CHRIST'S SECOND COMING

Romans 3:21-25 But now a righteousness from God, apart from the Law, has been made known, to which to the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

Matthew 24:21-36 (The words of Jesus in regard to the end times.) “For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – If that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and heavenly bodies will be shaken. 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. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth; this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Sermon-

It was Monday afternoon, July 2^nd and I was killing time waiting for a pizza so I wandered over to Walgreen’s and looked at the magazine rack. I saw a copy of the Sun tabloid newspaper with the headline “Fiery Visions of Jesus Warn the World Will End on 9/11/2007 - Bible Prophesy Proves it is True”. I thought back to the movie “Men in Black” where Tommy Lee Jones tells that famous joke “The tabloids have the best investigative reporting on the planet. But go ahead, read the New York Times if you want, they get lucky sometimes.” I thought “Who believes this stuff; they make all these stories up, don’t they?” I picked the newspaper up and started paging through it and, lo and behold, Ken Ham, the Bible Scholar, the Scientist who is very good at defending the Bible and convinced all of us in the Wings Group that evolution is just bad science and the Bible is true in regard to creationism, is mentioned in one of the articles. The article in the Sun stated that dinosaurs were around at the time of Adam and Eve which we know, if you watched Ken Ham’s videos, is true. And, where this seems like a wild claim in the eyes of the world, right there was the interview with Ken Ham. I’m thinking “Tommy Lee Jones was right! This is the best investigative reporting on the planet because they got creation right. You certainly don’t see that in the Times!” So, with a little bit more credence, I bought the newspaper and began reading the article. Then I thought, “We need to talk about this stuff”. We will all go through the end times. It’s in your future, it’s in my future. So what I thought we’d do over the next couple of weeks is a two-part series on the end times. This week we handle “Will the World End on 9/11/2007”. Next week we will talk about some end-times myth busters.

The article in the Sun said “Seven flaming visions of Jesus Christ that took place in April and May of this year have proclaimed the end of the world on September 11, 2007. A prophesy contained in the Holy Scriptures proves it is true.” Our goal today is to analyze this article and see just what it says and in doing this, we’re going to learn something incredible about God. It’s interesting to note that there are “seven flaming visions”. For those of you who have been in the Bible Studies when we talk about the significance of numbers in the Bible, the number seven signifies God’s judgment regarding eternal life in Heaven or condemnation in Hell. If you look in Revelation, the passages that talk about God and His judgment are set off in groups of seven. So, it is very significant that there were seven visions in regard to the end times.

To summarize the article, in a fiery vision, Jesus proclaimed “I am the beginning and the end…” (very biblical language) “…The day of the Lord will come upon you on the 11^th day of the 9^th month of the 7^th year. Be prepared and may the Lord God have mercy on you.” The article says “the validity of the vision of Christ has been confirmed by a prophetic Bible passage that he himself pointed to in the pronouncements.” And Dr. Brian Shaw, Professor of Religion at England’s Oxford University, stated “When we turn to the 1^st Book of Kings, the 11^th book in the Old Testament, look at the 9^th chapter, we find these words in the 7^th verse “then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.” Dr. Shaw says that in the original context it was a warning to Israel regarding their unbelief. Now, when we consider these seven fiery visions that appeared in places from the Vatican to New York to Jerusalem, to Beijing, China, we have to ask, “What does the Bible have to say about all this?” Do you know what the Bible has to say? Could you defend the Bible if these topics ever came up?

These fiery visions of Jesus could have actually occurred according to the Bible. In Matthew 24:23-24 Jesus says “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible.” These fiery visions are great signs and wonders. The Bible says they can occur and can be real. But what is the purpose of them? They are there to deceive. So don’t get shaken up by them, they’re a deception. We need to know that as we look at these articles.

These visions were not actually Christ. Matthew 24:27, 30 says in regard to Christ’s second coming “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn.” The Bible is very clear that Jesus ascended into heaven and that the next time He appears on earth everyone is going to see him all at once. Therefore if someone says Christ appeared in Jerusalem, Christ appeared at the Vatican, Christ appeared in Washington, don’t believe it; you know it’s a false christ. When Christ comes everyone will see him all at once and it will be Judgment Day. These visions are a deception, although they use Biblical language. The article also states that the alleged “Jesus” says the last day will be September 11^th. We know that that is wrong because Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:36 that even He doesn’t know the last day, only God does: ”No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

The May 12^th vision occurred in Beijing, China. In the vision Jesus ordered that all the devout believers do nothing but fast and pray (all this sounds very biblical) on September 10^th and confess our sins openly before God and beg for his forgiveness (again, very biblical). He concluded by warning that the fate of our souls will be decided on September 10^th. If this were actually Jesus, He would have proclaimed that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name (Luke 24:47). In the vision, there was no promise of forgiveness, so again, we know it’s a false vision because it’s not consistent with who Jesus is and what He says will occur. We know that this vision is not of God.

The vision also said that, in response to your prayers, your fate will be decided on September 10^th. Our fate has already been decided. We don’t have to wait until September 10^th, you know right now. The moment you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, your fate is decided; you’re going to heaven and nothing is going to change that! That great news is missing from this article. When we look at Colossians 1:13 where God is talking to believers, “For he has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, we see that those verbs are in the past tense, it’s a done deal! You have already been delivered from the final judgment; you’ve already been conveyed into the kingdom. And Ephesians 2:5,6 says “God has made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Again, the verbs are in the past tense, it’s already a done deal! For believers, your fate is decided, you’re going to heaven. You don’t have to wait until September 10^th.

The May 23^rd vision occurred in Jerusalem. The alleged “Jesus” revealed a prayer that we must say on the last day to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from the cataclysmic destruction that will be unfolding all around us. The prayer is short and simple but full of profound meaning and we must all say it with our hearts and souls if it is to reach God’s ears. So, according to the vision, if your prayers are to reach God, it depends on your effort. We know from the Bible that we reach God’s ear through Jesus Christ. He’s the one who paid for sin; He’s the one who opened the channel of communication between God and us. Ephesians 2:18 says “For through him we both have access to Father by one Spirit.” That’s why we pray in the Name of Jesus. Hebrews 4:16 says "In Christ we can boldly approach God’s throne knowing that He hears.” Here is the “prayer of salvation” and be discerning as you listen. “To you only, God, is all power and glory (so far, so good). We are not worthy of your mercy (correct) yet we humbly implore you to give us that which we do not deserve (again, so far, so good). Put your mighty hand over us and protect us and we will serve you in word and deed forever.” What this prayer says is “Alright, God, let’s bargain here. You protect me and I will serve you. I’ve prayed the prayer; I’ve made the commitment to serve you, therefore, Lord, save me.” This is not how the Bible says we are saved! That is being saved by works. You have to say the prayer, you have to be humble, you have to be earnest, you have to say the right words, and, once you’ve done all that, you had better respond by serving God otherwise you won’t be saved. The Bible tells us we are saved by grace, undeserved mercy; we are saved because Jesus went to the Cross and took our sins upon Himself and paid for them all. You and I didn’t have anything to do with it. We are saved because God put the Holy Spirit in us through His Word and Sacraments. We are saved because God created in us the faith that Jesus is Savior. You and I didn’t do it, God did it for us. That is Biblical Truth

This article is exactly what, 2000 years ago, Jesus said would happen as we get to the end times -deceptions, false doctrines that sound very biblical, and salvation by works. This stuff just doesn’t measure up to what the Bible says. Look forward to The Last Days. One of our members tells me that when he wakes up every morning and opens his eyes, he says “Phooey, still here!” We look forward to that day when Jesus returns and we all go to heaven. Look forward to the day, do not fear the day, it’s going to be the greatest day of your life. Jesus Christ is going to return in the clouds, everyone is going to see Him; He’s going to take you to heaven because you have confessed your sins, because you believe in Him as your Lord and Savior. That’s what’s in our future.

But what do we do until that day comes? We still have to contend and deal with the difficulties and problems of this life. I learned something very important from studying this article. What I learned was, in 30 AD when the disciples were on the Mount of Olives and ask Jesus about the end times, about the signs, how to avoid being deceived, how to have peace, all of which is recorded in Matthew 24, it is as if, because we know God lives in the eternal present and He sees all of history and knows everything at once, before He started speaking, He looked ahead to June 25, 2007 when this article was published. It’s as if Jesus saw this article that the Devil, and I choose my words carefully, inspired someone to write about, then went back to the Mount of Olives to the year 30AD and answered each of the points in the article one by one. Aren’t you amazed by that? Jesus had already spoken, in 30AD, to every point this article made. It’s like Jesus knew exactly what would be in this article on June 25, 2007 and He spoke to all the points. That’s incredible. That’s why the Bible is so important. That’s why Jesus said that if you continue in His word, you will know the Truth and the Truth will free you from this type of stuff in life. And the lesson for us is that if God is concerned enough about us to address something like this tabloid article, does He care about the stuff in your daily life? Does He care about that really important stuff that’s weighing you down? HE CARES!! And He’s addressed your concerns in the Bible and I’ll prove it to you.

It was Friday, July 13^th, 8pm at night, and I’m packing my suitcase because I’m going to the convention in Houston. I’m leaving at 4am Saturday morning. So I’m getting all my ducks in a line, I’m almost prepared, I’ve had it, I’m tired, and the phone rings. The person says “Pastor Berry, I was just talking to some of the good people at Trinity and I’m glad I caught you. I know you’re leaving tomorrow for the convention…” He was talking a mile a minute, using the pitch I’ve heard hundreds of times in 20 years of ministry, he wanted money. He mentioned that he’s from Maine and that he’s a lifelong Missouri Synod Lutheran. I ask him what church he goes to and he was evasive, couldn’t give a Pastor’s name, couldn’t give me references, but says he is on a layover downtown at the bus station, and needs a place to stay overnight. What he was asking for was money. I thought, “What am I supposed to do?” I said “I’ll pray with you, but I’m not a hotel, I’m not a bank. The best thing you can do in your situation is find a policeman and tell him your situation and let him get you into a shelter for the evening.” So the man hung up. I didn’t feel good because I knew this guy was trying to scam me. So I dialed *69 and got the phone number where he called from and called back. He was not at the bus station downtown; he had called from a church in Munsonville where, I’m told, he tried to scam them for money too! This guy is on the loose, scamming people for money, not all that honest, and knows that I’m going to be in Houston for a week and my house is going to be empty. That’s not a very peaceful feeling when you’re leaving at 4am. I thought “How does God deal with this type of thing?” Then, I thought of this sermon that I had just spent the day writing and thought, “God has spoken about this! God, here on July 13, 2007, has spoken to my situation because we have a God who cares and He’s here to help, so He’s has to have spoken about this situation!” And He did.

Thousands of years ago, God spoke to my situation. It gave me peace all week. It gave me peace on that Friday night as I got a few hours of sleep before leaving, and I slept well. I was thinking, “I should have planned ahead, knowing that I was going to be gone and Jimmy was going to be gone and there would be nobody in the house, I should have had somebody to housesit, a watchman for the house.” But God had spoken to my situation in Psalm 127, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. It’s 8:30, now July 13, 2007, yet thousands and thousands of years ago, God had Solomon write Psalm 127 to speak to my situation. Listen to verse 2 in regard to my desire to have someone to house sit, this is what really gave me peace: “Unless the Lord watches over the city (the house, the territory), the watchman stands guard in vain.” God spoke to my situation! And I looked at that and I said “Alright, God, You knew that at 8:30 at night on July 13, 2007 I would be in this situation, and thousands of years ago, You addressed it.” And every time some doubt or some worry came into my mind, I would think “Unless the Lord watches over my house, the watchman watches in vain. God is watching over it, I can trust Him and have peace.” God gave me peace all week and I got home and everything was just fine because the Lord watched over me.

What we learned this morning is that God is in your future. He lives in the eternal present. He sees everything all at once. He sees your July 22^nd, your July 23^rd, your July 24^th, next week, next month, next year. He sees it all, and in the Bible He’s spoken to what you will face, because He was there before you got there and had these Truths recorded. That’s the kind of God we have.

Home Page News Contact Us