“THE GREAT TRIBULATION” (Mt 24:36,42-51)
(OR WILL JESUS RETURN AT ANY MOMENT?)
March 9th, 03
Int. We should by all means expect to see Bible Prophesy fulfilled.
1. (John 14:3) "I will come again, and receive you unto myself;”
a. The hope of the church is the return of our Lord.
2. Did the early Christians expect that the “Rapture” would take place at “any moment?”
3. Or were they expecting that certain prophesies would be fulfilled first?
4. Remember, Jesus said: “No man knows that day or hour.” (Vr. 36)
a. Many have grown impatient in this matter and taken steps to hasten our Lord’s return.
1. JACK VAN IMPE, who used to be a regular at Thomas Road Baptist in Lynchburg, not wanting to be called a “date setter” simply narrowed the second coming down to “sometime between 2001 and 2012"
2. (Prov 13:12) "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."
5. Instead of instructing us to listen for the shout; our Lord insisted on a life of “WATCHFULNESS AND OBEDIENCE AT ALL TIMES” (Vr. 42-51)
Watch your Actions
Watch your Thoughts
Watch your Company
Watch your Habits
6. Our Lord was still with his disciples when he told them of his return
7. He told them that He must “first” suffer
a. (Luke 17:25) "But first must he ‘suffer many things’, and be rejected of this generation."
9. He also promised that after His ascension, He would send the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)
a. These things had to take place before He would come again.
b. Therefore, prior to Pentecost, they were awaiting, “not the second coming of Christ, but the coming of the Holy Spirit.”
===================
c. (John 16:6-7) "But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. {7} Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."
10. Then, being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they were to go into all the world. (Mt 28:10-20; Mk 16:15; Jn 20:21; Acts 1:8)
1. Time had to be allowed for travel, preaching, baptizing, instructing converts, etc.
2. Our Lord would certainly not come back before allowing them to get started on what He had commissioned them to do
3. (John 16:2) "They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service."
11. Time had to be allowed for the fulfillment of our Lord’s Prophesy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.
1. (Luke 21:20-21) "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. {21} Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto."
2. When Jesus returns, we will not need to flee to the mountains, since we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thess 4:16).
3. The Destruction of Jerusalem then, was an event that had to take place before the Second Coming of Christ.
4. Their fleeing to the mountains took place at Pella, a little city just east of the Jordan River and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It received a large part of the Jerusalem church when they fled before the Roman destruction of the Holy City in A. D. 70)
12. Jesus knew that Simon Peter would grow to be an old man BEFORE the Second Coming.
a. (John 21:18-19) "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. {19} This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me."
b. (2 Pet 1:14) "Knowing that shortly (but in the future) I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me."
c. (2 Pet 1:15) "Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after (in the future) my decease to have these things always in remembrance."
13. Peter asked a question about whether John would live to see the day of our Lord’s return.
a. (John 21:20-23) "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? {21} Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? {22} Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. {23} Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?"
14. Paul wrote (2nd Thessalonians) to correct some misgivings concerning His return to this earth again.
a. (2 Th 2:1-3) "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, {2} That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. {3} Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
b. Paul insisted that before the Lord’s Return, two things would have to occur.
1. A “FALLING AWAY FIRST”
2. The “MAN OF SIN REVEALED.”
c. To teach that the church will be raptured before the falling away and the man of sin be revealed, is the exact opposite of what Paul taught them.
d. Bible students generally link the “man of sin” with the beast of (Rev 13:1-7)
1. (Rev 13:7) "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
2. And yet, Dispensationalists claim that when the “beast” takes over, the church (saints) will have already been “raptured.” in (Revelation Chapter four)
15. And yet Paul said that Satan would be destroyed when our Lord comes.
1. (2 Th 1:7-8) "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, {8} In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:"
2. (2 Th 2:8) "And then shall that Wicked (Gr. Wicked One) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"
16. These saints were troubled with persecutions and tribulations and thought that perhaps the day of our Lord’s return was at hand.
1. (2 Th 2:2) "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."
2. If Paul thought that Christ would return at any moment, this would have been a perfect time to tell them.
3. On the contrary, he spoke of their “NOT” being “GATHERED” unto Him until “two” things happened. (A falling away and the man of sin being revealed).
17. Some would argue that “The Day of Christ” does not refer to the Rapture.
1. But it is used here in reference to “our gathering together unto Him.” (2 Thess 2:2)
18. Let us examine several passages that refer to “THE COMING OF CHRIST.” AS “THE DAY OF CHRIST.”
1. (1 Cor 1:8-9) "Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. {9} God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."
2. (2 Cor 1:14) "As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus."
3. (Phil 1:6) "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
4. (Phil 1:10) "That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"
5. (Phil 2:16) "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
19. Now let us consider just when will this “DAY OF CHRIST” BE.
1. (2 Th 2:1-3) "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, {2} That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. {3} Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
20. The any moment Rapturists try to make “The Day of Christ” in (2 Thess 2:2) to be something else.
1. Schofield says “The Day of Christ” in (2 Thess 2:2) (K. J. V.)should be “The Day of the Lord.”
2. But Strong’s concordance shows that the word translated “Christ” in this verse is “Christos” which means “Messiah”
3. The word “Christos” is found over 500 times in the Bible and is translated “Christ.”
4. The Greek word that is translated “Lord” in the N. T. is a different word–“Kurios” and is found 711 times in the N. T.
5. In (2 Thess 2:2), “The Day of Christ” is a correct translation.
21. Now the question may be asked, “what difference does it make which way it is translatred.”
1. That is, whether we refer to “The day of Christ or The Day of the Lord.?”
2. The following terms are used interchangeably in the N. T. In reference to the Lord’s coming to gather His people home.
a. (Phil 1:10) "That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"
b. (Phil 1:6) "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
c. (1 Cor 1:8) "Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
d. (2 Cor 1:14) "As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus."
e. (1 Th 5:2) "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
22. How could our Lord promise to be with us to “the end of the world” (end of the age), if in reality, we were going to be “caught up seven years before the end of the age?”
Conclusion: Our Lord is coming again and the world will not spit in his face this time.
1. When He returns again, the world will not bow in mockery this time, but every knee shall bow. (Phil 2:
2. C. H. S. says: “The Crucified shall come again; and though the nailprints will be visible, no nails shall then fasten his dear hands to the tree; but instead thereof, he shall grasp the scepter of universal sovereignty; and he shall reign for ever and ever. Hallelujah!
3. May the Lord be pleased to keep us waiting, working and watching for His Return.
There’s a great day coming, A great day coming. There’s a great day coming by and by,
When the saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left, Are you ready for that day to come?
There’s a Bright day coming, a Bright day coming. There’s a bright day coming by and by.
But it’s brightness shall only come to those that love the Lord. Are you ready for that day to come?
There’s a Sad day coming, a sad day coming. There’s a sad day coming by and by. When the sinner shall hear his doom, “Depart, I know you not,” Are you ready for that day to come?
Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready for the Judgment day?
Are you ready? Are you ready for the Judgment day?
-------------We shall continue on this subject next Lord’s Day.