What we believe about eternity really matters because our response to message of the gospel determines where we spend eternity...

This week we have been looking at the tenth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This tenth statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to how our response to Jesus determines our eternal destiny.

This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Am I responsible and accountable to God for how I live my life here on earth? And am I responsible for how I respond to the claims of Jesus and the message of Jesus? What happens after I die? And how does my response to Jesus determine what happens to me after I die?” So let’s look at this tenth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.

So far this week we have discovered that the person who places their confident trust in Jesus life, death, and resurrection will not be separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion, but will experience the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for. And that is the good news of the gospel: God loved, God gave, so that those who believe and place their confident trust in Jesus would receive life in relationship with Him.

We also discovered that God commands humanity to respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to the question “Who is Jesus”. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for.

All of humanity will be responsible for their actions and their response to God based on the amount of revelation that they have received about God. Regardless of the level of our exposure to the claims of Christ or the message and teachings of the Bible, our consciences testify and provide evidence of our guilt or innocence. Whether it is the American who listens to Christian radio and podcasts and has five Bibles scattered around their home, or the pigmy who lives in the jungles of Africa, all will stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives.

For those who never read a Bible or heard the message of the gospel, they will be held accountable for how they respond to God’s general revelation of Himself through the creation and through their conscience. For those who have received God’s special revelation in the form of the letter that make up the Bible and exposure to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history, they will be responsible for their response to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And the standard is the same for all: perfection.

We also discovered that, based on the verdict of that judgment by God, all humanity will spend eternity in one of two places. Today, we will see that all humanity will be held accountable for all eternity for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for.  We see this reality in one of the final sections of the final letter that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the book of Revelation. So let’s look at that section together, beginning in Revelation 20:11:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Here we see John give us glimpse into what will happen when Jesus returns to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense and defeat selfishness, sin and death at His return to earth. To understand what is being communicated in these verses, we first need to ask and answer a few questions.

The first question that we need to ask and answer is “what is the Great White Throne and who is sitting on it?” The Great White Throne is the Throne that Jesus after He returns to earth will sit on as He judges all of selfish and rebellious humanity who rejected God and the things of God throughout history. The second question that we need to ask and answer is “what does John mean when he says the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life?” The phrase “the books were opened” refers to the books that record every activity of every human being throughout history. The phrase "and another book was opened, the book of life", is referred to as the Lamb’s book of life. That book records every individual throughout history who experienced a right relationship with God as a result of placing their confident trust in God.

Here John is revealing for us the reality that at the end of God’s story here on earth, every human being who ever lived will receive an eternal body and will stand before Jesus to give an account of the life that they lived while here on earth. For those throughout history who rejected God and the things of God and whose names are not found in the Lambs book of life, they will experience what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the Great White Throne Judgment.  This judgment seals their eternal existence in what John refers to as the lake of fire, or Hell.

Hell is a real and eternal place where those who have rejected God here on earth will consciously experience the absence of the presence of God and the physical and emotional punishment that will come from demons and the selfish actions of other humans in Hell. For those throughout history who responded to God’s transformational intervention and activity in their lives by placing their confident trust in God and who have their names in the Lamb’s book of Life, they will be judged and either receive or lose rewards based on their how they followed Jesus while here on earth and will reside for all eternity in the presence of God, worshipping, serving and living in the relationship Him and one another that they were created for forever. We see John reveal for us the reality of Heaven in Revelation 21:1:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

The New Heavens and the New Earth will be the renewed creation that will fulfill the purpose that God had when He created the universe where we will dwell in the presence of God. Heaven is a real and eternal place where followers of Jesus will experience the presence and the relationship with God and one another that they were created for without all of the evil and corruption that resulted from selfishness, sin and rebellion.

Now this leads us back to the question that will run throughout this series, which is “Dave does what we believe about eternity really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to this timeless truth about why it really matters. And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about eternity really matters because our response to message of the gospel determines where we spend eternity.

What we really believe about eternity really matters because the question is not whether or not you live forever; the question is where are you going to live forever. What we believe about eternity really matters because all humanity is responsible for their response to the question “Who is Jesus”.

What we believe about eternity really matters because all humanity is responsible for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for. What we believe about eternity matters because our response to message of the gospel determines where we spend eternity.

So, how have you responded to the question "Who is Jesus?"

How our life on earth echoes for eternity...

This week we are looking at the tenth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church, which addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to how our response to Jesus determines our eternal destiny.

Yesterday, we looked at what we believe about how we can experience the forgiveness and a relationship with the God we were created for, which is referred to as the gospel. We talked about the reality that God loved, God gave, so that those who believe and place their confident trust in and follow Jesus as Lord and Leader would receive life in relationship with Him.

We looked at the reality that Jesus wanted Nicodemus to clearly understand that all of humanity stands condemned to an eternity apart from God as a result of our selfishness and rebellion. Jesus wanted Nicodemus to clearly understand that rescue from selfishness and rebellion was not based on what we did for God, but in trusting in what God was doing through Jesus, who entered into humanity as the culmination of God’s Divine plan to provide an opportunity for forgiveness and restoration.

And as a church, we believe that God commands humanity to respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to the question “Who is Jesus”. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for. We see this reality revealed for us in the next section of this statement, which says “We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world.”

Today I want us to look at a common objection that I often hear at this point, which sounds something like this: “Well Dave what about the people who never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus? What about the people around the world who never read the Bible? How can God hold the pygmy in Africa accountable for something that he has never been exposed to?

That is a great question. All of humanity will be responsible for their actions and their response to God based on the amount of revelation that they have received about God. Regardless of the level of our exposure to the claims of Christ or the message and teachings of the Bible, our consciences testify and provide evidence of our guilt or innocence.

Whether it is the American who listens to Christian radio and podcasts and has five Bibles scattered around their home, or the pigmy who lives in the jungles of Africa, all will stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives. And as all humanity stands before Jesus, it will be our consciences that will testify as to our guilt or innocence when it comes to how we lived our lives. For the pigmy who lived in the jungle of Africa, they will be judged based on the amount of revelation they received when it came to God’s existence and standards. They will be judged based on how they responded to the law of God that was written on their hearts.

If they lived a life that perfectly followed that internal standard as testified by their conscience, they will be declared not guilty. However, if they selfishly rebelled against God’s law that was written in their hearts, their conscience will testify against them the moment it happened and again when they stand before Jesus. And it is the testimony of the conscience that will provide the evidence of their guilt.

You see, God is perfectly just and right. He treats everybody the same way. Everyone will be held accountable based on the amount of revelation about God they received. For those who never read a Bible or heard the message of the gospel, they will be held accountable for how they respond to God’s general revelation of Himself through the creation and through their conscience. For those who have received God’s special revelation in the form of the letter that make up the Bible and exposure to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history, they will be responsible for their response to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And the standard is the same for all: perfection.

And based on the verdict of that judgment by God, all humanity will spend eternity in one of two places. This is what is meant by the next section of this statement, “assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth”.  We see Jesus reveal this reality in a section of an account if His life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. So let’s look at this section together, beginning in Luke 16:19:

Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

Here we see Jesus telling the crowds listening to Him a parable. Now a parable is an earthly story that was designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth. Jesus was telling this parable in response to an encounter that He had with a group of people who were known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a group of self righteous religious people who thought they were better than others because of all the things that they did for God. As Jesus was teaching the crowds that were following Him about money, these self righteous religious people began to ridicule Jesus message and teachings about money because they were lovers of money. And it was in this context that Jesus told this earthly story that revealed a deeper spiritual truth.

In this parable there were two men. One of the men was wealthy and without a care in the world. By contrast, the second man, who Jesus named Lazarus, who was a poor cripple who could not move, even to get away from dogs who were licking at his wounds. Can you imagine how desperate and how dependant this man who have had to be on others?

And in the Jewish culture of the first century, the rich man appeared to be the one who was blessed by God, while Lazarus appeared to be cursed by God. And every day, the rich man would walk past Lazarus without helping Lazarus, while Lazarus suffered and was tormented by hunger and dogs that he could not escape from. Jesus then continues His parable in verse 22:

  "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

Now to fully understand what Jesus is communicating here, we first need to understand a few terms and phrases that Jesus uses here. First, we need to understand what Jesus means when He says that “the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom.” In the Jewish culture of the first century, Abraham’s bosom was a place of blessing and represented Abraham’s reception of the faithful into the presence of God in Heaven. Jesus point here is that the poor man, after he died was welcomed into the presence of God in Heaven.

Jesus then explained that the rich man also died and was buried. Now this leads us to the second phrase that we need to understand, which is what is Jesus referring to when He says that the rich man "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment”. In the Jewish culture of the first century, Hades referred to the place where the selfish and rebellious dead go and await final judgment by God for their selfishness and rebellion. Hades could be considered “Hell’s waiting room”.

In this parable, we see that both men were conscious of the fate quickly. In addition, while there is a sense of distance between the two men, both Lazarus and the rich man know where each other were. The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus over to bring him some water. While awaiting the final judgment of humanity from God, the rich man, who was in Hells waiting room, was hoping to get some relief from the torment he was receiving while waiting for the final judgment of humanity. And as Jesus continues His parable, we see Abraham’s response to the rich man in verse 25:

 "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'

Jesus explained to the crowds listening that Abraham basically said to the rich man, “you had a wrinkle free life on earth. You were wealthy and without a care in the world and yet you did not care for those who were experiencing trouble on earth. The reason why you are where you are is the result of how you lived your life while on earth. And as a result of how you lived your life on earth, you are where you are for the rest of eternity.”

You see, the rich man was in Hades for his lack of response to God and the things of God during his life on earth. And now that his life on earth was over, his fate has been determined. The rich man’s selfishness and rebellion that led him to love his money instead of loving God and the people created in the image of God so as to hoard his wealth instead of being generous revealed the reality that he was not living in relationship with God.

And as a result of rejecting God here on earth, the rich man would spend eternity apart from God. And as the realization of an eternity of conscious punishment for a life of selfishness and rebellion began to roll over the rich man like a tidal wave, Jesus records the rich man’s response to Abraham in Luke 16:27:

 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"?

Jesus explained that the rich man begged Abraham to send the poor man to his five brothers, who also loved their money instead of loving God and the people created in the image of God, to warn them to change the trajectory of their lives that was moving away from God back to God. Abraham however responded to the rich man’s request by denying his request.

Instead, Abraham reminded to rich man that his brothers had the message and teachings of God in the Old Testament to point them to God and their need of God. Jesus then explained that the rich man believed that if his brothers saw the miraculous return of the poor man from the dead, that they would see their need for God and turn back to God. However, Abraham explained to the rich man that if they do not see their need for God and to turn back to God from the letters that make up the Old Testament, they will not see their need for God or to turn back to God even if someone rose from the dead.

And a short while after telling this parable, Jesus died on the cross for the selfishness and rebellion of humanity and was risen from the dead as a result of God’s transformational and supernatural activity. And in spite of that reality, for 2,000 years humanity has still refused to see their need for God or to turn back to God.

However, as we discovered a few weeks ago, there will be a time in the future when Jesus will return. And at that return all humanity will be held accountable for all eternity for their response to the question “Who is Jesus”. All humanity will be held accountable for all eternity for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for.  We see this reality in one of the final sections of the final letter that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the book of Revelation.

Friday, we will look at this section together…

Am I responsible for how I respond to the claims of Jesus and the message of Jesus?

At the church where I serve, we have been looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. This week, I would like for us to look at the tenth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This tenth statement addresses what we believe as a church when it comes to how our response to Jesus determines our eternal destiny.

This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Am I responsible and accountable to God for how I live my life here on earth? And am I responsible for how I respond to the claims of Jesus and the message of Jesus? What happens after I die? And how does my response to Jesus determine what happens to me after I die?” So let’s look at this tenth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.

Now as we have talked about throughout this series, to fully understand what is being communicated in this statement, we first need to understand what all the church mumbo jumbo talk words in this statement mean. So, as we have done throughout this series, I would like for us to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here.

First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase “We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ.” When we say that God commands everyone to believe the gospel, the gospel refers to God’s message of rescue that was proclaimed by Jesus to all humanity. Now repentance is a big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word that means to feel remorse that results in a change of one’s mind and heart.

To repent means more than simply feeling sorry for something you did; to repent means that you feel sorry for what you did and the sorrow that you feel drives you to change something in your life. To repent means to change the trajectory of one’s life that is moving away from God back toward God in a way that result is you living in the relationship with God that you were created for.

Now a natural question that could arise here involves the idea of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean how does one receive the Lord Jesus Christ? This is a church mumbo jumbo talk phrase that simply refers to how one can experience the forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for.

And in a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John, Jesus makes a statement to a man named Nicodemus that is probably the most familiar verse in the entire Bible. And it is in this single verse that we see the core message of the good news of the message of the gospel and how one receives the Lord Jesus Christ. So let’s look at this verse together in John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

In this verse, we see Jesus reveal for us we need to know and what we need to do in order to enter into a relationship with God. First, Jesus says for God so loved the world. God sent His Son Jesus to earth not because He was mad at the world; God is in love with the world. Jesus then tells us that God did what people, who are in love, do. God gave. God sent His Son Jesus because He loved the world.

You see, while God created humanity to experience a relationship with Him and a relationship with one another, all of humanity selfishly rebelled and rejected that relationship, instead choosing to love ourselves and do things out of that selfish love that hurt God and others. That selfish love and rebellion is what the Bible calls sin.

God responded to that selfish love and rebellion by giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. God’s love and interest in us was made known and shown in the most powerful way when He sent His unique, one and only Son to earth, who allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

Jesus then explained that God loved and God gave so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish. Now this little phrase believes in, in the language that this letter is written in, literally means to entrust oneself entrust to someone with complete confidence. To trust is a lot sitting on a stool: while I could stand and say that I believe that a stool can hold my weight, it is only when I sit on the stool that I demonstrate that I trust the stool to hold my weight.

The person who trusts Jesus will respond to Jesus by placing Jesus Christ as large and in charge of their lives and will strive to follow His message and teachings. That is how you receive the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that you were created for. And for the person who believes, trusts, and follows Jesus, Jesus explains that they shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Now eternal life is not simply living forever. You see, everyone lives forever; we are created as eternal beings. The question is not whether or not you are going to live forever, the question is where are you going to live? When Jesus uses this phrase, He is revealing to Nicodemus that the person who places their confident trust in Jesus life, death, and resurrection will not be separated from God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion, but will experience the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for. And that is the good news of the gospel: God loved, God gave, so that those who believe and place their confident trust in Jesus would receive life in relationship with Him.

Now you might be thinking “I am still having a hard time buying that God is like this. I still see God as being like a cosmic cop around the corner waiting to bust me. The idea that God loves me and desires a relationship with me is hard to accept”. If that is where you are at this morning, just look at what Jesus says next in John 3:17:

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

If Jesus was communicating this in the language that we use in our culture today, these verses would sound like this: Nicodemus, God did not send Me as the Messiah to the earth in order to judge all of humanity, but that all of humanity would have the opportunity to be rescued from their selfishness and rebellion. The person who places their confident trust in Me is not condemned. However, the person who refuses to place their confident trust in Me is already condemned because of their selfishness and rebellion. Everyone is condemned and the reason that they are condemned is because I have revealed Myself throughout all of human history and all of humanity has responded by rejecting and rebelling against Me. They want nothing to do with Me because I expose the selfishness and rebellion that is in the center and core of their being. Everyone is already condemned because of their rebellion and I have come to rescue those who trust in Me from condemnation. And everyone who places their confident trust in Me and lives in relationship with Me reveal the reality of My transformational intervention and activity that has brought them into relationship with Me.” 

You see, Jesus wanted Nicodemus to clearly understand that all of humanity stands condemned to an eternity apart from God as a result of our selfishness and rebellion. Jesus wanted Nicodemus to clearly understand that rescue from selfishness and rebellion was not based on what we did for God, but in trusting in what God was doing through Jesus, who entered into humanity as the culmination of God’s Divine plan to provide an opportunity for forgiveness and restoration.

And as a church, we believe that God commands humanity to respond to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to the question “Who is Jesus”. We believe that all humanity is responsible for their response to Jesus message and teachings and His offer to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion so that we can experience forgiveness and the relationship with God we were created for. We see this reality revealed for us in the next section of this statement, which says “We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world.”

Now a natural objection that I often hear at this point sounds something like this: “Well Dave, what about the people who never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus? What about the people around the world who never read the Bible? How can God hold the pygmy in Africa accountable for something that he has never been exposed to?

That is a great question. Tomorrow we will address those questions and objections…

Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present...

This week, we have been looking at the ninth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This ninth statement addresses what we believe as a church about Jesus return. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Is Jesus coming back to earth? And if Jesus is coming back to earth, how is He coming back? And why is He coming back? And when is He coming back?” So let’s look at this ninth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

So far, we have talked about the reality that Jesus will return visibly to earth, in person to set up His kingdom. In other words, Jesus will not return to earth as a spirit. Instead Jesus will personally and bodily return to earth. We saw the Apostle Paul comfort the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that just as Jesus died and rose again from death, followers of Jesus who died before Jesus returned to earth would be raised from the dead to be with Jesus.

Paul encouraged the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that Jesus Himself proclaimed that He would physically and bodily return to earth and that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, would be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returned to earth to establish the kingdom of God in its fullest sense.

We talked about the reality that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, When we say that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, we are saying that Jesus will visibly return and begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense at the end of the Great Tribulation, at which time Jesus will rule and reign over the earth for a period of a thousand years. Now this time in which Jesus will rule and reign over the earth is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the millennial kingdom.

We also began to look at a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the book of Matthew, where Jesus began to answer the question as to when He would return with three warnings. In Matthew 24:3-28, Jesus, in His response to the disciples warned His followers throughout history to do not be deceived by the false signs of world events, to do not be deceived as a result of the events of the great tribulation, and to do not be deceived by the false signs of the Antichrist.

Then after giving His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, these three timeless warnings, we see Jesus answer the disciples question in verses Matthew 24:29-31. Let’s look at Jesus’ answer together:

But 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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Jesus answers the disciples question by quoting from two sections of two letters that are recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible called the book of Isaiah and the book of Daniel. Jesus quotes Isaiah 13:10 and Daniel 7:13, both of which refer to God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah. Jesus quotes these Old Testament passages to reveal the reality that at the end of the Great Tribulation, a battle will occur, called the battle of Armageddon, where the forces of Satan and the antichrist are defeated at the Hands of Jesus as He returns to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven here on earth for a thousand years.

And in these verses we see that Jesus return will be unmistakable. In verses 30-31, we see that when Jesus comes again there will be unmistakable phenomenon that occur in the universe to mark His coming. Do you think you would miss the sun if it was no longer giving light? Would you miss it if the stars fell from the sky? No, we would not miss a sign of that nature.

The reality is that Jesus second coming will be of such a scale that it will be unmistakable. However, while Jesus return will be unmistakable, that does not necessarily mean that Jesus return is predictable, as we see just a few verses later in Matthew 24:36:

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

Jesus responded to the disciples question about when He would be ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven by simply saying that He did not know; only the Father knew. Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well Dave, I thought you said that Jesus was God and that God knew absolutely everything that there was to know. So if that is the case, then how could Jesus not know?”  That is a great question.

And my response to that question would be this. As we discovered when we looked at what we believe about Jesus, when Jesus entered into humanity, Jesus willingly laid aside some of His Divine attributes in order to engage and enter into this world. Jesus is fully aware of when He is returning to earth. And before entering into humanity, Jesus was fully aware of when He was returning to earth. However while on earth, Jesus willingly laid aside that knowledge of when He was going to return to earth. 

However, here we see Jesus reveal the reality that His return will be unexpected. And as a result, upon His arrival people will be living out their day to day lives as though He was not returning on the day He returns. Jesus reminds His followers throughout history that the events surrounding His return will be reminiscent of the days before the Lord flooded the earth in the days of Noah. Just as it was on the day that the Lord began to flood the earth, people will be engaged in their normal day to day lives, not expecting Jesus return and not prepared for Jesus return.

When Jesus states that there were two men in the field and two women grinding at the mill and that one was taken and one was left, He is revealing the reality that those who were taken were taken away to judgment as a result of their selfishness and rebellion against God. Just as those who were unprepared for the unexpected flood, those who are unprepared for the events surrounding Jesus return as a result of their selfishness and rebellion against God will be taken away to experience God’s right and just judgment for their rebellion.

This reality is addressed in the final section of this doctrinal statement which says “The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.” We see Jesus address this reality beginning in Matthew 24:42-44:

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Jesus explained to His disciples that, because the events surrounding Jesus second coming could occur at any time, they were to be on the alert for His return. Jesus point to His disciples, and to His followers throughout history, is that we must be prepared and ready for Jesus 2^nd coming by being faithful for our responsibilities as His followers.

And, as followers of Jesus, being faithful involves perseverance and consistency, because we do not know how long it will be until Jesus comes again. However, those who postpone their responsibilities to be faithful in order to be selfish and rebellious against God to do evil reveal their lack of faithfulness to God.

You see, as followers of Jesus every day matters. Every day is one day closer to Jesus return. As we approach the blessed hope of living in the relationship with God and one another in eternity in Heaven, released from the pain and suffering that comes from sin and death, we are to leverage that hope into an urgency to live our lives in a way that reveals and reflects Christ as we love and serve others. And as followers of Jesus, we are to leverage that hope into an urgency to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with an urgency that comes in light of the reality that every day matters.

Now, after unpacking all of that information that is contained within this statement of our doctrinal statement, we still have to answer the question: “Dave does what we believe about Jesus return really matter?” And the answer to that question leads us to a timeless truth about why it really matters.

And that timeless truth is this: What we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present. What we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future. The hope for the future that Jesus will physically and bodily return to earth so that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, will be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returns to earth to begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense. The hope for the future that Jesus will physically and bodily return to free us from the pain and suffering that comes from sin and death so that we can experience the relationship with God that we were created for through all eternity.

And what we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us the urgency the engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present. The urgency to live our day to day lives by loving and serving others in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to others who are far from Him. The urgency to share the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel with the urgency that comes in light of the reality that every day matters.

The urgency that every day matters because every day is another day closer to Jesus return, where all humanity will stand before Jesus to answer for how they lived their lives here on earth. The urgency that every day matters because every day is another day that people will die before Jesus returns, and will have to answer for how they lived their lives here on earth. The urgency that every day matters because every day is on opportunity to embrace and engage in the kingdom mission that we have been given as followers of Jesus by God the be the vehicle that He uses to reveal His Son Jesus and His message of rescue through the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the world.

Because, as we have discovered, what we believe about Jesus return really matters because Jesus return provides us hope for the future and the urgency to engage in the kingdom mission we have been given in the present....

Three Timeless Warnings Regarding Jesus Return...

This week, we are looking at the ninth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This ninth statement addresses what we believe as a church about Jesus return. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Is Jesus coming back to earth? And if Jesus is coming back to earth, how is He coming back? And why is He coming back? And when is He coming back?” So let’s look at this ninth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

Yesterday, we talked about the reality that when we say that we believe in the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ, we are saying that Jesus will return visibly to earth, in person to set up His kingdom. In other words, Jesus will not return to earth as a spirit. Instead Jesus will personally and bodily return to earth. Jesus Christ clearly claimed that He would personally and bodily return to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense in a section of a letter that was recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 Thessalonians.

We looked on as Paul encouraged the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that Jesus Himself proclaimed that He would physically and bodily return to earth and that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, would be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returned to earth to establish the kingdom of God in its fullest sense.

We also discovered that Jesus will visibly return and begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense at the end of the Great Tribulation, at which time Jesus will rule and reign over the earth for a period of a thousand years. Now a natural question that arises here, and that has been asked throughout history is “Well Dave that all sounds great, but if Jesus is returning to earth, then when is Jesus returning to earth?” That’s a great question, which we see asked and answered by Jesus in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the book of Matthew. So let’s look at this section together and discover the answer together, beginning in Matthew 24:3:

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

To understand the question that the disciples asked Jesus, we must first understand the context in which the question was asked. In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus has just pronounced judgment against the Jewish people and their leaders for their hypocrisy and their rejection of God’s messengers throughout history, including their rejection of Him as the Messiah. Jesus concluded His comments in Matthew Chapter 23 by quoting Zechariah 12:10, where the prophet Zechariah spoke of the future coming of the Messiah and the Jewish people’s recognition of Him. 

The disciples, having witnessed this interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day, come to Jesus later and ask, “When are you coming again? What will be the signs?” Jesus responds to the disciples question with an answer that provides three warnings and a sign. First, let’s look at the three warnings. We see the first warning revealed for us in Matthew 24:4-8:

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many. "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

Jesus, in His response to the disciples, reveals for us a timeless warning that we would be wise to take head of. And that timeless warning is this: Do not be deceived by the false signs of world events. I saw this principle play out in my life as a non believer in the lead up to desert storm in the early 90’s. I remember seeing people that I worked with, whom I had no idea were Christians, bringing their Bibles with them to work and speaking about desert storm as the onset of Christ’s second coming. Obviously, it was not Christ’s second coming, as we are here today.

As a non-believer at the time, I found their reaction to be hypocritical, at best, and ridiculous and crazy, at worst. It seemed that these people who called themselves Christians were only getting into their Bibles and talking church stuff because of what was happening in the world. It seemed as though Christianity was a crutch to lean on when times got tough and nothing more.

As followers of Jesus, our motivation for following Jesus should come from a response of love to what Jesus has done for us, regardless of the events that are occurring around us. The reality is that throughout time there always has been and there always will be wars and conflicts among us.

As followers of Jesus, we are not to get so caught up in the changing tides of world events that we lose focus of the kingdom mission that God has given us of being the vehicle that He uses to reveal and reflect Jesus to a lost and hurting world around us. We see Jesus continue to respond to His disciples with a second warning, which we see in Matthew 24:9-14. Let’s look at it together:

"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.  "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

In these verses, we see a second timeless warning that we should pay attention to. And that warning is this: Do not be deceived as a result of the events of the great tribulation. Jesus gives the disciples a glimpse into what will happen to His followers in the period immediately preceding His coming, known as the great tribulation.

As we just talked about, the “Great Tribulation” is the seven year period prior to Jesus return where the devil will use a charismatic world leader, known as the antichrist, and a major false religious leader to oppose God and attack His people. During this period, God will restore the Jewish people and will exercise His right and just response of judgment on rebellious humanity, who will still refuse to come to relationship with Him.

Now a question that many people have asked when looking at this passage is “how do we know that these verses are talking about the Great Tribulation specifically and not just tribulation that followers of Jesus will experience throughout history in general?” I have asked that question, and if you are asking that question, it is a great question to be asking. We believe that Jesus is referring to the Great Tribulation specifically because of what Jesus says next in Matthew 24:15-28. Let’s look at them together:

"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. "Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. "Behold, I have told you in advance. "So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe them. "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Jesus begins verse 15 with the word therefore. The word therefore is significant because it links everything that Jesus was saying in verses 9-14 with what He is about to say in verses 15 through 28. And in verses 15 through 28 we see Jesus reveal a third timeless warning for us to pay attention to. And that timeless warning is this: Do not be deceived by the false signs of the Antichrist.

Jesus refers the disciples back to the words of the prophet Daniel that are recorded for us in Daniel 9:27, where the Antichrist will break his peace treaty that he had made with the Jewish people and will demand that the entire world worship him as god. Those who fail to worship the Antichrist as god will be persecuted and martyred. The Antichrist will attempt to show that he is god with miracles, signs and wonders so persuasive, that many will be deceived.

Jesus then explains in verse 24 that these miracles are so persuasive that if possible they would deceive the elect. This verse, however, also reinforces the reality that our rescue from rebellion that results in our salvation is secure and cannot be lost. 

Jesus here is warning His disciples and followers of Jesus throughout history, that these signs and statements proclaiming that He has returned are not to be believed because “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be”. In other words, Jesus 2^nd coming will be impossible to miss.

Jesus concluded His 3^rd warning to the disciples by stating that "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” But what does that mean? The point that Jesus is making here with this statement is that just as vultures are attracted to a rotting corpse, the spiritual corruption of the Antichrist and false teaching will attract many.

Then after giving His disciples, and followers of Jesus throughout history, these three timeless warnings, we see Jesus answer the disciples question in verses Matthew 24:29-31. We will look at these verses tomorrow...

Is Jesus coming back?

At the church where I serve, we have been spending our time together looking at what we believe as a church as it is contained in the doctrinal statement of our church. And as we go through this statement, our hope and prayer is to accomplish four specific things. First, our hope and my prayer is that we would be able to explain what we believe as a church in a clear and straightforward manner. Second, our hope and our prayer is that we would be able to explain what we believe as a church by spending our time together focused on a few passages that best capture what we believe as a church. Third, our hope and our prayer is that we would be able to explain why what we believe as a church matters. And fourth, our hope and our prayer is that we would be able to explain what we believe as a church in a way that reveals how relevant what we believe is to our day to day lives as followers of Jesus.

This week, I would like for us to look at the ninth statement that comprises our doctrinal statement as a church. This ninth statement addresses what we believe as a church about Jesus return. This statement summarizes the answer to the question “Is Jesus coming back to earth? And if Jesus is coming back to earth, how is He coming back? And why is He coming back? And when is He coming back?” So let’s look at this ninth statement of our doctrinal statement together:

We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

Now to fully understand what is being communicated in this statement, we first need to understand what all the church mumbo jumbo talk words in this statement mean. So, I would like for us to break down this statement into parts so that we can come to a better understanding of what is being said here. First, let’s take a minute and unpack the phrase “We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we say that we believe in the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ, we are saying that Jesus will return visibly to earth, in person to set up His kingdom.

In other words, Jesus will not return to earth as a spirit. Instead Jesus will personally and bodily return to earth. Jesus Christ clearly claimed that He would personally and bodily return to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense in a section of a letter that was recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 Thessalonians.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, we see the Apostle Paul addressing the concerns that the members of the church at Thessalonica had when it came to what would happen to those who died before Jesus returned to earth. You see, the members of the church at Thessalonica were concerned that those who died before Jesus returned to earth would not be with Jesus after He returned to earth. The members of the church at Thessalonica were concerned that they would never see those who died before Jesus returned to earth because they had died before Jesus returned to earth. We see Paul’s response to their concerns recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep 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 not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

Here we see the Apostle Paul comfort the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that just as Jesus died and rose again from death, followers of Jesus who died before Jesus returned to earth would be raised from the dead to be with Jesus. Paul encouraged the members of the church at Thessalonica by explaining that Jesus Himself proclaimed that He would physically and bodily return to earth and that all who believed trusted, and followed Him, whether physically alive or dead at the time of His return, would be caught up alive to meet Him in the air as He returned to earth to establish the kingdom of God in its fullest sense.

Now that leads us to next church mumbo jumbo talk word in this section of the doctrinal statement which, states that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, When we say that we believe in the premillenial return of Jesus Christ, we are saying that Jesus will visibly return and begin to establish the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense at the end of the Great Tribulation, at which time Jesus will rule and reign over the earth for a period of a thousand years.

The “Great Tribulation” refers to the seven year period prior to Jesus return that was predicted and proclaimed by the prophet Daniel in a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament in the Bible called the book of Daniel. In Daniel 9:24-27, the prophet Daniel predicted and proclaimed a seven year period of great tribulation and trouble here on earth.

During this period of time, the Antichrist, who is a world leader that unites those in the world who are opposed to God and the kingdom of God to oppose God and persecute the people of God, will appear. During this period, God will exercise His wrath or right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion of humanity who oppose God, who will still yet refuse to come to relationship with Him. This period concludes at the battle of Armageddon where the forces of Satan and the Antichrist are defeated at the Hands of Jesus as He returns to earth.

After defeating the forces of Satan and the Antichrist, Jesus will rule and reign here on earth for a thousand years. Now this time in which Jesus will rule and reign over the earth is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the millennial kingdom. As a church, we do not believe that Jesus will return to earth after the church ushers in the kingdom of Heaven, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as the postmillennialism. And we do not believe that there will be no millennial kingdom, which is referred to as amillennialism.

Instead, we believe that Jesus will return back to earth personally and physically to usher in the beginning to the kingdom of Heaven with a thousand year reign and rule here on earth. Now a natural question that arises here, and that has been asked throughout history is “Well Dave that all sounds great, but if Jesus is returning to earth, then when is Jesus returning to earth?” That’s a great question, which we see asked and answered by Jesus in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the book of Matthew. Tomorrow, we will see Jesus begin to answer those questions...