ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER WITH JESUS’ RETURN

 

  1. Introduction: We’re talking about the second coming of Jesus.  The second coming is not a side issue. It is a foundational Christian doctrine (teaching) (Heb 6:1-2).  Each passing day brings us closer to Jesus’ return.  We need to learn to live our lives in the light of the fact that He is coming back.
  2. The Bible has much to say about world conditions just before the Lord returns. It tells us that there will be tribulation on the earth unlike anything the world has or will ever see. Matt 24:21; II Tim 3:1
  3. The circumstances that will culminate in the trouble and tribulation of these final years before Jesus’ return won’t come out of nowhere. They’re setting up now, and our lives are going to be increasingly affected by the developing chaos.
  4. Jesus said that prior to His return men’s hearts will fail them for fear of what is happening on the earth. But He told His followers:  Now, when you see these things begin to occur, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28, Amp).
  5. The Greek word that is translated look up has the idea of being elated in joyous expectation. You can’t respond this way if you don’t know why Jesus is returning and the end result.
  6. We need to understand what is happening and why so we can deal with it and respond, not with fear, but with hope and peace of mind. Titus 2:13
  7. Jesus is coming back to bring full salvation to the world. To appreciate what this means, you have to understand the big picture or Almighty God’s ultimate plan for humanity and the earth.
  8. God created human beings to become His sons and daughters through faith in Him, and He made this world to be a home for Himself and His family. Eph 1:4-5; Ps 115:15-16; Isa 45:18
  9. When the first man sinned, a curse of corruption and death infused creation: Rom 5:12 —Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned (NLT); His sin spread death throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die (TLB).
  10. As a result, humans are disqualified from God’s family, and earth is no longer a fit forever home for God and His family. But God had a plan to recover His lost family and the family home.  He incarnated (took on flesh) and came to seek and save what He lost. Luke 19:10
  11. Jesus came to earth the first time to activate God’s plan to recover and restore the family and the family home by dying as a sacrifice for sin. Through His death and resurrection Jesus opened the way for all who put faith in Him to be cleansed of their sin and restored to God’s family.
  12. Jesus will come again in the not too distant future to restore the family home, this earth. He will remove the curse of corruption and death and restore the planet to pre-sin conditions.  He will then establish His eternal, visible kingdom on earth and live with His family forever.
  13. Jesus is coming to complete God’s plan for a family by bringing full salvation to His people. Full salvation includes resurrection of the dead and restoration of the earth. Heb 9:26-28
  14. Resurrection of the dead is the reuniting of the inward and outward parts of our makeup which separate at death. When Jesus returns, our bodies will be raised from the grave and made immortal and incorruptible, and we will live on earth forever. I Cor 15:50-57
  15. The earth will be restored to its pre-sin condition—no more disease, earthquakes, or killer storms; no more pain, suffering, loss, or death. Heaven and earth will come together, and God and His family will live together in the home He made for us. Rev 21:1-5
  16. Before He left this world, Jesus told His apostles that there will be signs that His return is near. We began to talk about those signs last week and have more to say tonight.

 

  1. Not many days before Jesus was crucified, He began to prepare His twelve apostles for the fact that He was going to return to Heaven, but assured them that He would come back to them one day. John 14:1-3
  2. These men were eyewitnesses of Jesus. They spent three and a half years listening to Him preach and teach, and watching Him perform miracles.  All of these men were Jews who were familiar with the Scriptures—what we call the Old Testament.
  3. The Old Testament is primarily the history of the Jews, the people group through whom Jesus came into this world. These books were written by prophets who spoke for Almighty God.
  4. Based on these writings, the Jews were expecting God to send a Messiah who would bring God’s kingdom to earth and restore the world. The apostles believed that Jesus was the promised One.
  5. Two days before Jesus was crucified, He told them that the Temple in Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. The apostles knew from the prophets that before the Lord sets up His eternal kingdom on earth, there will be a time of tribulation. Dan 12:1; Zech 14:1-4; etc.
  6. So they asked Jesus: Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end—that is, the completion, the consummation—of the age (Matt 24:3, Amp). (We live in the age when things aren’t the way they are supposed to be because of sin.)
  7. In answer to their question Jesus gave a number of signs. Last week we noted that the first sign He mentioned was religious deception—false Christs and false prophets who preach a false gospel, and “show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt 24:24, NKJV).
  8. These people won’t be wild-eyed and crazy. They’ll be appealing people who have abandoned the true faith (what Jesus and the apostles taught).  They reject the truth because they don’t want to submit to their Creator and obey His moral law. I Tim 4:1-2; II Tim 4:3-4
  9. To appreciate the significance of this we need to know that prior to the Lord’s return, Satan will offer the world a false Christ, a false Messiah, an anti or in place of Christ, in an attempt to prevent the rightful King from taking control of the world. II Thess 2:9-10; II Thess 2:3-4
  10. This man will be inspired and empowered by Satan, and preside over a worldwide system of government, economy, and religion. The actions of this man and the responses of the people of the world to him will produce the chaos and tribulation of these final years. Rev 13
  11. We are currently witnessing the development and rapid growth of a false religion that will eventually welcome and worship the ultimate false Christ—the final world ruler.
  12. This false religion sounds Christian because it talks about Jesus and quotes Scripture. But it’s not Jesus of the Bible (Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture).  And, it uses Bible verses out of context and twisted to say something other than the plain meaning of the text.
  13. This new religion seems much more loving, inclusive, and non-judgmental than orthodox Christianity. It proclaims that all paths lead to God, and it doesn’t really matter what you believe or how you live your life, as long as you are sincere and trying to be a good person.
  14. This religion is not only false, but because of its deemphasis on belief and behavior, and because of the worldwide web, it has the potential to become a global religion, with the capacity to draw people from many faith backgrounds, including Christianity.
  15. Talk like this sounds bizarre and seems like a science fiction move. But the development of it won’t be freaky.  It will be the natural next step in the flow of the present trajectory of the world.
  16. In recent decades, it has been infused into the thinking of much, if not most of the world, that we are all part of a global community, and that we must come together to solve world problems such as climate change, pandemics, terrorism, food and fuel shortages, inequity and injustice, etc.
  17. And when you take the religious element of the words “savior and messiah” you can see how turning power over to one man will seem reasonable and necessary. A savior saves from danger or destruction and a messiah is a professed or accepted leader of some hope or cause.
  18. In many ways, the world is already looking for a global leader. And the pandemic of 2020 demonstrated that, out of fear, people are willing to give up their freedoms to a few individuals.

 

  1. When Jesus gave His apostles the signs that will indicate His return is near, He connected this religious deception to an increase in lawlessness and a very negative change in human behavior.
  2. Jesus said: Matt 24:11-12—And many false prophets will appear and lead many people astray (NLT)… Lawlessness will flourish increasingly, and it will be characteristic of that time that men’s love for each other will grow cold (Barclay).
  3. The Greek word translated lawlessness (sin or iniquity in some translations) means without law. It is used to mean lawlessness or wickedness.  The implication is a violation of Divine Law.
  4. The ultimate source of Law is God. The term Law is used almost 200 times in the Bible to mean the revealed will of God with regard to human conduct (Unger’s Bible Dictionary).
  5. All humans have a moral obligation to obey their Creator: Eccl 12:13—Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person (NLT).  Lawlessness is ultimately a rejection of the true Law Giver.
  6. The final world ruler is called a man of lawlessness: That day (Lord’s return) will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed (II Thess 2:3, NLT).
  7. This man will have no regard for God’s Law. Rev 13:6—He will speak terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and all who live in heaven (NLT).
  8. People will exhibit the same traits as the new leader: II Tim 3:1-5—In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves…scoffing at God…They will consider nothing sacred.  They will be unloving and unforgiving (without natural affection, KJV)…will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good.  They will betray their friends and love pleasure more than God.  They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly (NLT).
  9. To appreciate the magnitude of what will happen as the world increasingly abandons their Creator (the Lord Jesus), we have to understand several points.
  10. Sin, lawlessness, wickedness has been present in the world since Adam’s son firstborn son Cain, killed his brother Abel out of jealousy. But there have been restraints on sin, due to a general

acceptance of Judeo-Christian values.  These values have had a stabilizing effect on society.

  1. Christianity changed the world as it grew from a handful of followers in Israel to millions of believers around the world. It influenced the development of western civilization.  Even people who don’t believe in God or Jesus have been impacted in some way by its influence.
  2. Secular Roman society was infused with Judeo-Christian values and morality. The elevation of women and children, the establishment of orphanages, hospitals, charitable and relief groups, all trace to Christians who obeyed Jesus’ command to love God and love others.
  3. Schools, colleges, and universities were established on the foundation of Judeo-Christian values and morality. Concepts of law and justice, art, music and literature were all influenced by and infused with these values as Christianity spread to Europe and beyond.
  4. Western civilization, which was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and morality, produced the industrial revolution which led to technological developments that changed the world.
  5. God’s Law (expressed through Judeo-Christian values) has been the foundation of society in the western world for two thousand years. But that is rapidly changing as the West rejects God’s Law.
  6. Over that last four or five decades (since the counterculture revolution of the sixties) the West has increasingly abandoned and even demonized Judeo-Christian values, ethics, and morality, and, in many cases, openly defies Almighty God.
  7. The idea that there is an ultimate or absolute reality or Truth (Almighty God) has largely been abandoned for feelings supersede facts: That’s your truth; this is my truth. I’m living my truth.
  8. Failure to adhere to and uphold the two millennia old agreed upon standard in society (Judeo- Christian values) is now producing increasing confusion, chaos, and lawlessness throughout our country, and much of the western world. And, it’s only going to get worse.
  9. The Lord said this would happen. When people abandon their Creator, it leads to increasingly debased behavior.  Paul the apostle described what happens when men and women reject the knowledge of God in a letter that he wrote to Christians living in the city of Rome. Rom 1:18-32
  10. Paul wrote about how God deals with those who willfully reject Him. He gives them over to the consequences or effects of their behavior. Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28
  11. Human beings truly have free will, and God’s response is: I force no one to serve Me.  If you don’t want Me, you can have what you want, along with the end result of your choice, which is a reprobate mind—a mind unable to make decisions in its own best interest. Rom 1:28

 

  1. Conclusion: Jesus gave these signs as part of a lengthy discourse (lessons for another day).  In addition to telling His followers to be elated in joyous expectation when these signs begin to come to pass, He told them to heed or take note of these signs—and don’t be moved by what you see.
  2. Matt 24:4—Take heed that no one deceives you (lures you away) (NKJV). Luke 21:34-35—Take heed to yourselves (NKJV).  Don’t let me find you living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of life.  Don’t let that day (My return) catch you unaware (NLT).
  3. If ever there was a time to know who Jesus is according to the Bible, it’s now. But there is more to it.  Even if you can’t be lured away from Jesus to another god, are you embracing ideas and behaviors that make you a less effective representative of Jesus?
  4. Paul told Christians to keep their priorities right: The time that remains is short…Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work (I Cor 7:29-30, NLT).
  5. What is God’s work for you? As you live your life, be the brightest light and most accurate representation of the Lord Jesus that you can be.  And remember that eternal things matter more than temporal things.  Instead of railing about people who make reprobate decisions, pray for them.  Pray that they would come to saving knowledge of Jesus.
  6. Paul went on to say: I Cor 7:31—Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without become attached to them (NLT).  For this world in its present form is passing away (NIV).  Live with the awareness that this is all temporary.
  7. Not only should we be aware of and on alert for false gospels and increasing lawlessness, we need to live expecting Jesus. Jesus’ first message to His followers after returning to Heaven was, I’ll be back (Acts 1:9-11).  Why did He say this when He knew He wasn’t coming back in their lifetime?
  8. He wanted those Christians, and every generation since then, to have the hope that comes from knowing that the world won’t always be the way it is now. There will be restoration, renewal, and recompense when Jesus returns, and life on earth will finally be all that we long for it to be.
  9. God wants us to live with the awareness that He will get us through until He gets us out. Paul wrote to Christians:  I Cor 1:7-8—Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will keep you strong right up to the end, and he will keep you free from all blame on that great day when our Lord return (NLT).
  10. Paul exhorted a group of Christians who were experiencing increasingly persecution and difficulties because of their faith, to encourage each other by reminding each other that Jesus is coming back.
  11. Heb 10:25—Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near (NLT).
  12. This verse is often used to say you need to be in church every time the door is open. But that’s not what Paul meant.  These people were facing persecution and some were isolating themselves from other believers.  But Paul urged them to meet together so that they could encourage each other with the reality that Jesus will return and these troubles and hardships are all temporary.
  13. It’s not what you see that overwhelms you, it’s how you see what you see. As increasing chaos comes to this world, remind yourself that Jesus is coming with full salvation.  More next week!