| Andrew Lim
20 July 2008 - Matthew 24:32-44; Rev. 20:11–15
So far in our study of the Creed / we have been dwelling
on what Christ has done / and what he is presently doing
This morning / we look at one portion of the Creed
which talks of a task / yet left to be done
His return again / in the second coming to judge the world
So we get the word “will” / “From there He will come
to judge the living and the dead”
The world will not have the last word
The world thought it had the last word / when they hung Him on the cross
God will not let the world have the last word
Christ will return
We know Jesus is coming again because / the Bible affirms it
Both the Old and the New Testament promise that Jesus will return
The Old Testament has 1,845 references to the second coming
The New Testament has 318 references to His second return
We know Jesus is coming again because none other than Jesus Himself
promised He will come again
We know Jesus is coming again because even the angels themselves
reminded the apostles to look out for the Second Coming / Acts 1: 11
We know Jesus is coming again because the celebration of the Lord’s Supper
proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes again
Christians in every age / all over the world believed it
Is it any wonder why the Christians in the first century of the church
lived like He was going to appear any day in the clouds
They were so expectant of it they were ever vigilant and watchful
I want to introduce a new word / the eschatology
It is a branch of the study of theology
where we explore the last days of planet earth / before Jesus returns
In eschatology / Scripture is clear / Jesus will come again
We are absolutely certain that He will return
What we are not certain / is the date of His Coming
For that / we have only an imperfect and incomplete knowledge
And yet so many people in the past
have made predictions and calculations about his return
only to be proven wrong / time and again
A good number of people over the many centuries
have been who sold all they had / gave the money away
made it to the hills / and there wait for the coming of the Lord
It has been said that Christopher Columbus
thought that his voyages were part of God's ordained plan
and that Jesus would return in the year 1650
In the 1840s a man named William Miller convinced his followers
to sell all they had / for Christ was then coming
Some have predicted it was 1914
looking at World War 1 as “the war to end all wars”
The Jehovah Witnesses once predicted it was to be 1975
Some had thought it was to be 1982
for in that years there was this unusual planetary configuration
A Bible teacher printed a book entitled
“Eighty-Eight Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988” / He didn’t
And people are still doing that today
Each time an event of some significance occurs esp in the Middle East
you get some such Christians taking their calendars out
and making some fresh calculations
- they never learn
But our Lord repeatedly warned us
against making foolish and misguided calculations
He tells us that He will come in such a manner
that none can predict
Further / He confessed that even He
did not know the time of his return
Only God the Father has the date in His mind
So which part of “I will come like a thief in the night”
do we not understand?
I mean how hard is that saying?
How do thieves come to your house?
By printing brochures of his plans
and announcing it to all in your neighbourhood?
Of course not / He comes in the stealth of the night
Jesus said: “As the days of Noah were
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be'”
The days in which Noah lived were dreadfully sinful days
There were stuff going on we couldn’t even mention from here
sins that so roused the anger of God He had to come with a flood
and wipe human people off the face of the earth
That’s partly what it means / as it was in the days of Noah
so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man
Things will get worse and worse / it will bubble over
and God will come in judgement
But there is another meaning to the words of Jesus
when He said: “As it was in the days of Noah
so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man”
It’s this
They were eating / drinking / giving and taking in marriage
And that’s just a way of saying
they were preoccupied with the daily affairs of life
- rising in the morning / take the kids to school
- going to work / coming back / have dinner
- watch the telly / going to bed
All is well / not a care in the world
And all of a sudden: Bang! God came!
In the days of Noah / they didn’t see it coming
they weren’t thinking about it / weren’t expecting it
Of course they saw Noah building the ark
but they concluded that he was just a bumbling fool
- there wasn’t a body of water for kilometres
- there wasn’t a drop of rain for ages
and here he is with his family building this silly boat
And with each passing day
Noah looked like more of a fool than the day before
But then quite suddenly / when they least expected it
the flood came and took them all away
Just think of it / an entire generation
wiped out by the hand of God / in one single moment in time
One moment you’re sitting down eating dinner
the next / you’re borne away by this massive flood water
Maybe you're at work in the field
and suddenly the entire field disappears under a wall of water
Now with the great tsunamis we’ve just seen
it’s not as far-fetched as you might think
The day will come / when where once a world was
suddenly the world you knew / has melted away in a ball of fire
This is what our Lord is saying / when he says
“Just as it was in the days of Noah! Just as it was in the days of Noah!”
Wonder if there’s any one of us who’s in that place this morning
It can come upon you / just like that in the same way
Just when you least expected it
Just when the coming of the Lord
is the last thing on your mind and heart / He will return
Jesus said it many times
Of the day and the hour / no man knows / Matt. 24:26
In Matt 24:32-36 / Jesus gave the lesson of the fig tree
As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out
you know that summer is near / In the same way
when you see all these things /you know that it is near”
Then He says
“I tell you the truth / this generation will certainly not pass away
until all these things have happened”
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven
nor the Son / but only the Father”
When we see new leaves appearing in the springtime
we know that the summer is near
In the same way / when the signs of Matthew 24 begin to appear
we will know the return of Christ cannot be far away
When Jesus says to them / “this generation” will not pass away
until all the signs are fulfilled”
He means that when the signs of the end do begin to occur
they will all come to an end within the span of a generation
Of course those signs have always been with us
But the time will come when they will become totally evident
And the generation that sees those predicted events of Matthew 24
unfolding in such a totally evident way
within that generation / they will witness His return
When the Bible tells us that Christ's second coming is near
it is not referring to nearness as is measured by human clock-time
Its not saying that Jesus’ return was only a few years off
This is why when Jesus told the people about the nearness of His coming
He warned them that He will linger before He comes
He tells us / that the bridegroom tarries / lingers / Matt. 25:5
And He seems to us / to have really lingered / haven’t He?
People have taunted us / and mocked us / ridiculed us
asking us / “Where is the promise of His coming?” / 2 Peter 3:4
while Jesus quietly continues to linger
So many generations have passed / and He hasn’t yet returned
Decades / centuries / and now / two millennia have passed
and He hasn’t yet appeared
And some people have concluded
that the Lord is slack concerning His promise
But Christ and the apostles never expected the coming of Christ to be soon
Near? Yes / Soon? No / And there is a difference between the two
So how near is His coming?
As near as the last time you took the Holy Communion
As near last Sunday’s sermon preached
As near as the most recent earthquake / tsunami / flood / and hurricane
As near as the latest denial of Christ by a faithless church
As near as the latest bill passed legitimizing divorce / abortion
homosexuality and prostitution
As near as the latest bill defending a young child
from her parents’ disciplinary measures
As near as the latest attempt
to form all nations under a one world government
In some sense / the coming of Christ is
as near for the church / at the end of the second millennium
as it was near for the church / at the end of the first century
But in a sense / it is also much closer to us than it was to them
But for now we live in two worlds / so to speak
Helmut Thielicke asks us to imagine history’s two rooms
In one room of history
- we worry about paying our rent / worry about our health
- we go to work / come back / eat dinner / and walk the dog
- we get married / bring up our children
- we quarrel and gripe over rising fuel cost
- we fight for promotion in our jobs
And all this time / that we’re trying to have a life / there is another room
In that other room
the best china has been carefully set
the finest napkins are folded ready
the golden candle sticks are in place
the trumpets of final judgement are slowly being raised
the table is set for the royal wedding feast
Now this is as real / as your face is in the mirror
There are these two worlds
And everyday / the two worlds collide
We live in the now / and the not yet
How then shall we live / in the light of His imminent coming?
I like to take it from Martin Luther
When Luther was once asked what he would do
if he knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow
He replied / “I would plant a tree”
The point is this / Just keep on doing what you know to be right
and whenever Jesus comes / you won’t be disappointed
We need to strike a godly balance with regards to His Second Coming
Live as though he might come today
Plan as though he won’t return for a thousand years
The fact that we do not know the time of His coming
is really a gift of grace for us
Because we do not know when He’s coming
we need to be vigilant at all times / for He may come this year
Know the kind of people we humans are
Knowing how our hearts are very prone to wander
Knowing our hunger and lust for sin
if we knew for sure that His coming is not for another decade
or another hundred years
we would freely gratify ourselves and wallow freely in our sins
we would be too careless with the way we live
we would be too lenient with ourselves
we wouldn’t be vigilant and watchful
But because we do not know when He will appear
we walk thoughtfully / carefully / circumspectly
We need to ask God to search our hearts each day
so that we can see ourselves as God sees us
We need to confess of the evil in our hearts
for if we do not deal with them now
in the final judgement they will point an accusing finger at us
Every day / every hour / we need to submit ourselves
to God’s judgement
We live in a time / when more earnestly than before
we should be praying “Maranatha Come / Lord Jesus / come quickly”
But the crucial thing in eschatology / is not when He’s coming
but / one / Who is coming / and two / What is He coming for?
Hebrews 9:27 says / “It is appointed for men to die once
and after this comes judgment” /
All who tell you that you will be reincarnated into another life are wrong
There will be reincarnation
And all those who / like Bertrand Russel
tell you that there will be absolutely nothing after are also wrong
for there will be life after death
We’re not going to be reincarnated to another form of life
Neither are we going to snuffed out like candles
or like a drop of water / return the massive ocean
as some religion teach
There will be life after death
Death will not spell the end of our existence
We do not go out of consciousness / when we die
The Bible repeatedly affirms
that there will be a great final judgment of believers and unbelievers
Both believers and unbelievers will stand in their resurrected bodies
before the judgment seat of Christ
and hear Him pronounce their eternal destiny
John in Revelations writes graphically:
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it
from his presence earth and sky fled away
and no place was found for them
And I saw the dead / great and small / standing before the throne
and books were opened
Also another book was opened / which is the book of life
And the dead were judged by what was written in the books
by what they had done
And the sea gave up the dead in it
death and hades gave up the dead in them
and all were judged by what they had done
Then death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire
This is the second death / the lake of fire
and if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life
he was thrown into the lake of fire / Rev. 20:11–15
There are many other passages that speak of the final judgment
Paul says to the Greek philosophers in Athens
God “commands all men everywhere to repent
because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world
in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed
and of this he has given assurance to all men
by raising him from the dead” / Acts 17:30–31
There have been many judgements of God before / in biblical history
He judged the world with the flood
He judged the people by dispersing them from the tower of Babel
He raised up judges in the history of Israel to judge the people
He judged them at Sodom and Gomorrah
He brought judgment on angels who sinned
But there will be one final judgement to come
We see it described in Matthew 25:31–46
It reads / “When the Son of Man comes in his glory
and all the angels with him / then he will sit on his glorious throne
Before him will be gathered all the nations
and he will separate them one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats
and he will place the sheep at his right hand
but the goats at his left
Then the King will say to those at his right hand
“Come / O blessed of my father / inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world
for I was hungry and you gave me food
As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers
you did it to me”
Then he will say to those at his left hand / “Depart from me you cursed
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels
for I was hungry and you gave me no food
As you did it not to one of the least of these / you did it not to me”
And they will go away into eternal punishment
but the righteous into eternal life”
But if there’s going to be a judgement / there will have to be a judge
Who will judge us?
Jesus Christ will be the Judge
2 Tim. 4:1 / It is “Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead”
Peter says that Jesus Christ “is the one ordained by God
to be the judge of the living and the dead” / Acts 10:42
John 5:26–27 / “The Father has given him authority
to execute judgment / because he is the Son of Man”
And it is the Father / Who has given Him
this right to stand over all human person in judgement
But who will be judged? / Unbelievers will be judged
They will be judged by every wrong deed we have done
The Word says / “On the day of judgment men will render account
for every careless word they utter” / Matt. 12:36
Every word spoken / every deed done
will be brought to light and receive judgment
Eccl 12:14 / “For God will bring every deed into judgment
with every secret thing / whether good or evil”
On the day of judgment the secrets of people’s hearts
will be revealed and made public
Luke 12:2–3 / “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed
or hidden that will not be known
Therefore whatever you have said in the dark
shall be heard in the light
and what you have whispered in private rooms
shall be proclaimed upon the housetops”
But supremely / it is for rejecting the Lord Jesus
that the judgement of God will fall on the unbeliever
John 3:36 / “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life
but whoever rejects the Son will not see life
for God’s wrath remains on him”
So who will be judged / unbelievers will be judged
But will we believers be judged?
But the Word of God also tells us that believers will be judged as well
“We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God
Each of us shall give account of himself to God” / Rom 14:10, 12
Paul says / “For we must all appear / before the judgment seat of Christ
that each one may receive what is due him
for the things done while in the body whether good or bad”
2 Cor. 5:10
But we need to have no fear
The judgement of believers
is a judgment not with a possibility of condemnation
Rather it will be a judgement / to evaluate the deeds we’ve done
with the view of bestowing to us various degrees of reward
If you’re a believers
you have no fear that you will ever be eternally condemned
Jesus says/ “He who hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life / he does not come into judgment
but has passed from death to life” / John 5:24
You can’t get it any more clearer than that
The word “judgment” there stands for “eternal condemnation”
Notice the sharp contrast there
You will not be judged
Instead you will pass from death to life
I love Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus”
We can safely look at the day of judgment
as a day / when believers are rewarded / and unbelievers are punished
Now many of you will be asking
“But will believers’ secret words / and deeds / and all their sins
also be revealed on that last day / like those of unbelievers’ will be?
We are inclined to think that will be so / we remember 1 Cor 4:5
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time
wait till the Lord comes / He will bring to light
what is hidden in darkness
and will expose the motives of men’s hearts..”
But this verse is in the context of a discussion
about “commendation” or praise that comes from God
We have verses assuring us
that God will never again bring our sins to remembrance
Micah 7:19 / “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”
Ps. 103:12 / “as far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our transgressions from us”
Isaiah / “I will not remember your sins” / Isa. 43:25
Hebrews 8:12 / “I will remember their sins no more”
So no / as a believer / all those secret words and deeds / and all their sins
will not be revealed on that last day
God has assured us
that He will never again bring our sins to remembrance
Really / if you are a Christian
you need to have no fear of the coming judgment
Alistair McGrath gives us three reasons
for why we need not fear the judgement
I will add a fourth reason
One / we will be judged by One who knows us totally
How comforting this should be for us
We’re not going to be judge
by a cold and standoffish stranger who knows nothing about us
but by One who knows the number of hairs on our heads
Two / we are and will be judged by One
who is sympathetic to the hardship and struggles we go through
Legend has it that in the Middle Ages
when a shepherd died / he would be buried in coffin
filled with wool so that when the day of judgment came
Jesus would see the wool and realize the man had been a shepherd
Since Jesus had been a shepherd
he would know the trials of the man
and would understand why he hadn’t been to church much!
He understands our infirmities
He has felt for Himself
the strength of temptation and weakness of human nature
He knows firsthand the pains of life in a fallen world
We will be judged by One who knows
how hard we struggle to get it right inside us
though sometimes it does not show on the outside
Third / we will be judged by One whom we know and trust
We know He is loving / compassionate / sympathetic
I add a fourth
We will be judged by One who judges with total absolute impartiality
At the end of it all / there will not be a single person
who will be able to complain of any element of partiality
Peter says / God is the one who “judges each one impartially
according to his deeds” / 1 Peter 1:17
and “God shows no partiality” / Rom. 2:11
May God grant us grace / not only to wait expectantly for His coming
but indeed to desire that the Judge of all people
Who judges justly
should come quickly to put all things right
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