The Signs of The Coming of the Lord  Luke 21:25-36

25 "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

29 And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

34 "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Last week we looked at the first 24 verses of Luke 21.

Let's go back to 33 A.D. to review some of Jesus' predictions. We saw that in 40 A.D. a time of terrible persecution against Christians began and lasted almost 300 years, just as Jesus had predicted. In 70 A.D. the beautiful Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, precisely as Jesus predicted. Then, as Jesus predicted, in 163 A.D. the Jews were scattered from Israel into all the other nations. Jesus also foresaw Jerusalem would be under the control of Gentiles until "the time of the Gentiles" was fulfilled. We learned on June 6, 1967 at the end of the Six Day War, the Jews regained control of old Jerusalem for the first time in almost 2,000 years. But Jesus didn't merely pronounce these mystical predictions; He also offered some practical advice about what our attitude should be when trouble comes. He told us, "Don't be afraid!" He also said, "Don't worry!" and we should "stand firm in our faith"

Driving down the road often we see lots of signs. Some are directional signs, giving information: 20km to Richmond, 5 km to Agnes Banks. Some are invitational: Best Burgers in the Hawkesbury. Now that's a sign I like. Others are warning signs "Your speed has just been monitored. You will be hearing from us shortly." Ouch.. well it doesn't say that last bit, but I always check the letter box with fear for the next two weeks.

Whether offered as information, invitation, or warning, each sign we encounter along the road is designed to help us move from where we are to where we want to be. God has placed some signs along the highway we call human history, pointing to our final destination. We often think of these signs as prophecies of Scripture.

Some of the signs we encounter in the Scriptures are informational, some are invitational, and many offer warnings about the road ahead—warnings that apply to both our present and our future. All of these signs are important, and none should be ignored.

There are over eighteen hundred prophecies in God's Word concerning the first and second coming of Jesus Christ alone!

Obviously, prophecy is important to God, and He desires for us to understand His plans. He has given us His signs for a reason.

This part of the Olivet discourse is truncated compared to Mark and Matthew's record. The discourse on the second coming recorded for us in Matthew Mark and Luke's Gospels a day before the crucifixion of our Lord, when the Lord is seated on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem with his disciples.

Luke concentrated on the things that would happen to believers prior to the immediate events of the Second Coming.

He briefly records the warning passages found in both Matthew's and Mark's gospels.

Matthew's gospel records Jesus' words:

Matthew 24:"29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,²  but the Father only. 37  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Mark records:  Mark 13: 24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The disciples, you'll remember, had asked the Lord three specific questions regarding future events. His answer in the passage above came in response to the last question: "Lord, when will these things happen?" Matthew records the three questions Jesus addressed: "As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will (1) this happen, [destruction of Temple] and (2) what will be the sign of your coming and (3) [the sign] of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3) Last week we looked at the signs addressing that first question: the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the developments towards the events of the second coming. Jesus is also giving signs of His return, and signs pointing to the end of the age.  And the disciples were just as curious as we are. "When, Lord, when? When will all this take place?" The Lord answered them but didn't give them everything they wanted to know. Instead, He gave them what they needed to know.

It all starts with the Rapture of the church as described by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God." Can you imagine how stunning, splendid, and sensational the sight of Christ descending from heaven will be?

But that's only the beginning. The Rapture will immediately encompass the resurrection of dead believers and the transformation of living believers, all of whom will be changed "in the twinkling of an eye." Jesus will then escort them to heaven—a heaven even more amazing than you and I could ever imagine. There, believers will experience the judgment seat of Christ where rewards for faithful service will be handed out and where a praise and worship celebration unlike anything witnessed on earth will begin.

After the rapture comes the time known as the Tribulation.  The Tribulation is a future seven-year period during which unspeakable horrors will be unleashed upon this world by Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18).

There are over one hundred passages of Scripture that describe the Antichrist, and yet the word antichrist itself is mentioned in only four verses in the New Testament—each time by the apostle John (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John v. 7). As the word suggests, the Antichrist is a person who is against Christ. The prefix anti can also mean "instead of," and both meanings will apply to this coming world leader. He will overtly oppose Christ and at the same time pass himself off as Christ.

The Antichrist will aggressively live up to his terrible name. He will be Satan's superman, who persecutes, tortures, and kills the people of God, making Hitler, Stalin, and Mao seem weak and tame by comparison.

More than twenty-five different titles are given to the Antichrist, all of which help paint a picture of the most despicable man who will ever walk the earth. Some people think he is Satan incarnate. We know for certain that Satan gives him his power, his throne, and his authority.

Here are some of the Antichrist's aliases:

•a "fierce" king (Dan. 8:23)

•"a master of intrigue" (Dan. 8:23 NIV)

•"the prince who is to come" (Dan. 9:26)

•"a despicable man" (Dan. 11:21 NLT)

•a "worthless shepherd" (Zech. 11:16–17 NLT)

•"the one who brings destruction" (2 Thess. 2:3 NLT)

•"the lawless one" (2 Thess. 2:8)

•the "beast" (Rev. 13:1)

Everything will culminate in the Battle of Armageddon—earth's final great battle—when the rebellious nations of the earth are defeated.

The Lord Warns Against An Unprepared Attitude

25 "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

THE ANTICIPATION OF CHRIST

. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

It is the second coming that gets the most ink in the Bible. References to the second coming outnumber references to the first by a factor of eight to one. Christ's return is emphasized in no less than seventeen Old Testament books and seven out of every ten chapters in the New Testament. The Lord Himself referred to His return twenty-one times. The second coming is second only to faith as the most dominant subject in the New Testament.

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST

. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

He will be seen.

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

He will be seen by all

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Rev.1: 5 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.   8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

He will appear for us

Hebrews 9:26, 27,28

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

When the Lord returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation, the men and nations who have defied Him will no more be able to stand against Him than a spiderweb could stand against an eagle. His victory will be assured, and His authority undisputed. Here is how John described the finality of His judgment and the firmness of His rule: "And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:15–16).

This grand title, King of kings and Lord of lords, identifies our Lord at His second coming. It speaks of His unassailable authority. At this name every king on earth will bow, and every lord will kneel.

When Christ returns the second time, He will finally fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah that we often quote and hear choirs sing to Handel's lofty music at Christmastime: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6). At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled the first part of Isaiah's prophecy, the heartwarming Christmas part. At His second coming, He will fulfill the second part—the part that reveals His iron-hard power and authority over all the nations. The government of the world will at last be upon His shoulder!

THE ARMIES OF CHRIST  . 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

While many of the Old Testament prophets wrote concerning the second coming of Christ, it is Zechariah who has given us the clearest and most concise prediction of it:

     Then the LORD will go forth      And fight against those nations,

     As He fights in the day of battle.      And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,      Which faces Jerusalem on the east.      And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,      From east to west,      Making a very large valley;      Half of the mountain shall move toward the north      And half of it toward the south. (Zech. 14:3–4)

Notice how Zechariah deals in specifics, even pinpointing the geographic location to which Christ will return: "In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives" (14:4). Like Armageddon, the Mount of Olives is an explicitly identifiable place that retains its ancient name even today. The prophet's specificity gives us confidence that his prophecy is true and accurate.

When Jesus returns to this earth to put down the world's ultimate rebellion, the armies of heaven will accompany him. John described these armies as "clothed in fine linen, white and clean, [following] Him on white horses" (19:14).

In the short epistle that immediately precedes the book of Revelation, Jude described this epic event in verses 14 and 15: Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

THE AVENGING OF CHRIST

 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

2 Thess 1:5-10

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from²  the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

The Lord Warns Against A Careless Attitude

29 And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Jesus closed his prophecy with the declaration, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (v. 33). Jesus placed his words on equal footing with the Old Testament Scriptures. Therefore we must understand that as surely as every word spoken by Jesus concerning the destruction of Jerusalem came true—that Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies—that they must flee the dreadful days—that they would otherwise be deported—that Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles—that one stone would not be left on another—as surely as all of this took place, just as sure is his second coming! Every word will be fulfilled!

The Lord Warns Against A Callous Attitude

34 "But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

What is Jesus saying? I believe the message is simply this: "Just because you don't see this taking place right under your nose, don't become careless in your attitude." Jesus warns against an approach that says, "I haven't been robbed this year, so I'm not taking out contents insurance.  Nobody has ever robbed me. Nobody has ever robbed my neighbours. It won't happen to me."   It did. The day after I didn't renew my contents insurance. The thing you thought would never happen, did happen.

That's what Jesus is saying. He is warning against a careless, reckless, self-deceptive attitude that keeps insisting, "It can't happen to me." Yes, it can! Jesus Christ will return without any announcement. One day God will say, "That's enough," and His judgment will fall upon the earth and upon all who have rejected His Son.

As Vance Havner has put it, "The Devil has chloroformed the atmosphere of this age." Therefore, in view of the sure promises of Christ's return, as believers, we are to do more than merely be ready; we are to be expectant. In our day of "anarchy, apostasy, and apathy," Havner suggests that expectant living means: "We need to take down our 'Do Not Disturb' signs . . . snap out of our stupor and come out of our coma and awake from our apathy." Havner reminds us that God's Word calls to us to awake out of our sleep and to walk in righteousness in the light Christ gives us (Rom. 13:11; 1 Cor. 15:34; Eph. 5:14).

When we have heard and understood the truth of Christ's promised return, we cannot just keep living our lives in the same old way. Future events have present implications that we cannot ignore. When we know that Christ is coming again to this earth, we cannot go on being the same people.

The prophets, the angels, and the apostle John all echo the words of promise from Jesus Himself that He will return. God's Word further amplifies the promise by giving us clues in prophecy to help us identify the signs that His return is close at hand. As we anticipate His return, we are not to foolishly set dates and leave our jobs and homes to wait for Him on some mountain. We are to remain busy doing the work set before us, living in love and serving in ministry, even when the days grow dark and the nights long. Be encouraged! Be anticipating! We are secure; we belong to Christ. And as the old gospel song says, "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King!"

. William Barclay, one of the great historic commentators on the Scripture, relates a fable in which three of the devil's apprentices were coming to this earth to finish up their apprenticeships. They were talking to Satan, the chief of devils, about their plans to tempt and ruin man. The first devil said, "I know what I'll do. I'll tell them there is no God."

Satan said, "That won't delude anybody. They know there is a God."

The second one said, "I'll tell them there is no hell."

"You will deceive no one that way," Satan replied, "because men know deep down in their hearts that there is a place called hell and a punishment for sin."

The third said, "I know what I'll do. I'll tell them there is no hurry."

And Satan said, "You will ruin men by the thousands. The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time."