The Return of Christ: Anticipation or Anxiety?
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Tonight we talk a little more about the return of Christ.
And every time His return is mentioned,
It almost automatically produces one of two responses in people.
1) Anticipation
When John saw the Revelation he said:
Revelation 22:20 “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
When Paul gave an account of his own life he said:
2 Timothy 4:8 “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
In fact Paul even outlined believers as though who should long for Christ’s return.
1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.”
And so some definitely hear of the return of Christ
And their hearts are filled with anticipation.
But others have a different response:
2) Anxiety
Some are terrified of His return.
And obviously some should be terrified.
When He returns He isn’t coming back to preach.
He will return to judge the living and the dead.
He will tread the wine press of the wrath of God
And the blood will run in the streets up to the horses bridles
For a distance of 200 miles.
But even more frightening than that is the permanent spiritual judgment which follows in which the dead are cast forever into hell.
And so those who are lost should be filled with anxiety.
The tragedy is when you see a true believer
Who quite frankly has both.
On one hand he longs for the return and the reign of Christ.
He longs for the glorified earth where righteousness dwells.
But on the other hand he is a little anxious when he ponders it
Because he wonders what the Lord will think of him when He comes.
And this is the type of anxiety that was occurring at Thessalonica.
On one hand they couldn’t wait for Christ to return.
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”
But on the other hand apparently they were a little concerned
About some of the aspects of it.
We dealt with one of their concerns last week.
And that was:
WHAT ABOUT THE DEAD?
Do those who die in the Lord miss out on the return of Christ altogether?
And of course the answer is no.
They will rise first and then meet the Lord in the air
And always be with the Lord.
But there was a second question.
WHAT ABOUT THE LIVING?
Yes, I know what you said about the living being caught up
To meet Him in the air, but that was not the only concern.
What if I don’t recognize His coming?
What if I am not pleasing to Him?
They were concerned about the logistics of His coming.
On one hand eagerly waiting for it,
But on the other hand not exactly sure
What they would experience when it happened.
In order to sooth their anxiety the Thessalonians had one question.
(It is the same that all men have had)
WHEN WILL HIS COMING OCCUR?
(1) “Now as to the times and epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.”
Obviously that is what they wanted to know.
They wanted to know when it would happen.
Isn’t that the question everyone wants to know?
Matthew 24:3 “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Acts 1:6-7 “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;”
They always wanted to know when.
WHY?
Matthew 24:43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.”
Because knowing eliminates anxiety.
If I know when it is, then I can be better prepared.
The Thessalonians were concerned.
And so Paul writes these next ten verses
To settle the anxiety of the Thessalonians.
Three points
#1 THE REVIEW
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3
The answer Paul gives here is just the answer that we would expect.
He doesn’t tell us anymore than Jesus did.
He doesn’t tell us anymore than we already know.
“For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”
You would think people would quit asking.
Matthew 24:36-39 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
And it is obvious Paul had already told them that.
Because they “know full well”
But because they ask again Paul gives a little review.
We don’t know the day or hour of His return,
But we do know three truths about His coming.
1) HOW
“the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”
We don’t know the day He is coming,
But we do know how He will come when He does.
His coming will be sudden.
His coming will be unexpected.
When He comes there will be no time to prepare.
Of all the accounts we read of the Second Coming,
We see nothing of an invitation first.
It is too late to prepare for a thief once he is standing in your living room,
And it is too late to prepare for Jesus once He splits the sky.
And while the Lord did not think it important for us to know the day,
He did find it important to tell us this aspect.
Obviously so we would not tarry in readying ourselves for it.
We know HOW He is coming.
2) WHEN
“While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” THEN destruction will come…”
Granted we don’t know the day or hour,
But we do know what the world will be like when He comes.
He will come during a time of deception.
People will be proclaiming “Peace and safety!”
When in reality people are about to experience anything but.
Jesus said:
Matthew 24:11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”
While false prophets are always here,
They will escalate their efforts just before His return.
Their aim is to move people to apathy.
Their goal is to remove the threat of judgment.
Their desire is to keep people from repentance.
They aim to let people be caught completely off guard
By the coming of the Lord and so they deceive.
“then destruction will come”
And obviously this was something else that God desired for us to know.
While He didn’t tell us everything, He did tell us this.
So we would not be lulled to sleep by the lies of the false prophets.
So God told us when.
3) WHY
“then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”
When Christ comes it is to rain judgment upon a godless world.
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.”
We also know why He is coming,
And it is to take back the earth from the usurper.
There is but one true king.
There is but one rightful heir to the throne of earth and heaven.
And when Jesus returns He will render judgment on all those
Who sought to remove Him as Lord of their lives.
He will vanquish the foe
He will kill the traitors
He will clear the earth of all His enemies
And He will reign in peace.
And God thought we should know this as well.
We don’t know the day, nor the hour,
But we do know HOW, we do know WHEN, and we do know WHY.
That is the Review
But it is likely that at this point the Thessalonians said, “That is why we are anxious. He is coming to judge, He is coming suddenly, and we are afraid we will miss it, or worse yet be destroyed in it.”
That is why they wanted to know more.
The Review
#2 THE REMINDER
1 Thessalonians 5:4-10
And here Paul gives three reasons why a true believer
Can set their mind at ease in regard to the coming of the Lord.
If you are a true child of God you don’t have to be afraid,
You don’t have to be anxious.
And here are the three reasons why a believer can drop their anxiety.
1) YOUR DISCERNMENT (4-5a)
“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day.”
In other words, you don’t have to worry about being caught off guard.
You won’t be.
• The Lord has given you discernment.
• The Lord has opened your eyes.
• The Lord allows you to see what the lost world can’t see.
Matthew 24:32-35 “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. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Jesus has told us many things so that we can recognize that He is near.
WHAT ARE “THESE THINGS”?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 24:3-31
Great Deception (3-5)
Great Destruction (6-8)
Great Defection (9-13)
Great Declaration (14)
Great Desolation (15-22)
Great Demonstration (23-28)
Great Deliverance (29-31)
We know what to look for, we know how to prepare ourselves.
Do you suppose a lost world looks at the natural disasters around us and sees that the return of Jesus is near?
No, they look at the natural disasters and assume that
The C02 levels have eaten a hole in our ozone layer
Causing global warming which is to blame for all the weird disasters.
Yet global warming cannot be blamed for the unrest in Egypt
Or starvation in Africa, or the AIDS epidemic.
We have a discernment.
We aren’t kept in the dark we “are all sons of light and sons of day.”
2) YOUR DIFFERENCE (5b-8)
Some were concerned that they would not recognize the Lord’s coming,
Others were afraid that He would be unhappy when He came back.
But Paul says, that isn’t true either.
“We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”
The point being is that while the lost world cannot please God,
Or live in a manner that is pleasing to Him, you and I can.
• Christ has moved us from death to life.
• Christ has given us of His Spirit.
• Christ has made pleasing God possible.
The world, apart from Christ,
Has no hope and will be destroyed at His coming,
But we, because of Christ, can please God and have nothing to fear.
Paul’s admonition here is to live like it.
“let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”
Don’t partake of all the deeds of darkness.
Don’t gratify the sinful nature.
Instead purify yourself.
Guard your heart with faith and love.
Guard your mind with hope.
Live righteous, because you can.
NOW WHY WOULD PAUL SAY THAT HERE?
Is it because if we don’t then Jesus will change His mind and destroy us at His coming?
No.
He wants you to live righteous so that you will assure yourself
And calm your own anxiety.
1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”
1 John 4:17 “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.”
Both of those passages tell you to live righteously.
WHY?
• So He will accept you at His coming? – No.
• So you won’t have to be afraid when He comes.
He wants you to live right so you can put aside your anxiety.
He wants you to live right so you can anticipate His return.
In fact, that is the point of His entire letter.
1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
He didn’t say, “So God will see that you are saved”
He said “so that you may know”
And that is Paul’s point here.
If you are concerned about the 2nd coming,
Then make sure you live righteous, as He has equipped you to do.
For as you live righteous, you will realize that you are His
And your anxiety will slip away.
The world will be destroyed and the world will be afraid, but we won’t.
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.”
If you are living right, you can have confidence,
Because you only did it because He was in you.
Your Discernment will help you be ready
Your Difference will help you be ready
3) YOUR DESTINY (9-10)
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
And this is the most beautiful.
If you are a child of God,
You have nothing to fear from the return of the Lord.
If God wanted to destroy you, He would have never saved you.
If God wanted to destroy you, He only had to do nothing.
But He sent His Son, who died for us,
And He didn’t do that to change His mind in the end.
Christians have a destiny.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
God has already determined the destiny of your life
And it is not to end in destruction.
He destined you for salvation.
He destined you to be with Him.
And with that Paul is telling the believers at Thessalonica to calm down
And not get too worked up about the return of the Lord.
They won’t miss it, they have the discernment of God.
They won’t be destroyed with the world, they are different from the world.
They won’t obtain wrath, they are destined for salvation.
“so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.”
And with that Paul has answered both questions.
What about the dead when Christ comes?
They will rise and be with the Lord.
What about the living when Christ comes?
They will be caught up to meet Him and be with the Lord.
It doesn’t matter if you “are awake or asleep”
If you belong to Christ you will always be with Him.
The Review The Reminder
#3 THE REQUEST
1 Thessalonians 5:11
And this has been the theme of the book,
And the verse we have closed each sermon with.
“encourage one another”
Carries the idea of pushing each other to a higher level of sanctification.
We tell each other to “excel still more” in our efforts to please God.
We tell each other to “excel still more” in our love for others.
But we also “build up one another”
And this implies supplying what may be lacking.
That can be comfort to those who mourn.
That can be instruction to those who are misinformed.
That can be an example to those who need guidance.
That can be praise to those who have obeyed.
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”
It is the essence of Christian love,
To help each other achieve the will of God in our lives
Which is sanctification.
“just as you also are doing.”
Paul wasn’t critiquing them as a church that lacked encouragement,
Paul just wanted them to keep it up.
And so do we.
We want to encourage better and we want to keep it up.
Because we want every believer in this church
To not only be ready for the coming of the Lord,
But to also know they are ready for the coming of the Lord.
So we encourage.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”
