Matthew 113
(Chapter 24)
Are we in the end times
Part-6: The second coming
Matthew 24:29–35 (ESV)
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.
30Then 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.
31And 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.
32“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
33So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
34Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The great Return of Jesus!
· He left as a lamb
· But He will return as a lion
· And in a flash, everything
· Life as we know it will change
He answers the question: How will we know?
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.
· These are likely metaphorical in nature
o But probably good descriptors
o I am sure we can’t fathom in our wildest imaginations what it will look like
· But I can tell you this
· For the elect the ones who endured, who turned their life around
o It will be a glorious day!
· And for the ones who didn’t heed all the warnings from the tribulation
o It will be a very scary time of reckoning
o Time has run out, no more opportunity, no more grace
o Just wrath and judgment!
Again, it leads me to this:
· Take a minute and think about the ones you love
· The ones that don’t know Jesus
· What happens to them
· Are you worried every day that they don’t know Jesus??
The great king returns
30Then 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.
· Who will mourn??
o Some say that Jesus is talking about Israel
o That they will mourn not ever accepting the truth of Jesus
· This is a better description of His return
Revelation 19:11–16 (ESV)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
· He left like this (SLIDE)
· He will return like this (SLIDE)
o One day the earth will be held accountable
§ One day judgment is coming
§ The wrath of God will be poured out
Are you, are we ready??
31And 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.
· Are you ready for God to call us all home??
· Have you shared the gospel with everyone you would want to?
· Are you ok with leaving them all behind??
· If not, then let’s keep working hard at the harvest! Praying that God will give us more time!
Live like He is coming tomorrow, work like He is not!
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.
· When stuff that Jesus has been talking about for the last 2 chapters starts to happen, we are to know He could return at any time!
· That these are some of the signs
· That we should be prepared
o On guard
o On the lookout
· And that we should be diligent in carrying out His commands, His mission
o Learn from His example
§ Follow Him
§ Grow in Him (together)
§ Fellowship with each other
§ Take care of each other
o Be ready for His return
§ Be a light to a dark world
§ Go and make disciples
§ Love each other the way He loved us, to show the world who Jesus is
I think Jesus lied to me!
34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
· “all these things” in v. 34 must refer to “all these things” of v. 33,
· which shows that Christ’s return is near[1]
· Jesus is saying upon my ascension, that is the start of the beginning of the end
· That we must be prepared always
· And I can't stress that enough
· Be prepared always
I love these words from Paul:
2 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV)
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Jesus’s word is forever!
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
· Verse 35 concludes the first half of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives
· Jesus is stressing the certainty of everything that He just outlined.
· He is making it crystal clear that from that moment on, the end of the age, signaled by Christ’s return, can come at any time.
· That His words will endure even longer than the universe itself,
· That this earth will be destroyed and re-created, but His word is unchangeable!
· And that is where we need to find out comfort in these final days!
o That His word is true
o His word is final
o His word is forever!
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