.

To help us get our arms around this doctrine, to help us understand what the Bible teaches about the Second Coming of Christ, I’m taking us to the top of three (3) little hills to help us look at this doctrine from three (3) different vantage points.

1.

What we’re doing in this 3-part series is walking over here and looking at the Second Coming from this angle – Christ’s Second Coming will be attacked – it will be questioned.

Satan questioned God’s Word and twisted God’s Word in the Garden and that’s the two (2) primary tactics and ways false teachers operate.

*Read 3:4.* 

 

                   2.       Secondly, I’m taking us over here and we’re looking at the Second Coming from this angle:  it’s a doctrine that is misunderstood – we’ll finish that today.

3.

And finally, also this morning, we’ll look at from a third angle:  we’ll be looking at what the Bible teaches us about the Second Coming of Christ.

We’ll examine the doctrine of the Second Coming.

*I.

The doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming questioned.*

* *

*II.

Secondly, the doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming misunderstood.*

The second vantage point I want us to look at the doctrine of the Second Coming from is to see that it’s not unusual for Christians to misunderstand Christ’s Second Coming.

A.

And the first reason why is because Biblical doctrine in general today is neglected – that’s what we dealt with last week.

In general, Biblical doctrine today is neglected in churches and in the lives of individual Christians.

B.

And secondly, a second reason why Christians misunderstand Christ’s Second Coming is because the study of prophecy is over-emphasized.

We could call this the “flip side of the coin.”

On one hand, people misunderstand Christ’s Second Coming because doctrine in general is under-emphasized, and on the other hand, it’s misunderstood because the study of prophecy, in general, is over-emphasized.

A number of years ago the pastor of a large church was talking to a new assistant one Sunday evening before services and said:  “We’re going to have a crowd tonight.”

The assistant replied:  “What makes you say that?”

The pastor answered:  “I’m teaching on the Book of Revelation and it never fails that when I announce I’m speaking on any aspect of prophetic doctrine an unusually large crowd comes to the evening service.”

And that’s just what happened.

1.       Turn with me to Matt.

24:3.

People, Christians and non-Christians alike, have an affinity towards knowing the future – and after all, who wouldn’t?

I mean- I’d love to know what the stock market is going to do tomorrow.

But this affinity, especially today in the information age, has lead to an over-emphasis in the study of prophecy, but this kind of interest isn’t something new.

*Read 24:3.*

There always has been and always will be people interested in prophecy – in knowing the future.

Throughout church history people like this have tried to identify particular persons depicted in the Bible such as the anti-Christ and they try to literalize the various pictures and images that used prophetically.

They spend an unbalanced amount of time trying to understand these things.

For example:  during World War 2 there were Christians that were certain that Mussolini or Hitler was the Beast of Revelation 13 or the anti-Christ; and before that they were certain it was Napoleon.

During the first Gulf War a number of books came out on the role of the Middle East in prophecy.

An unsaved acquaintance of mine asked me to lunch hoping I could tell him if the end of the world was near.

The prophecy section in Christian stores has books on everything from the pre-tribulational rapture; mid-tribulational rapture; post-tribulational rapture; pre-wrath rapture; post-millennialism; amillennialism; and now the latest fad called “preterism.”

By my count there’s at least three (3) regularly scheduled Christian TV shows specifically dedicated to prophecy and at least twice a week I get an email from a ministry dedicated to interpreting prophecy in light of current news events.

C.

What’s the point?

The study of prophecy is over-emphasized.

I could go on and one with examples of this but here’s what I want us to see:  from my perspective there are two (2) reasons why the doctrine of the Second Coming is misunderstood.

One reason is the under-emphasis of doctrine in general, and the second is an over-emphasis, in general, on the study of prophecy.

So we’ve seen how the doctrine of the Second Coming is attacked.

We’ve seen how it’s misunderstood.

Now:  let’s look at what the New Testament teaches about the Second Coming of Christ.

Can we know when He is coming again?

Jesus said many false Christ’s will come:  how can someone know if it’s really Him?

 

                   Roman Numeral III in our outline.

* *

* *

*III.

The doctrine of Christ’s Second Coming /taught./*

* *

            What I’m going to do is to ask and answer three (3) questions that will help us unpack and illuminate the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ.

Remember:  when it comes to the Second Coming of Christ is not “if” – it’s only “when.”

There are disagreements about the timing; disagreements about events that precede or follow His return but here is the one big thing and the clear thing that we can take home with us today:  Jesus Christ who first came as a babe in Bethlehem as a humble servant-king will return to this earth as a conquering and ruling king.

A.

So first of all, the first question I want to ask and answer is this:  what will be the manner of His return?

How will Jesus Christ return to the earth?

And, as you can see in your notes, there are four-parts to this answer.

1.       First of all, Christ’s return is going to be a /physical/ return.

Go to Acts 1:11.