The Problem of Christ’s Return - Part A

We all agree Jesus is coming.

We all agree we should be ready. But the exact time of that event and how that will happen, that is a debated topic. So we have a little bit of a problem. I call this the problem of Christ's return. Today on Connect with Skip Heitig, Pastor Skip begins his message, The Problem of Christ's Return, to examine what the Bible teaches about the second coming of Christ. But first, here's an offer for a study guide to complement your study of prophecy with Skip. Is the end near?

That's a question on many minds, and that's why Pastor Skip Heitig spent many months in 2023 presenting 26 full-length messages in his The End is Near series. The second coming of Jesus Christ dominates the Bible next to the subject of faith. The coming of Christ in the future is the most discussed topic in the book. To complement this excellent series, a study guide from Skip is now available. This study guide is over 100 pages in length and covers all 26 messages in the series. The End is Near study guide includes notes, summaries, and questions for group or personal study.

We need to understand the times, and this study guide will aid in this effort. With your gift of $50 or more to connect with Skip Heitig, you will receive a copy of the End is Near study guide from Skip's in-depth 26-part series. Your gift will support the production and expansion of the Connect with Skip broadcast. Call 1-800-922-1888 or go online to connectwithskip.com.

That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com. All right, ready to go? Let's turn to Matthew 24 as we join Skip today. There's always events that happen that get our attention, and those of us who are prophetically in tune or scripturally curious, we wonder about whether it's Chinese spy balloons flying in our country or it's a spill of chemicals in the Midwest or earthquakes in Turkey. We just go, hmm, interesting.

Where does that fit in? Or events like the World Economic Forum that happened recently in Davos. Just that title gets some of our attention.

Or as what happened last week, the World Government Summit. I'm not making more out of those than just mentioning them to you, but with that come a host of predictions. I brought with me a little book that I just wanted to show you. It's a little bit outdated, and at the same time, it's not.

Let me explain that. It's called Predictions for the Next Millennium. This is a book that was put out at the end of the last millennium.

Around 24 years ago, about 1999, it was put out. They got celebrities, scientists, entertainers to make predictions of what would happen in our world in the next millennium. Well, we're 23 years into the next millennium. Let me just say that looking at their predictions it's a bit laughable. Most of them said there's going to be world peace. There's going to be a cure to every disease.

Mario Andretti said there's going to be auto racing on Mars. So, so far, they're all batting zero in making predictions of what's going to happen. The Bible makes predictions about what's going to happen on a number of different levels. But you know what? God graciously tells us just enough without telling us too much. Because, frankly, there's some things about your future you don't really want to know.

There was a man walking along the beach. He ran into a little magic genie bottle. It was used up. Two wishes had already been granted. There was one wish that was left. So, the man rubbed the lamp and out popped the genie. The genie said, you only got one left, so make it good. The man said, my wish is I'd like a copy of the stock page, the financial times, exactly one year from now. So, the genie said, no problem. Poof, he was gone.

Lamp was gone in its place. A copy of the stock page from a year in advance. The man was so excited because he knows I can invest with confidence. It'll be a windfall. As the paper falls to his lap, it turns over and, on the other side of the financial page, is the obituary column. And there was a name at the top of the list that got his attention.

It was his name. So, the future is exciting until it's not. And some things about the future are exciting. Some things about the future are excruciating. Matthew 24 has both.

Jesus makes some exciting announcements about his coming, but also some excruciating announcements as well. We're doing a little series. We started a couple weeks ago on eschatology, eschatology meaning a study of the end times.

Eschatos means final or end. And it's an interesting an interesting approach that I'm taking on this study. I don't want you to be fuzzy or uncertain about these things. I want you to be in the know.

And because of that, I was a little bit worried about this series. I asked some of my staff this week, how deep do you think I should go with this? I mean, should I just sort of keep it light and easy? And they said, no, please go deep. So, I apologize if today and next week it's going to feel like drinking out of a fire hose, but I'm going to do that.

I'm going to try to approach it in a way that I cut no corners and I give you full information and that it will become beneficial. I'm going to go deep and we're going to take a good period of time to go through this. So, we have weeks and weeks of this. This is what you need to know about the future. It is going somewhere.

God has plans, big plans. It is not random. It is not haphazard.

It is not stagnant. That is, it's not the same events over and over and over again. There's an actual end that the Bible predicts, an end of the world. But, I know you know this, it's not as straightforward as some of us might like it to be. And because of that, either ignorance or hyper diligence, some people have taken advantage of that and exploit that to their own advantage.

Let me give you a few examples. Back in 1844, a man by the name of William Miller, he was a lay Baptist preacher, was convinced he knew exactly the day Jesus was coming back. And he announced it as October 22, 1844. The movement became known as the Millerite movement. People sold their possessions, quit their jobs, they put on white robes on that day and climbed hillsides.

I don't know why they did that, maybe to get closer. But, of course, it never happened. When it didn't happen, that was known as the Great Disappointment, I'll say. Then, fast forward to a few years back, some of us may remember what happened in 1988. Any of you remember the book that was published in 1988 called 88 Reasons Why Jesus is Returning in 1988? Anybody remember that here?

Okay. So, some of you do. What I remember is some people in this church told me I had to tell people about that book.

And I said, no, I won't. And Edgar Weisnacht was the author, 88 Reasons Why Jesus was Coming Back. You know, it's one thing to write a book and be wrong.

It's another thing to write a book and be wrong 88 times. And boy, was he wrong. A few years after that, Harold Camping came on the scene.

Harold Camping was the president of Family Radio. He announced Jesus would come back in 94. And he said, he announced Jesus would come back in 94. When that was wrong, he announced another date, May 21, 2011.

When that was wrong, he chose another date, October 21, 2011. All wrong. We all agree Jesus is coming.

We all agree we should be ready. But the exact time of that event and how that will happen, that is a debated topic. So, we have a little bit of a problem. I call this the problem of Christ's return. You might be wondering, what kind of a problem could we have with Christ's return?

So, I want to put it up sort of in stages. First of all, the problem can be stated as such. Jesus promised to return at any time and told us to be ready for that. But the Bible also says certain signs must happen before his return. So, how are we to understand Jesus' promise to return?

You get the problem? The Bible says, be ready, be ready. It could happen at any moment. But on the other hand, it can't happen till all these signs are fulfilled. So, what are we to make of the return?

How do we solve that problem? Well, let's begin with the promise, an exciting promise. In verse 30 of Matthew 24, and again, this is a big chapter, so we're only going to, on this take, just skim over parts of it. But go down to verse 30 and look at this. Then, and we'll discuss when the then is, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. He's announcing his coming. Go down to verse 44. Therefore, you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Pretty exciting news. Ever since Jesus came to earth the first time, he announced that he would be back for the second time. The disciples were not expecting this. The disciples did not expect Jesus to, having come to the earth, leave and then come back.

That was not in their thinking. So, in verse 3, by the way, Matthew 24 and 25 is Jesus' answer to a question the disciples asked in Matthew 24, verse 3. And the question is this. They came to him and they said, tell us, when will these things, actually, it's three questions. When will these things be, and what is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?

Three separate questions. When will these things be? The things of the temple being destroyed, which Jesus just predicted.

Interesting. Jesus does not answer that question in Matthew 24. When will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age? He answers especially the end of the age question along with his coming in Matthew 24. But when the disciples are saying, tell us the sign of your coming, they are not, in their minds, thinking that he's leaving and coming back. They're Jews, and their theology was pretty fixed at that time. They thought that Jesus would come in power in the temple to take over. So, when they're asking the sign of his coming, what they mean is, when are you coming to this place to take over as the Messiah?

Now, let me explain this to you. The Jews at that time, including the disciples, had a pretty fixed theological construct or eschatology about the end times. Number one, they believed that just before the Messiah comes, there will be a time of terrible turmoil on the earth, which they saw as fulfilled in the Roman occupation of their land. Romans were in charge, the Jews were no longer in charge, and so they saw that kind of persecution as the terrible time of turmoil, fulfilled.

Check. Number two, during that time of turmoil, they believed that an Elijah-like forerunner would come on the scene, announcing the Messiah. They saw that as fulfilled in John the Baptist.

That's why everybody was interested in John the Baptist when he showed up. Number three, after that, the Messiah will appear, establish his kingdom on earth, and defeat the enemies of the Jews. And number four, all the scattered Jews will return to Israel, Jerusalem will be restored, and enjoy a time of peace.

The disciples believed they were in phase three. Turmoil has come, the Elijah-like forerunner has come, the Messiah has come. A couple days before this, Jesus has entered Jerusalem on a donkey, and everybody said, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna. So the disciples are like, it's showtime. He's going to come soon to this place and take over as the Messiah. Well, their thinking is going to be changed, because in a couple days, he's going to sit down with them in an upper room for a last meal. We call it the Last Supper.

It is a Passover meal. And during that time, he's going to tell them, I'm going to die, then I'm going to be resurrected and leave, and then I'm going to come back at some point. Which they just kind of looked at him and probably like deer in the headlights, like, huh?

They didn't get it. But he said this, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house, there are many mansions.

If it were not so, I would have told you. Listen, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also.

He tells them, I'm dying, I'm leaving, and I'm coming again. So their whole theology is changing. Now, there's a whole set of Bible verses that say that there's going to be a sudden and unexpected coming of Jesus Christ.

A sudden and unexpected. I'm going to give you just a sampling of that. There are many, many verses.

I could cover this for weeks, but I'm just going to give you a sampling. So Matthew 25 verse 13, Jesus said, watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man is coming. Philippians chapter 3 verse 20, Paul speaking, our citizenship is in heaven from which we eagerly wait for the Savior. Titus chapter 2 verse 13, also written by Paul, we should live soberly, righteously, godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. James, whole different author, James chapter 5 verse 8, the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Behold, the judge is standing at the door. First Peter, again, another author. First Peter 4 verse 8, the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. First Peter chapter 5 verse 8, the day of the Lord will come as a thief. How does a thief come? Suddenly. Unexpectedly. That's the ploy of a thief.

Thief doesn't call in advance saying, can I come now? You don't know when he's coming. It's sudden.

It's unexpected. First John chapter 2 verse 18, little children, it is the last hour and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come by which we know it is the last hour. Then there's the book of Revelation, six times, six times in Revelation, Jesus says, behold, I am coming quickly.

And finally at the end of the book, the sixth time he says it, John says, even so, come, Lord Jesus. So the blunt force of all of these passages seems to say that Jesus could come at any moment and we should be ready for it. Now that is known as the doctrine of imminency, the imminent return, i-m-m-i-n-e-n-t, the imminent return of Christ.

That means impending, likely to happen soon, could happen at any moment. One in every 25 verses in the New Testament make reference to the coming of Christ. 50 times, five zero, 50 times in the New Testament we are told to be ready for it.

Be ready for it. I remember when I first came to Jesus Christ, this was back in 19... 1973 and Jesus' movement was in full bloom and I had a bumper sticker on my car that said, Jesus is coming soon. I still believe that. There were other bumper stickers. One said, Jesus is coming, are you ready? Another bumper sticker, Jesus is coming, look busy. And another one that said, Jesus is coming, and boy is he ticked off.

Of course, they use a slightly different word that I will not repeat. But I believe that then and I believe that now. I believe in the imminent return of Christ. It can happen at any moment. But we have a problem. We now go from the promise to the problem that exists. There's a whole other set of verses that indicate Jesus cannot return to this earth unless certain signs take place first.

And I want to run through those signs with you quickly. There are six of them that I'm going to outline. Number one is deception. Look at verse four, Jesus begins to answer their question. Jesus is coming, Jesus begins to answer their question. Jesus answered and said to them, take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ and will deceive many. You'll hear of wars, rumors of war. See that you are not troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet. Can't happen yet.

Other things that have to happen. Go down to verse 11. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. So deception is the first sign. Now would you agree that, well let me ask you this, is deception a new thing or has it always been around?

It's always been around. It's been around since the Garden of Eden, since Satan first showed up and deceived Eve and told her lies. There's been deception in every single era of history. But in the end of days there will come an ultimate kind of deception, an ultimate kind of deceiver.

You might call it Satan's masterpiece. What the Bible calls in a couple places the Antichrist. And this leader will head a confederation of nations. Jesus himself predicted this. John chapter 5 he said, I have come in my father's name and you did not receive me. Another will come in his own name and him you will receive.

And the world will indeed receive him. He's typically called the Antichrist. He has several other monikers including the man of sin, the lawless one, the beast, the little horn, the prince that shall come, the willful king, the idol shepherd. He's the ultimate deceiver. He's the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing. And because number six is typically associated with mankind, because God created man on the sixth day of creation, his number will be 666 in some form. Man, man, man.

The ultimate man. Deception. That's the first sign. Second sign that must happen first, tribulation. Look at verse 7. For nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, pestilences, earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, will hate one another.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from the series The End is Near. Find the full message as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Now, here's Skip to tell you how you can connect others with the truth of God's word with a gift to keep these messages you love going out around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.

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