The Second Coming
Since Christ returned to Heaven: many people have been predicting the time and date of the second coming, but so far they’ve all been wrong. William Miller, the leader of the Millerites: expected the Second Coming of Jesus to occur on April 28 or at the end of 1843. - When the prediction failed, William miller predicted another date, Mar 21, 1844, Another false prophet, Mother Shipton claimed that the world would end in 1881: she said “The world to an end shall come. In eighteen hundred and eighty one”. In 1870, Wendell published his views in the booklet concluding that the Second Advent was sure to occur in 1873. Ed Dobson, Timothy Dwight IV, Edgar Cayce, Isaac Newton: All predicted the year 2000 would be the end. In 2001, Harold Camping claimed: - that the Rapture and Judgment Day would occur on May 21, 2011.
All these people have at least 2 things in common: 1 they were terrible at making predictions. 2 they were not good students of the Bible, or they would have known…. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return Matthew 24:36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Only God the Father knows the day and hour of the 2nd Coming:
The angels don’t know. Not even Jesus knows when the 2nd coming will be. Only God knows, I don’t know, you don’t know. If Jesus doesn’t have that piece of information, If it’s not on His calendar, How could anyone be so BOLD as to tell us when Jesus will return?? Only the Father knows when Jesus will return
Now many will pay the price for ignoring the salvation that Jesus bring. Matthew 24:37-39 “ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Peter calls Noah a preacher of righteousness. - Noah’s message was simple, REPENT or you are going to die. - But they did not repent, and they died. - They could have been saved, but ignored their salvation. - That was right in front of them. - After all, it’s hard to miss a man building a giant boat in the desert for a 120 years. Though the people had heard the message, they DID not HEED the message..
We are living in the days like that of NOAH: abortion is rife, - Sexual sin and sexual abuse are widespread. - God is mocked, and His word is dismissed. - Pleasure, entertainment and shopping take the place of Holy worship. - Apathy and indifference are widespread in society concerning spiritual matters and salvation. The second Coming is going to be a surprise to some: - Not ONLY because of the surprise timing, But because SOME of us are NOT prepared to meet the Lord… Jesus said: 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” – Matthew 7:21-23 Salvation is an open invitation, but it’s a limited time offer:
- God is loving, God is forgiving, God is merciful, - God is all that, but He is also Just: He will not let sin go unpunished, Hebrews 9:22 reminds us, “22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness..” No sinful thing can be near God: God lives in heaven, so we can’t be near God in heaven if we are sinners, the bad news is that we are sinners, and separated from God by our SIN
The Good News is that Jesus died on the Cross, shed His blood for your SIN, And in a short while: - in the near future, - it could be today, - Jesus is returning and JUDGEMENT IS COMING. In Matthew 7:13-14 TELLS US TO “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
John 10:9 Jesus says “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” Jesus is the way to salvation, and many will die because they ignored that salvation.1. Only the Father knows when Jesus will return. 2. Many will pay the price for ignoring the salvation of Jesus. 3. In the Judgment there will be a separation Matthew 24:40-41 “ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” This is a separation that will occur when Jesus returns: - there were two and then there is one
So Jesus warns us in (Matthew 24:42-44) 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” The thing about thieves is they never call and make a reservation: - You just can’t predict when they are coming - So you prepare with this in mind. They could come at any time
In the same way, since we don’t know when Jesus is coming: - We should stay vigilant in Bible study and prayer, - We should keep steady in our obedience and faithfulness. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 says
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ...” In short: We take Jesus seriously when He says He’s coming unexpectedly.
But a lot of people, I’ll even say the MAJORITY of people are playing games with God: They are lukewarm and lazy in their christian commitment. It is interesting that of all the many people that seldom attend church I have visited in my ministry over the years only a handful have argued against the christian faith. I suspect that many people know that the christian faith is true but that they are putting themselves first in their priorities and God second in their lives.