Savage Street Church of Christ

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07_01_2018_FiveQuestionsOnTheSecondComingOfChrist_DonRuhl

Five Questions on the Second Coming of Christ

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • July 1, In the year of our Lord, 2018

Prelude:

1. Colonel Davenport, Speaker of the Connecticut house of Representatives
   1. in the late 18th century, put the Judgment in proper perspective.
   2. One day in 1789,
      1. the sky of Hartford darkened menacingly, and
      2. some of the representatives,
         1. glancing out the windows,
         2. feared the end was at hand.
   3. They wanted to adjourn the session.
      1. Davenport rose and said,
         
         “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.”
         
   4. Rather than fearing the end,
      1. let us be faithful Christians when Christ returns.
      2. Rather than fearing the end, let us delight in its prospect.
   5. It was awareness of the Second Coming of Christ
      1. that Colonel Davenport so spoke.
      2. His point was what do we want the Lord to find us doing when He returns?
2. Shall we be watching the clock or playing the game?
   1. In the 1987 NCAA Regional Finals,
      1. LSU was leading Indiana by eight points
         1. with only a few minutes left in the game.
      2. LSU began playing a different game.
         1. The television announcer pointed out
            1. that the LSU players were beginning to watch the clock
            2. rather than wholeheartedly playing the game.
         2. As a result of this shift in focus,
            1. Indiana closed the gap,
            2. won the game by a point,
               1. and later became NCAA champions.
   2. As we wait the return of Jesus,
      1. we are not to watch the clock but
      2. we are to be diligent servants until the end.
3. Remember that there is an end coming.
   1. Some are tempted in the opposite way from what I just illustrated.
      1. They believe the end will never come.
      2. Whatever your belief, it affects the way you live.
   2. We might be tempted to think that things will continue as they always have.
   3. Peter showed in his Second Letter
      1. that this problem existed in the first century.
      2. In Second Peter 3 the apostle turned his attention
         1. to the Second Coming of Christ,
         2. warning about scoffers.
            
            1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2Pe 3.1–4).
            
            1. Why do these people scoff?
               1. They challenge the Lord’s faithfulness
               2. to His promise.
            2. What is their reasoning?
               1. Nothing has changed.
               2. Therefore, nothing will change.
            3. This thinking leads to ungodly living.
   4. Knowing that an end is coming and
      1. that after the end there is a Judgment,
      2. keeps us sharp spiritually.
      3. This is what Peter continued to argue.
         1. He explained that things changed in the past.
            1. He also explained why the Lord has not returned.
            2. Then Peter revealed that the Second Coming will be sudden.
         2. That being the case, in verses 11 and 12
            1. he made us think of the way we should be living.
               
               11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2Pe 3.11–12).
               
            2. He asked a question, but
               1. in it is the answer.
               2. Look carefully at verse 11.
4. Let us ponder the return of our Lord.

Persuasion:

1. Can the Lord come at anytime?
   1. While the date-setters are wrong,
      1. it is still the truth
      2. that Jesus can return at any time.
         1. To say that we do not know if it will be tomorrow,
         2. does not mean that it will not be tomorrow.
            1. To say that it cannot be tomorrow,
            2. would be just as wrong as the date-setters to the other extreme.
   2. God left the date unknowable.
      1. That He will return is indisputable.
      2. When He will return is disputable.
   3. Why has He done this?
      1. In Luke 12 Jesus gave two parables
         1. to show the unexpectedness of the time of His return.
            
            35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12.35–40).
            
      2. In verses 35–38 Jesus compared His return to that of a wedding master.
         1. He goes away to a wedding, but has not stated when He will return.
            1. It is the job of the servants to be prepared for his return.
            2. The servants do not need to know the time.
               1. He is off enjoying the wedding and
               2. does not want to be restricted
                  1. by having to be back at a certain time
                  2. for the convenience of his servants.
         2. When He returns
            1. He expects His servants
            2. to be ready to serve Him.
         3. In verse 39 Jesus used another parable
            1. to show that we have no idea when He will return.
            2. Does anyone ever know when a thief is going to strike?
         4. Then in verse 40
            1. Jesus made the application for us from His parables.
            2. Be ready at any time, because
               1. He is coming at a time when we do not expect Him.
               2. He knows that we have our own ideas about His timing.
            3. Let us not busy ourselves trying to figure out the time.
   4. After hearing these things,
      1. Peter wondered to whom the Lord spoke the parable.
         
         41 Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12.41–48).
         
         1. Jesus applied the parable to everyone.
         2. Jesus knows our temptation to think
            1. that after much time has passed we will think
            2. He will keep delaying.
         3. He knows our temptation will go further and we will live a life of sin.
   5. Do not do it.
   6. This leads to our second question.
2. Can He come today?
   1. Hopefully you have it firm in your mind that He can return at any time.
   2. Today is not excluded.
   3. I am asking you this question.
      1. Do you think
      2. He could come today?
         1. Your first response might be to say
         2. that we do not know,
            1. based on the very information from the Scriptures
            2. that I just gave you.
   4. Yet, we might delude ourselves into believing
      1. that it cannot be today.
      2. Do we expect to sense something,
         1. like it is said about animals expecting an earthquake or storm?
         2. Perhaps we reason that things have to get much worse or much better.
      3. People say all the time:
         1. Will there not be wars and rumors of wars?
         2. Will there not be
            1. famines,
            2. pestilences, and
            3. earthquakes?
         3. Will not the love of many grow cold?
            1. Remember what I just showed you from the New Testament
            2. that there will be no signs.
               1. Also, those signs are ones Jesus gave
               2. of the destruction of Jerusalem fulfilled in AD 70.
3. Will He come today?
   1. The first two questions dealt with the ability of the Lord to return.
   2. Here it is the possibility.
   3. Is there any truth violated in Scripture if He returned today?
      1. What is delaying Him?
      2. What if He does return today?
      3. Am I ready to see Him?
4. Do you want Him to come today?
   1. This is more personal.
      1. To acknowledge that you know He could return today
      2. does not mean that you want Him to return.
   2. The second to last verse of the Bible
      1. appropriately addresses the Second Coming of Christ,
         1. speaking of it in a positive light
         2. from the vantage of a faithful Christian.
            
            20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Rev 22.20).
            
      2. Why did John eagerly “Amen” the words of Jesus that He come?
         1. Why are we Christians in the first place?
         2. Is it not to be saved from this home of evil and sorrow?
         3. If the Lord returns now,
            1. I do not have to wait until death
            2. to join Him in heaven!
   3. Second Timothy 4 promises that the crown we hope to receive
      1. is only for certain people.
      2. Are you in that class?
         
         8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).
         
         1. He who does not love the return of Jesus,
         2. will be kept back from this promise.
   4. Hebrews 9 also promises
      1. that Jesus will appear to a certain group of people.
      2. True, everyone will see Jesus at His return, but
         1. it will be a terrifying sight for most of the world.
         2. This passage speaks of His appearing as a welcomed sight.
            
            28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Heb. 9:28).
            
   5. First Corinthians 16 has a short prayer pertaining to the Lord’s return.
      1. Some translations have “Maranatha.”
      2. If yours does, you will see the meaning of it when I read from the NKJV.
         
         22 If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! {Aramaic Maranatha} (1 Cor. 16:22).
         
         1. Have you uttered that expression?
         2. Have you prayed to God that He would send Jesus soon?
5. If you do not want Jesus to come today, why not?
   1. If you cannot speak with John in Revelation 22, why not?
   2. What is wrong?
      1. Are there some things you need to take care of first?
      2. Are you living in sin?
   3. Does the unknown frighten you?

Exhortation:

1. If you need to learn more,
   1. let us teach you.
2. If you need to repent,
   1. do it now.