The Coming Coronation
Matthew 24:29-31
November 18, 2012
Well, finally this morning we get to the good news.
We’ve had a few difficult weeks here studying this “Olivet Discourse”
The disciples wanted to know, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And although Jesus’ answer has been clear,
It hasn’t necessarily been pleasant.
His answer thus far has been prefaced with statements like:
• “See to it that no one misleads you…”
• “See that you are not frightened…”
And the difficult part is that those statements are very relevant advice.
The time of the end will be a time of great deception
And very frightening reality.
• The whole thing will kick off with what is known as “The Abomination of Desolation”.
• An event where the chief pawn of Satan known as “Anti-Christ” will enter the temple and declare himself to be God.
• And according to Jesus, when that event happens, RUN!
• It will set off a time of great devastation, like wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and famines.
• And that will lead into a time of great tribulation in which those who are Jewish or who proclaim loyalty to Christ will be hated and killed.
And of course throughout all of those times of hardship
The world will be saturated with false prophets and false Christ’s
Whose only purpose is to deceive and lead men into destruction.
So Jesus’ warnings not to be misled and not to fear
Seem to be very appropriate warnings.
But this morning we finally get to the good news.
This morning we see that even though
It may at times feel that way, Satan doesn’t win.
You see there is a rightful King on His way,
And when He arrives things will finally get set straight.
The Psalmist said:
Psalms 96:10-13 “Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”
This King may have once been rejected,
But He is on His way to rule and to reign.
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”
The time of the tribulation is certainly a dark time
When Satan seems to have his way on the earth.
But his time is short, for the King is on His way.
It is the coming of this King that we see this morning.
And it is important that we study this.
We are about to enter the time known as “The Christmas Season”.
And during that time we rightly focus on the coming of our Savior.
Most of the world is familiar with details surrounding the birth of Christ.
• We know about the traveling of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem
• We know about there being no room in the inn.
• We know that Jesus was born of a virgin, wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger.
• We know about the shepherds being told by the angels.
• We know about the wise men traveling from a far having seen His star
We know the details surrounding His first coming.
And yet, most people remain fairly ignorant
About the details surrounding His second coming.
Well those are the details the Lord is pointing out to us
Here in this Olivet Discourse.
And they are important details to know, because He is coming back.
(And we certainly don’t want to miss Him this time like they did the first time)
Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
We can even read the book of the Revelation and see this glorious return.
Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
We know the facts about His first coming,
But His second coming is such a contrast.
• The first time He rode a donkey,
• The second time a white horse
• The first time He came to save,
• The second time He wages war
• The first time His eyes were kind,
• The second time they are flame of fire
• The first time He wore a crown of thorns,
• The second time many diadems
• The first time He was followed by ordinary men,
• The second time the armies of heaven
• The first time He spoke words of healing,
• The second time a sharp sword comes from His mouth
• The first time He walked the hill to the cross,
• The second time He will tread the winepress.
• The first time His name was Jesus,
• The second time it is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
There is such a contrast.
And just as people have rightly learned the events of His first coming,
So they should also know about the events of His second coming.
And that is what we learn of here this morning.
There are four things that Jesus shows us here.
#1 THE ORDER
Matthew 24:29a
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days…”
We have already embarked upon the process of
Putting the events of the end into some sort of chronological order.
• We know false peace comes.
• Followed by the Abomination of Desolation.
• Followed by wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes.
• Followed by an unparalleled time of tribulation.
Here is the next step in the timeline.
“But immediately after the tribulation of those days…”
The event we see here comes after the tribulation.
And not just after, but “immediately” after.
And here is the good news about that.
The tribulation is a necessary thing that must occur.
We read in the book of Daniel last week:
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”
Daniel was told that 70 – 7’s were decreed.
Israel has presently lived through 69 of those 7’s.
This final week is necessary to fulfill God’s plan for Israel.
But rest assured that God will not push the tribulation a second longer than He has to in order to accomplish His purpose.
Perhaps you have noticed
All the references to the length of the tribulation.
• Sometimes it is called “a time, times, and a half time” (3 ½ years)
• Sometimes it is called “forty-two months”
• And yet sometimes it is calculated by days.
Daniel 12:11-12 “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!”
This time is set, both its beginning and its end.
God will not prolong it one second longer than necessary.
And Jesus has already alluded to that.
Matthew 24:22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
Even later in the discourse:
Matthew 24:32-33 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”
Indicating there that He is eager to return, and He is not seeking to tarry.
Christ will come “immediately after the tribulation”
And of course this is His nature.
Luke 18:6-7 “And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?”
He is just as eager to save His elect now as He has ever been.
And as soon as God’s purpose for the tribulation is accomplished,
Christ will immediately return.
The order
#2 THE CHAOS
Matthew 24:29b
“THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
When Christ was born we saw a star appear,
But when Christ returns the opposite occurs.
All of the heavenly lights will go out.
“The sun will be darkened”
“The moon will not give its light”
“The stars will fall from the sky”
Isaiah 13:9-11 “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”
Joel 2:31 “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”
In that day, just before Christ returns,
Creation is going to have a major power outage.
And not just lights:
“the powers of the heavens will be shaken”
This refers to all of the laws of nature.
All of those absolutes that we count on every single day, forget about it.
I know scientists seek to explain to us about things like gravity and how they work, but on this day, all of their theories will be debunked.
The only reason things like gravity work right now is because
There is a Sovereign Sustainer over this world who tells it to.
Colossians 1:16-17 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
• Christ holds this world together.
• Christ keeps the planets in orbit.
• Christ keeps the sun shining.
• Christ keeps gravity working.
It is Him who keeps everything in its place.
Job 26:7 “He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.”
So it only stands to reason that if He lets go, it’s coming down.
On this day, everything is going haywire.
We don’t have time to go read it all,
But you can reference Revelation 16 in your margin.
Revelation 16 are the 7 bowl judgments,
They are what immediately precede the coming of Christ.
Among the things happening during that day are:
• The sea becoming like the blood of a dead man
• The rivers and springs also becoming blood
• The sun scorching men with fire (the earth got too close)
• Lightning and thunder and great earthquakes
• 450 lb. hail stones pummeling mankind
When Christ lets go, this world is going to spin out of control.
Luke’s gospel speaks of that day as well:
Luke 21:25-26 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
The word for “fainting” there is APOPSUCHO
It literally means “to leave off breathing”
The King James translates it “Men’s hearts failing them”
People won’t just faint, they will die of terror and fright.
When men see all the chaos and natural calamity that is coming,
Some of them will experience heart-stoppage immediately.
This world will fall into disorder and chaos.
See, Christ isn’t coming back to save this world.
Christ is coming back to rescue His elect.
This world will fall apart, because the sustainer will let it go.
The Order, The Chaos
#3 THE SIGN
Matthew 24:30
There is the phrase:
“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,”
Wasn’t that what the disciples asked?
“what will be the sign of Your coming?”
Well, here it is.
Immediately after the tribulation, creation will fall into chaos,
And then He will appear.
Christ will show up.
• Like lightning from the east, flashing all the way to the west…
• And with the earth in darkness, it won’t be hard to recognize His light
He will arrive in glorious splendor!
And note the response:
“and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY and with power and great glory.”
People will mourn.
Now, don’t get that confused with the mourning of Israel.
• They mourn when they look on Him whom they pierced.
• They mourn in repentance.
This is the rest of humanity
And they are mourning for an entirely different reason.
They are mourning because they are about to be destroyed.
Jude 14-15 “It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
Luke’s gospel speaks of His return, and notice His statement:
Luke 19:27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
No wonder they will all be turned to fear.
“and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds”
Remember what the angels told the disciples after He ascended?
Acts 1:9-11 “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
They were absolutely right.
Jesus is returning.
It is a literally return in the sky, just as He left.
AND THIS IS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST COMING.
During the first coming He slipped in through the womb,
Unnoticed by practically everyone, but not this time.
The first time He come clothed in humility.
Philippians 2:6-7 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”
But not this time.
This time He comes “with power and great gory.”
And the earth is terrified.
And now, hopefully you are beginning to get Jesus’ point.
Yes the devastation is bad…
Yes the tribulation is bad…
But those still aren’t the things you should fear.
If you want to fear something, fear the return of the Lord.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
We talked last week about the horrific persecution
Unleashed by the anti-christ against those who follow Christ.
But friends that is nothing in comparison to the judgment
Unleashed by the real Christ on those who follow anti-christ.
Revelation 16:10 “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,”
And then when Jesus does return, all of anti-christ’s followers are killed.
Revelation 14:9-11 “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
And what happens to the anti-christ?
Revelation 19:19-21 “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Doom of the Beast and False Prophet And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
You may think the anti-christ has power,
But you don’t want to mess with the real one.
The wrath of anti-christ can be endured, the wrath of Jesus Christ cannot.
And that is why “the tribes of the earth will mourn”
The King has returned.
The Order, The Chaos, The Sign
#4 THE GATHERING
Matthew 24:31
Shortly after Pentecost, Peter was preaching in Jerusalem
And he told the Jews this important truth:
Acts 3:19-21 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
That is what we see here.
Christ has returned for His elect.
• He didn’t come to save the earth…
• He didn’t come to save His enemies…
• He came to save His chosen ones.
“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
Not one will be missing, not one will be left.
Christ will come to deliver His own.
Luke 21:25-28 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
While the earth is quaking in fear,
Jesus told His chosen ones to lift up their heads.
The Christ has come to deliver His people
And to destroy those who did them harm.
And there we have the answer to the disciple’s questions.
When will it happen, and what will it be like?
Well, devastation and tribulation are coming first
Thanks to the abomination of desolation.
However, as soon as the tribulation is complete,
I will return, judge the world, and deliver My chosen ones.
From that I hope you get the point of what Jesus has taught us thus far.
YOU NEED TO BE PREPARED
• You need to be prepared for the coming devastation and tribulation so that you aren’t deceived or tempted to fall away from Christ.
• You need to be prepared for the coming coronation, because if you aren’t, you will not survive.
2 Peter 3:11-12 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!”
If you know Christ will return and destroy the world,
What sort of motivation should that provide for you?
We just visited Carrie’s parents this weekend.
He has just built on a storm shelter to his house.
He knows that tornados can spring up rather quickly and he opted to be prepared. (And he is not alone in that type of planning)
Now listen, people all over the world
Build storm shelters for storms that might come,
And yet they leave themselves completely unprotected
From the one that most definitely is coming.
• Have you prepared for the day that the sun and moon and stars grow dark?
• Have you prepared for the day that the powers of the heavens are shaken?
• Have you prepared for the day when Christ returns to judge the wicked?
In Luke’s gospel, after the details of the end,
Jesus gives some very relevant advice.
Luke 21:34-36 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
First – “Be on guard” that you don’t get so caught up in this life that you fail be prepared for that one.
Second – pray for the strength to escape what is coming.
Third – pray that you will be able “to stand before the Son of Man.”
Don’t get so busy and distracted that you fail to understand
Where this whole thing is headed.
Adrian Rogers once said:
“People ask all the time, ‘What’s this world headed to?’ I’ll tell you where this world is headed, it’s headed to Jesus. Jesus owns this world, it was made by Him and for Him and the Bible says it’s coming back to Him… ‘And the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.’”
And he’s absolutely right.
We are on a collision course with Jesus,
And you had better make sure you are ready to stand before Him.
Psalms 2:6-12 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
