THE GLORIOUS APPEARING
The Final Discourse No. 4 • Sermon • Submitted
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Writing to his protege, Titus, Paul stated:
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
I love that statement that we as believers are:
“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
It is this truth that motivate us to live holy lives, lives that reflect the calling we have received in Christ Jesus. The Apostle John wrote:
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Please take your Bible and turn to .
Though the Son of Man’s first advent was unrecognizable to most, His second advent will be recognized by all.
As we go through this passage we will consider the timing, the events, and the impact of this prophetic unfolding of future.
The Timing
The Timing
Look at verse 29 as we consider the timing of the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days...”
Review the 70th week of Daniel
The Events
The Events
Though we do not know just how quickly these events will unfold in real-time, Jesus told His disciples of three distinct events that will occur.
The first event mentioned in our text is
The Darkening of the Heavens
The Darkening of the Heavens
During each of the three rounds of judgments in the Tribulation period there was a time of darkening or loss of light. These occured during:
The sixth seal ()
The fourth trumpet ()
The fifth bowl ()
Regarding the darkening of the heavens, Jesus stated:
“THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
I cannot begin to imagine what kind of terror this will cause on those who are living during this awful period of time. This was an allusion to a prophecy of Isaiah’s. And, incidentally, it gives validity to the authenticity of Isaiah’s prophecy.
The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
Lift up a standard on the bare hill, Raise your voice to them, Wave the hand that they may enter the doors of the nobles.
I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, To execute My anger.
A sound of tumult on the mountains, Like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, Of nations gathered together! The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.
They are coming from a far country, From the farthest horizons, The Lord and His instruments of indignation, To destroy the whole land.
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt.
They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
The second event mentioned in our text is
The Sign of the Son of Man
The Sign of the Son of Man
In verse 30 Jesus finally answered the disciples question from verse 3.
“What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Simply put, Jesus here tells His closest followers that the sign of His coming will be His coming!
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky … and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.”
This reference was issued by Jesus in a private format, but it was a similar declaration which caused the High Priest to charge Jesus as being worthy of death.
But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;
what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”
Why was this such an alarming statement to the religious establishment of Israel? Because it eluded to many OT prophecies regarding Messiah. And thus, it was, in their errant minds, a blasphemous statement.
“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
John writes something similar in
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
The third event mentioned in our text is
The Gathering
The Gathering
Christ will use His angels to bring together His chosen people.
“And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET AND THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Finally, let’s consider
THE IMPACT
THE IMPACT
Earlier, I skipped over the statement Jesus made about the impact of His glorious appearing on the world at large. He said:
“And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn...”
Mourning is a God created thing for the human race. And it is an important part of life. In the early years of His public ministry — during His first discourse — Jesus stated:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
This past week we had the opportunity to be a part of comforting those who mourn, as our dearly-loved “Joe-Boy” lost his beloved wife of 53 years.
There are various reasons for mourning.
Mourning for the loss of a loved one
Mourning over the offense of our own actions
Mourning for loved ones who have rejected our faith
Mourning over our offense against God
The OT prophet Zechariah wrote of this event during the time in which the exiled remnant of Judah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. He wrote:
“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
But notice the Gospel content of Zechariah’s prophecy:
But notice the Gospel content of Zechariah’s prophecy:
He was pierced
For the transgressions of His people
As a substitute on their behalf
To the “…one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” The Bible tells us that all have sinned and missed the mark of God’s glory; consequently, for any of us to be reconciled to God, payment must be made for that sin. This is where Jesus Christ Himself steps in on our behalf, because He was the only One who lived a sinless life and could, therefore, be the perfect substitute for us. If we but turn to Him alone and trust Him completely, we will become children of God and have eternal life. Our sins will be forgiven; we will have peace with God and then be able to experience the peace Christ gives. Whosoever will may come. Will you trust Him today?
I believe that the sign of the Son of Man coming on the clouds will usher in a very great and quick revival of Jewish folks as the Tribulation Period comes to a close. It will be at this time that all Israel will be saved.
For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
“This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
Though Israel will have a quick and positive response as a result of their mourning, others will not have such a positive response. We are told over and over again in Revelation that there will be many who recognize God’s hand in the outpouring of His wrath, and yet refuse to repent.
Though Israel will have a quick and positive response as a result of their mourning, others will not have such a positive response. We are told over and over again in Revelation that there will be many who recognize God’s hand in the outpouring of His wrath, and yet refuse to repent.
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
Remember that the intent of end times prophecy is not to intrigue us, or peek our interest. It is intended to impact the way in which we live our lives in the here and now.
For those who have not yet placed their faith in Christ as their Lord and Savior, this means acknowledging that there is a God to whom you are accountable, and that your sin is an offense to Him. It means acknowledging that Jesus is the God who became man so that He could be the sin bearer for all who place their faith in His person and His work. It means acknowledging not only His death, but His resurrection from the dead. As Paul wrote to the believers in Rome:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
For the believer end times prophecy should encourage us to purify ourselves since our Lord is pure. That includes:
It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Let’s pray.
Closing Song — #755
We Shall Behold Him