2024-12-10A
A. A VAST TOPIC.
This is a topic on which the Bible has much to disclose, especially in the New Testament, but, since we are now focusing our attention on the four Gospels, we will leave the teaching found in the Epistles for a subsequent series of teachings.
B. JESUS’ PRE-CRUXIFICTION PROMISE OF HIS RETURN
1 Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 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. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.
The disciples had been with Jesus for nigh on three and a half years and now, because of his coming cruxifixion, they would be seperated from him, seeing him only on rare occasions. Even worse, after his ascencion to heaven, they would be permanently seperated. Jesus was concerned that they would feel forsaken, left in the lurch. He therefore comforted them beforehand, disclosing his reason for temporily leaving and assuring them of his return and how they would benefit thereby.
He gave a very uplifting account of the future they were about to enter into – better than what they had been experiencing till then. He was not leaving, “Mission accomplished” and for his own sake, but for their sake. He was going somewhere to build them someting. There is no other god who had ever promised His followers that he would pass through the grave, prepare a home for them on the other side, then return and fetch them to be with him forever in his multi-million-roomed mansion. That is exactly what Jesus was promising His eleven dear friends. What a wonderful prospect!
They definetely were also disappointed by his departure for another reason. They had hoped that He would deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Government so they could be a free nation once more. To be a citizen of a sovereign people here and now, a nation that can manage its affairs as it sees fit, not having to bow the knee to another rulership, truly is a great privilege. That privilege Israel had had in time gone by, had enjoyed for hundreds of years.
After his crucifixion and ascension, there however would be a greater freedom not only for their own nation, but for all people on earth. They would spiritually be liberated from the power and dominion of satan and become part of God’s eternal Kingdom. This would be worth so much more than to be a citizen of a free self-governing earthly nation. His set plan was to first afford this opportunity to the citizens of Israel, then to the Gentile nations, then Israel would have another opportunity, and only then would He take full control of the world. In the meantime, He would direct the entire process of the salvation of the nations from where He would be seated at the right hand of the throne of God, His Father.
In the meantime they were to fully trust him as believers, like Abraham had trusted the One and only God, Who had now been more fully revealed as a Triune God of which He was the second Person.
C. THE ANGELS’ PROMISE OF JESUS’ RETURN (Please read Acts 1:6-14)
:9 And saying these things, as they watched, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they were looking intently into the heaven, He having gone, even behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, 11 who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven.
How did Jesus depart? It says that He was taken up in a cloud. What is important for our present study, is that God sent angels to confirm Jesus’ words that He would return, adding that He would come back in the same manner in which He ascended. This means that at some future time, and on a specific day, He will return to His people on a cloud.
D. HE WILL FIRST COME FOR HIS OWN.
Later in the New Testament we read that when the Lord Jesus returns, He will first come to fetch His followers, His true believers. At that moment, when his trumpet sounds, the graves will open, and the believers who had died throughout all ages will arise in a new glorified body and ascend to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. He will then take them to be with Him forever (1 Thess 4:16).
16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
E. THE LONG WAIT AND THE GATHERING IN OF THE HARVEST.
After the disciples had seen this miracle of Jesus’ ascension and heard the good news promise of His later return, they first had to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, then preach the Gospel to the nations.
Act 1:4 And having met with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to await the promise of the Father which you heard from Me.
F. SIGNS OF JESUS’ IMMINENT RETURN.
Signs in nature and amongst nations.
8 And He said, Take heed that you are not deceived, for many shall come in My name, saying, I AM! Also, The time has come! Do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified, for all these things must first occur, but the end is not at once.
10 And He said to them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And great earthquakes shall be in different places, and famines and plagues. And there shall be terrors and great signs from Heaven. (Luk 21:8-11).
Conditions on earth during the years preceding His return are here described. Now we must point out from the outset that all the signs mentioned here, have been happening to a greater or lesser extent throughout the ages. There have been wars, uprisings, earthquakes, famines, strange phenomena in the starry skies, etc. in the past. The difference, however, is that in the last days, there will be a frightening increase in such incidents, to such an extent that humanity will live in constant fear, because their lives will be continually threatened by them.
To what extent these conditions already prevail, scientists will better be able to tell us, but radio, TV, newspapers and magazines are daily reporting tragic disasters striking towns and communities worldwide. Hundreds are killed or injured and thousands left homeless.
Major conflicts between nations are continually in progress at diifferent spots of the globe. Several of these may suddenly escalate into a nuclear war.
Spiritual signs of false christs and prophets. (Please read Matt 24:21-28)
23 Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, There! Do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.
But besides the signs of natural disasters and warring of nations, the Lord Jesus tells us there will also be signs of persons who claim to be supernatural, who will even declare that they are Jesus Christ himself and will make a call on humanity to follow them. They will do all kinds of miracles to prove themselves. Now, something similar has also happened throughout the centuries. In the Old-Tstament we read that even the Egyptian magicians were able to imitate some of the miracles that God did through Moses (Ex 7:10-12).
In the New Testament we read of Elymas the Sorcerer (Acts 13:8), who astonished the people with his sorcery on the island of Patmos untill Paul exposed him as an instrument of the devil. Some of the Roman Emperors also claimed to be gods, forcing their subjects to worship them.
We will be seeing more and more of this in future; people claiming to be supernatural, even claiming to be Christ himself having returned to earth to bring peace and prosperity. They will be like wolves wrapped in wool, masquerading as sheep. Their voices will sound syrupy and peaceful like the bleating of sheep, but they will have the teeth of a wolf that can tear your flesh at any moment. Those who do not know God and who are not forewarned by His Holy Spirit, will follow these false christs who are in fact anti-Christs and will eventually lose what little faith they have.
Christian leaders will have to wait on God for supernatural discernment because these false leaders will have a form of godliness. They will perform all kinds of good deeds and encourage humanity to do some good themselves, but the effects of the satanic poison they will inject into society will only become visible over time, when it is too late.
The spiritual sign of the persecution of God’s people. (Please read Luke 21:12-19).
16 And you shall be betrayed also by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends. And they will cause some of you to be put to death. 17 And you shall be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But there shall not a hair of your head perish. 19 By your patience you will gain your souls. (Luke 21:16-19).
12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 And it shall return to you for a testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand what you shall answer. 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. (Lul 21:12-15).
By knowing in advance how your enemy will attack, his strategy, you can prepare yourself for the battle. The Lord Jesus said that there will be a time when Christians will be hated because of the Name they bear. Even their unsaved family members will turn against them and deliver them to the wicked police forces and judges.
Now, it is interesting to note that Jesus says that during these evil times, His people must not be on edge, biting their fingernails and planning ahead how to defend themselves. No, they are to relax because when they are dragged to court, the Holy Spirit will come upon them filling their mouths with the exact words they are to speak to bear powerful testimony glorifying their Lord and Saviour!
G. CONSEQUENCES OF NOT BEING PREPARED FOR A SITUATION.
The consequences of a warning ignored, are painful and could be disastrous. Just before Jesus went with His disciples to Gethsemane where He was to be arrested and led away to be crucified, He warned them to watch and pray because although the spirit is willing to do the will of God, the flesh is weak and easily succumbs under pressure. The disciples did not heed this and were even proudly boasting that they were ready to die for him. As a result, they were not spiritually prepared and all fled when the soldiers arrested their Master.
H. JESUS’ WARNINGS AND ADVICE TO US FOR THE END TIMES.
Live a pure life of intimate fellowship with God.
We must not engage in debauchery. It will destroy our faith and take exclude us from the presence of God; things like drunkenness and participating in sinful, worldly pleasures. These distract us from God.
Cultivate a cheerful attitude.
Even worries about food and clothing, school fees for the children, health, rain for our crops and pastures, and the loss of land or other property can distract us from God. The things we daily fill our minds with, will become more and more important to us until we no longer think of the Lord, nor anticipate his sudden appearance. Rather cultivate a positive, cheerful attitude. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:11b).
Fortify your spirit by prayer.
Jesus encourages us to pray as He did in Gethsemane before He went forth to die on the cross. The result of His prayer was that His Father sent angels to strengthen Him and, when the time for His arrest came , He was empowered to face his persecutors and did not flee like His disciples. When we pray, we enter into the presence of God and absorb His power. It is like a sponge being squeezed and submerged into water. It draws the the liquid into itself. When we are so filled with God, our minds are occupied with heavenly matters. This keeps us continually ready to meet Jesus up in the air when He comes for us in a cloud. .
Expect Jesus any moment. (Please read Matt. 25:1-13).
In paragraph G above, we spoke of the consequences of not being prepared for a traumatic situation. Here is a further warning, using the example of a wedding.
The way a wedding took place in Jesus’ time was very similar to what is still done today in some rural parts of Africa. It commences by the groom and his friends going to the bride’s house where the first part of the ceremony is held. From there, the groom returns to his own home, accompanied by his bride, where the main celebration is held.
The ten young ladies we read about, all intended to join the feast and sat down along the way, awaiting the bridegroom to return with his bride. He however, delayed coming and they eventually fell asleep. Five of them, being relatives or close friends of his, determined not to miss this joyful, never to be repeated event and took extra oil for their lamps. When they finally heard the group coming, they quickly topped up their lamps and excitedly joined him.
The other five were caught unawares. Their lamps had gone out and they dared not approach the groom in such an unfestive like way, emerging from the dark like robbers. Rebuffed when requesting to borrow oil from their wiser friends, they rushed off, woke up a shopkeeper and bought some. However, on their return, the guests had already entered into the banquet hall and the door had been shut and bolted. They called out loudly and desperately, saying, “Lord, open for us”, but were unceremoniously turned away.
It seems that there was no list kept of invited guests. The ones awaiting the groom were taken to be his friends and relatives because they had known about his coming. The late comers were seen as passersby that saw the lights in the banquet hall, heard the music and were taking a chance to wine and dine free of charge but not having a relationship with the wedding couple. They could even have been a danger to them, so they were summarily turned away.
Take care of your own lamp.
The lesson is that we are living lamps of Christ. When we got born into the family of God, the Holy Spirit entered into us like oil poured into a lamp. We now have a responsibility to keep it topped up so it will not dwindle causing our light to become extinct. In the tabernacle, the priests had to keep the lamps filled with oil day and night. Should the light of the Spirit ever die out within us, it can never be rekindled. We cannot be born again, again.
I. IT IS ALMOST MIDNIGHT!
Let us therefore continually have an overflowing supply of God’s Spirit in our hearts. Let us dispell the surrounding darkness instead of getting sleepy as the spiritual night drags on. Let us look at the white shifting clouds above and pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, do come today!”
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TAP ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS TO READ MORE ABOUT THE RAPTURE, MILLENIUM, ARMAGEDDON AND THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
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