It’s impossible to go to Jerusalem without contemplating the glorious life of our Lord Jesus Christ, both past and future. Someone asked me the other day where is my favorite place to preach. I don’t have a definitive answer to that, but certainly few things can compare to preaching about the second coming of Jesus while standing on the Mount of Olives.
In terms of biblical prophecy, the order of events as I understand them will unfold like this. We are now awaiting the rapture of the church, which could occur at any moment. I’m not dogmatic about the timing of the rapture, as I explain in my book, The 50 Final Events in World History; but my personal opinion is that it will precede the seven predicted years of Tribulation. The trumpet of the Lord will sound, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and the church of our Lord Jesus Christ—the saints of all the ages—will be caught up to heaven.
In the aftermath of that breathtaking event, the remaining citizens of earth will regroup into a one-world government led by a powerful and charismatic leader who is referred to in the Bible as “the man of sin” or the “antichrist.”
There will follow those seven years of tribulation as described in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Near the end of that period the armies of the world will march against the nation of Israel and surround the city of Jerusalem, determined to annihilate the Jewish people at long last. At that very moment, at the outset of the battle of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in the heavens, surrounded by His holy angels. He will descend to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem in triumph to establish His millennial reign on the earth.
How wonderful will be the unfolding of these events! Have you thought about them recently? Are you anticipating those days? Are you watching for Christ to come like a thief in the night? Are you ready?
According to John Wesley White, there are some 1,845 verses in the Bible that speak of the return of Jesus Christ to earth. Today I’d like to deal with a few of these verses as we find them in the book of 1 Thessalonians.
Background
The two letters written by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in the city of Thessalonica—1 and 2 Thessalonians—contain a lot of valuable material about the Lord’s coming. In addition, as some of you have noticed or heard, the book of 1 Thessalonians is the only book in the Bible in which every chapter ends with a reference to the Second Coming of Christ. I want to take you to those five chapter endings. First Thessalonians has five chapters and each one ends by saying something unique about the return of Christ. These five endings tell us something about the effect the return of Christ should have on our hearts and minds.
The End of Chapter One: A Sign of Salvation
At the end of chapter one, we see that the anticipation for the return of Christ is a sign of our salvation. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1:8ff: The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who saves us from the coming wrath.
Here is a concise definition of a Christian. Paul was saying, “Everywhere we go people are talking about what happened when I was with you, how you became Christians.” And how does he define a Christian? A Christian is someone who has turned from idols to serve God and to await the return of Christ.
When we find ourselves awaiting, anticipating the return of Christ, it is a sign of salvation. That’s what people do who have truly been saved. They look at the sky blue-pink at sunrise and they think, “Maybe my Lord will come today.” They see the scarlet sunset in the west, and they say, “Maybe my Lord will come just now.” An old Gospel song says:
Some golden daybreak Jesus will come.
Some golden daybreak battles all done.
He’ll shout the victory; break through the blue
Some golden daybreak for me, for you.
Every generation of Christians has wanted the Lord to come back in their own days. A little parchment called the “Didache” is among the earliest documents in church history. There we read: Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come.
St. Cyril wrote in the fourth century: But let us wait and look for the Lord’s coming upon the clouds from heaven. Then shall angelic trumpets sound.
Augustine felt that the Lord would return somewhere, he thought, around the year A.D. 1000.
In the 1300s, John Wycliffe, the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” studied the “signs” of the times and concluded that the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ should be expected immediately.
In the 16th century, John Calvin preached: We must hunger after Christ until the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His kingdom.
In the 18th century, John Wesley said: The Spirit in the heart of the true believer says with earnest desire, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
In the twentieth century, evangelist Billy Graham said: Many times when I go to bed at night I think to myself that before I awaken Christ may come.
Peter told us in 2 Peter 3 that we must be patient for the Lord’s coming. But to be a Christian is to be someone who has turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven—Jesus—who saves us from the coming wrath.
The End of Chapter Two: A Motive For Ministry
Second, a love for the Second Coming is a motivation for ministry. First Thessalonians chapter 2 ends with these words: But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
In other words, Paul said, “I hated being torn away from you like I was. I didn’t want to leave. You are very valuable, very important to me, very loved by me. You are those I have won to Christ. You are those whom I’ll see at the throne of God as a result of my labors. You are my hope, my joy, my crown in which I will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes.”
We need to ask ourselves—Will there be someone—anyone—at the Throne of God because of my witness? Will there be souls in heaven because of my earthly life?
One of the most neglected aspects of the Second Coming of Christ involves its potential for motivating us in evangelism and in Christian service. What will it be like to stand before the Throne of God on that day He returns and look earnestly through the encircling throngs trying to find someone, anyone, who is there because of our witness? What will it be like to stand before the Throne and be surrounded by a host of men and women and boys and girls whom we had the joy of leading to faith in Christ?
Not long after I’d yielded my heart to the Lord as a college sophomore I was on fire for the Lord. Along with some of my buddies, I went to a nearby shopping complex on a soul-winning venture. I sat down beside one boy—he was perhaps eleven or twelve. I shared the Gospel with him, and he wanted to be a Christian, and so I led him in praying a prayer in which he asked Jesus Christ to be His Lord and Savior. Afterward he gave me his address, and the next day I went to his home to give him a Bible and some literature. But his father, a crude and angry man, met me at the door. He was furious that I had shared Christ with his son. When I tried to leave the Bible, the man struck at me and knocked me off the porch. I’ve never seen that boy since, but I’ve often wondered if I will not meet him some day on the golden streets. He is the first person I ever remember leading to Christ, and if his conversion was sincere and genuine, he will be my hope and my joy and my crown when the Lord comes again.
Similarly, whenever we give of our money to the Lord’s work, whenever we send forth missionaries, whenever we prosecute our ministry here with the resulting conversions—those who come to the Lord through our ministry are going to be sources of great joy for us when our Lord comes again.
The End of Chapter Three: A Reason For Righteousness
But let’s move on to the ending of the next chapter. Look at the way 1 Thessalonians 3 ends: “Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.”
The Second Coming of Christ gives us a reason for righteousness. It should motivate us to live a holy life, even as we read in 1 John 3:3 says, “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
I know many of us have prayed for our children. Many have prayed for our friends. Many of you have prayed for your husband or wife. But have you ever prayed anything like this? “Lord, may you, our God and Father, and may Jesus Christ your Son, strengthen this person’s heart right now that he or she will be able to live a righteous life. Strengthen my child to withstand temptation. Strengthen my wife to be victorious over sin, so that when the Lord Jesus comes with all His holy angels we will have no cause to be ashamed.”
How would you feel if the trumpet suddenly sounded and the Lord came just as you were getting drunk, just as you were entering that pornographic web site, just as you were erupting in profanity?
2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
The other day I read the testimony of a woman named Willie Struhar. She said when she was a child, her father was a roaring alcoholic and a gambler, and her mother was a nervous wreck. One day Willie read a Christian periodical that came to her house. She read about how Christ can change a person’s life. That evening she had a vivid dream.
Willie saw the Lord in the middle of many people, a great sea of humanity. His face was sweet to those who could look upon Him, but some were hiding their faces because the brightness was too great. There was a huge crack in the earth, like a gulf. On one side was the devil who seemed to be waiting for those whom the Lord would reject. On the other side was a transparent stairway that led to heaven. As the people came up before the Lord, it seemed to be just a nod of the Lord’s head or a smile that told which way they would go.
Willie said, “When my turn came, the Lord smiled and motioned for me to go with the angels, but I didn’t go. I hid by His side in the folds of His garment, and waited until my father came before the Lord. He was rejected! I begin to pull on the garments of the Lord and beg Him to please save my father. Up to that time, the Lord had not seemed to notice me, but He turned and smiled at me and said, ‘Tell your father to get ready.’ That was the end of my dream.”
The next day Willie’s father came home drunk after spending sixteen hours gambling. Willie’s face shone as she told her dad about the dream. Her father realized God was speaking through his little daughter and He fell on his knees and repentance. He was never again the same. God changed him and the family was different from that day onward.
Why should we live a righteous and holy life? So that when He comes again, we will be found blameless and holy. The reality of the Lord’s return should affect the way we live.
The End of Chapter Four: A Source Of Solace
Fourth, the Second Coming of Christ is a source of solace. The ending of 1 Thessalonians 4 is a classic treatment of the death of Christians vis-à-vis the return of Christ.
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another with these words”
One of the most interesting sermons I’ve ever read was preached by the 4th century bishop of Antioch, John Chrysostom. He was the “golden-mouthed” preacher of Antioch whose eloquence is legendary. The sermon was on excessive grief at funerals. He said that Christians ought to grieve at funerals, but they should not grieve excessively, and he quotes this verse in 1 Thessalonians 4: “We should not be ignorant of God’s promises and we should not be excessive in our grief.”
He put it like this. What if your friend lived in a tottering and dilapidated house? A dangerous, unhealthy house. Suppose someone offered to build them a new and beautiful home, but it required their moving out of the old one for a short time while it was torn down and the new one built. That should not occasion grief, but joy. In the same way, the human body becomes, sooner or later, tottery, sickly, and dilapidated. God moves us out for a short time while He prepares a place for us and thus we await our resurrection bodies.
The Bible says that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed.
The End of Chapter 5: A Cause For Confidence
The return of Christ is a sign of salvation, a motive for ministry, a reason for righteousness, a source of solace, and finally—at the end of chapter five—it is a cause of confidence: May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
God is building us up. He is developing and maturing us. He is sanctifying us body, mind, and soul. He will present us blameless before the throne at His coming. The one who calls us is faithful, and He will do it. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. Now we are babes, but then we shall be complete. Our brightest days are ahead of us, and eye has not seen nor has ear heard neither has it entered into the heart of man the things the Lord has for us. The half has never been told. We can thus live with confidence, with hope, with joy, and with anticipation. Jesus said, “Lift up your heads, for your redemption drawth nigh.”
In the 1800s and 1900s in America, there were hundreds of traveling evangelists who led revival meetings in cities and towns and villages across America, often in big tents that were set up for that purpose with sawdust on the aisles. One of these evangelists was Fred Francis Bosworth. He was associated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. F. F. Bosworth. He died at the age of 81 after a long and fulfilling ministry, and his son said the whole family was gathered around his bed for about three weeks, laughing and talking and singing. At the end, Bosworth looked up, they said, but he didn’t seem to see his family. Instead he seemed to be meeting and greeting people in an enraptured state. He did this for several hours, then with a smile on his face he law back and went to sleep.
Throughout my ministry, I’ve had people tell me of similar experiences around the deathbeds of dying saints. What a future we have ahead of us! What joyful reunions! The One who calls us is faithful and He will do it.
Should we not go to bed at night and wake up in the morning thinking about His impending return?
Are you ready for Him? If He were to come today, would you be caught up in the clouds or left behind? May we be so full of readiness and anticipation that the prayer on our lips is continually, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”