The Second Coming of the King
Book of Matthew Chapter 24
The most anticipated day in all of Christianity is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know the Lord will return in two stages.
1) The Lord will return first to get His Church out of this world before the Tribulation years, the time of Jacob's Trouble.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
He will meet His Church in the clouds!
Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Jer 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
Jer 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Jer 30:10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
Jer 30:11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
The Tribulation years are a time of Jacob's Trouble not a time of trouble for the Church.
All the persecution of the church will take place during the Church Age, the Age we are now in.
2) The Lord will return to end the time of Jacob's Trouble by claiming the throne of David where He will rule this world for 1000 years.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
The Lord Jesus is still coming, and it may not be very much longer!
Many things will take place in this time period of when the Lord Jesus ascended back to Heaven and when He will return!
The Book of Matthew teaches us many of these things by the Lord Himself.
*****Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
This Second Temple was a marvelous structure that King Herod had been restoring for more than 40 years.
*****Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that this prophecy was fulfilled just as the Lord Jesus had said.
Josephus a Jewish historian testified of this destruction by Titus in 70 AD.
Josephus wrote that passersby would have supposed that the place of the Temple had never been inhabited if they did not know the truth.
Titus, the Roman general, ordered the very foundations of it to be dug up; after which the ground on which it stood was ploughed up by Turnus Rufus and planted.
As beautiful as this Temple was, it was the actions of the priests that changed the function of God's House.
It is not the outward appearance of any Church that makes it truly acceptable, it is what is happening within.
The disciples were aroused to ask questions:
1) When would this Temple be destroyed.
2) When would the Lord return.
What should we then believe? We should expect a literal fulfillment of these words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must also understand that Our Lord Jesus is preparing these disciples for His departure!
*****Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Just how will the Lord answer these questions, let us listen to what our Savior says.
The very first thing we see is that there will be great deceptions told to God's people.
The very first sign would be the rise of false prophets!
If we cannot see the truth of this statement, then we are totally blind!
We should also see what is described as the ending of an Age.
We know the Church Age is coming to an end and another sign is that falling away.
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
There is a great falling away from the Church because of all the false prophets in the pulpits and in the secular world.
*****Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Most all the world is aware that the Lord Jesus has said He would return, and He will.
Many do not understand that Our Savior and Redeemer will return in two stages.
These 12 men with the Lord understood that all these things might happen all at one time, and this is not what the Lord Jesus was teaching them.
Many today think these things have already taken place and this also is not what our Lord Jesus was teaching.
The Church has been around long enough for most all the world to know that by the teaching of the true Church, the only way to Heaven is through and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
All those people and all those nations know that the Bible says they are doomed to Hell whether they believe it or not.
Psa 9:7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
Psa 9:8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
Much of the Church is hated for these reasons.
Most all politicians use these things for their own glory, some the righteousness, and most against what we know is the truth.
In reality lies and liars dominate the language of this world today!
Another reality is that we should be very careful when we are quoting the prophecies of the end times.
The Lord says take heed less we are deceived.
*****Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
There will be false Christs and there will be false prophets.
We see and we have seen both of these, and we will continue to do so.
These represent not only those who say they are the Christ, but also those who claim to be Christians and are not.
If this was not true then, our Lord Jesus would not have said these words and He has said them before He said all these other things.
The Lord said there would be many, not just a few.
2Co 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
These false Christ have existed since the beginning of the Church and are multiplying today.
1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
Yet, there are many more signs.
*****Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
The Lord said for sure there would be many wars and many more rumors of wars. These things must come to pass.
Saying these things meant these things would happen over a long period of time, but the end of which these disciples asked is not yet.
The thing we must remember the most is, that the fulfillment of the Scriptures requires a long time for its completion.
We need only look at the time that has already past yet, many prophecies have reached their fulfillment and many more will do so in the time that remains.
If the Lord returned for His Church today, we know there would be more than a thousand years that would remain for complete Biblical fulfillment.
The Lord Jesus could actually return for His Church today! There is nothing yet to be fulfilled before the "Rapture of the Church".
Most all remaining prophecies concern the promises made to the Children of Israel.
The only thing lacking to be fulfilled is the patience of the Lord!
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
We must never assume that all these things have all already taken place.
I believe if we look at all the things happening in our world today, it would be obvious that time is running out in the Church Age.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Nations will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
*****Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Today our nation is more divided than it has ever been, and it is intentional by factions in our own government.
It is the same in other nations who have given in to the status quo and political correctness.
Today famines are not mentioned enough though they still exist because of so-called extreme weather, the heavy rains that trouble nations who have built too close to waterways for centuries, crying because they have something else to blame the flooding on.
Nations, cities, states, and homeowners and resort areas have always built too close to our waterways and the Lord says there will be flooding but not like the world wide flood in the days of Noah.
Jer 47:2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
Amo 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
Nah 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
Nah 1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
Maybe flooding has increased in some places.
Maybe famines have increased in some places.
Maybe earthquakes have increased and in places where they should not be happening.
Maybe buildings are collapsing for no reason.
Maybe pestilences (plagues) are increasing around the world as we have seen with Covid-19.
Oh, guess what, this is just what the Lord has said, and if you investigate, you will see the decisions that governments make every day are at fault and they had rather destroy history rather than preserve history and learn from their mistakes.
All these things that the world is so concerned about are only the beginning of the sorrows that are still in the future!
*****Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
We should clearly understand that none of these things had anything to do with the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by Titus in 70AD.
The Jews brought that on themselves.
Mat 27:23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
Mat 27:25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
When the Lord is rejected, He will leave and take His hand of protection with Him!
These are not things that the Church will see except for that statement of the Lord made right here.
The Church will see the beginning of sorrows as we see them today!
It only gets worse!
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
All these things we can see happening in our world today and at my age I have seen these things get worse.
This is why history is being erased.
Oh, did I say persecution was going to increase.
*****Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
What is persecution? Persecution is when Christians are forbidden to seek the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by the use of force!
This is the main job the Lord Jesus gave us to do!
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The other job of the Body of Christ is to make disciples who are obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, and they then go forth with the "Gospel".
In America, it is hard to say we are persecuted when we see the persecution of the Body of Christ in many nations, but we can state in fact the even in America persecution has increased dramatically.
It really does not make sense as Christians are some of the best citizens of every nation by that same Word of God.
The one thing all Christians are to stand against is sin and that sin is based on that same Word of God.
So by this, we know that all governments in this world promote sin and refuse to stop promoting sin.
Who can figure that one out!
Most all sinners, all those without the love of Christ, promote murder, promote theft, promote immorality, and promote the defiance of authority.
Most all nations survive by taxes and Christians pay their taxes as demanded yet, all these involved in sin for the most part refuse to pay their taxes and become a burden upon those governments.
Most all Christians respect the authority of the government, yet most all sinners reject the authority of the government.
Yet, it is the Christian that is persecuted, and the sinner is praised by the government where no amount of sin is considered to be punishable.
The sinner who has not given their life to Christ and been Born Again by the "Grace" of God, remains a sinner who is sold out to the Devil!
These are also the Words of Jesus Christ:
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ are persecuted, just because they agree with the Lord Jesus Christ!
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
This world opposes believers!
Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
The world opposes the message of a Holy God, and will deliver up His disciples to be afflicted and many of them will just be murdered to keep them silent.
The world has become the greatest murderer that think they go unpunished, but this same Holy God says this is not true because the world will be held accountable!
So what is the greatest cause of death in our world? The governments of this world!
Hatred has finally found its true place in the world we live in now, and this is a sign that the end is very near!
*****Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
We can ask ourselves just what is apostasy?
Apostasy is the forsaking and the renouncing of the things you say you believe.
How did the Lord Jesus put it?
Mat 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
We have seen far too many so-called Christians, duck and run when they find out they have to take a stand on the Word of God to be a true Christian!
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Though every generation has some apostacy now, near the end, we have seen a great falling away from the truth of God!
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
What is another great sign we are in the last days?
2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The truth of God cannot be denied!
The false prophets have come out of the closet, and they speak boldly because they are allowed to!
*****Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
What do we see?
We see false leaders offering false hope!
There is no hope for this world!
The Lord has already determined to destroy this world in the end, but He will first save it from those who are determined to destroy this world themselves.
This is true because this to is written in what we Christians call the Bible.
Every false prophet will have his or her own message about how to save the world.
There have always been some false prophets, but now they have taken over the pulpits of many denominations and some of all denominations, and the world has jumped inside the Church and the Church is sinking to new lows abandoning the truth of God.
This my friends is another sign of the end times that we are facing!
We should never say the end times for God's people for this wrong, but the end times for the world as it now exist is what we are seeing.
1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
1Ti 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
We must understand that only the genuine believer knows how to pray and talk with God!
By this, we will get the help we need to live through these difficult circumstances that we are facing, and we will be facing until the Lord Jesus completes our "Redemption"!
We are redeemed, the Lord just has not taken us home yet!
Until we leave this world we will see and are seeing hatred dominate in this world!
Love has grown cold by the actions of sin that has no feelings.
Sin is a destructive flame that burns until all it all has been consumed!
The Christian on the other hand is to fan the flames of truth and be brighter, in fact hotter.
Again a sign of the end times.
Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
We cannot be lukewarm and say we love the Lord Jesus!
*****Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Maybe what we lack the most as Christians today is, endurance!
It may not can be said in many places on this earth, but in America we Christians have not been tested.
This may be why there is such a falling away from the Church.
This Covid-19 has closed the doors of many places of worship.
We have allowed the government to step in and violate our own constitution and the Democratic Party would do away with our Constitution if they get the opportunity.
Our freedoms are being eroded!
Our nation is headed toward Socialism or better said Communism like a freight train running out of track.
We had better learn to endure these things and remain steadfast with the Lord Jesus!
With today's technology there remains very few places that have not been reached with the "Gospel".
Those very few places that civilization has not touched, will be touched and they too will suffer the destruction of sin, but maybe they first can be reached with the truth of God, but if not, they will still have no excuse because we need only look around and we can know that only a wise Creator could have made all the things in this Cosmos.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Its far better to know the Lord Jesus Christ that it is reject Him!
The greatest of all sin is to be ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is He who will return first to take His Church home and then eradicate sin from this world by extreme force!
Amen
