Morning. Alright, we're going
to be in Mark 13. Mark 13, and we'll be looking
at verses 24 through 27. Now our Lord here is speaking
of his second coming. And when he returns to the earth,
this second time, he's going to gather his people to himself
and then commence the final judgment of the earth. And our Lord, he
promises his return, if you look there at verse 26, Mark 13, 26,
he says, and then shall they see the Son of Man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory. Now, let me just again
point out that we recognize that here in Mark 13, which is a companion
scripture to Matthew 24 and Luke 21, here in this passage, the
Lord is speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction
of the Temple, the destruction of the nation of Israel. That's true, and in the day,
in that day when the Jews looked and they saw the cloud of destruction
descending upon them, because they had heard it, the Christians
were taught this by the Lord that Jerusalem was going to be
destroyed. He warned them and they spoke
of these things, but the unbelieving Jews heard it and didn't believe.
So they didn't flee Jerusalem when they saw the Roman army
surrounding Jerusalem. And then when it drew back, for
some reason, historically, they don't know why, but the army
drew back, the Christians fled, and no one else did, and then
the army came in and destroyed them, just as the Lord had said.
So when they saw that cloud, They knew this is those words
that the Lord had spoken of that we rejected and would not believe. And so they knew this was their
judgment coming upon them as prophesied by the Lord Jesus
Christ. For they're crucifying him and
rejecting him as their Lord and Savior. But understand here that
the Lord is speaking of his second coming. He is also speaking of
his second coming here, so that even now, we that hear him, we
that look for him, there ought to be an anticipation stirred
up in our hearts, looking for, and waiting for, and hoping for
the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So today, what
we'll do is look at the glory of Christ's second coming. And
our title is Christ Comes Again. Christ Comes Again. And we'll
have just two divisions. And the first division, this
is by no means an exhaustive study of the Lord's second coming,
of his return, but what I want us to see is how that the Lord's
second coming is pictured or seen in the Lord's first coming
to his people in salvation. The language we see here is also
the language that we have given to us in the Lord's first coming
to us when he saves us and delivers us so that when he comes again,
we won't be as the wicked who have never heard his voice and
don't believe him or trust him. They'll be terrified, but he's
already done this for us. We're already safe and secure
in our Savior. So that's going to be what we'll
look at in the Lord's second coming here. And the second point
is our gathering unto him, which is really very similar to what
we will have looked at in the first point, where we'll see
that second coming is all pictured in the Lord's first coming to
us in salvation. All right, so that's where we're
going to begin. In this passage we see Christ's coming again
is pictured in the salvation of his people. Look at Mark 13
verses 24 and 25. Mark 13, 24 and 25. But in those
days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall
fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. Now, this is describing a most
serious event, and a terrifying event, when we shall see those
natural things flee before the presence of Christ when he returns
to the earth. And when Christ returns, we understand,
according to the scriptures, that he's going to set all things
right. Christ will do that which is
right, and he's going to set all things right. In Romans 8.22,
I'll read it, he says, For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And that
is mostly speaking of this creation, the flesh here, groans because
it's wicked. There's nothing there that is
righteous and it waits for that redemption when Christ returns. But his coming, his second coming
is going to bring an end to this world and the kingdoms as we
know it. As we know it and understand
it in the flesh here now, these things will all come to an end.
They have their appointed time in which they will be done away
with and Christ will set all things right. Now when looking
at Christ's second coming, What we should understand is that
when Christ first came, when he first came to the earth, it
was for the purpose of putting away the sin of his people. That's
why Christ came, to put away the sin of his people. Turn over to Hebrews 9. Hebrews
9, and we'll look at two verses. Hebrews 9, 27 and 28. We're told, as it is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. And so every one of us by nature,
as we've been seeing, every one of us by nature is worthy of
the just judgment of God. And we are condemned in ourselves
because of our sin. And our works don't free us or
make right what we've done in the flesh. We can't save ourselves,
we're worthy of hell and damnation. But Christ was sent to put away
sin, to deliver his people from the coming judgment of God. He
put away their sin, he bore their debt, he did for them which they
could not do for themselves, so that when the Lord returns,
to judge the world, they won't be caught up and judged with
the rest of the world because of their sin. All right? So Christ
came to make his people righteous, to make them so that they are
fit to stand before the throne of God as flawless in that day. Christ came to give life to his
people, because naturally we don't come forth with life and
an understanding of the things of God. and we don't know how
to make ourselves righteous. So Christ was manifest to give
life and to give light to his people whereby we know him and
are made right before our God. And so Christ ever lives. to
make intercession for his people before the throne of God. He's
ever pleading for their deliverance, meaning that because of Christ,
God shall not judge us and destroy this earth until every one of
his people is brought into the kingdom of salvation, into the
kingdom of Christ. It says in 1 John 2, 1 and 2,
he said, my little children, These things write I unto you
that ye sin not. We're not to just say, all right,
well, then I'm going to go do what I'm going to do, what I
want to do in the flesh. But he says these things because
if any one of us sins, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus
Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins. That fancy word propitiation
is he is the means of our forgiveness. He is the reason why God forgives
sinners. That's why he provided Christ
that he might be merciful and just to forgive us of our sins
because he put them away in in His Son, Jesus Christ. And not for ours only, not just
us Jews and the nation of the Jews, but also for the sins of
the whole world. So that this mercy has come out
to the Gentiles as well. That we too are under that same
blood and under that covenant between the Father and the Son.
Alright, so now when Christ returns, it'll be to consummate His great
work. to consummate, or to complete
it, to finish the whole thing and to bring it to a nice, tidy,
and complete end. He's going to end it all when
He returns, alright? And we'll go on living with Him
forever and ever. Now, what I want to do right
here is show you the similarity that in Christ's coming, the
language and the words used in Christ's coming, these we see
and understand and know them because this is how Christ came
to us in salvation when he first comes to the sinner and reveals
himself to the sinner and gives them life in himself. So let's look there at Mark 13
and look again at verses 24 and 25 with me and then we'll go
forward. But in those days, after that
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken." So the Lord As you
read his word with the Spirit of Christ, as the Lord opens
this word to you, so that it's not just a locked book of religious
things, whereby we don't understand what we're reading, but as the
Lord opens this up to you, you see that the scriptures are revealing
to you how the Lord saves his people, how he gives them life,
and what he's revealing to them and teaching them about themselves,
that we're all sinners, and that he is light and life, and that
there's our salvation. He's our deliverance there. And it begins, that preparation,
that teaching, that instruction, it actually begins in creation. In creation. Just as God created
the heavens and the earth, so God creates in his people the
new man. a new man, whereby we know him,
and understand him, and believe him, and trust him, and wait
for his return. Alright, so even in creation,
what we see is typified in creation, or what creation typifies to
us, is that God creates. He gives life and light. And
so when God said in creation, let there be light, So it is
in our hearts, in the new man that God creates. He says, let
there be light. And the Apostle Paul, he was
comparing these two events of creation and when the Lord created
heaven and the earth and when the Lord creates a new man in
us. And he said in 2 Corinthians 4-6, for God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Alright, so what he's teaching
us and what he shows us throughout the scriptures is we are darkness,
we all come forth in darkness and not understanding the things
of God. But God shines His light, He
reveals to us by His Spirit that we're darkness, and He wakes
us up and makes us to know I'm in darkness, but there's the
light. And He draws us to Christ the light and reveals to us that
He is very salvation, and He is very life, and He brings us
to him whereby we draw all that life and nourishment and liberty
in the Lord Jesus Christ, delivering us from just religious, dead
religious things and that prison of darkness in this flesh, alright?
So, because he does that with creation, so it is no surprise
to us that he does it also with the second coming when things
are being wrapped up. Turn over to Isaiah 60. Isaiah
60. Verse 18 we'll go to, and we'll
read down verse 21 together. But Isaiah 60 verse 18, here
again we see that what we've read in Mark 13 24 and 25, That's, it's picturing for us
the salvation that we've received in Christ, all right? So, verse
18. Violence shall no more be heard
in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders, but thou
shalt call thy wall salvation, and thy gates praise. Well, this
is very similar to the language we heard in Isaiah 26, right?
On Wednesday, it's using the same language where the Lord
brings his people into that strong city whose walls and bulwarks
are salvation. This is the inheritance that
Christ has gone before us and prepared for us. He's prepared
that strong city and then he brings his people in behind the
walls of salvation whereby we are safe and secure from all
harm. which includes the judgment of
God. Now watch, the natural light
that we have as people just being born into this world, that natural
light that we have will be, you know, wherein we're shut out
from the blessings of God, we'll see that that natural light is
replaced by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our light. He's become
our light. Look at verse 19. The sun shall be no more thy light
by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto
thee. But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and
thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down,
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself. for the Lord shall be
thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be
ended." And so Christ, he did this work, he became the light
of his people and the life of his people when he did that work
of reconciliation for them on the cross to be their substitute,
their sacrifice and putting away their sin and dying in their
place. Dying under the just wrath of
God so that that wrath will never fall upon them for their sins. And put away in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Alright, now look at verse 21.
Thy people also shall be all righteous. They shall inherit
the land forever. The branch of my planting is
the work of my hands that I may be glorified. So that now we
are Christ's workmanship. He's prepared us for himself. And so in this, because he now,
we don't look to our natural light, we don't look to those
natural lights pictured in the sky. We don't look to that, that's
not our confidence. So he's prepared us for that
day of judgment. We stand complete in him. Now this world, all they have
is a natural light. and it's typified or pictured
in the sun, the moon, the stars. So when those things go away,
when those things are removed at the coming of Christ and the
presence of Christ, they shall be terrified. Their bowels will
turn to liquid within themselves because they shall be very frightened
and fearful because that's their hope. That's all they know is
that which comes, that which is understood by natural light. Picture them, those very things. But in those days, after that
tribulation, right, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall
not give her light and the stars of heaven shall fall and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. So because Christ
has become that very light to us, we won't have that same fear
and that same tribulation because he's already become our light
to us. He's already become all things
to us. So when those things are gone,
what do we worry about? We know the true and living God,
we understand that these things are to be, and so it doesn't
move us in the way that this world, which only knows those
things, will be moved in that day, all right? And then, just
to remind you, that tribulation that the Lord refers to, if you
remember, refers back to When ye shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, and he tells us, flee to the
mountains. In other words, when the Lord
makes this known to you, that you and I, that when he makes
it known to you personally that you're the sinner, that you're
worthy of the judgment of God, that you're coming into that
same condemnation with the world, when you see that wickedness
all about you and in your own heart, he says, flee to the mountains. Flee to the mountain of Christ's
salvation, which he has worked for his people. to deliver them,
to protect them, to cover them and their sin, to put it away
so that the wrath of God does not fall upon them. All right? So we are to get to
Christ. All right? So we see that in
Christ all our natural fleshly works, those things have been
removed, that natural light, that natural understanding and
religion of man, it's all been removed and Christ has become
all to his people. He is their sun, He is their
moon, He is the stars in the heavens, He is the light of His
people whereby we see and walk before our God complete and whole
in Him. And so Christ, having secured
His people, our Lord then now gives us the promise of His return
in which these things are going to be removed and moved far away
and when He returns it will be the finalization of the redemption
of His people. has redeemed us, but he'll come
back now to claim that which he's purchased with his own blood.
Alright, that's what he'll do. And in Revelation 22, I'll read
it, Revelation 22, 12 and 13, he says, Behold, I come quickly
and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his
work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. And so that work that we
do isn't the good religious works that religion teaches you, though
we will do things that are helpful and profitable to one another,
but the good work that the believer does is look to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is their righteousness. That's the work
that God works in us, whereby by faith we believe Him and His
faithful work, that He is our salvation and our righteousness.
In doing that, Christ makes ready His Bride. His Bride is ready,
made ready, prepared for the return of her King, the return
of her husband, her Savior, her Lord. Alright, now moving along,
we're told that after these things in verse 26, and then shall they
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and
glory. Now the first time Christ came,
he was pretty quiet, he was poor and lowly, meek and had nothing
whereby men should look to him in glory in him but this time
when they see his coming all will see it he'll be exalted
in the clouds he'll be rich with majesty and he'll come riding
upon the clouds and power revelation 1 7 says behold I he cometh with
clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced
him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even
so amen. So what he's saying is having
a the promises that we have, knowing that he is returning,
knowing that he has prepared us for his return and that there's
nothing more for us to do. We just wait upon him and serve
him and one another while we wait for his return and doing
those things which he's given us to do. Because we have these
promises, we're to be bold in the faith, trusting that the
Lord is advancing his kingdom that he's using his people, that
he's establishing his churches, well he will have them established
and that light is shining forth through this glorious gospel
and that the Lord is bringing in all his people through this
work. And so all that are encouraged
in this, what we see is that that the world shall be made
to see him as well when he returns. They'll see the Son of Man coming
in the clouds with great power and glory. And just as the world
will see that in that day, we see the clouds even now in the
sense that we are surrounded about with so great a cloud of
witnesses. That's what he says in Hebrews
12, 1 and 2, he says, wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses. In other words, we're
reminded, he's given us this gospel, he's given us brethren
in one another whereby we're surrounded with this, ever reminded. of the Lord's presence ever reminded
that the Lord is returning in the clouds seeing that we're
surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses because the Lord
has given us these things and made us to know he says let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset
us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne
of God." Alright, so they'll see him coming in the clouds,
but they're naked and have nothing. we already see him coming in
the clouds and he already is about us in the clouds with this
cloud of witness so that we are waiting for and prepared for
him so when he comes it won't be that terrifying sight as it
will be for the world because we're already see him in the
clouds we're already trusting and believing on him all right
so this brings us to our final point the gathering of the people
So the first order of business for the Lord when he returns
is he shall gather his people. And he'll gather his people to
himself. Look at verse 27, Mark 13, 27. And then shall he send
his angels and shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of
heaven. Now our Lord has been very patient
with us. He's been very patient and He's
actually very long-suffering to the wicked for the sake of
His people. He's being patient until He draws
in every last one of His people and they come and are gathered
unto Christ. And that's what Peter meant when
Peter said that verse 2 Peter 3 9 and he says for the Lord
is not willing that any should perish right or he says when
the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count
slackness but as long-suffering to us word to usward. And Peter's writing to believers. He's writing to the elect. He's
writing to those who have heard the call and who believe. And he's saying the Lord's not
willing that any of us should perish, or he's not willing,
yeah, that any of us chosen, elect children should perish,
but that all should come to repentance and And he's teaching us that
he's being patient, he is being long-suffering with this wicked
world, not for their sake, but for the sake of his own people,
to call them out of darkness and draw them to himself through
this gospel. And so the Lord first gathers
his people to himself through the gospel. We see when he returns
he's going to gather his people, and I'll show you that in Revelation
in a bit, but what he does first is he gathers them to himself
through this gospel word, and he reveals to them through the
Spirit what they must know, that he is their salvation, and we
don't have any confidence in the flesh. He strips us of that,
he teaches us the gospel, gives us his spirit, giving us life,
and creating in us that hope of faith and glory in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so the Lord, what does he
do? Just as we see here that he sends angels to gather his
people, so the Lord sends out ministering spiritual, those
men, those preachers, and even uses his people, men and women,
to speak and to declare what God has done for them so that
as ministering angels they go forth, gathering in the people,
declaring this gospel, speaking what God has done for them in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And so they preach, they proclaim,
they declare what God has done for them. That's all we're doing,
just preaching. We don't have to make them believe,
we're just declaring what God has done for us in his mercy
and grace and kindness through his son Jesus Christ. Now look
again, verse 27. Even just like that, the Lord
sends angels to gather his elect up in that final day. And then
shall he send his angels and shall gather together his elect
from the four winds from the uttermost part of the earth to
the uttermost part of heaven. So do you see that pattern there
where the Lord, everything that he does in creation and all the
way to the other end, everything he does in his second coming,
he does all this in his very people. These are just types
and pictures of our salvation, our birth, our creation, and
our gathering in Christ. All pictured in salvation of
what he does for each individual believer and bringing them to
Christ. And so we saw earlier that all
these passages concerning his second coming, they've been seen
first in his first coming in salvation, which he brings to
his people. All right? And so we see it here
with the gathering unto Christ. We're all gathered unto him in
the gospel first. In John 10.27, he said, My sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. So, we'll
be gathered to Christ first through the gospel, and then we'll be
gathered to Christ in the skies, where then we'll come with him
when he returns and we'll witness, we'll bear witness to the destruction
of the wicked. Now let's see this in Revelation
14. Turn over there to Revelation 14, and go to verse 13. what we see first is the Lord
gathers his people to himself. All right, so Revelation 14,
verses 13 through 16. He says, and I heard a voice
from heaven saying unto me, right, blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, sayeth the spirit that they
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. So they die in the Lord first,
being called through this gospel, right, and they're given faith,
right, and so then when we die, we die in the Lord, we die in
faith, believing Him. And verse 14, I looked and behold
a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of
Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp
sickle. This is Christ's second coming.
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud
voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and
reap. For the time has come for thee
to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And so all God's
children are going to bear the fruit which he's ordained for
them to bear. And when the final one bears
that fruit that he's ordained, then the end comes and Christ
will gather up his people and finish the work. All right, verse
16. And he that sat on the cloud
thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped. All
right, so we'll raise up to Christ so that we will be with him and
bear witness to his just judgment and destruction of the wicked
still on the earth. All right, so let's look now
at that in verse 17. 17 through 19. And another angel came out of
the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the altar which had power over
fire, and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle,
saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the
vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe, and the angel
thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of
the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath
of God. So for the wicked, for the self-righteous
religious ones who are trusting in their works, and trusting
that they themselves are righteous to stand before God because of
their good works which they have done, they shall be cast into
the wrath of Almighty God. And so the Lord, what he's done
is he's prepared his people by Christ for this day. We're already
prepared. So that natural light has already
been removed for us. The sun, the moon, and the stars
have all already been taken away so that Christ is our light.
He's taken away the natural light and revealed to us the light
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we already see him. We see
our Lord and Savior in that cloud. We already have that great cloud
of witnesses, which is revealed to us through the gospel. Seeing
our brethren, which have gone before and given us the word
here by the Spirit of God, we have the witness already in ourselves. The Spirit testifying to our
spirit that we are the sons of God. That we're already His. He's prepared us for that work. And what did He do? He's already
gathered us in through the preaching of the gospel so that we've heard
it and He's revealed it by faith, to faith, which He's given so
that we hear and understand and know that Christ is our salvation. Therefore, in the end, when that
day comes, when that judgment comes, we're already prepared. already prepared. And so when
the world is afraid and fearful, and they're terrified because
they see Christ come, we're already prepared for that day in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to take you to one
more passage, and this will be the last one, Isaiah 26. Isaiah
26, and go to verse 29. And this says, what I just said to you, Isaiah
26, verse 19. Isaiah 26, 19. And here the Lord, through the
prophet, says, thy dead men shall live. together with my dead body
shall they arise. That picture is the Lord Jesus
Christ because when he was raised we were raised in him. And so
this is pointing to the resurrection day but we are already risen
in Christ and we shall be raised just as he said. And he tells
us, awake and sing ye that dwell in dust for thy due is as the
dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead. You see that
glorious picture just graves opening up, and the sea will
give up its dead, and all that are dead will be gathered together
and raised up. And he says, Come, my people,
enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself, as it were, for
a little moment, until the indignation be overpassed. Well, what are
those chambers, and what are those doors? That's the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's calling us to Christ. Hide
yourself in the chamber that I've prepared for thee. Shut
the doors about thee. In Christ, he's our door, he's
our gate, he's our protection, he's our salvation. And the Lord
says, you go to him and you hide yourself in him. That's your
protection right there. And then look, verse 21, for
behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants
of the earth. for their iniquity. The earth
also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain."
And so the Lord has shown us that he's going to destroy this
earth, he's going to judge the earth, but he's given us salvation,
he's provided deliverance, he's provided protection and prepared
us for this day hidden in Christ. So when the wrath comes down,
we're already protected and kept in Christ just like the ark in
that day of judgment. Just like that day of wrath and
judgment, we're protected in Christ. So I pray the Lord will
bless that to your heart to know that you're in Christ. He's prepared
you for that day. You just trust in Him. And if
you don't believe Him, if you don't know Him, you're in a very
awful place because He is coming, just as He said, and He shall
pour out judgment, and the only protection from that judgment
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. If He's given you faith, believe
Him, believe Him, and where you struggle, beg Him, just keep
begging Him to have mercy and to give you that faith and to
reveal that faith to faith which He's given, because that's our
only hope of salvation. All right, let's pray. Our gracious
Lord, thank You, Father, for Your mercy. Thank you for the
grace that you've given and provided for your people. Lord, call us,
gather us into Christ. Take away the choking weeds and
the thorns that choke out the gospel light and would keep us
buried under the things of this world. But Lord, deliver your
people from that. Deliver us from fear of persecution. Deliver us from the love of this
world. And Lord, fix in us a love for Christ and a love for one
another. Cause us to walk by faith before
you in the light which you've given to us in Christ through
this gospel word. And Lord, we'll thank you for
it because we have no one else to thank but you and no one else
to boast in but you. Lord, we thank you for your Son,
Jesus Christ, the unspeakable gift that has put away our sin. It's in his name we pray and
give thanks. Amen.