THE HOPE OF FULL SALVATION

 

  1. Introduction: We are working on a series about the second coming of Jesus and have more to say tonight.  The second coming is not a side issue.  It is a foundational Christian doctrine (Heb 6:1-2).  Living with the awareness that Jesus is returning is a tremendous source of hope in this broken world.
  2. Jesus’ first message to His followers after He left this world was that He will return at the end of this age (Acts 1:9-11). We now live in the age when things are not the way they are supposed to be.
    1. This world is filled with pain, loss, hardship, calamity, catastrophe, and death. It isn’t supposed to be this way—and it won’t always be the way it is now.  It will end when Jesus returns.
  3. Jesus is coming back to complete God’s plan for humanity. This is God’s plan:  He created human beings to live in loving relationship with Him as His sons and daughters.  And, He made the earth to be a home for Himself and His family. Eph 1:4-5; Ps 115:15-16; etc.
  4. Both the family and the family home have been damaged by sin, beginning with the first man Adam’s sin. Jesus came the first time to die as a sacrifice for sin and open the way for men and women to be restored to God’s family.  He will come again to cleanse and restore the family home, and God and His family will live here forever. Rom 5:12; I Pet 3:18; Rev 21-22
  5. The first Christians lived with the awareness that Jesus will return. They understood that Jesus is coming to complete God’s plan of redemption by bringing full salvation to this world.
  6. Heb 9:26-28—(Jesus) came once for all time, at the end of the age, to remove the power of sin forever by his sacrificial death for us (NLT)…(He) will appear a second time, not carrying any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring full salvation to those who are (eagerly, constantly and patiently) waiting for and expecting Him (Amp).
  7. Full salvation includes resurrection of the dead and restoration of the earth to pre-sin conditions, so we can live forever with God our Father in the home He created for us.
  8. Second coming is actually a broad term that includes a number of events which will happen over a period of time at the end of this age. People either know little or nothing about Jesus’ return, or are so focused on individual events, which are not clearly spelled out yet, that they miss the big picture.
  9. The fact that Jesus is coming back should affect both our perspective and our behavior, because we’re only passing through this world in its present form. I Cor 7:31; I Pet 1:17; I Pet 2:11
  10. Our goal in this series is not to do a detailed study of specific events, but rather to help us see the big picture (God’s overall plan), and learn to live with the awareness that what is ahead far outshines anything we deal with now. This perspective will give us peace of mind and hope as conditions in the world deteriorate. Rom 8:18

 

  1. Jesus’ second coming will affect the entire human race, not just those on earth when He returns. At His coming all who have died, going back to Adam, will be reunited with their bodies raised from the grave.
  2. Those who belong to God will return to earth from Heaven to live here forever once it is restored. Those who have rejected God’s offer of salvation, and are in Hell, will be forever separated from God and His family in a place called the lake of fire or the second death (lessons for another day).
  3. But there will be people alive on earth when Jesus returns, and they will be affected in a unique way. They will experience tribulation unlike anything the world has ever seen. Matt 24:21-22
  4. The Bible gives much information about this final period of human history at the end of the age. Before Jesus returns, Satan will offer the world a false Christ, a false Messiah, in an attempt to stop the rightful King from taking control of the world. II Thess 2:9-10; 2:2-4
  5. This man will be 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 of human history.  The worst of it will be right at the very end when a world war (WWIII) takes place. Rev 6:1-14
    1. Talk like this sounds like a freaky science fiction movie. But this setup it won’t be bizarre.  It will be the natural next step in the flow of the present trajectory of this world.
  6. For two thousand years Judeo-Christian values have been the foundation of society in the western world. These values have had a stabilizing effect on the world in general.
  7. But in recent decades the West has increasingly abandoned Judeo-Christian values, ethics, and morality. This failure to adhere to and uphold this two thousand old agreed upon standard in society is producing increasing confusion, chaos, and lawlessness throughout our country, and much of the western world.  And, it’s only going to get worse.
    1. It is the nature of sin to get worse and worse. Sin deceives and sin hardens.  The apostle Paul described a downward spiral that begins when people willfully reject the knowledge of God and His standards of morality.  It leads to increasingly debased behavior and a reprobate mind—a mind unable to make decisions in its own best interests. Heb 3:13; Rom 1:18-32
    2. Just before Jesus was crucified His apostles asked Him what sign will indicate that His return and the end of this age is at hand. Jesus gave a number of signs including the coming of false Christs, who will lead many astray, and increased lawlessness (rejection of God’s Law). Matt 24:4-5; 11-12
  8. Jesus compared these signs to birth pains. The pains of childbirth start out slowly and far apart.  But as the birth draws near, they increase in frequency and intensity.  Jesus told the apostles that:  With all these things (these signs) the birth-pangs of a new age begin (Matt 24:8, NEB).
  9. Jesus also said that men’s hearts will fail them for fear of what is happening on the earth. But He urged His followers:  When these things begin to occur, look up (be elated in joyous expectation) and lift up your heads because your redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28, Amp).
  10. You can’t respond this way if you don’t see the big picture—God’s full plan for humanity.
  11. Jesus told His followers to take heed of (pay attention to) these signs so that they won’t be deceived or led astray or moved by what they see happening to the world.
  12. Jesus said: 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 (Luke 21:34-35, NLT).

3,   The men who wrote the New Testament were eyewitnesses of Jesus, and they expected the Lord to return in their lifetimes.  That is reflected in their writings.

  1. In their epistles (letters) they warned Christians about false teachers, false gospels, and rebellion against God (lawlessness). II Tim 3:1-5; II Pet 2:1; II Pet 3:3; Jude 4; Jude 17-18; II Pet 2:1; etc.
  2. They urged Christians to keep their eyes on the big picture (God’s unfolding plan of salvation) and to keep their priorities right.

1,   The eyewitnesses reminding Christians that everything in life is temporary and passing away, and eternal things matter more than temporal things.  So stay faithful to Jesus and pray for people come to saving knowledge of Jesus. I Cor 7:29-31; II Cor 4:17-18

  1. II Pet 3:12—So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and look forward to the coming day of God (NCV).
  2. Peter the apostle wrote to Christians who were experiencing hardship and persecution. To give them hope, he reminded them of the present and future aspects of the salvation that God provided for them through Jesus.
  3. I Pet 1:3-5—God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.  For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for his children.  It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay…It will be revealed on the last day (the end of the age) for all to see (NLT).
  4. I Pet 1:10-12—This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it could all mean…They were told these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during yours…It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen (NLT).
  5. I Pet 1:13—So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the special blessings that will come to you at the return of Jesus Christ (NLT).  Put your hope completely in the grace that will be given to you when Jesus Christ returns (NIRV).
  6. Two Greek words are used for Jesus’ return. Peter used the word apokalupsis which means to take the cover off of, to reveal.  We get our English word apocalypse from this word.
  7. In popular culture, apocalypse has come to mean cataclysmic destruction at the end of the world. But that’s not how the Bible uses the word.  It is used for the full disclosure or the revelation of God’s plan of redemption accomplished through Jesus—full salvation.

 

  1. Paul gives us a lot of information about the years leading up to Jesus’ return, especially in two epistles that he wrote to Christians living in the Greek city of Thessalonica. Paul established the church, but was forced to leave the city after only three weeks when persecution broke out. Acts 17
  2. We know from these two letters that, even though Paul was only in the city for a short time, the second coming of Jesus was a part of the gospel that he preached. I Thess 1:9-10
  3. After Paul left the city, word reached him that the believers had questions about the Lord’s return. Among other things, they were concerned about Christians who die before Jesus returns.  Will they lose out on the blessings of Christ’s second coming because they died?  Paul wrote:
  4. I Thess 4:13-14—Brothers and sisters, I want you to know what happens to the Christians who have died so that you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope…when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died (NLT).
  5. I Thess 4:15-16—I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.
  6. I Thess 4:16-18—First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.  So comfort and encourage each other with these words (NLT).
  7. Paul assured his readers that those who have died have not ceased to exist. And, when the Lord returns, these people will be with Him and be reunited with their bodies raised from the grave.
  8. Paul elaborated on what this means in I Cor 15:50-52—These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever. But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us.  Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed.  It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown.  When the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies.  And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die (NLT).
  9. To further encourage the Thessalonians, Paul wrote that Jesus Himself told me those who have died will be reunited with their raised bodies even before ours are changed. Then we who are alive will be snatched up to join them and the Lord—never to be separated again.
  10. Notice that Jesus won’t come to earth at this point. He will take believers off the earth and back to Heaven with Him.  The Bible strongly indicates that Christians will be taken off the earth prior to the worst of the tribulation at the end of this age (lessons for another day),
  11. You may remember that at the Last Supper, as Jesus prepared His apostles for the fact that He was going back to Heaven, He assured them that He was going to prepare a place for them, and: When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am (John 14:3, NLT).  However, Jesus will not remain in Heaven forever.
  12. In connection with His return, Jesus will establish God’s visible, eternal kingdom on earth. Heaven and earth will come together, and He will bring His family with Him to live here forever.  And we will be where He is forever. Rev 21-22

2,   Paul urged the Thessalonians to comfort (exhort) and encourage each other with this information.  Then he continued his instructions to them.

  1. I Thess 5:1-3—I really don’t need to write to you about how and when this all will happen, for you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “All is well; everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman’s birth pains begin when her child is about to be born.  And there will be no escape (NLT).
  2. When Paul wrote this letter, the term second coming was not in use yet. They referred to is Jesus’ coming to establish His kingdom on earth as the day of the Lord.  This was a term used by the Old Testament prophets to mean the time when God comes to take control of this world and bring blessing to His people and judgment to the enemies of His people.
  3. Paul’s point to the Thessalonians was that, despite worsening conditions in the world, many people will be unaware of what is about to happen, even though there are signs that Jesus’ return is near. Not everyone will see those signs because they aren’t looking for His return.
  4. Paul continued: I Thess 5:4-5—But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief.  For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night (NLT).
  5. Notice, Paul reminds them that there are two groups of people in the world—children of the light and children of the dark—those who belong to God and those who don’t.
  6. We noted in an earlier lesson that when Jesus returns there will be a permanent separation of the righteous (those who belong to God) from the unrighteous (those who don’t).  Jesus told a number of parables about this. Matt 13:24-30; Matt 13:37-43; Matt 13:47-51; etc.

3,   Permanently removing all that hurts and harms (including rebellious, wicked people) is part of restoring the earth.  This theme runs throughout the Scriptures. Ps 1:4-6; Rev 11:18.

  1. Paul concluded: I Thess 5:6-11—So be on your guard… stay alert and be sober…(We wear as a helmet) the confidence (hope) of our salvation.  For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger (wrath) on us.  He died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing (NLT).
  2. Paul said: Pay attention and encourage each other.  When you see the labor pains of the new age, understand what is going on and keep your focus on the end result—full salvation.
  3. We who are alive now will see increasingly challenging and disturbing times that can generate fear and worry. But, the protection rom worrisome thoughts and fears (or helmet for our head) is the hope of full salvation—the end result.

 

  1. Conclusion: The second coming of Jesus will mean the completion of God’s plan to forever deliver His entire family and the family home from sin, corruption, and death.  Consider these two thoughts.
  2. The big picture is more important that the details of specific events. The point is not to figure out the details, many of which are unknown.  The point is, set and keep your mind on the big picture.
  3. Jesus came at the right time the first time, according to the plan (Gal 4:4). And He will return to complete the plan at the right time.  Eph 1:10—When the time is right, God will do all that he planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth (CEV).  More next week!!