Sermon Cloud

CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT -- God chooses a people and confirms the promises He has made with them with a sign of the promise – a covenant.  God’s signs are how we physically recognize and apprehend the spiritual nature of the promises made by God. 

God makes several covenants throughout the Bible and this is why we preach a system of theology that bears that name = covenant theology.  God has promised to restore and redeem the earth and a people who dwell upon it – and He reminds His people and assures them of these promises by providing signs for their faith.

So has Christ promised to return?  YES!  Should we then look for signs of his return? Yes!   But let’s go back!  In the OT God left signs with HIS people to mark His presence and promises: rainbows, standing stones, prophets, priests, kings, sacrifices, foreskins – yeah, that last sign, really left an impression on the people.

The OT prophets proclaimed that the Lord would fulfill His promises of redemption – that is was drawing nigh – AND They told the people to look for a prophet like Moses, a King like David, a Son of Man who would be God’s anointed servant!  And when the OT prophets envisioned this coming one, this Messiah – They saw him coming in times of trouble, to gather all the world to judge and to save, to establish a new kingdom on the earth that would experience the total revitalization of nature and spiritual devotion, and this would reverse the curse of being expelled from the Garden – God and mankind would dwell with each other again.  THIS is what the prophet saw!

Jesus Christ comes!  And with spiritual vision and insight, we recognize that he fulfills ALL of the Jewish eschatological hope! But not to the degree that is completely described in the OT.  IN Jesus’ first advent he fulfils the most important aspects of delivering people from bondage, and gathering all nations to HIM, He establishes an Eternal Kingdom, and dwells with his people for ever – He will never leave them or forsake them!! 

But OT Israel envisioned more than something SPIRITUAL with the coming of the Messiah – they anticipated a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem on Mount Zion as the center of the world’s worship –a new humanity!!  When OT Israel envisioned the Messiah, they saw his first and second coming as one event – that was there perspective – (mountain range illustration – couldn’t differentiate the ridges of hills and valleys before the penultimate peak – in those ridges and valleys the prophets did announce the suffering servant passages, the inclusion of the Gentile in God’s plan, and the victory over spiritual enemies through spiritual transformation – AND ALL OF THAT was accomplished in Christ’s first coming; à but all of that will be concluded at His final coming!

And although we as the church, after Jesus’ first advent, acknowledge his return, as he said he would, we ALSO look for the complete restoration of all things in the future (Isaiah 65, Romans 8, Revelation 21,22, etc.)

Throughout all of this, a key component of Covenant theology still continues with us today, God still chooses a people to redeem, He still makes promises to them with signs – and these people today are the Church, which is what Israel was in the OT; but of whom today, the Apostle Paul says in (Galatians 6) of those who bear the fruit of the Spirit, that WE are the Household of Faith, we are the NEW Creation, and we are the Israel of God!

My point here is to say that the NT makes a grand connection!  That WE, the church HAVE what the OT saints longed for – the Messiah who came to restore that which was most important to Israel == PEACE WITH GOD!  We do not wrestle with God any longer because He has defeated us and all our spiritual foes, and has proven to be the champion.  But all of those PHYSICAL OT longings and expectations are OUR once again as we await the consummation of all things when Christ returns. 

So in that way, we are all Israel now, the OT and the NT saints together! (You’ll need to reference the election and engrafting of Romans 11to further appreciate this.)

So as the elect of God, we still look forward to a future hope that was had in the Old Testament – yet with MORE confidence now because our future hope has been secured in the work of Christ who gives us a foretaste of his kingdom rule – THE SIGN of His resurrection; The witness, conviction, indwelling, and communion of the Holy Spirit, AND ALL the spiritual promises of salvation because we take part in the redemption Christ bought when the Holy Spirit effectively applies it to us – AND we ALSO know that there will be a future and physical fulfillment of these promises, even though we must endure times of trouble, but the Messiah will come again to gather the world for judgment and salvation, and he will establish a physical and eternal rule in heaven and on earth, and will dwell with his people forever.

Now I mention the beauty of Covenant Theology because some people don’t like it!  Why?  Because they prefer another system that keeps the Jewish people Jewish!  They don’t like the church being in the OT, and they would like Israel to claim all their physical promises while the church is in heaven – It’s something like that, I don’t know if I completely understand it (I got a C in that class with angry notes from the professor!)  But if Covenant Theology is not your thing, and you are still trying to figure out the Return of the Lord, I have 4 principles to advance before you today that are weighty matters to consider when interpreting the End Times!

FIRST: part of careful Bible reading is to remember that the Bible was written to a specific audience who had more familiarity with what the authors were writing than we do today.  Now careful study can bring us a greater understanding of the original intent of the message to the first Christians – but speculating about what the Prophets and Apostles meant by trying to cross reference a bunch of passages together in hopes of communicating a preference… has only made the church look – opportunistic!  Too many books and movies and sermons on the last days, throughout all of history, should have be thrown on the Bonfire of the Vanities  -- with the publishers being the first ones committed to the flames. 

For example, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, among the earliest of Paul’s letters, addresses matters concerning the return of the Lord.  First of all, Paul says to this church, “Keep Working, don’t live on hand-outs; don’t stop engaging the world because the Lord’s return might be near!”

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. ⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

My point here being, we could speculate about who this man of lawlessness is, and I have a candidate for this man being a first century character, But I also allow for a future manifestation of the Devil – but what the passage clearly says is this:  Paul told the Thessalonians what this all meant for them and he was reminding THEM of what he taught – I wish Paul would have been more clear in this passage for us 2000 years later; but it wasn’t written to us – but to a specific church with specific problems and questions for Paul. 

Now, I’m a part of the larger universal church, so the Spirit still speaks to us about what this letter represents and how it should apply to us today à But it doesn’t tell me the Man of Lawlessness is a prime minister of a European country, or King George of England, or the Pope, or the hundreds of other candidates that the church has speculated him to be throughout all of history. 

Once again, as the church, we should suspect that someone will always rise up to give us trouble, and even seek to destroy our existence! Tribulations we will have; but take heart, Christ has overcome the world! 

First. Remember the first NT audience

Second. Another feature of a careful reading of the Bible is to acknowledge the two time periods mentioned in the Scripture.  There is the ALREADY and the NOT YET.  There is the PRESENT WORLD, and the WORLD YET TO COME.  It is important to adopt this two-fold understanding of Biblical time because it will keep us from inventing all kinds of future realities that make End Times teaching exasperating!

Again I will reference 3 ideas related to this.  A> Our redemption is understood by the back drop of the Exodus of the Jews being delivered from the slavery of Egypt.  After they came out of the kingdom of darkness, and after their baptism, they wandered a while in the wilderness.  That was their ALREADY, their NOT YET was when they fully entered into the Promised Land.  Similarly, as the Church, we have not obtained entrance into the glorious, eternal dwelling of Christ, we are wandering a bit – BUT we still possess promises secured by Christ and his accompanying Spirit who dwells with, in, and among us.

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 1:14 who is the guarantee (deposit) of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Here is a passage that reminds us of something we possess already, but will fully obtain in the world to come.  And this is the way that the NT constantly gauges time.  NOT the now, the rapture, the tribulation, the millennium, and THEN the eternal estate – but the Already (which includes some “used to be’s”), and the Not Yet = 1 John 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

B> A favorite way I like to illustrate this 2-fold aspect of time is to get your computer Bible and type in the exact phrase ‘Son of Man.” Then, read the NT Books, and then ask yourself, “Of what time frame is Jesus speaking – his present reality, or his future reality?”  There are only 2 realities!

Luke 18:31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

Luke 21:36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

The C> thing I will say about this is that we have a “realized eschatology,” Meaning that Christ IS presently ruling in heaven, and in the hearts of believers.  And though the kingdoms of men rise and fall, and maybe the earthly kingdom to which we belong may be on the outs, --- But we PRESENTLY take confidence in confessing Christ!  We may even live to see some ultimate Anti-Christ figure – the church has experienced this before, and will again.  But we always live in anticipation and in the hope of the NOT YET, which is Christ’s final demonstration of putting everything under the feet of God.  With Christ presently reigning as our final hope, we would never think this world is the place where we ultimately invest all of our hopes and future (Like all those slimy politicians!)  We represent the rule of Christ here, and seek to make the world reflect the New Creation Christ has brought to our hearts – But we will never invest our eternal hopes here, until Christ physically returns again!

First. Remember the first audience

Second. The NT only speaks of the Already and Not Yet

Third. The NT only speaks of a Final and Last Day of the Lord

Now, I just poked a little fun at a popular “end times” timeline, but when the NT describes the Second Coming, and the Gathering of Christians, and the Judgment of the world, and the Resurrection of the Dead – it always happens on the same day == LAST DAY (FAMILY PAGE)

OUR READING TODAY Matt 25 = SECOND COMING, GATHERING for JUDGMENT & SALVATION

John 5:28  Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when ALL who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. RESURRECTION of the DAMNED, RESURRECTION of the ELECT, JUDGMENT, SECOND COMING

John 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day  RESURRECTION of the ELECT & LAST DAY

John 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day  JUDGMENT & LAST DAY

1 Corinthians 15: 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end  ONLY 1 RESURRECTION & LAST DAY

1 Thessalonians 4:14 …through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 … 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.  GATHERING, RESURRECTION of the SAINTS, SECOND COMING & LAST DAY

2 Thessalonians 1:7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, …and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.  SECOND COMING and JUDGMENT AND SALVATION

2 Tim 4:1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom  JUDGMENT & SECOND COMING

First. Remember the first NT audience (keeps from wild speculation – they knew!)

Second. The NT only speaks of the Already and the Not Yet

Third. The NT only speaks of a Final and Last Day of the Lord

Fourth.  The NT still tells us to look for signs

I spent a long time explaining that Covenant theology is accompanied with signs, we should look for these signs and seals to be rightly administered in our churches as evidence of Christ ruling in His church!

But during his ministry, Jesus left us signs, his healings demonstrated who He was and what he came to do as a redeemer and restorer.  When he cast out demons, he said it was a sign of the kingdom of God being among them. And certainly the pre-immanent sign of Jesus was that of his resurrection from the dead.

Jesus warned his disciples and the generation of his day to avoid false prophets, prepare for persecution, and flee Jerusalem when troops came to lay siege on it.  So these were signs for the NT audience after the ascension of Christ.

But what about us today?  Should we still look for signs of Christ’s return?  In one aspect, we are to affirm Christ’s present rule and reign in this world, and not depend upon observable signs – the kingdom is within us; but many of Jesus’ parables tell us to lift our head as obedient servants and know that the master may return at any time.  So although we never set dates, we should be prepared for days of trial and trouble.

And if I could conclude with the most frightful sign of the Lord’s sure return, I would not list mass persecutions of Christians, this has happened in the world, and even today.  I would not list a church abandoning sound doctrine, this has always happened in the world, and even today. I would not list the church being taken over by the state so that she actually advocates the policies of some future worldly ruler.

And although those would be important signs predicted by our Lord,

What I think I would list as the most frightening sign is the day that the church didn’t even care about any of these signs happening in the world. 

When the church grows so cold, and idle, and apathetic, that she doesn’t even care about the sick and poor and imprisoned;  when we don’t care about the martyrs, or the over reaching of government, or lose the will to debate both believer and unbeliever about WHAT IS TRUTH ---– THAT is the sign that I believe will mark the Lord’s return.

²⁶ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot- they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ²⁹ but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all- ³⁰ so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³