The Last Mountain: The God Who Is Returning
Finding God on the Mountains: (Part VIII)
THE LAST MOUNTAIN: THE GOD WHO IS RETURNING
We have finally come to the last part of our sermon series: Finding God on the Mountains, which we will now conclude with the topic entitled “The Last Mountain: The God Who is Returning”. Having that in mind, I’d like us to start this morning with a pressing theological question that I thought we all need to have a definite answer; not just to prompt us to reflect on what we believe is true, but also help prepare ourselves as a church and as individuals.
Do you truly believe that Jesus Christ will return?
Perhaps, some of us are very sure, but there might be some who may not be so sure what to say or believe! I’ve heard this before and even myself have asked questions that helped me search for the truth as a Bible student. Aren’t the new testament churches have been hoping for this advent to happen soon during their time? And here we are now, after more than 2,000 years, believers were still waiting for Jesus second coming! How soon is really soon? But are these enough reasons not to believe? What does the Bible say about the Second Coming? To help us understand, there are 2 most commonly used biblical text we can refer to this advent.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (ESV)
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Matthew 24:29-31 (ESV)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
When I first heard about the change of sermon topic for me to rather close our sermon series, honestly, I accepted willingly, but deep inside, I was terrified, because I know I have a big shoe to fill, even more taking on the study of the second coming, but by the grace of God, I was rather greatly encouraged of the study and truths behind this very blessed advent. I hope this subject will also encourage you to take this event seriously and take this to heart.
So, if you have been sensitive of our sermon series theme for the past weeks, by now you already have an understanding that the series, “Finding God on the Mountains” is all about God changing our perspective about Him and who we are through our mountain top experience. So, our sermon topic hopes to do the same, “The Last Mountain: The God Who Is Returning” will also attempt to uncover and help reveal much truths about Jesus’s Second Coming and help change our perspective about God and hopefully allow us to pursue change in our lives before it’s too late.
The physical, literal return of Jesus comes as the very first in the sequence of events in the study of eschatology or the last days, it is an essential tenet of the Christian faith. To the Bible students and scholars alike, who believes in the words of the Bible, it is non-negotiable! And yes, we can certainly debate issues like the timing of His return and what will happen before His return, but we can’t debate the fact that Jesus is physically returning to earth.
To prove this fact, here are few biblical statistics that we can consider:
• 1 out of 30 verses in the Bible speaks of the return of Christ or the end of time. That’s about 318 references from the 260 chapters of the new testament.
• 23 of the 27 New Testament books speak of Jesus’s return.
• 1,845 references in the Old Testament, where 17 books give it prominence.
•109 prophesies in Scripture referring to the first coming of Jesus and an overwhelming 329 prophesies referring to Jesus’s second coming.
If His first coming was accurately prophesied, His second coming is also certain to happen. Here’s more, even the angels (Acts 1:10-11) and Jesus spoke clearly about His return (John 4:1-3).
As with all these references, and even from the keen study of various Bible scholars, it is really foolish to ignore that Jesus’s Second coming is eminent! Let me encourage us this morning to listen, it will definitely be to our advantage if we take time to study the Second Coming of Christ and all the events concerning the last days. John wrote the book of Revelations and reminded us about these truths:
Revelation 1:1-3 (NIV)
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
I hope that it is clear enough, the Lord literally promises blessings to those who will read, hear and take to heart what God says about the future events. And I am very glad that our church took time to take on this sermon series to help us have a clear perspective about God’s ultimate plan according to His Word. So, without further ado, allow me to help us understand about some biblical teachings concerning the second coming and I opted to divide the study in 3 areas:
I. The PHASES:
At first, reading our key verses today seems to present conflicting of events, which is of no surprise; even for many Bible scholars, for so many years, they were confused about the second coming too! Some passages don’t seem to agree, as some statements talk about Jesus coming will be “in the air,” while another will say “to the earth”. One passage reveals that his coming will be a secret,” as a thief in the night,” while the other says “every eye will see him.” One passage seems to teach that His coming will be a time of joy and blessings, while the other speaks about the people of the earth shall mourn. But after years of studies, most Bible scholars came into agreement that for us to bring all of these verses together, we have to understand the second coming will be happening in two stages/phases, and it will be separated by the seven years of tribulation. So, here’s how the events can be presented:
The Rapture of the Church.
If you are still not familiar with the word “Rapture,” it is derived from the Greek word “Harpazo”, which means to be caught up or taken away suddenly. In essence, the Rapture refers to the sudden removal of God’s people from the earth. This signals the first phase of Jesus returning as described by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. This phase is primarily for the church where He will come to meet His church in the air…
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
Please note that in this coming, Jesus, will not be coming all the way to the earth, as He will rather gather or meet all the Christians in the air. The dead in Christ will rise from the dead first and those who are still alive will be caught up or suddenly removed from the earth. This will all be a surprise and even Jesus mentioned this truth and warning in:
Matthew 24:40-42 (ESV)
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
Just imagine yourself in company of unbelievers, working, travelling, shopping, or whatever you are doing, when suddenly the rapture takes place for the living, you will suddenly disappear and will be transported to the air where Jesus Christ is. It must be exciting to the believers, but I’m sure it will be terrifying to those who will be left behind, wondering what is going on here! But, you maybe also asking, brother, how quickly will this transpire? Well, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 can help provide us the answer.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (ESV)
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
It will be so fast, in fact, very fast that we can’t wait until the last minute to prepare, “in the twinkling of an eye!”. That tells us that we better prepare today while we still have time!
B. The Revelation of the Church.
How about the second phase? In here, Christ coming will take place after the 7 years of tribulation and notice what Jesus have to say about this event.
Matthew 24:29-31 (ESV)
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
We can only but imagine that this will be a glorious day! The Lord will return with His Bride in power and in great glory. If the Rapture gathering is for His Church, this time will be a time, the prophesy in the Bible is meant to defend Israel at the battle of Armageddon. At this point, Jesus will be coming down and go straight to the earth, literally touching down His feet and stand upon Mount Olives causing a great earthquake.
Zechariah 14:4 (ESV)
4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.
This is also a fulfillment of the words in Acts 1:10-11 wherein the angels described the ascension of Jesus Christ on the mountain top, the same way Jesus will return! It will really be a glorious event because now everyone in the world will see Jesus Christ returning from heaven just as
Revelation 1:7 (ESV) declares it…
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
During the New Testament period, it is easy for skeptics to may have just brushed off this verse calling it unbelievable or absurd. But today, with all the technological advances in technology (i.e. Television Broadcast, Satellite Communications, Telecommunications, etc.) and more importantly in the area of Wireless Communications, where some of us here work in the telecommunication industry as an engineer cannot deny the fact that this is very possible! Today, wireless phones are even more in the hands of every people of all generations. So yes, Jesus is coming back. And if you miss the Rapture, although you still have a chance to join Him, but you will have to go through the seven years of tribulation period, as the bible foretells it, it will be a dreadful time. If you carefully study the events in the last days, it is certainly a guarantee that you don’t want to be a part of it at all.
II. The PURPOSE:
As I begin to build up my study on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the other question that really impressed in my heart is “What exactly is the purpose of this advent?”. What is in God’s mind for allowing these things to happen? Now that we have established the fact that the second coming is eminent, then I’d like us now to be encouraged to have at least the same perspective on the purpose of His return.
The Resurrection of the Church.
Looking back at the encouragement of Paul to the Corinthian church in: 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (ESV)
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
You will notice that it is in the second coming that believers who are still alive and dead in Christ alike will be resurrected just like Jesus Christ. To those who died in the Lord will now be the time to receive their glorious bodies, while for those who are still alive will never experience death as our corruptible bodies will be transformed into incorruptible bodies, very similar to that which Jesus Christ possessed after His resurrection.
Philippians 3:21 (ESV)
21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
B. The Defeat of Satan.
For so long, Satan have caused humans so many troubles and pains and will now be ultimately be defeated when Jesus Christ will return.
Genesis 3:15
15) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
Satan will be defeated even in his own territory when Jesus conquers the air and the earth.
C. The Vindication of Jesus and Believers.
Ultimately, in our liberal society today, the absolute truths were becoming more and more politically incorrect, but it will not be too long as victory is also imminent. Matthew 24:30 (ESV)
30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
I suppose, this is where the believers even refer to it as the “Blessed Hope”. Both Jesus Christ and the believers will be vindicated of the never-ending subject of reproach from the society, the very reason why God reserved a time of ultimately claiming victory during the second coming.
III. The PERSONAL CHALLENGE:
Going back to our first question in the beginning of the sermon, “Do you truly believe that Jesus Christ will return?” I hope that the truths revealed this morning truly challenged and changed your perspective about God’s ultimate plan and Jesus’s imminent return. And if you truly believe that Jesus Christ is coming back soon, how does this then impact your perspective of how we ought to live our lives as true followers of Jesus Christ? As we’ve always learned from Pastor Jerry’s sermon every Sunday, a very clear and important doctrine must affect the way we live today. There were 3 things that came out of this reflection:
Live a Pure Life.
We should strive to continually live a pure life, and not to be found carelessly living our life in this world when He comes. I think, this is one of the obvious reasons why there is no specific time of Jesus returning is that so we can all live a pure life consistently.
1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
If we truly believe that He is returning, we all ought to live a faithful and pure life in all aspects of our Christian walk with the Lord.
Patiently Live a Faithful Life.
Romans 8:25 (ESV)
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
James 5:8 (ESV)
8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
I believe, our faith will continue to be tested since the Christian life is never an assurance of life free of troubles. We will continue to be challenged to persevere and endure even suffering with patience until the coming of the Lord.
Live to Share Christ.
Jude 21-23 (ESV)
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
I hope and pray that with all the pressing truths about Jesus’s Second Coming, the advent and purpose will prompt us all to live with urgency. And while waiting, let us not receive this knowledge and truths just to keep it for ourselves. I also believe that this is another reason why Jesus Christ seems to delay His return, because we have not accomplished our mission here on earth. Think about our family, our loved ones, neighbors and friends. Is Jesus manifested in the lives of all the people that God brought your way, the way you know Jesus personally?
And as we close our sermon series, I hope that whenever we find God in our mountain top experience or moments, may we not forget that those are moments to draw strength and encouragement from the Lord. If the Last Mountain marks the glorious event, the blessed hope, the other mountain top experiences that came and may still have to come our way were moments of new perspective about God and ourselves. At the same time, these moments or experience of close encounter with the Lord doesn’t have to stop there at the top. As we are called to ascend and meet Him, we are also meant to descend and use these knowledge and wisdom from the Lord to share to others. Jesus is coming back very soon, so let us all continue to consistently live a life of commitment and productivity in Christ!