'''“Behold, He comes!”''' ''by Alan Golton'' Luke 21:25-36 & 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 A week or two I was reminded of an incident that took place many years ago. Valerie had to be away from home for a month. A day or two before her return I looked at the sink and decided I really ought to do the dishes. After 4 weeks I was beginning to run out of plates! A little tidying up was in order. Noticing the Hoover had a layer of dust on it – I decided to run a duster over it! Oh, and I hastily watered the dying flowers. Fortunately Val had left me instructions on how to use the washing machine – and I though it was about time I read them! Well, it may not have happened quite like that! But that sort of scenario – is how many of us live spiritually. We think we shall be able to put our house in order before we die, or before Jesus comes again. When it comes to housework, we know we must more or less keep on top of it – or our neglect will soon affect our daily lives. But the same is true spiritually – it’s just that we’re used to spiritual squalor. Nor, of course, is it only our own well-being that directs our domestic efforts. When we’re expecting someone we love – we put a particular effort into all we do. And we do it with joy and gladness in our hearts – eagerly anticipating the moment of their arrival. Is this how we view the coming of our Lord and Saviour? Does the way we live – our motives – our concern for others – reflect this hope? If not, how deep is our love for Jesus? Advent Sunday gives us an opportunity to think about his coming – the return of our Saviour. Of course, in a sense he is never away – he is always with us by his Spirit. And as the Lord of Glory he rules now over the whole of creation. (Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 2:8; Psa 24:7-10) But Jesus tells us his coming will be visible to everyone, in power and glory. It will be like the arrival of a great king in his own realm. It will reveal his glory, previously hidden, unseen and unrecognised by men – a shining forth of his true majesty. Like curtains being drawn back, we shall suddenly see the glory of heaven and the reality of God’s throne – that has been there all along. Let’s ask a few vital questions about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ – and seek to answer them. 1. Will Jesus indeed come as I’ve just described? 2. Why is Jesus coming back? 3. When will Jesus return? 4. What does this mean for the way in which we should live? '''1. Will Jesus indeed come?''' The context of our Gospel reading was one of the most shocking statements Jesus ever made. Some disciples had been admiring the beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem – that had been undergoing a complete rebuilding for nearly 50 years. Its dazzling gold and white marble, overshadowing the city, was intended to last for centuries. But Jesus said, The time is coming when not one stone will remain on another! The disciples therefore ask, When will this happen? Jesus doesn’t answer their question until verse 20. He first begins to prepare their minds for what will happen in the years that follow his departure. They are not to be deceived by false messiahs. They are to expect to hear of wars and natural calamities. They will face the hatred of the world – but are to witness steadfastly to Jesus. Only when they see Jerusalem surrounded by armies (as we know happened in AD70) are they to know that God’s punishment is about to fall on it, as it did in days past, because of its sin and unfaithfulness. Afterwards it will be in the power of non-Jews, until their power comes to an end. Jesus then continues, in the words we heard read. Men will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Luke 21:27,33) Jesus regards the destruction of Jerusalem as a scene-setter, a foreshadowing for a later, more far-reaching event, which will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Jesus’ references to his return, to be the judge of all men, are so frequent, that critics say he must have been mistaken – for it didn’t happen! But he was no false prophet – for God raised him from the dead! – and his prediction about Jerusalem came true. Isn’t it true how many Christians are glad to hear the angels’ testimony at Christmas, Today has been born to you a Saviour, Christ the Lord, or at Easter, He has risen! – but who remain doubtful when they hear the angels’ words, This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back, in the same way you have seen him go ? Yet, which is harder to believe – that the Lord of Glory should come in majesty – or be born as a baby in a stable? Paul refers to a pregnant woman whose labour pains arrive. What can we deduce about a pregnancy? That a baby must be born – there is a certainty, an inevitability about it. The exact hour may be in doubt – but come, it will! (1 Thess 5:3) This leads us to – '''2. Why is Jesus coming back?''' This involves our whole understanding of history, and whether God really rules over the world he has created. Some may say ‘history is bunk’ – but, from end to end, the Bible sounds the certain note that God is in control and has an over-ruling purpose and destiny for mankind. As history unfolds, despite man’s disobedience, God is seen to be leading to a goal, in which man is rightly related to him, and the whole world is restored after judgement. The Flood; the calling out of Abraham; Joseph in Egypt; the Exodus from slavery to the Promised Land... these are all steps along the road, they all picture ahead of time what God intends to do. Even the failure of his people that led to their exile and return. So that the coming of the Babe of Bethlehem didn’t complete this movement. If it had done so – what could we say about the many who were not healed – the storms that have not been stilled – or hunger assuaged? Let alone the continuing presence in God’s world of cruelty, violence, poverty, sickness and death – or of plain disobedience and unbelief? God’s promise to put all things right would be like a cheque that is never cashed... But Jesus promised, A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear [the Son’s] voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (John 5:28,29) In a very real sense the climax of history – God’s purpose for mankind and for his creation – is fore-shadowed by his action of raising Jesus from among the dead. In that unique event eternity was breaking through into time. God was giving his verdict on Jesus, ahead of his judgement on all other men – for Jesus alone was innocent of all evil. And that verdict was not given for Jesus alone – but it included us, who are united with Jesus, through our trust in him. Because Jesus died to pay for our sins, we are acquitted for his sake. (John 5:24) To complete that acquittal – God will raise us from the dead, giving us bodies of power and glory that can never perish, to live in a renewed world – all believers together, with the Lord Jesus, forever. That is the full salvation Jesus won for us on the cross! (1 Cor 15:42-44) But there is an awful and solemn side to the meaning of Christ’s resurrection. For – if that marks him out as the only sinless man – it follows that condemnation is the just verdict for all others. (Rom 6:23) Unless we are ‘in Christ’, united with him, we cannot escape. God is holy and cannot tolerate evil forever in his world. He longs that men and women turn to him and live, but his patience cannot last forever. That reality is spelled out for us in what happened to Jerusalem. Jesus wept over that city, because it didn’t recognise its hour of opportunity – and he weeps over us, if we refuse God’s offer of mercy. (Luke 19:41-44; Ezk 18:23,32) Judgement in this age, this world, is real – I know what has taken place in my lifetime – but it is incomplete. Many innocent have suffered and not been vindicated. Many guilty have gone unpunished. Shall not the Judge of all the world do right? (Gen 18:25) This is a very solemn thing. We shrink from speaking what Jesus taught – that those who reject him – who live in the illusion of ‘peace and safety’ (1 Th 5:3; Luke 17:26-30; John 8:23,24) – will face a sentence of unutterable and eternal loss. What that will mean I do not know, except that it will involve being forever shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (2 Th 1:9) If we see someone stand on the brink of an abyss, do we not urge them to step back? Will we not tell others that God loves and longs to save them? '''3. When will Jesus return?''' Paul says he doesn’t need to write about this – he’d already taught what Jesus taught – that God alone knows, and reveals it to no man. (Matt 24:36; Acts 1:7) Those who pretend otherwise bring this whole subject into disrepute. Jesus warns us it will be unpredictable and sudden – like a thief in the night – and just as unwelcome to those unprepared. (Luke 12:39,40) When Jesus does come, he tells us all men will be aware of it. It will not be hidden, but visible like lightning is over the whole sky. (Lk 17:24) This present world will be destroyed by fire – and the dead will be called to stand with the living before the Lord. (2 Pet 3:10; 2 Cor 5:10; John 5:28; Acts 24:15; Rev 20:11-13) '''4. What does that mean for the way we are to live?''' When we ask ourselves that, we need first of all to ask, Am I ready to stand before Christ? We never can be – except by God’s grace! Have you accepted God’s offer of forgiveness of your sins? Have you thanked and trusted Christ – and turned over your life to him? There is no other way into God’s kingdom. Don’t rely on your good works – only the shed blood of Jesus speaks for our forgiveness – which God offers freely to those who come empty-handed to him, trusting only in what his Son has done for them. If we do that, God receives us and adopts us as his children, taking us out of the kingdom of darkness and transferring us into his kingdom of light. (Col 1:12-14; Acts 26:17,18; 1 Peter 2:9) Because we are sons of light, of the day – and if we are living in the presence of Jesus, the light of the world – his coming will not take us by surprise. (1 Thess 5:4,5; John 8:12, 12:35-36; Eph 5:8-21) Since we are sons and daughters of the light, our lives, our behaviour, is to be that of the day – and not that of the night, of darkness. We are to live lives that are awake, alert, self-controlled, making the most of our time, because we don’t know when our Lord is coming back! (Luke 12:40; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 3:11) Jesus warned his disciples that they would face hatred and persecution, on his account. (Luke 21:12-19) And even if we don’t experience that to any degree, we may be aware of Satan’s enmity in more subtle ways, through discouragement, disappointment, or the enticements, anxieties and distractions of this life. (Luke 21:34) We are enrolled in a warfare – and we need to be armed, as Paul’s metaphor implies, with faith, love and hope. (1 Thess 5:8) Faith or trust in Christ under all circumstances; love for him, and for others, by the help of the Spirit; hope of salvation because we’ve believed God’s promises. (Titus 2:11-14) In the light of Christ’s coming, we have an assurance of a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). We therefore have a true perspective on the joys and the sorrows of this life – and that alters everything. We are given meaning and purpose for our lives – as we live them now in an unseen, but real, fellowship with our living and victorious Lord – and live them to his praise and glory. So let us get our house in order and keep them that way! By holy living we prepare for the life to come – and by sharing this message of forgiveness and hope to all who will listen – others will enter God’s kingdom with us. Our God reigns! Shout for joy that the Lord has redeemed his people – and that all the earth shall see it – to his praise and glory!