Matthew 24 Part 2

Hope for the Future in Jesus’ Delayed Coming

Then there's a lesson for the future and that lesson is have hope. While it's true that Jesus here clearly speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem That happened within a generation of his warning just as he said it wouldn't verse 34 generation will not pass away.

He also spoke as if something else was going to happen. It's going to take a long time. Think about it. All that Jesus had in mind was to warn about the destruction of Jerusalem that would happen in less than 40 years.

It doesn't make much sense that he would spend So much time as he does here. It actually goes on into chapter 25 warning of this. We didn't read all of it so much time warning of the dangers of being deceived or of lulled into complacency by a long delay.

But that's the way he begins think about the way he begins in verse 4 all these wars these disasters are just the beginning he said don't be alarmed and That's the way he concludes that final warning starting in verse 36.

Which we left off before that all about the the dangers of being caught unaware. Because because Christ's coming is delayed again understand that part of what this teaching chapter 24. It is clearly about it is about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, but other parts especially after we ended after verse 35.

Wouldn't make any sense if that's all that it was about. He spends a lot of time warning us of the temptations that will face during the long time. Until his coming all that, you know all the way from chapter 24 verse 36 to chapter 25 verse 13 is all about that.

You know, don't be lulled in complacency while you're waiting. That's all that's what it's about. Now, why would he do that if this was entirely about the destruction of Jerusalem. So I conclude that part of what Jesus is telling us here is for the future for our future.

Now those who think this is all past, you know that there's no future in it for us. They could be tempted to lose. Hope. Everything has happened after all you read this everything's happened. It's all over his return was just spiritual.

His resurrection Jesus is better bodily resurrection really is all the resurrection there will ever be and for us. Everything just kind of keeps on going. This is it always has history. Including the history of our own lives.

Really just kind of meanders on meaninglessly full of sound and fury signifying nothing, oh. We can believe believe in what God did in the past. But if we have this idea that it's all fulfilled already there's nothing to hope for for the future at least not on earth and People who believe that will be tempted then to slide into depression thinking there's nothing better here on earth.

So to look forward to no future coming to sacrifice for to work for to hope for. But here Jesus tells us that just as we we can look back at Christmas time to Jesus's first coming. We can look forward.

To the future for Jesus's second coming. But some cynical people, you know say well, come on. It's been 2 ,000 years already 2 ,000 years of delay. Well, I think it's kind of funny that so many people want it to end now.

After they've had their shot. They've had their time at bat now. They've been born and they've been able to believe and they've enjoyed some of the good things in life. Now they want him to come and of course before they die.

That just perfect for them right after they get all the good stuff and before they have to taste death. They want the timing to be right for them as though history is their story. It's not and think about it.

What if God hadn't delayed? I mean, what if ad -70 had turned out to be the end that exactly when the Romans, you know Tore those stones down and the temple was destroyed. Proving that Jesus was right right at that moment that he appeared in the clouds and great glory and there was his coming.

What if that had happened? You would never have been born. There'd be no you or he could have appeared in 8410 when the Rome was first sacked by the barbarians, but some people thought at that time. That's this is the end of the world.

This is the end of civilization. The mighty Roman Empire is now collapsing under barbarian invasions. Or he could have appeared in 1914 Charles Russell the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses calculated.

He's gonna return 1914 they want to kind of make people forget about that. That's what they're based on predict that prediction. They are and of course now all that is proof false and aren't you glad?

If they were right You would never have been born. You would never have heard the gospel. You would never have enjoyed life as Peter said The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, but his patient Toward you in other words patient for you.

Not wishing that any of you should perish but that all of you Should reach repentance. Second Peter chapter 3 verse 9 now people in the late first century were already complaining that he's waiting too long.

It's 8090 already he has a come but but God was prolonging history for you and Now before we we start to complain, you know, he's waiting too long. It's 2012. It's gonna be 2013 soon. Consider that he may have others in the future that he is patiently waiting for.

History is his story the story of how he is saving all kinds of people. All-nations, he says and that's the most meaning that history could have to have hope so the delay tells us right from the beginning that this is also about our future a future in which Jesus is coming and Here Jesus tells us three things about His coming.

The Delay, Suddenness, and Unmistakability of Christ’s Coming

The second coming it will be delayed as we've already suggested. Second it will be sudden and third it will be Unmistakable. His coming is delayed. He started out telling us this and from verse 4, you know.

There'll be he says look at that people people often fast on that. Oh the end times will be wars and famines and all this kind of stuff and then they just stop reading that. And he does say that there'll be wars and famines and earthquakes disasters and apostasy and division of the church will be falling away.

There'll be lawlessness and lovelessness, but notice what he says. Those are just the beginning. If some people look at all that let's have a Prophecy conference it's coming soon, but he says that's just the start.

Don't be alarmed. You know, it's just it's just the early birth pains. Don't panic when the early birth pains start and drive a hundred miles an hour. The implication is it will take a while his coming.

Now it's delayed. It's sudden. Like lightning for verse 23, the implication is that when he comes it will be sudden. You'll you'll and you will know it suddenly. It's not something that kind of slowly evolves over time.

You know, he kind of begins to come in some obscure place out in the mountains and you're just supposed to go hike deep into the woods to Some secluded spot to find him there in verse 25. Jesus warns if someone tells you you know, he's in the wilderness.

He's in some inner room some shack somewhere hidden. Don't believe it verse from verses 29 to 31. Jesus uses words like immediately a sign will appear people will see him coming and that's all sudden.

Yes, he says there is a season in which signs will show that he is near is in verse 32. It's like a fig tree budding in spring to sign when you know trees start to bud in spring that summer is near. But he is at the very gates.

He says right there when he's near he's at the gates and when he appears it will be like suddenly the doors open and in he comes and. Finally his coming will be unmistakable. Otherwise you. It'll be obvious.

One trick that you know the date setters, you know, they'll set a date 1914 whatever when they don't pan out one trick they play is to say well. Actually, Jesus did come, you know, he did he did it's secretly mysteriously spiritually.

And when the Jehovah's Witnesses 1940 date 1914 date didn't materialize. They said Jesus Spiritually came to seal with 144 ,000. It's only that you carnal people. Couldn't discern it your problem. You couldn't figure it out couldn't see it.

Now some who say that this chapter was entirely fulfilled in the first century say that Jesus really did come back then in 8070 that he came back spiritually. In that Roman conquering army, you know like the Battle Hymn of the Republic mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord in an army.

What she wrote it about symbolically in an army spiritually the problem with that. You know and then and I say one thing yes God can come into history sort of spiritually here and there he acts in history as his story.

But the problem would say that is the coming. Is that that is exactly what Jesus says his coming will not be like in verses 23 to 28. He says three different things there gives us three different pictures of his coming showing us that it is unmistakable.

First he says if someone says he's returned. Yes. He's over there. He's in some faraway place. You go see him. He says do not believe it in verses 23 and repeated again in verse 26. Don't believe it. Second he says that his coming is like lightning.

It flashes Across the sky now you may not be Exactly where he's coming if he doesn't come to North Carolina, you may not be I mean physically where he's coming. But you'll know it. When it happens wherever you are then he says it's like vultures.

Flying over a carcass, you know, you can you can see it right the buzzard. See it for a distance over the over the carcass. I'm clearly from far away. And so the conclusion. If you have to ask whether Jesus has come He hasn't if there's a debate about whether Jesus has come.

Someone's willing to get up and debate the point he hasn't his coming is unmistakable and. That's what we can hope for not a mysterious coming that many people can deny and debate over and Go on and argue argue about but it coming that is obvious that is public.

And we can look back at the past and believe we can look forward to the future with hope. And now in the present We persevere. Now, yes, this is prophecy and many people want prophecy to be tomorrow's headlines.

Revealed in advance, but what it is really for is Protecting God's people. The purpose of prophecy is not to give us history, you know written in the future tense. But it is like a film preview to raise our expectations.

We have hope for the future or it could be parent to like hazard warning lights on the highway. Tell us hey be careful something coming up. Be wary and one of the main hazards we are warned against Our false teachers.

There's a danger of being deceived at least three separate times in this chapter. We are put on notice and verse 4 says don't be led astray and verse 11 many false prophets will arise. And verse 24 He says they'll be so persuasive.

So convincing that they would lead the elect Astray if that were possible. But it's not possible because God preserves his elect. So then how do we know if someone is elect? If they said the right prayer.

If they've come forward the right invitation. If they've gotten baptized as important as that is. No, if they persevere He who endures to the end will be safe if they persevere. Perseverance is proof of Preservation.

God's preservation which is proof of election. And in verses 4 to 14 Jesus tells us that we'll have a lot to have to persevere. Through there will be wars and he says rumors of wars. In other words lots of war talk.

You know, don't call a prophecy conference and stock up on canned goods and ammo every time a war breaks out. You're just gonna go out of your mind. But panic Jesus tells us in verse 6 see that you are not alarmed.

We should be the people who are not too surprised when you know during good times like the 90s. Prosperity there's peace. Big people say well, this is nice. We enjoy it, but it's not gonna last. You shouldn't be surprised by the wars and the terrorism.

Wars famines earthquakes terrorism economic collapses nations falling apart. Hopefully not ours. But all of that is the way the world is and it all the way up until the time that he comes again. Tribulation, is it just seven years before the end.

Christians happily get to avoid. Notice that the gathering of God's elect from the earth Jesus says here in the chapter is is after tribulation and his coming. Tribulation is what happens during this entire period from the first Christmas until his return.

They will deliver you up to tribulation. Now we may not suffer death today, but we may be hated by some as in verse 9. We might get banned from a college campus. We might be accused of being self-righteous.

We might be accused of hate speech for saying what the Bible says about some sins or we might be labeled a hate group for Just being faithful. We could suffer loneliness for not being willing to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever.

We could lose money because they're just some jobs. We won't take because they take us away from the Lord. There is tribulation now in the world. You'll have to persevere through it. Then there is tribulation in the church.

Hopefully not our church our local church, but I'm talking about those who call themselves Christians. There'll be tribulation in verse 10. Many will fall away. This could be those who seem so faithful to the Lord at one time seemed so on fire for the Lord.

Maybe they fall into some open sin. Preferring the temporary pleasures of sin being faithful now or it could be those who fall away into basically into false churches and do Hypocrisy and into religion that just flatters people's egos and it's so much easier than really following Jesus, you know with this cross.

Instead people will betray one another they will hate one another and he's talking about I Think in the church there. From verse 10 on and the church. He says in verse 12 lawlessness will increase and Surely we live in that situation now.

If I choose one word for a lot of the church Just lawlessness and the time of the church history. I studied the time of the Puritans from the 16th century to the 17th century some into the 18th century.

Christians Christians. Then just knew that antinomian ism lawlessness is wrong. Everyone just kind of seemed to understand that now most Christians probably even don't even know what it is. And when a few Christian leaders say what the Bible says about having to Take up your cross to follow Jesus and make him your Lord.

But Jesus here calls the gospel of the kingdom and some Christian leaders say that well. They're denounced by many as is legalist their heretics. They're teaching work salvation like that instead of the free grace.

You know the in the irony our logic today is so twisted. We think lawlessness as total freedom from from any Lordship. We think that is love. That if you if you love, you know, let it go. We think that law and love are in total opposition to each other.

You can't have both and in reality here Jesus says lawlessness Decreases love you mean look at that verse. Verse 12 because lawlessness will be increased the love of many will grow. Coal think about that the thinking behind that verse is totally the opposite of the way the modern person thinks people today aren't afraid of commitments and vows and Covenants and meaningful membership.

They aren't afraid of all that because they love so much today. Okay, the reason we have so much opposition to those things today. Is it because we just have so much more love today. Now it's the opposite precisely the opposite reason because we don't love lawlessness cools love.

That's the tribulation in the church. During this whole time. Between Jesus's two comings as many fallings away. There's heresies. There's divisions. There's lawlessness in the name of so-called grace.

There's cold dead churches, but he says at the beginning of verse 13 Despite all the disappointments Disillusionments caused by many so many people betraying you, you know people who with a great passion tell you I've got your back.

And then the next day, you know, they're trying to put a knife in it hypocrites you thought. Hypocrites you you thought were real believers. Maybe even one time looked up to now they're hating you lawless so-called Christians with cold love.

Despite all of that. Sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? I mean I Sound like you want to give up hope without but he said despite all that if you endure through all that Keep following Jesus then you will be saved.

You will be saved from whatever disasters come on this world. If you lived in the first century in Jerusalem You would have been saved from the slaughter by the Romans because you believe Jesus's warning and you fled.

Today you will show that you have been saved by heeding his word and fleeing sin temptation. You'll prove it by your perseverance the preserved Persevere and so prove their salvation and then those preserved to persevere.

Take this gospel. What he calls in verse 14 this gospel of the kingdom and look at this in verse 14. Because after it looks so bleak. There's all these wars disasters even though so much of the church is cold and dead and loveless and lawless.

Despite all that after all that this gospel of the kingdom the good news that the rule of God is coming on earth. It will be proclaimed Throughout the whole world to the whole world to every nation every ethnic group so that God can gather from them his elect and then then The end will come.

Notice verse 14 the meaning of history there it is. There'll be false teachers. Sure. Starting verse 4 will be wars disasters and tribulation. Outside there'll be apostasy betrayals and divisions within but still God will see to it this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world.

You can't stop it. That's what history is for. Heaven and earth Will pass away but my words Will not pass away. Jesus said verse 35. Jesus here speaks you think of those words? He speaks as only God can speak in the Sermon of the Mount.

He said that Until heaven and earth the whole heaven the whole universe and earth passed away the Word of God the law will not pass away here. He says it's his words that will not pass away that his words are God's words and so we should be more attached to them Than we are to the things of this creation.

It's the Word of God Which is gives us faith and what God has done in the past. It gives us hope for what he'll do in the future and gives us the power to persevere in the present. Now according to the Mayan calendar This world will end this Friday.

I Suggest that you still go to work or school. Pay your bill pay your bill. I Plan on seeing you next week. I don't believe the Mayans understood that history was his story and That story is that joy has come to this world because the Lord Has come let earth receive her King.

But history his story tells us that before the king receives his earth We will have tribulation. After all the same one who warned us that we could be killed was killed. The same one who saved his people's lives by telling them to urgently flee from the coming disaster.

No, he didn't flee he walked right into it. He endured to the end he endured all the way through betrayal and beatings and floggings and mockery and crucifixion. He endured to the end So that we could be saved.

Now he invites us to endure With him to believe and what he's done for us in the past. To hope for what he will do in the future and to persevere For him with him in the present.