WE BELIEVE IN JESUS’ RETURN (2 PETER 3:8-13)
SERIES: THIS WE BELIEVE, PART 10
GCEFC: SEPTEMBER 5, 2010
INTRODUCTION
1. Today we conclude our summer series: This We Believe. We’ve covered all 10 articles of faith in the
Evangelical Free Church doctrinal statement.
2. Which hopefully will make us more informed and knowledgeable voters
this fall when we vote to accept the statement as a church.
3. I also hope you’ve picked up some important biblical and theological
truths along the way. That you’ve learned a few things you didn’t know before.
4. Today we’re looking at article 9 of the statement of faith. If you were
here last Sunday you know we reversed articles 9 and 10. So article 9 will be
the last article we examine.
5. Article 9 deals with the Return of Christ. A very important topic,
which finds varying levels of interest in the church. The subject revolves
around 3 basic questions.
a. Will Jesus return?
b. If he returns, when will it be?
c. What are the circumstances of his return?
6. The issue of Jesus’ return has occupied the church to varying degrees
throughout history. And though it has occupied center stage at times, it has
never fully left the stage.
7. If we stop after answering question #1, then all is well with most.
Evangelical Christians have believed unequivocally in Jesus’ return throughout
the ages.
8. The Bible clearly teaches it, Jesus affirmed it, the Disciples
proclaimed it, and the New Testament letters confirm it over and over.
9. Anyone who does not believe in the return of Christ is beyond the pale
of the orthodox Christian faith. So if we stopped with question #1, there would
be little to debate.
10. But it doesn’t stop there. Once we establish that Jesus will return,
there are more questions that beg to be answered. Such as:
a. Will his return be personal, literal, and bodily—or will it be
figurative and spiritual?
b. Will Jesus come prior to the establishment of God’s kingdom? Or will he
come at the end of that kingdom?
c. Or will there even be an earthly kingdom at all? Maybe there is no
kingdom—or it’s already here!
d. We will not exhaust this topic this morning. Many very bright people
have devoted their entire lives to the study of eschatology.
11.
This morning the plan is to look at some
basic issues on Jesus’ return. I invite you to do further study.
A. WILL JESUS RETURN?
1. So let’s take up the first question:
Will Jesus return? The Free
Church statement of faith says that he will. Of course, so does the Bible.
2. In MT 24, Jesus’ disciples come to him and ask him about this
very thing. Here’s what’s recorded for us: As
Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.
‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your
coming and of the end of the age?’
3. Then, over in V30, after giving a lot of detail, Jesus says: At that time the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
4. In 1 THESS 4, the Apostle Paul is consoling believers who’ve
lost loved ones through death. In saying that those believers who’ve died will
be given new life, he makes a statement about Jesus’ return.
5. For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with
the trumpet call of God…
6. And when Jesus was ascending into heaven, we get some insight into his
return. ACTS 1:10: They
(disciples) were looking intently up into the sky as he (Jesus) was going, when
suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they
said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky: This same Jesus, who has
been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen
him go into heaven.’
7. And how is that, exactly? Jesus’ ascension was literal, personal,
bodily, visible, and glorious. His return will be the same. He’s coming back.
B. WHEN WILL HE RETURN?
1. Which brings us to the second question. If Christ is returning, when
will it be? Jesus anticipated the question and addressed it in the same
discourse.
2. People like to quote the Bible on this. MT 24:36: Jesus said: No one knows about that day or hour, not
even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
3. Mark it well—we cannot know the exact day or hour of Jesus’ return and
we shouldn’t worry ourselves trying to know it.
4. However, Jesus taught that we could know the general time of his
return. He said there are signs that will indicate the time is getting near.
5. For example, you might ask me when the Super Bowl is. I don’t happen to
know the exact day. But I can tell you this:
a. It will follow the regular NFL football season.
b. It will come after the playoff games are completed.
c. It will be on a Sunday early in February.
6. So I have a good idea when the Super Bowl will be played, even though I
don’t know the exact day and time. Somebody knows—I don’t.
7. In terms of Jesus’ return, we can know the general time frame. But no
human being knows the exact time. For his own reasons God wanted it to be this
way.
8. But as I said earlier, the time of Jesus’ return revolves around a
larger question. That question concerns an event known as The Millennium.
9. The millennium is defined as: The
period of a thousand years during which Christ will reign on earth, as
prophesied in the Bible. I took it out of the English dictionary.
10. The belief that Jesus will return at the end of the Millennial Kingdom
is known as Postmillennialism. That is—after the Millennium.
11. Postmillennialism used to be very popular, as people believed that
through education, technology, law, socialization, the Church, and general
adherence to biblical principles—that the world would get better and better.
12. It would get better to the point that it would become essentially a
utopia. At the end of this blissful kingdom, Jesus would return and the eternal
state would begin.
13. But then came 2 huge setbacks to this belief—WWI and WWII. Not to
mention the rise of crime, poverty, civil wars, and a host of social ills.
14. People became disillusioned with postmillennialism. Kind of like the
Ford Edsel and New Coke. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
15. The belief that there is no literal earthly kingdom over which Jesus
will literally and physically reign is known as amillennialism. The
prefix “a” is from the Latin meaning “no.” So A-millennialism literally means
“No Millennium.”
16. Amillennialism teaches that the kingdom of God exists now in the form
of the Church. Though the promises of the kingdom were made to Israel—the
Church has replaced Israel as the people of God. The Church has become
“spiritual Israel.”
17. Now, realize that there is much more that can be said about both of
these positions and I encourage you to do your own study.
18. But in the remaining time, I want to focus on the third view known as premillennialism.
That Jesus will return prior to the millennium. I want to do this for 2
reasons.
a. The first reason is that premillennialism is the doctrinal position of
the Free Church. As you can see from Article 9: We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. The second reason is that premillennialism is the position I
personally hold.
c. Let me say there are fine, evangelical, Bible-believing,
gospel-believing, intelligent Christians who hold the amillennial position.
d. I should also say that belief in premillennialism is not a deal-breaker
for the Free Church. You must believe in Christ’s literal, bodily return—but
when he returns is not a deal-breaker.
C. THE PREMILLENNIAL BELIEF
1. This brings us to the third question. So what is premillennialism
exactly, and why do I believe it’s what the Bible teaches and that it’s the
superior theological position to hold?
2. Even if I hit just the highlights, we would be here well into the
night. So let me give you what we have time for. I hope it will be adequate for
now.
3. First let me say that one’s take on the return of Christ revolves
around how they understand the Kingdom of God. The Bible uses “Kingdom of God”
in different ways.
a. There’s God’s Universal Kingdom. PSA 103:19 says: The Lord has established his throne in
heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
b. There are a lot of important things to know about God. But one of the
most important is to recognize that he’s the ultimate sovereign ruler. God is
the highest authority in the universe. Every thing and every one must bow to
his sovereign lordship.
c. And there’s God’s Spiritual Kingdom in the broader sense.
This is the Kingdom that Jesus described when he said that it was comprised of
wheat and weeds growing together until the end of the age.
d. It’s the kingdom in which people claim to have citizenship—though
time will reveal their true identity.
e. Then there’s God’s Spiritual Kingdom in the narrower sense. This
is the kingdom of true believers. Not just Christ professors but Christ possessors.
f.
This is the kingdom Jesus was referring
to when he spoke with Nicodemus. You remember Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came
to Jesus under cover of darkness?
g. Anyway, Jesus said to him: ‘I
tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’
The only way one enters that kingdom is through personal faith in
Christ.
h. And there’s the Messianic Kingdom. This is the earthly, literal,
visible, political kingdom promised to Israel in which Christ, the Messiah,
will sit on the throne of David and reign from Jerusalem over the earth.
4. We must keep in mind that God has an eternal plan that he’s executing.
It mostly involves the establishment of his sovereign rule. This is a topic in
itself. But God has purposes for each stage of human history. The millennial
kingdom has its purpose too.
5. So let me take a few minutes and give you some of the key factors that
make the premillennial belief the most biblical.
6. Long ago, God established his covenant with Abraham in which he made
certain promises to him. We read about the promises and covenant in Genesis.
7. GEN 12:1: The Lord said to
Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to
the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless
you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.’
8. Then in GEN 15 God elaborates on the promise and strikes a
covenant with Abraham through a solemn ceremony that seals and binds the
covenant.
9. GEN 15: God also said to
him, ‘I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you
this land to take possession of it. On that day the Lord made a covenant with
Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt
to the great river Euphrates—.’
10. There are several things to consider about this covenant.
a. First of all, it was unconditional. All Abraham had to do was
obey God and leave the land of the Chaldeans. The rest was the unconditional
promise of God.
b. When God established the covenant with Abraham in this ceremony—Abraham
was unconscious—he was in a deep, God-induced sleep.
c. It was God alone who passed through the sacrificial animals in the
ceremony—signifying that the covenant was unilateral—that it was
unconditional for Abraham.
d. In spite of repeated sin/disobedience by Abraham, his son Isaac,
Isaac’s son Jacob, and the nation of Israel—the covenant was not revoked—rather
it was reiterated time and again over the centuries in spite of disobedience—it
was unconditional.
e. In fact, God later clarified that the promise had clear political
elements. King David wanted to build a temple to God’s glory.
f.
But God said rather than David building a
house for him—he was going to build a house for David. That house
would be a sovereign kingship that would last through David’s life and be
passed on to his descendants.
g. 2 SAM 7: The Lord declares
to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are
over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed
you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is
the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever.
h. The nature of David’s kingdom was religious, political, visible, moral,
earthly. It was certainly more than this—but it was no less than this.
i.
This kingdom was still unfulfilled when
the Old Testament closed. And it was still future when Jesus arrived.
j.
John the Baptist came announcing that the
Kingdom was near. Jesus himself said that the kingdom was near. Which can only
mean that it hadn’t arrived yet.
k. Jesus never claimed any other kingdom than the one originally promised
to the Patriarchs. He says in MT 5:17: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
l.
There’s an interesting discussion between
Jesus and his disciples in ACTS 1. It’s the last conversation Jesus had
on earth with his disciples before his ascension.
m. The disciples came to Jesus and wanted to know whether he would now
establish his kingdom. Why would they think that? Because he hadn’t established
it yet!
n. ACTS 1:6: So when they met
together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the
kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his own authority.’
o. Now wouldn’t you think that if there was no coming earthly kingdom to
hope for—that Jesus would have taken this opportunity to set his disciples
straight?
p. Fellows—don’t you get it? There
is no coming kingdom. I’m giving it to the Gentiles instead. There will be no
earthly kingdom.
q. But he doesn’t clear up their misconception at all. He simply says that
it’s not for you to know WHEN the kingdom will come.
r.
That’s because the kingdom had been
temporarily set aside for the formation of the Church. The day will come for
the establishment of the kingdom. But it’s not for you to be concerned about
now. We have disciples to make—a Church to build.
s. The Apostle Paul in EPH calls the church a “mystery.”
It’s called a mystery because it was part of God’s plan that had not been
revealed in the past but now had been.
t.
ROM 9/10/11 deal with Israel’s
past, present, and future. To the argument that God took away the kingdom from
the Jews and gave it to the Church—Paul says…
u. ROM 11:1 I ask then: Did
God reject his people? By no means! V11: Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at
all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles
to make Israel envious.
v. And V25: I do not want you
to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited:
Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the
Gentiles has come in.
D. CONCLUSION
1. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God has promised a literal,
visible, earthly, political and spiritual kingdom in which Christ, the
ruler/king/Messiah will reign.
2. The kingdom was promised in the Old Testament and offered to Israel in
the New Testament. It was rejected by the Jewish authorities and nation as a
whole.
3. The establishment of the kingdom has been put on hold while the Body of
Christ grows through personal trust in Christ as Savior.
4. The Church, we’re told in the Book of Romans, will serve as a kind of
envy-producer, causing Israel to see what they’ve missed and desire what they
forfeited long ago.
5. This kingdom will be offered again when Jesus returns to reign. This
time it will be accepted by the Jewish people and Jesus will reign on the earth
for 1,000 years.
6. If the Bible is read in a grammatical-historical manner. If prophecy in
the Old and New Testaments is taken at face value and not allegorized or
spiritualized—then a literal/earthly kingdom is the most consistent explanation
and expectation.
7. What may appear like a disruption in the plan to us is no
disruption at all to God. He knew Israel would reject their true Messiah
and his kingdom the first time around.
8. But he hasn’t abandoned his people and will not abandon them. Any more
than he will abandon his adopted children through faith in Christ.
9. Remember, the promise to Abraham was unconditional. It remains
unconditional. It’s only a question of whether God will keep his promise. I’m
confident he will.