Sermon Cloud

The End is Near: What Will Happen?

2 Peter 3:10-13

Intro: 27 year old man armed to kill 30.  Fred Winters.  Not how he expected it to end.  Everett Ralston little more time to prepare.  Regardless of how soon they thought it was – both were prepared.  Are you?  It may not be death – it may be Christ returning.  Will you be ready?

Proposition: The scriptures teach us some things about how it will all end and how we should be prepared for it.

I.                Be ready – it will happen suddenly. (10a)

The day of the Lord will come like a thief.  In other words – it will happen suddenly and without warning.  You will be living like normal – and then boom! – there He is.

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are still alive 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

             Ex. Jim’s alarm clock.

Since Christ can come at any moment that means we must be ready for His return.  Doesn’t mean waste time figuring out when– but live in such a way that you are always ready.

             Ex. Testing Babysitter – come early.

1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night…6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 1 Thess. 5:1-2, 6

Can’t just assume you are ready.  Ex. Cosby – fire alarm.

42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24:42-44

So how can I be ready?  1. Salvation.  2. Don’t get caught up with petty stuff.  (Moving deck chairs on a sinking ship). 3. Pursue holiness.

II.             Be holy - Christ will come to purge away all that is unholy. (10-12)

Most of us tend to only focus on God’s love and grace to you.  But you need to understand God is also a just God of judgment.  And Christ is coming to judge and purge away all that is unholy!

Ex. Rocky 4.  Apollo thinks it’s a joke.  Ivan Drago.

The heavens – the universe will pass away with a roar!  Just as the church age began at Pentecost (roaring winds and fire), so it will end with the return of Christ.

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Acts 2:2-3

“With intense heat” in the Greek was a medical term to denote high fever.  A fever is considered one of the body's immune mechanisms to attempt a neutralization of a perceived threat inside the body, be it bacterial or viral. A fever is not a disease, but the body's response to a disease.

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  Matt 25:31-34, 41

I believe this will be a renewal.  Purging of what is not of God and all that will remain is what is Holy.  The Bible says nature even cries out for this.  Other passages call it a shaking.

Now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. ²⁷ Now this expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:26-29

(Sift and burn dross.)

“holy conduct and godliness” – Godliness is a compound word for “good” “worship”.  Daily living for Christ is to be expected – not exceptional. 

Test your holiness by how much you long for His return. (12a)

Ex. Dad is coming home.  Good/bad depending on how I acted.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

III.           Be hopeful – He will make all things new and right. (13)

Christ has promised us He will return to make things right and new.  He will give us a new heaven and a new earth where only righteousness remains.  That should give us surpassing hope no matter what comes our way.

Temporary difficulties can’t compare to what is to come. 

Ex. Pains of childbirth worth it.

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration… 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:18-25

So what will happen?

This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, ⁸ taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord’s presence and from His glorious strength, ¹⁰ in that day when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. 2 Thess 1:7-10

Those in Christ should have great hope and a longing.  Not in Christ - great fear!

Conclusion: Since the death of Fred Winters a slew of articles and speeches about churches being ready for such an event.  That is an important question.  But what really matters – is are you ready for your own death or His return?