Let's take our Bibles now and
turn to Matthew chapter 24. The lesson this morning is on the
second coming of Christ. Matthew 24 beginning with verse
29. Immediately after the tribulation
of those days, that word tribulation means trouble, And you remember
last week and the week before last, I told you that this chapter
deals with the immediate destruction of Jerusalem. I say immediate,
it happened about 70 years after the death of Christ. But it's
talking about something that was fulfilled in that day, and
it's talking about something that continues throughout the
last days. And then it's talking about his
second coming. So, immediately after the tribulation
of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear
the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds and from one end of heaven to
the other. Now learn a parable of the fig
tree. When its branches yet tender
and put as forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. Now let me just stop there and
make a comment about this. I read I don't know how many
writers, and some of them have written whole books on this parable
of the fig tree. This parable of the fig tree,
It's just something our Lord pulled, as He often did, from
nature to illustrate what it is He's saying. He's talking
to them about what shall precede the coming, His coming in that
day. And He said, see the fig tree? When it puts on leaves, you know
summer's coming. We pace the floor, don't we?
And we look outside, and it's cold, and we just can't hardly
wait. And pretty soon, you see one of them trees out there.
That bud opens up, and you see them leaves on it, and we know
summer's coming. And that's all that parable has
to say. It was just something taken to
illustrate what he's teaching. And so he says in verse 33, so
likewise, when you shall see all these things, know that it
is near, even at the door. Verily I say unto you, this generation
shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Now I'd like for you to turn
with me this morning to Amos chapter 8. Amos chapter 8. And I'm having you to turn over
here because What our Lord is talking about is a fulfillment
of that prophecy in Amos. And that I want you to see in
these things that He's talking here figurative and not literal. He's not literally talking about
the stars falling out of heaven and the moon failing to give
its light and the sun and so on. But this is figurative language. Amos chapter 8 verse 1. Thus hath the Lord God showed
unto me, and behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said,
Amos, what seest thou? And I said, a basket of summer
fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, the end is come upon my people
Israel. I will not again pass by there
any more. And the songs of the temple shall
be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God. There shall be
many dead bodies in every place. They shall cast them forth with
silence. Now skip down here to verse 8.
Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that
dwelleth therein? And it shall rise up holy as
a flood, and it shall be cast out and drowned as by the flood
of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in
that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to
go down at noon. And I will darken the earth in
a clear day. And I'll turn your feasts into
mourning and all your songs into lamentations. And I'll bring
up sackcloth upon all loins and baldness upon every head. And
I'll make it as the mourning of an only son and the end thereof
as a bitter day. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine
of bread nor a thirst for water. but of hearing the words of the
Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from north even
unto the east. They shall run to and fro, and
seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." And what
is the end to all this? Amos says, even they shall fall
and never rise up again. Talking about Israel, but also
talking about the whole of those last days. So this darkening
of the sun and the moon is God taking His light out of Israel,
and these falling stars are God's ministers, whether it be His
prophets as sent to Israel, or His preachers sent to His elect,
being taken away from Israel. Taken away from. And their overflow
will be swift and complete like Egypt in the Red Sea. That's
the illusion that Amos goes to. It will be swift and complete
just like Egypt chasing after Israel through those walls of
water in the Red Sea. And God calls the waters to come
in upon them suddenly, unexpectedly. This will be the first of many
judgments just like it. Spiritual death and judicial
blindness will follow quickly upon all those who reject the
Christ of God and His free and sovereign grace. When He says,
he that believeth not shall be damned, that's exactly what He
means. And that wrath begins in this
world. Now, there's a day of wrath out
there. There is a day of judgment out there, but that wrath is
right now. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. In that great and terrible day
of the Lord, He will suddenly appear and the final judgment
shall be fulfilled. There are four things taught
in these verses concerning the second coming of Christ that
I want you to focus on this morning. The first thing is this, that
our Lord Himself, this One who stands before them, talking to
them, talking to them with gracious words and loving words and merciful
words, this same Jesus that was standing there telling them is
the same One that's coming back. That's the One who's coming back.
The same One who was compassionate to sinners. I don't care what
it was. I don't care how evil they were.
I don't care what they were guilty of. I don't care what they were
caught in the act doing. When they were brought to Him,
He dealt with them with compassion and grace and mercy. The same
One He Himself will come again, that Great Shepherd of the Sheep.
That one, they stood out there on the mount. I don't know how
it took place. I can only imagine. But He stepped
up on a cloud with His Holy Angel. And they were so spellbound,
so awed by what they saw that they just stood with their mouths
open, gazing up into heaven, watching him ascend into glory
with his angels on that cloud. And the angels said, why stand
you gazing into heaven? This same one that you see taken
up from you, he's going to come again in like manner. Just like you stood there and
watched Him physically ascend into glory on the clouds, so
He is going to come in clouds, the Scripture said, in that day. Listen to these words of comfort.
He said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God,
do you? Believe also in Me. In my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you."
That's why he went away. That's why he left his beloved
one. He said, I go to prepare a place
for you. Where? In my father's house.
In my father's house. And if I go away, I will come
back again. I'll return again. I'll come
again and I'll receive you unto myself that where I am, there
you may be also. You think of the majesty of it
for just a minute. Think of the majesty of that
event when he comes again. No more death. I'm dying right
now. I guarantee you, I looked in
the mirror this morning, I'm just not what I was when I was
18. I hardly recognized the face
I see. I'm dying. My hair's turning color. I'm dying. Getting weaker every
day. Can't do what I used to do. I'm
dying. No more dying in that day. No
more dying. No more aging, no more weakening. What a glorious day that will
be. One time in the end of the world, our Great Substitute and
Redeemer appeared on this earth. He appeared to put away sin. Whose sin? The sins of His elect. He appeared one time in the end
of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
And 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." Do you know what that's talking about? When
Israel was still under that ceremonial law, they had a tabernacle. We've
been studying that on Wednesday night. And one time a year, that
high priest took a goat, and he slayed that
goat, and he poured its blood out beneath the altar, and he
caught a little bit of that blood in a container, and he took that
blood into the tabernacle, and he went beyond that veil into
the very Holy of Holies, and he poured that blood out on the
mercy seat, and made atonement for Israel. And everybody who
had an interest in that blood, they put bells on that priest
so you could hear him in there. Bells on his garment. You could
hear him in there. Knew that he was still alive.
Knew that God had not slayed him. That he had done exactly
what God had told him to do. And everybody who had a concern
in that blood looked. They looked. They stood outside
the camp and they looked. What were they looking for? They
were looking for that priest to come back out. You know why? Because when he came back out,
that meant God accepted the sacrifice. That is what this is talking
about. Those that look for Him, those who have a concern in Him,
who look for Him, shall He appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. He is coming again. And then
secondly, when he's come, he's coming in all the glory of his
father's house. Now he came the first time. And
he was born of a woman. Probably the most insignificant
woman who ever lived. Dirt poor, had no money, had
no reputation, had nothing. Gave birth to her son in a cow
state. laid that baby in a manger and
covered it up with swaddling clothes. It ain't going to be
that way the next time. He's coming in all the glory
of His Father's house and with His holy angels. Turn with me
to Revelation chapter 1. There is no secret coming. I
get so tired of hearing that. The Bible nowhere teaches a secret
rapture or a sudden disappearance. If you find this car with no
driver, that's because I've been caught up in the rapture. That's
the biggest bunch of baloney I ever heard. The Bible nowhere teaches a secret
rapture or some sudden disappearance of men and women from the earth.
Listen to this. Revelation 1, verse 6. Behold, He cometh with clouds,
and every eye shall see Him." Ain't that what that says? Every
eye shall see Him. And they also which pierced Him. That means the dead are going
to see Him. And all the kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of Him. I'm telling you, He's coming.
And His coming will be without warning, like a thief in the
night. Unexpected, He said, in an hour that you think not. And
with great commotion. I read these verses. They're
just too numerous for me to read to you, so I'll just give you
the gist of them. It talks about the heavens passing
away with a great noise, and the elements burning with a fervent
heat. the trump of God sounding, the
angels flying through the four winds to gather together all
His elect. You think of the millions of
men and women that God saved from the beginning. They are
going to be called out of those graves. There is going to be
a bodily resurrection in that day. And they are coming out
of the tomb. Can you imagine the commotion
How many angels are going to be involved in this gathering?
All His elect be gathered from the four winds. The trump of
God sounding every ear of hearing. Not insignificant, not like that
first appearance. The Son of Man shall come in
the glory of His Father's house with all His angels. Then shall
the scoffers and the scorners and the skeptics of this world
sit in silence. They'll have nothing to say in
that day. They've got plenty to say now. But they won't have
anything to say in that day. And all the rebels, every one
of them, their knees are going to bow. Their knees are going
to bow. And their tongues are going to
confess, every one, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Be no rolling of the eyes in
that day. Huh? I say things sometimes and
people go... Be no rolling of the eyes in
that day. Be no crossing of the arms in
that day. Be no throwing the book down.
None of that is going to take place in that day. They are going
to sit in silence in awe of the majesty of Him who sits upon
the throne. And then they're going to cry
for the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the face of
Him who sitteth upon the throne. His coming will be public. It
will be swift and unexpected, and it will be glorious. And
then thirdly, when this monumental day arrives, our Lord's first
order of business will be the safety and security of His elect. Isn't that what that said back
there in Matthew? First thing He's going to do is send forth
His angels to gather together from the four winds all His elect. My soul, what a sparing day that
will be. I tell you, we're nowhere taught
in the Scriptures as believers to dread that day. But I fear
God, don't you? I fear God. And in that day,
what a comfort it is to my heart to know that His first order
of business, not His last, but His first order of business is
to gather to Himself all His elect. All His elect. Listen to the text there in Matthew. Matthew 24, verse 31. And He
shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, And they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other." In a moment, Paul said, in the
twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall
sound and we shall be changed. Instantly, John. Just like that. Just, you blink, and it's done. Done. We'll be changed. This
corruptible will put on incorruption. This flesh that can't do anything
will be able to do everything. You think about it. This dying flesh will, in the
fullness of the Word, live. Live. This mortal shall put on
immortality and death. What's that talking about? That's
talking about this sinful flesh. Sin entered into the world by
one man and death by sin. And so death passed upon all
men. This spiritual death, this flesh
that can't be tamed and can't be changed and can't be done
anything with, this flesh will be changed in a moment in the
twinkling of an eye. It will be changed. And this
mortal shall put on immortality and death will be swallowed up
in victory. You think about this, when the
day the flood came, here's a grand picture of that day. And that
day when the flood came, what happened first? God took Noah
and put him in the ark. And God shut the door. God shut
the door. And then the rain fell. When the fire of God fell inside
him, the world was locked. God's angels, His messengers
came and led Him off to Zoar. I tell you, in that day, He's
going to gather us up and put us in the only place where there's
ever going to be any peace and safety, and that's in Christ.
He's going to gather us to Himself. And that's what I preach. I try
to preach it. I don't care what I'm talking
about. I can be talking about the bars in the tabernacle or
the veil that hung in the tabernacle or I can be talking about the
linen fence that goes around the tabernacle. I'm trying to
preach one thing. Salvation is in Christ. It's
in Christ in eternity. It's in Christ in the purpose
of God. It's in Christ in its manifestation. It's in Christ in its application
by the Holy Spirit. It's in Christ by faith. Your
faith, that's what that faith lays hold of, is salvation in
Christ. And in that day, only one place
where a sinner is going to be spared, and that's in Christ.
In Christ. And then fourthly, our Lord's
second coming will manifest a great and final judgment. angels and
men and principalities and powers. Everyone in that day will have
their due recompense of reward. And they're going to have it
without representation. They're going to have it without
excuse or argument. Every man, woman, and angel shall
be judged by him who is a discerner of the very thoughts and intents
of the heart. There'll be no escape, no mercy,
no leniency. Revelation chapter 20 verse 15
declares the thoroughness of God's judgment of men. Now I
want you to listen to this. And the strictness of it. All
of the books in heaven were opened. And men were judged out of those
things written in those books. And another book was opened,
which is the book of life. That's what it says. And whosoever, now listen to
this, whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire. That's how thorough and how complete
this is. Everything outside of Christ is death. It's death. Be no purgatory and no probation. But the Scripture says everlasting
punishment, eternal banishment from God. When our Lord cried
on the cross, and I can't imagine what a perfect
God must have felt in His heart when He suffered our hell to
the extent to satisfy God. But let me tell you what He cried.
He only cried one thing on the cross. He cried this, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Whatever hell is, that's got
a lot to do with it. And listen to the words he uses
to describe it, where the worm doth not, weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth, outer darkness, the bottomless pit,
the lake of fire that burneth forever and ever. This he calls
the second death. The second death. And then finally,
I told you four things. I'm going to give you five. This
day of our Lord's return will be a day of great glory and joy
to the believer. The believer shall enter in fully
into his adoption. No more trials and temptations. No more troubles and persecution.
No more pain and suffering. No more dying in the flesh. And
that day he'll have life, John, in the fullest meaning of the
word. Life. And he shall not only look
upon his master, but the Bible said we'd be like him. Huh? You can't even imagine that,
can you? I looked at that for the longest
time. In that day, we'll know what
that means. We'll be like him. We'll know
him as he is. We'll be just like him. In this world, I contemplate
love. There, I'll love as I am loved. Here, I contemplate wisdom. There I shall know as I am known. And here I contemplate joy and
happiness. There I shall experience it in
its fullness." You see that day? What a day that will be. Nowhere
in this book is the believer taught to dread his second advent,
but rather to look for it with patient expectation. Everything
that He promises all the blessings of God in their fullness will
come to pass in that day. In that day. God teach this dying
sinner how to wait like that for the glory of God. Amen. Thank you.