Christ's Second Coming - Sep. 19th, 2021
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CJ Walker
Breaking Bread with Barnabas • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:36:02
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· 38 viewsJesus’ Second Coming will find the world weeping, His people for joy over His dominion, His enemies in sorrow over their doom.
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Pre-Introduction:
At this time, we invite any children who desire to join our leaders for a children’s service to follow them where you can hear a wonderful bible lesson and sing some uplifting songs about Jesus.
For those joining us online, you’re enjoying the services of the First Baptist Church of Westminster. This is the Co-Pastor bringing the Sunday Morning message entitled "Shakings, THE Sign, & the Gathering.” We invite you to follow along with us in your Bible in the Book of Matthew, chapter 24, and verses 29-31.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Formal Elements / Descriptive Data
CIT: How did Jesus poetically prophesied of His return?
His return will be preceded by the shaking of the heavens (v. 29)
His return will be to a world in mourning as He comes on clouds in power and great glory (v. 30)
His return will signal the gathering of the elect from the four winds (v. 31)
Proposition: Jesus’ Second Coming will find the world weeping, His people for joy over His dominion, His enemies in sorrow over their doom.
Statement of Purpose:
MO - Doctrinal
SO - I want my hearers to a foundational understanding of Christ’s Second Coming that moves them to reverence.
Introduction:
Introduction:
[Start Low]
A. Get Attention - Striking Statement:
The Speaker’s Quote Book Second Coming
The early believers were not looking for something to happen, they were looking for Someone to come. Looking for the train to arrive is one thing, but looking for someone we love to come on that train is another matter.
—The Vance Havner Quote Book
B. Raise Need - Illustration:
Illustration - talk about my wife’s first conception, the wonder, the anticipation, but lead into the pain and travail, emphasizing the nature of her being “Due.” Describe the Midwife’s announcement of, “You have a newborn baby girl!” and the celebration of life.
C. Orient Theme-
If you haven’t figured out that we’re talking today about the Second Coming of Christ, then you must be asleep at the wheel!
Thirty Testimonies Proving the Second Coming:
1. Enoch (Jude 1:14–15)
2. Jacob (Gen. 49:10)
3. Balaam (Num. 24:7, 17–19)
4. Moses (Dt. 4:27–31; 30:1–11; 31:29)
5. Job (Job 19:25–27)
6. David (Ps. 22:26–31; 72:1–17)
7. Ethan (Ps. 89:1–37)
8. An unknown psalmist (Ps. 102:16)
9. Isaiah (Isa. 9:6–7; 59:20; 63:1–6)
10. Jeremiah (Jer. 3:14–25; 23:5–6)
11. Ezekiel (Ezek. 38:19–23; 39:21; 43:7)
12. Daniel (Dan. 2:44–45; 7:13–27)
13. Hosea (Hos. 3:4–5; 5:15; 11:9; 13:10)
14. Joel (Joel 2:1–11; 3:1–21)
15. Amos (Amos 1:2; 9:11–15)
16. Obadiah (Obad. 1:15–21)
17. Micah (Mic. 1:3–4; 4:1–7)
18. Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:7–8, 14–18; 3:8–20)
19. Haggai (Hag. 2:6–9, 21–23)
20. Zechariah (Zech. 2:10–11; 8:3–8, 23; 12:1–14; 13:8–9; 14:1–21)
21. Malachi (Mal. 3:2–5; 4:1–6)
22. Jesus (Mt. 16:27; 19:28; 23:38–39; Mt. 24:1 -- Mt. 25:46; 26:64; Lk. 21)
23. Peter (Acts 3:20–21; 1Pet. 1:7, 13; 2Pet. 1:16; 3:3–4)
24. James (Acts 15:13–18)
25. Paul (Rom. 11:25–27; 1Th. 1:7–10; 2Th. 2:1, 8–12; 1Tim. 6:14; 2Tim. 4:1, 8; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 9:28)
26. John (Jn. 14:28; Rev. 1:7; 11:15; 16:15; 19:11–21; 22:20)
27. Angels (Acts 1:11; Lk. 1:32–33)
28. Lord’s Supper (1Cor. 11:26)
29. Lord’s prayer (Mt. 6:10)
30. Jude (Jude 1:14–15, 24)
[Finis Jennings Dake, Dake’s Topics (WORDsearch, 1991).]
D. State Purpose-
I want my hearers to a foundational understanding of Christ’s Second Coming that moves them to reverence.
Main Thought:
Jesus’ Second Coming will find the world weeping, His people for joy over His dominion, His enemies in sorrow over their doom.
Sub-introduction:
Christology and eschatology come together in this radiant portrait. Jesus is the exalted, even divine Son of Man and Messiah, who will one day return from heaven just as he would soon ascend into heaven (cf. Acts 1:1–11). When that happens, the chain of events culminating in Jesus officiating at the final judgment of all the peoples of the earth will have been set inexorably into motion. Then all will weep—his people with joy, and his enemies with sorrow because they will now recognize that their fate is sealed. Despite numerous false prophets throughout the history of the church, whom Jesus himself predicted (Matt. 24:23–24), no one can ever know when that time will be, so all must be prepared. It could come at any time!
[Craig L. Blomberg, “Matthew,” in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007), 90.]
Body:
I. Signs in the Cosmos: The Shaking of the Heavens (Mt. 24:29)
I. Signs in the Cosmos: The Shaking of the Heavens (Mt. 24:29)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
[Go Slow]
A. The time note: immediately after the tribulation
A. The time note: immediately after the tribulation
Both the Old and the New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming of Christ. There are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament, and a total of seventeen Old Testament books give it prominence.
Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to the Second Coming, or one out of thirty verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event. The four missing books include three which are single-chapter letters written to individual persons on a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians which does imply Christ’s coming again.
For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.
—Paul Lee Tan
Quote - “Plan as though Christ were not coming for ten years. Live as though He were coming in ten seconds.”
[Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book: Over 4,500 Illustrations and Quotations for All Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 340-341.]
B. The cosmic signs in the heavens
B. The cosmic signs in the heavens
Prophetically: The sun will be darkened in the sixth seal (Rev. 6:12–17),
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
the fourth trumpet (Rev. 8:12),
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:2),
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
the fifth vial (Rev. 16:10),
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
and at the second advent of Christ and Armageddon (Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Mt. 24:29–31).
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light:
The sun shall be darkened in his going forth,
And the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
10 The earth shall quake before them;
The heavens shall tremble:
The sun and the moon shall be dark,
And the stars shall withdraw their shining:
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
Before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened,
And the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[Finis Jennings Dake, Dake’s Topics (WORDsearch, 1991).]
Application:
In the Bible, when the heavens are shaken, like Jesus describes here, it speaks of a MAJOR EVENT. There are numerous examples, but just consider one, how the earth quaked and the graves were opened at Jesus’ resurrection (Mt. 27:51-52). That was a major event! When the signs appear in the Cosmos like what Jesus prophesied in v. 29, you can know assuredly that this is the Event of all Events of literally biblical proportions!
Transition:
We have seen the shaking of the heavens, now notice,
II. THE Sign of His Coming: The Parousia of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:30)
II. THE Sign of His Coming: The Parousia of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:30)
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[Climb Higher]
V. 30 exhibits assonance, parallelism, and a threefold rhythm. All three clauses have introductory καί + verb ending in -ται + definite article + noun + genitive qualifier. Moreover, both the first and second clauses follow καί with τότε and refer to ‘heaven’ while the verbs of the second and third clauses, κόψονται and ὄψονται, differ by only one letter.
[W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, vol. 3, International Critical Commentary (London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004), 359.]
A. The sign and the mourning of the nations of the earth
A. The sign and the mourning of the nations of the earth
The sign of the Son of Man:—The Jews, with carnal spirit, were continually saying to Jesus, “Master, we would see a sign from Thee.” They were refused. But to His people He does give signs—distinct, striking, and unmistakable—signs which constitute at once the seal and epitome of the truths for which they stand.
[Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1952), 548.]
Note - Jesus will return to the earth in the midst of all the nations weeping as they realize that their fate is sealed, and judgment has come to their doorstep!
B. Christ’s coming upon the clouds in power and great glory
B. Christ’s coming upon the clouds in power and great glory
The “clouds” are not merely mentioned because of Dan 7:13; in Exod 13:21–22; 14:24 the Shekinah presence of God went ahead of Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
Then at the close of Exodus (Exod 40:34–38) the Shekinah glory appeared as a cloud and covered the tabernacle.
34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
In Ps 68:4 and Isa 19:1 God “rides on the clouds,” in Ps 104:3 he “makes the clouds his chariot,” and in Jer 4:13 he “advances like the clouds.”
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name:
Extol him that rideth upon the heavens
By his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
1 The burden of Egypt.
Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt:
And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence,
And the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters:
Who maketh the clouds his chariot:
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds,
And his chariots shall be as a whirlwind:
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
In other words Jesus’ return “on the clouds” is the coming of Yahweh himself, both in the image of the Shekinah arriving and in the judgment image of the clouds caused by the wheels of the chariots of the hosts of heaven. Finally, this coming is “with power and great glory” (probably from Dan 7:14 LXX “authority [or power; ἐξουσία] and all glory”), meaning that in the parousia the divine “power” and the Shekinah “glory” will be manifest.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
[Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, vol. 1, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 894.]
Note - When Jesus comes upon the clouds, there will be nothing that the world, the flesh or the devil can do to escape His swift justice.
The devil, knowing that he has but a short time (Rev. 12:12),
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
. . . will gather the nations at this time; they will be trained and transported to Palestine to be there at the very day Christ comes from heaven with His armies, which will include all the holy angels (Mt. 16:27; 24:29–31; 25:31–46; 2Th. 1:7–10)
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
. . . and resurrected saints of all ages (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27; Zech. 14:1–5; Rev. 17:14; 19:11–21). [Dake]
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,
And thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;
And the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished;
And half of the city shall go forth into captivity,
And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations,
As when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,
Which is before Jerusalem on the east,
And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,
And there shall be a very great valley;
And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north,
And half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains;
For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:
Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
And the Lord my God shall come,
And all the saints with thee.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Application:
A man was visiting a certain school and made a promise to the pupils that he would give a prize to the one whose desk was found in the very best order when he returned. He gave no indication, however, when he might come back. Shortly after he left, a little girl, noted for her disorderly habits, announced that she meant to win the prize. Her schoolmates jeered and laughed at her, saying, “Why, Mary, your desk is always out of order. It’s never cleaned up.” “Oh,” she replied, “but starting right now, I’m going to clean it up the first of every week.” Someone questioned, “Just supposing he comes at the end of the week?” “Well then,” Mary answered, “I’ll clean it up every morning.” “What if he comes at the end of the day?” another asked. At that suggestion, Mary was silent for a moment. Then, with her face lighting up, she said, “I know what I’ll do, I’ll just keep it clean all the time!”
[Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book, 340.]
Transition:
Having imagined how the Cosmos will be shaken, and THE sign of the Son of Man will be seen when Jesus comes on clouds in power and great glory to judge and to rule, now listen with me as we hear,
III. The Sounding Call: The Gathering of the Elect (Mt. 24:31)
III. The Sounding Call: The Gathering of the Elect (Mt. 24:31)
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
[Take Fire]
A. The great trumpet sounds forth
A. The great trumpet sounds forth
Note - Trumpets were important in the history of Israel.
The tones of the trumpet . . . filled the air on special occasions that called for celebration (Ps. 98:6).
6 With trumpets and sound of cornet
Make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.
During the days of David and Solomon, the trumpets heralded those special days when the ark of the covenant was moved to Jerusalem and into the completed temple (1 Chron. 15:28; 2 Chron. 5:12–13).
28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.
12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) 13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;
The coronation of a king, particularly one expected to lead Israel in faithful obedience to the Lord, was celebrated with the sound of trumpets (2 Kings 11:14; 2 Chron. 23:13).
14 And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
13 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason.
Days of religious renewal that followed a season of wandering from the Lord were also marked by the jubilant blast of the trumpet (2 Chron. 15:14; 29:26–27).
14 And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel.
And trumpets sounded celebratory notes as the foundation was laid for the new temple in Jerusalem and as the new wall that surrounded Jerusalem was completed (Ezra 3:10; Neh. 12:35, 41).
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.
35 And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph:
41 And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
The joy of such events will be eclipsed by the joy of Jesus’ return, which also will be marked by the sound of the trumpet. As ancient armies were set in motion by a trumpet call, so the celestial army of angels will be sent to gather the elect with a loud trumpet call (Matt. 24:31). There will be no missing that day, for the sights and sounds of its coming will be unmistakable.
[John A. Beck, ed., Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 260.]
B. The scattered gathered from the four winds
B. The scattered gathered from the four winds
episunago (ἐπισυνάγω, 1996), “to gather together,” suggesting stress upon the place at which the “gathering” is made (epi, “to”), is said of a hen and her chickens, Matt. 23:37;
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
...and so of the Lord’s would-be protecting care of the people of Jerusalem, id, and Luke 13:34; of the “gathering” together of the elect, Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27; of the “gathering” together of a crowd, Mark 1:33; Luke 12:1.¶
[W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 261.]
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
A. Call to Act/Summary of Message/Application:
Hachi, a Japanese dog, would accompany his master to the railroad station every morning. And every evening Hachi would be back to greet his friend, tail wagging, as his master arrived home from work.
One night, however, the dog’s master did not return. He had traveled to another city that day and while there, he died. Hachi, unable to comprehend the situation, continued to go to the railroad station every evening, and faithfully and patiently waited for at least an hour for his master’s return. He then turned and sadly trotted home. This he did every evening—for over ten years.
Hachi’s faithfulness so impressed the Japanese people that the government erected a statue of the dog on the spot where he had so patiently waited—and then sent statuettes to all the schools in what was then the Japanese Empire.
[Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book, 341.]
How did Jesus poetically prophesied of His return?
His return will be preceded by the shaking of the heavens (v. 29)
His return will be to a world in mourning as He comes on clouds in power and great glory (v. 30)
His return will signal the gathering of the elect from the four winds (v. 31)
Jesus’ Second Coming will find the world weeping, His people for joy over His dominion,
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
His enemies in sorrow over their doom.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
The glorious appearing of the Son of Man will be the culmination of God’s plan of salvation. This in many ways is the hinge on which all NT theology rests. All the promises and warnings of Scripture come to fruition at that future moment. The purpose of the first coming was to make the second coming a reality. When we pray “May your kingdom come,” we are praying, “Marana tha” (1 Cor 16:22, “Come, Lord”), which is to say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20).
22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
[Osborne, 896.]
Reverence His Dominion or Receive Your Doom!
B. Gospel Invitation:
You have two options right now:
First, you can sing in your heart, “O Worship the King All glorious above, and gratefully sing His power and His love...” because you are not looking for His judgment as that was dealt with at the cross and you have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. Will you then reverence Him now with me? Pay homage to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! “Kneel before Him, all adore Him, as you live to love Him more, bow the knee!”
Second, if you cannot say that there has ever been a time when you have humbled yourself, and realized your wickedness before God, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, then friend, right now, you can accept Him by faith, simply call upon the name of the Lord, and you shall be saved! You can pray with that old dirty publican, “Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner!” And just like he did, you can go home today forgiven of your sins, because you’ve been pardoned by the Almighty God through Jesus Christ.