Ready Or Not, Here He Comes!
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Intro; A couple of weeks ago I was told by a church member that I had skipped some scriptures while preaching through the Gospel of Mark. I told him I would be coming back to it after Easter, but I was thankful that someone noticed. So today we came back to that scripture found in Mark 13.
But before we pick it up, we need a quick review of chapter 13.
Summary; Jesus and his disciples have left the temple for His last time and Jesus is preparing for His destiny at Calvary. While leaving, some disciples remarked about the beauty of the temple. Jesus told them “that not a single stone would be left that wouldn’t be thrown down.” This triggered two questions by his disciples.
“Tell us when these things will be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
Jesus mentioned many things, starting with the destruction of the temple in AD 70 by Titus, but also the coming days of the Tribulation after the Rapture of the church.
• There will be many false Messiahs—v. 6, 21–22.
• There will be wars and rumors of wars—v. 7.
• There will be turmoil among the nations of the earth—v. 8.
• There will be persecution of the people of God—v. 9–13.
• The Antichrist will come to power on the earth and will declare himself to be God, and he will demand to be worshiped—v. 14.
• The earth will pass through a time of divine judgment called the Great Tribulation Period—v. 14–20.
After this time of the Tribulation, Jesus tells his disciples of His Second Coming. It is not coincidence that we pick this up after Easter.
Jesus is RISEN, HE IS ALIVE!! “READY OR NOT, HERE HE COMES!”
Text; Mark 13:24-37
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
28 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!
30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—
36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
1. Here He Comes; 24-27
1. Here He Comes; 24-27
Jesus speaks of a great cataclysmic happening in the skies after the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. These signs in the heavenlies are for the purpose of grabbing the attention of those on earth. All will look up and see the King descend from heaven and judge the earth in its SIN!
15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Great power/glory- Christ has returned to make war with those gathered at Meggido, judge the lost and bind Satan.
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
Gather His elect- The word elect means chosen, those that God extended His mercy to through Jesus Christ and they accepted His precious gift of salvation by faith.
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
This is not the church, but those saved during the tribulation that are still living.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
2. Ready or Not; 28-31
2. Ready or Not; 28-31
Jesus tells a parable to the disciples for them to “know” [certainty/assurance] that these things will take place. Just like we can tell the seasons are changing by the new growth on the trees, its inevitable that summer is on the way and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it! We are to stay alert, looking for the signs of the time so that we can know when His return is near.
Have you ever played Hide and Seek? There are rules to the game and you must “know” them to play it.
When the game started, someone was chosen to be “it”. A spot was chosen to be “base”. Whoever was “it” would stand at “base”, close their eyes and count to 100. The other players ran and hid. Then it was “its” job to find them before they could return to “base”. The game ended when everyone made it back to “base”, or when “it” found someone who was hiding. In the next game, the person who was caught became “it”.
The part of that game that is most important was when the person that was “it” would say before they came looking for those who were hiding. “It” would always say, “Ready or not, here I come.” When “it” said that, you had better be ready, or you were going to be in trouble.
These verses are a challenge for the saints to be ready, and they are a call for the lost to get ready. Jesus is coming and you do not want to be found unprepared for that day.
Carr, A. (2015). Ready or Not, Here He Comes (Mark 13:28–37). In The Sermon Notebook: New Testament (p. 1004). Alan Carr.
This Generation- Greek word “ge-naw”, which can refer both to those living at a given time as well as to race or lineage. [Greatest Generation WWII, Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen-X, Gen-Z, or Jews, Gentiles]
Jesus used “this generation” here to mean that many of those alive at that time would witness the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
This generation also refers to the generation entering the tribulation period, which will be the same generation alive at the return of Christ.
“This generation” refers to those who will see all these things occur in rapid-fire succession just before Jesus comes again. They happen in one generation. Just as the signs and destruction of Jerusalem took place within a generation [AD 34-70], the signs and destruction of the world will also occur within a generation [Tribulation 7 years].
[31] Certainty- The heavens and earth are temporary but God’s Word is infallible/eternal!
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.
3. Watch; 32-37
3. Watch; 32-37
Only the Father knows the day and hour of Christ’s return. Many people have tried to set a date for Christs’ return. It is foolish and impossible because the date of the “Rapture” is the best kept secret in the universe!
When Jesus was on earth in humanity, He is still fully God but He voluntarily accepted human limitations, giving up free exercise of divine attributes such as omniscience.
Take heed, watch, pray are three words of warning to make sure people stay alert for the return of Christ!
[34a] Warning of salvation- Jesus Christ has lay down his life for the sins of man and rose again to eternal life. He is gone for a period of time [far country/heaven] but will return, and there will be no opportunity for last-minute repentance or bargaining. If one does not accept Him now in the age of grace when He returns they will face Him in judgment. The choice that people have already made will determine their eternal destiny.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
[34 b-35] Warning of Work- In Jesus absence He has given believers work to do till He returns. We need to be faithful about His business.
8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
[36-37] Don’t Sleep/Watch- Jesus warns us not to be spiritual slugs. We need to stay alert! We can often get into a spiritual rut and get lazy in the Lord.
38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
Close;
If the Rapture were to take place today, would you go up to meet Jesus in the clouds, or would you stay behind to face the Antichrist and the Tribulation?
Will the Second Coming of Jesus be a blessing to you, or will that be the day of your doom?
If Jesus were to return today, would He find you faithfully serving Him and carrying out His will or would He find you walking with the world?
“Ready Or Not, Here He Comes!”