The Day Is At Hand (Imminency Part 1)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. I turn, if you would, to the book of 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and the title of this morning's message is The Imminent Return of Jesus Christ.

The Meaning of Imminence and the Day Is at Hand

What does the word imminent mean? Who knows?

Okay.

The clear teaching of scripture is that Jesus could return at any time. Any generation could be the generation that sees the return of Jesus Christ. His return is imminent. Romans 13 verse 12 says that the day is at hand.

James chapter 5 verse 8 says that the coming of the Lord is at the door. It is at hand. In 1 Peter 4 verse 7, he says the end of all things is at hand. It is near. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.

And then the book of Hebrews chapter 10 verses 24 and 25. The writer of Hebrews reminds believers we should not forsake the assembly. Rather, we should gather and encourage each other so much the more as we see the day approaching.

So the day is approaching. It is near. It is at hand. Do you believe that this morning, that the coming of Jesus Christ is imminent? Well, let's read 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 starting in verse 13. We'll read through chapter 5 verse 2.

The Rapture and Comfort for Believers Who Have Died

The apostle Paul speaks of Jesus and his return. He is writing to the church. He says, I don't want you to be unaware, brethren, concerning those who have died or fallen asleep. Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

Let's pray. Our Father, how grateful we are for what the Bible calls our blessed hope. The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, speak to our hearts this morning. Illuminate your word, I pray.

It's in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

So the New Testament is very consistent and clear on this subject. And this is all meant to give the believer great anticipation that the return of Jesus could happen literally at any time. This teaching is called imminence.

That's the word, imminence. Imminence is defined as the state or fact of being about to happen. So that doesn't mean that Jesus will come today, but it means he could come today. It doesn't mean that Jesus will come in your lifetime, but it means that Jesus could come in your lifetime.

In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians in chapter 4, which we just read, the believers in that city had a question. And what was that question? Well, they were taught by the apostle that the Lord could return at any time.

So they were looking forward to it, as every Christian should. Yet some time had passed, and some people in the church had died. And that provoked a question from the church members. If Jesus comes back now, if he comes back tomorrow, what about the people who died before his return?

Did they miss out or do they miss out on the Lord's return? What about them? And Paul's answer is no, they're not missing out on anything. Matter of fact, when Jesus returns, if anything, they're going to have a front row seat.

So when Jesus returns, the teaching is he is going to come in the clouds, and he is going to snatch away, he is going to catch up believers to meet him in the air. Those who have died, they go up first.

So they go up first, and then we who are alive and remain are caught up together with them. Look at verse 14 again. It says God will bring with him those who sleep or who have died in Jesus. So the dead in Christ rise first.

Verse 17, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up. And we've talked about this many times, the term rapture. That's where you get it. The Greek term harpazo is translated into English as caught up.

That's what rapture means, a catching up or a snatching away. And we meet the Lord in the air. And then the blessed promise is from that moment forward, God's people will always be with the Lord. So that means when Jesus comes back to the earth, we're going to come back with him because we're always with the Lord.

But that's another sermon for another day. But all of this is meant to be a great encouragement, a great comfort to the church. Not only did they and do we have this blessed hope, even those who have died, there is hope for them too.

Therefore, you should not mourn for them as you would sorrow for those who do not believe and have no hope. The point is the return of Jesus is imminent. It is at hand. And when you say that or when you teach that, when you read that from the Bible, the obvious question that people ask, what comes next?

They say, OK, Jesus is coming back. It could happen at any time. What do people want to know?

When? Right.

That's the that's the question everybody asks. Paul anticipates this. That's why he says in chapter five, verse one, concerning the time, concerning the times and seasons. Brethren, you have no need that I should write to you concerning that.

Why? Because you already know the answer to that question. What's the answer? The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. You're not going to know when. Now, this expression, a thief in the night, when Jesus comes back, he comes back like a thief.

Well, what does that mean? It doesn't say he is a thief. It says he comes back like a thief. So he's not going to announce it ahead of time. A thief doesn't announce that. Hey, I'm going to break into your house tomorrow evening at six o 'clock.

He doesn't do that. He comes unannounced. When Jesus returns, it's going to be guess what? It's going to be a surprise. A thief, when he breaks in, he's in and out as quick as he can. He doesn't want to be seen.

So when Jesus comes, it's going to happen fast. Matter of fact, it says it'll happen in a twinkling of an eye. And the thief doesn't want to be seen. When Jesus returns to take his church to be with him, nobody's going to see him.

And again, it happens in a twinkling of an eye. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. That's sort of the parallel passage with 1 Thessalonians 4. Now, why preach on a subject like this? And I know if you're a faithful member of this church, you've heard preaching on this subject.

But it's not like that everywhere. There are some places you would never hear a sermon like this. I try to preach on important topics at least once a year, if not more. Every Easter, preach on the subject of what?

The resurrection. You could say, well, Pastor, didn't you preach a sermon on the return of Christ last year? And the year before? Well, probably. I've never had someone come to me on Easter and say, you preached on the resurrection last year.

What's wrong with you? Nobody ever does that. Every Christmas, we preach on Jesus and the incarnation. That God became flesh and was born in Bethlehem's manger. We do that every year because it's so important.

These are the main teachings of the Christian faith. The return of Christ is one of the main teachings of the Christian faith. But for some reason, this one gets neglected at times. Again, there are some churches that don't teach this at all.

You know why?

Because they don't believe in the eminence of Christ. They don't believe that Jesus could come back at any time. And I think that's a real travesty because this is the next event on God's prophetic calendar.

If there's anything we should be talking about, because believing in the resurrection and the deity of Christ and the incarnation, all Christians believe that. That's why you're a Christian, because you believe Jesus rose from the dead.

This is what's happening next. This is what we need to be preaching on. So that's why I'm doing it. When Jesus comes back to take His people home, you know there's not going to be any time to prepare for it.

He's in and out. It happens like that. This is the time we need to prepare. Right now, in this life, in this age, while we have breath in us. Because once He appears, it's done. Okay, look at verse 53, 1 Corinthians 15.

The Resurrection, Immortality, and Victory Through Christ

1 Corinthians 15, verse 53, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when Jesus returns, it's going to happen fast. This is what takes place. This corruptible, for those who are alive, this corruptible body puts on incorruption.

This mortal puts on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

So when Jesus returns, the dead are raised. Our body is changed. And we have then an immortal, resurrected, or translated body. So death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, or the grave, where is your victory?

He says, the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. How do you get the victory? How is a person raised from the dead, or translated to where they meet God, and enter into His heavenly kingdom?

How do you get the victory? By believing upon the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He died for our sin and rose again. And Paul says in verse 58, based on all of this, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

So I'd just like to add this. This is what we should be doing as we are waiting the imminent return of Christ. We should be laboring, amen? We don't work for our salvation, but we should be working. Every believer should be laboring.

And you know what?

Keep working, keep planning, and keep building for the future. I think one point of criticism people have towards those of us who believe in the imminent return of Jesus, that sometimes we can have an escapist type of an attitude, where things are so bad, or we perceive them to be so bad, we're like, Lord, just take me out of here right now.

That's not a wrong desire, but the Lord might leave you here for another five years, ten years, whether it's the rapture or whether it's death, you might be around for a long time. Don't have an escapist attitude.

Look for Christ's return, be ready for Christ's return, but prepare as if He's not going to return.

Understand?

Okay.

But He could return at any time, and we believe this, not because, you know, we hope so, or because some end-time preacher on television says so. Why do we believe this? The Bible says so. We went through all those verses, that the day is approaching, that Christ's return is near, it is at hand, it is at the door.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Corner Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornerchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.