Are you ready for Christ's return? Typically, when we get ready for a big event, we have a to-do list or some deadlines in place. But today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg explains Why the Bible says we need to be ready right now? for the second coming of Jesus. I invite you to turn again to Luke chapter 17, and as you turn there, We'll pause and ask for God's help as we study the Bible together.
Father God, with our Bibles open before us, we pray that the Spirit of God might be our teacher. We come to this immense mystery that, through the words of a mere man, We may hear the very word of God, believing that when your word is really preached, that your voice is truly heard.
So we look. To the word of God alone, By the Spirit of God. In order that we might meet the Son of God. For it's in his name we pray. Amen.
This week in a eulogy. For the singer. Aleya. who died quite tragically in a plane crash. About uh a week ago now.
Janet Jackson In quoting somebody else, Said We have not lost a laya. We have gained an angel. And then, as an aside, she paused and she said in a very breathy kind of way. That's so true. Watching this as I was flicking through the channels, I stopped to say.
What? Pardon? Why is that so true? And what makes that true? There is nothing like death.
to reveal the manifold confusion which exists in the minds of men and women. regarding life. in our contemporary world. Absent any kind of explanation regarding the origins of life. that really meets the needs.
And without any concept of where life all ultimately ends. Men and women are forced Just to get on with it. to push on through their days.
Some of them embracing a form of Foolhardy optimism, essentially saying to one another, at least to themselves, well, nothing dreadfully bad has happened so far. Indeed, so far, so good, we might as well keep moving. Others who are a little more thoughtful, perhaps of a more melancholic dispensation or disposition I should say, find themselves embracing what is really a drama of despair. They look out on the world, they see the events of their lives. And they have considered the options that are before them, and they realize why one individual, reflecting upon the issues of science, said, As far as the eye of science can see, man is alone.
absolutely alone. In a universe, in which his very appearance is a kind of cosmic accident. And you may be here this morning, and you haven't essentially put it in that terminology, but for me to begin to address the matter in this way, you find that there is some kind of echo in your heart. Because you are going through your days. Oh, you're enjoying many of them.
There is so much for which to be thankful. There are issues that are rewarding. There are affairs that are demanding, and so on. But when you get to the very core of things, when you're left with yourself alone, simply gazing out into the night sky. Can I ask you, does your view of the world answer for you.
the essential questions which life poses. The questions Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going to? And why?
Now I feel confident in asking you to ask that of yourselves because the Bible addresses every one of those questions and provides us whether we accept or reject it with a clear, cohesive, comprehensive view of the world. Indeed, as I've said in the last couple of Sundays, one of the exciting things about this point in history is that of all people, the Christian, the follower of Christ, has an opportunity to say to a confused world, here is our explanation for the who, the what, and the why. The Bible says that the world is not a mere accident. not some kind of cosmic spill. But rather the Bible says that God created the world and He created it purposefully.
At the same time, the Bible declares that man is not merely the chance product of evolution. If you like another cosmic accident. But rather, he is created by God. And he is different from all of the rest of God's creation, from all the other forms of life. He was created, Genesis 1.26 says, in the image of God.
And that part of the ramifications of that is that God has planted in the hearts of men and women an awareness of eternity. That every man or woman, boy, or girl lives in the awareness of the fact that there is something more to life than the life that we actually know. That is one of the reasons why those crazy Periodicals or weekly magazines, or whatever they are, appear at the checkout in the grocery store. If you look at them at all with care, You find not only are they bizarre, but a significant number of them are directly related to the issue of death. The afterlife, eternity, coming back again, other worlds, other planets, other places, something else, something more, something beyond.
Now why are they able to sell them? You would think that by this time, in the edge of the 21st century, everybody would have said, what a bunch of bunk. But no, they sell them, apparently. And they buy enough of them in order to keep them there. Why?
Because it appeals to something that is inherent in a man or in a woman. The fact that every person here this morning knows intuitively that there is something more. Therefore, there is a fascination with death. There is a fascination with the end of time. There is a fascination.
to which the Bible speaks with clarity.
Now, the Bible not only addresses very clearly the origins of the world, but it also speaks clearly to the issue of the conclusions. And the reason I begin in this way this morning is because in Luke chapter 17, in the verses before us, Jesus is essentially tackling the questions of the Pharisees and the unspoken questions of the disciples concerning how everything is going to wrap up. And what the Bible Tells us is that it knows nothing of a history that goes on forever. The idea of history going on forever is just frankly boring. The Bible doesn't speak of it in those terms.
Nor does the Bible understand history as simply fading away, for that would be anticlimactic. In the way that a dreadful movie ends, you know, where there's no end to it, where you're sitting there, you think there's another 20 minutes to go, and all of a sudden the credits come up. And you say, I paid good money for this? And it just trails off to nothingness. And you walk out saying, What was the point of that?
That the end never made any sense at all. It just trailed away to nothing. And there are people they live their lives and they say that's how history is. Eventually it will just trail away to nothing. No, not so, says the Bible.
Nor does the Bible suggest that history goes round and round in circles. For if the notion that history goes on forever is boring. And that history simply fades away as anticlimactic. then the idea that history goes round and round in circles is absolutely hopeless. And that is why some of the most famous.
Thinkers Writers in the twentieth century Having embraced the notion of total hopelessness, Have then, in a consistent response to their view of the world. determined To kill themselves, thereby raging against the pointlessness of their existence. And nobody a better illustration of that than in the tragic end of Ernest Hemingway. Believing that he is living his life which he sees as a short journey from nothingness to nothingness. In his opulent home in Idaho, he takes his favorite shotgun, he puts the butt of it on the floor of his vestibule, he puts the barrel of it into his mouth, and he takes himself out.
Tragic? But logical. For he is living within the framework of his own worldview. It is totally meaningless. Therefore, I'm checking out.
It is the only way I can express control over my circumstances.
Now it is in this world that the Bible then speaks with tremendous clarity. And what the Bible says is that history is moving towards a climax. That the world isn't simply going to run down through lack of energy. Nor is the world about to explode in some massive catastrophic nuclear holocaust. Rather, what the Bible says is this.
that history as we know it will end. when the purpose for which God made the world has been accomplished. That the creator of the ends of the earth is working everything out according to the purpose and counsel of his will. That nothing is out of control, or will it get out of control ultimately for the believer? That we're not Trapped in some dreadful rat's cage.
That we're not blown around on the winds of meaningless chance. But our lives are being ordered and history is moving towards a final Destination.
Now that establishes In one measure, hope. But it also brings with it, as we see here in Luke chapter 17, an essential and vital warning. The kingdom of God, Jesus is teaching, is a reality. He is inviting as the king Men and women to enter his kingdom. To repent of their sins and to acknowledge that he is the person he claimed to be.
If they will come in childlike trust, then he will welcome them into the kingdom. Failure to receive his welcome. Failure to turn from self to Christ. will leave men and women facing the awful consequences of sin all by themselves. And Jesus, as I say to you, is addressing at least an underlying unstated question on the part of the disciples.
And the question is: this: What will it be like the day when the Son of Man is revealed? What's it going to be like when it all ends? If it is moving towards a climax and if there is going to be an end, tell us, Jesus, what is it going to be like? Give us some indication so that we've got an idea of how we ought to be living our lives.
Now, why do I say there's an underlying question?
Well, because the way in which Jesus teaches his disciples is clearly addressing a fundamental question in their minds.
So, for example, in verse 26, he says, As it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. I know you're wondering what it's going to be like.
Well, let me tell you: think about Noah and then think about that. On in verse 28, it was the same in the days of Lot. as it's going to be in the day Of the Son of Man. Or in verse 30, it will be just like this on the day the Son of Man. is revealed.
Now, when you put all the pieces of the puzzle together, what Jesus is saying both here in Luke 17 and elsewhere in the Gospels is that the day of Jesus Christ will be unmistakable. worldwide Sudden inescapable, and for those who are not prepared, Calamitous. The day of Jesus Christ will be unmistakable. Nobody will be saying, Do you think this is it? There won't be any question.
It will be worldwide. There will be no place you can be on the whole of God's earth where you're not aware of the fact that Christ has come. Thirdly, it will be sudden so that no chart or diagram will be able to prepare you for the instantaneous moment when it comes. And also, it will be inescapable. There will be no place one is able to be whereby we say, I'm sorry, I was out, I missed that one.
And therefore, on account of this, The notion of the day of the Son of God is absolutely calamitous. for those who remain unprepared for it. Every single person in this room will see Jesus Christ face to face, the Bible says. The only question is whether we will meet Him in the welcome of His friendship, having embraced Him by grace as our Saviour, or whether we will bow down underneath His foot, meeting Him as our eternal judge. And in a well-heeled, organized, sensible group of people such as this, there's hardly a person here who has not prepared for that eventuality in life.
That's why you have annuities. That's why you have retirement funds. That's why you have insurance policies. That's why you have prepared because you know you're going to punch out. And when you punch out, you know that there will be people left and you better care for them.
That makes sense.
Well, listen. If when you punch out You're not coming back as a squirrel. You're not coming around on the roller coaster of life again. You're not going to become an angel. That's so true.
If that. If that is not the prospect, and if you are going direct to an encounter with the face of Christ. What in the world is it possesses you, sir, madam, young person, teenager, intellectual, clown? What is it that possesses you? to prepare for time.
and not prepare for eternity. Especially in light of the fact That in the very core of your being you know there is eternity. Because you can't deny it. That's why you think about it. How could you even conceive of it?
How could we in time conceive of eternity unless God put it in there? Are you prepared? Are you ready? See, what this passage in its essence is all about is a call to faithful readiness. and a reminder of how urgent the call is.
In light of the unmistakable suddenness of the day are the Son of Man. And when you read this passage carefully, As with other passages of the New Testament, it ought to encourage you to say no to idle speculation. To say no, to always be fiddling around with maps and with timetables. Indeed, it provides us with a wonderful opportunity to affirm what is a creed of for us, namely that the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things. All throughout history, since the beginning of the Christian Church, Those who are truly Christ have been looking for the appearing of Jesus.
And equally so, they've disagreed as to the timing of the events on the eschatological calendar. One thing you can guarantee for certainty is that if you take five individuals who equally believe that Jesus is coming, you will find that there are five disagreements at least over exactly when He will appear and how He will appear and so on. Teaching as what? That the central issue is the central issue, and the peripheral is the peripheral. And if you make the peripheral central, then the central will become peripheral.
And throughout history, Christians have disagreed over their maps and their charts and their diagrams while all the time agreeing on the central fact. Christ will return. We will meet him. It will bring separation. It's going to be sudden.
There's no way out. Therefore, when we focus on that, we realize that throughout history all have agreed. That the final solution to the problems of the world is in the hands of the King of Kings, who is someday going to make the kingdoms of this world his very own. And it is this king. Here in verse 20, who is responding to the question that has been asked of him by the Pharisees?
You say that was a long introduction? Yes, it was. Having been asked by the Pharisees, verse 20, when the kingdom of God would come. This question was on the top of the Pharisees' agenda. They had read the Old Testament prophecies, they had lived with all that had been engendered through the intertestamental period, 400 years of prophetic silence.
And so they were concerned. When will this messianic kingdom come? When are we going to get our our destiny and our discovery of God breaking in here.
Now, the reply that Jesus gives here in the second half of verse 20 and into 21 ought to make at least some of you, I hope. I earnestly hope it makes some of you say, oh, I remember something that fits in here. And you're saying to yourself, there was that story that we did A hundred years ago when we were studying in Luke chapter 12, Actually, look chapter 11. where Jesus had cast out the the the demon. of dumbness, the mute demon.
And as a result of that, there had been amazement on the part of the crowds and there had been antagonism. And some within the crowd began to say, you know, he is casting out demons by the power of demons. He is actually casting things out by the power of Satan. And Jesus said to them, Listen, guys, that doesn't even make any sense. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.
You can't have Satan working against Satan. And then this is what I hope you remember. He said, If I cast out demons by the finger of God, Surely the kingdom of God. is present among you. See, the Pharisees had a real problem with this.
Didn't stop them from keeping asking the question. But he consistently didn't like the answer. Jesus says to them that the kingdom of God Is not one that you will be able to determine by careful observation. I don't want to beat this to death, but I'll tell you, that ought to be a big Loud warning, rattling, clackson going off for everybody who wants to constantly get out their chart. And by careful observation, pin it home, you know.
At least be slightly humble about it, you know. It's not going to come by careful observation. And he says to them: I'll give you two reasons as to why it won't. The first is that the kingdom of God is within you. Or better still is among you.
And the second reason And he comes to this in 22 and following. That you're not going to get to the issue by careful observation. Is because the final coming of the kingdom of God will take place so suddenly, so unexpectedly. that it will swallow up all and any attempts at defining the details with any degree of accuracy.
Now it's the question of the Pharisees that triggers. That response, and then Jesus, as he does so often, moves from The question raised by someone in the crowd or by the religious leaders, and he turns to his disciples and he says, Let me just say a word or two more to you folks about this so that nothing takes you unprepared. And in verses twenty-two to thirty-seven, what you really have. Is Jesus providing the disciples with a further explanation concerning the coming? of the kingdom.
He begins by pointing out in verse 22 that they will have times when they will long to see Christ in all of his glory. They will long to see him in the dark days of following him. And yet they will not see him. And throughout The pilgrimage of these apostles, they must have longed. In the Martyrdom that so many of them faced, that Christ would come in all of his finality, in all of his fullness, and establish his kingdom.
He's telling them now, he says, there's going to. The time is coming when you'll actually long to see this, but you're not going to see it. And when men are longing for the return of Christ, they are susceptible to all kinds of deceivers. And that's why he says in verse 23: men will tell you, there he is, or here he is. When the faithful are longing for the return of Jesus, they will be susceptible to the false teachers.
And in every age, men have sought to cash in on the distinctively Christian conviction. That should Humanity is heading towards a conclusion at the return of Jesus Christ. And the instruction of Jesus is very clear: don't go running down those dead-end streets.
Now, in the 18 years or so that I've been here, we've had a number of these rumblings. There was a classic little book, I think. It was 54 Reasons As to Why Jesus Christ Will Come Back by the End of the Year. I can't remember who wrote it. Frankly, I don't care.
I thought it was a lousy book then and I think it's even lousier this morning. Guys, it was bogus. And yet, so many people in the congregation. Used up a tremendous amount of pastoral energy. Wondering About the nature of what was conveyed on this dead end street.
Don't go running down those streets. They'll say here, they'll say there. They'll say look, they'll say come. Jesus says, I'm telling you now so that you're aware of that. Don't go down those streets.
You're listening to Truth for Life with Alastair Begg, and we'll hear more about the coming of God's kingdom tomorrow. There are times when life gets rough, when it's difficult to stay focused on the kingdom of God. Maybe you're going through a challenging time like that right now, finding it hard to trust God with what's happening in your life. If that's the case, let me encourage you to request Alistair's study titled My Times Are In Your Hands. This is a twelve message series that comes with a companion study guide.
It's yours from Truth for Life to Day. In this study, Alastair explains some of the most pressing questions we face when we're in the midst of suffering, Things like, why does God allow hardship? Why do we suffer? What's the point of pain and prolonged difficulty? And why aren't we exempt from all of this if we are faithfully following Jesus?
The My Times Are In Your Hand study provides answers to these questions and will give you a framework for walking through periods of sorrow or loss or uncertainty. with faith and with hope. To request your copy or to begin downloading, visit truthforlife.org/slash mytimes. Thanks for listening today. Tomorrow, we'll learn how we can be prepared to meet Jesus face to face.
and to let go of our grip, on this world. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
