The Return of the King, Part 2

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for tonight once again the opportunity we have to study the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and to look at that great event, the return of the king. And pray Lord that you'd open our eyes and help us to see wonderful things out of your law that truly Lord would move us toward ministry for the glory of Christ in Jesus name. We pray, Amen.

We have just begun a new series called "The Return of the King." It's a series designed to enhance your expectation of his arrival. It's a series designed to assist you in anticipating his coming again. It's a series that for us is at a very good time because it begins right after our celebration of Christmas and while the smell of Christmas is faintly in the air. It's still faintly there.

There's that reminder that the Messiah came because he wanted to reveal to us his deity. That's found in John chapter 1 and John chapter 14. He came because he wanted to ravage the enemy. That's found in 1 John 3 verse number 8. He came because he wanted to remove all our iniquity. That's in 1 John 3 verse number 5. He came because he wanted to restore our dignity. That's 1 John 3 verse number 1. But he also came that he might return in glory. So many times we forget that. But he came the first time in humiliation. He will come the second time in his exaltation.

And so when Jesus for the very first time in his earthly ministry refers to his return in all of its splendor, in all of his glory, he says in Luke chapter 9, a passage of scripture that we have already covered in depth on Sunday mornings. He said these words in Luke chapter 9 verses 26 and 27: "For whoever is ashamed of me in my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the Holy Angels. But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who should not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

That portion of scripture in Luke 9 is the first time that Jesus mentions his return. Now he knows he's coming again. He's God, he came in order to return in glory. And eight days after he says that, they went up into a high mountain and there was that miracle of the transfiguration where he unzipped his flesh and Peter, James, and John were able to behold the glory of the Lord and to understand the coming kingdom of God with Moses and Elijah. He wanted him to understand that his kingdom was coming, that he was going to return in all of his glory and in all of his splendor. Because he wanted them to be able to live in anticipation of his return.

He knew that upon his death, there would be great, great sorrow in the lives of his men, but they'd have to learn to live in anticipation, in expectation. And nobody better than Peter and nobody better than John would write about the return of the Messiah because they lived in expectation.

I think that as we look at today in today's church, in today's world, we see people not living in expectation of the coming King, a lot like it was 2,000 years ago in Israel. People at that time weren't expecting the arrival of the Messiah either. Oh, there were a few. You know, we know Mary and Elizabeth and Zacharias. We know about them and Simeon and Anna and the Magi and the shepherds. We know about them because the Bible tells us about them. But for the most part, most in Israel missed Christmas. They missed the first advent. How come?

Well, one reason was because of apathy, great apathy among the people of Israel. After all, it's been thousands of years. We've heard the promises about the coming of the Messiah. He's not even here yet. And after a while, that apathetic, that lethargic spirit begins to take over and therefore the expectation begins to dwindle. Think of it this way. The Bible says in 2 Peter chapter 3 that the scoffers and the skeptics will come and say, "Well, where is the promise of his coming? He's not here. Everything happens as it's always happened. He's not coming again." And people can become very apathetic, very lethargic when it comes to the arrival of the Messiah.

It's seen in our churches by a lack of teaching concerning eschatology, a lack of teaching concerning prophecy. A lot of churches today don't even talk about prophecy. Don't even talk about the end times. Some people say, "Well, you know, the book of Revelation, it's just so hard to understand. I mean, why would I even want to read that book?" Not realizing that there's a specific blessing only given to those who do read that book because God wants you to understand he's coming again.

But outside of apathy, there was activity. People were involved in all kinds of things. When you think of the innkeeper, he wasn't obstinate against the arrival of the Messiah. He just was too busy. There was no room for the Messiah. And a lot of that happens today, even in the church with us. We become so active in everything that's so mundane and meaningless. You ever notice that? We get involved in all kinds of activities, all kinds of circles, all kinds of issues that really mean nothing at all. And we think they do because that's why we're involved in them.

But the Bible says, I love this verse in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse number 3, "No good soldier involves himself in the affairs of this world because he wants to please his commanding officer." Now there are many soldiers who get involved in the everyday mundane affairs of the world because they don't care about pleasing their commanding officer. But Paul says no good soldier involves himself in the everyday affairs of this world because he is so bent on pleasing his commanding officer.

So just like Israel, activity begins to cause us to lose anticipation. Other things, the temporal things become more important to us than the eternal things. Apathy begins to roll into our lives. I mean, it's been 2,000 years since he said he was coming again. Where is he? Especially because of all the tragedy that takes place around the world, where is the promise of his coming?

Another reason is because of familiarity. People say, "Well, yeah, I've heard that prophecy stuff before about the coming of the king. Oh, yeah, I know that." This week we're gonna find out how much you really know about that. You won't want to miss next Wednesday night. We're gonna do something we've never done in the history of our church. That'll be next Wednesday night. We'll figure out how much you really know about prophecy.

People say, "Well, you know, I know all about the coming of the king, the tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom. I know all about this stuff." And so familiarity of his coming again sometimes diminishes our expectation and anticipation of his arrival. Can you imagine being the brother of Jesus or the sister of Jesus because he had brothers and sisters? They lived in unbelief, didn't they? Because of the familiarity of Jesus in their house.

Another reason is religiosity. Apathy, activity, familiarity, religiosity. We live in a so-called Christian country. It's not really a Christian country. We just like to say that to impress people. But religiosity has seemed to run its course in our world. People are so tied into religion. Jerusalem was that way. They were a religious city. You go to Jerusalem today, they think they're a very religious city. But religiosity begins to creep so much into our lives that it keeps us from truly anticipating the arrival of the Messiah because it's not based on a relationship with the Living God. It's based on tasks, it's based on works, it's based on service.

Another reason people don't anticipate the arrival of Messiah is because of idolatry. We serve other gods. The Jews, well, they worship the right God. They just worshiped him in the wrong way. Rome, they worship the wrong God. And you know sometimes there are people who erect idols in their hearts that take the place of the Lord Jesus, something that's more important to them, something that they value more than Jesus Christ. And idolatry will always diminish the expectation of the arrival of the Messiah because he is the true God.

Which leads us to another one, and that's jealousy. Herod was that way, right? Herod didn't want the Messiah to come. I mean, there's another king who is... where is he who was born king of the Jews? I'm on the throne here. I'm not going to share my throne with any baby who claims to be a king. And so a lot of times is jealousy. You talk to people about Christ and denying themselves and take up the cross and holy following the Lord Jesus Christ and submitting to him in his lordship. They don't do that. If they do that, then they have to crown him as king and they like being king in their own lives.

Another one is self-sufficiency. That describes the Pharisees and the high priests. They live the life of self-sufficiency. "But we don't need a Savior. We don't need him. So we can make it without God." And as long as that mentality reigns supreme, then why would we want him to come back? We can make it without him. We don't need him. That's why they would scream, "We do not want this king to rule over us."

Another one is because of apostasy, the falling away. Interesting that the Bible says these words in the book of Psalms, Psalm chapter 12 verse number one: "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men." When the psalmist wrote that some three to four thousand years ago, had no idea how relevant it is today. Where is the godly man? They cease to be. Where is the faithful men among the sons of men?

And the Bible does say in the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 these words in verse number 3: "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction." Paul writing about the return of the king, letting them know he's not going to come until apostasy has run its course. And the key element in the return of the Messiah is not the Middle East. It's apostasy in the church. Because when apostasy runs its course, then will come on the scene a man of lawlessness before the return of the king. And apostasy will run its course because so many people turn away from the truth.

It's no wonder that the level of expectation is as low as it is about the arrival of the Messiah. So what are we doing? We're talking to you about the return of the king because we want to lift that level of anticipation in your life, that level of expectation. So that when you wake up in the morning, you wake up anticipating that this is the day of the king and his coming to take you home to be with him. This is the day of his arrival, looking for, hastening, anticipating, expecting that this would be the day. And closing out your day with supreme disappointment if he doesn't come.

Now, you know you're living in expectation. Now, you know you're living in anticipation because you live going to bed disappointed that he didn't come but excited that maybe he'll come tonight or maybe he'll come tomorrow. We just don't live that way, do we? We live in anticipation of the next event, the next game, the next marriage, the next birth of a child, the next job interview, the next boyfriend, the next girlfriend. We live in anticipation of the next Sunday or the next opportunity. We live in anticipation because our life is built around a calendar of expectations. But very few of us live in anticipation and expectation of the arrival of Messiah.

So our desire is to tell you about the return of the king, and this sermon and last week's sermon is all introductory to what we're going to talk about for the next several months. And we're gonna give you lots of verses. We're gonna give you lots of things because we want you to understand that the Bible speaks a lot about prophecy.

So we began last week by telling you that the return of the king is a sure event. It's going to happen. It's ironclad. We'll talk more about this in weeks ahead, but it's a sure thing. It's going to happen. Talk about it in Acts 1 verse number 11, Matthew chapter 24. Every chapter in the book of 1 Thessalonians ends with something about the coming of the king. It's a sure event.

And then we told you number two, it is a surprising event. It's a surprising event. The Bible says these words in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 24, verse number 42: "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will."

He's gonna come at a time that you don't think he's going to come because he's gonna come at a surprising time. The Bible says this in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse number 1: "Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night."

The day of the Lord is that phrase used throughout the scripture to help depict for you the great and terrible time of Jacob's trouble. The day of the Lord encompasses the time immediately after the rapture or the catching away of the church and the seven years of tribulation upon this earth and return of the king himself. That encompasses the day of the Lord. And Paul says that it will come just like a thief in the night: "While they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape."

The day of the Lord is called the day of doom. It's called the day of vengeance. It's called the day of wrath. It's called the day of visitation. It will come like a thief because all the judgments and all the vengeance that happens on this earth will always catch people by surprise because it will come at a time no one knows. Because it all leads up to that ultimate culmination where the king returns.

The Bible says over in 2 Peter chapter 3 these words, verse 10: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." It speaks about the day of the Lord and the consummation of or the destruction of this present heavens and this present earth.

And then over in Revelation chapter 16, as it talks about how the armies of the east, the kings of the east will gather together in the place called the valley of Megiddo, it says in verse number 15, Christ says: "Behold, I am coming like a thief." So not only is the day of the Lord like a thief, but the Lord's arrival is like a thief. "Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame."

How does the thief come? He comes unexpectedly. He never announces his arrival. He comes when you least expect him to be there. And Jesus says not only is the day of the Lord like a thief because people will say peace and safety and then all of a sudden, bang, sudden destruction. But the arrival of the Messiah will be like a thief because they won't be expecting his coming. For no man knows the hour, no man knows the day of the arrival of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When the world feels secure, judgment will come upon them, and the end will come surprisingly. So it's a sure event, it's a surprising event, and along with that, number three, it is a sudden event. A sudden event.

Listen to Mark chapter 13, verse number 32: "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time is. It's like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: be on the alert."

And then over in Luke 21 verse number 34, it says these words: "Be on guard that your hearts may not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap, for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the Son of Man."

Not only is the event going to be a sure thing, not only is it going to be a surprising thing, it's going to be a sudden thing. The Bible speaks over and over again in the book of Revelation and in the Old Testament about how dark it's going to be because the sky begins to fall literally and it begins to roll up like a scroll. So much so that when the Messiah comes in all of his power, all of his splendor, and all of his glory, just lights up the eastern sky. And so the suddenness of it and the brightness of it adds to the surprising aspect of the arrival of the Messiah.

So important. And all throughout the Old Testament, the prophets would speak about this. They would speak about the day of the Lord and the coming of the Messiah and what it would be like. Turn back with me if you would to Isaiah chapter 13. Isaiah chapter 13 verse number 6 says: "Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt, and they will be terrified. Pains and anguish will take hold of them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame."

"Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation, and he will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless."

And then over in Isaiah 34, verses 1 and following: "Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For the Lord's indignation is against all the nations and his wrath against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be thrown out, and their corpses will give off their stench, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood."

"And all the hosts of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. All their hosts will also wither away as the leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. For my sword is satiated in heaven. Behold, it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction." The Bible says in verse number 8: "For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion."

A day of vengeance. That's why when Jesus would stand up in Nazareth in that synagogue and quote Isaiah chapter 61, he will quote verses 1 and verse number 2 and talk about this being the year of our Lord. But he stopped there and didn't go on and say the next phrase about it being a day of vengeance. Because when Jesus arrived the first time, it wasn't a day of vengeance. But when he comes again, there will be a day of vengeance.

And then over in the book of Joel, Joel chapter 1 verse number 15: "Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty." Verse 14 of chapter 3 of Joel: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. And the Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble. But the Lord is a refuge for his people and a stronghold for the sons of Israel."

And then over in Amos chapter 5, verses 18 and following: "Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light, as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?"

And then Zephaniah chapter 1 verse number 14: "Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly. Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and the high corner towers."

"And I will bring distress on men so that they will walk like the blind because they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath. And all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy, for he will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth."

So the prophets knew about a day, a day of vengeance, a day of wrath, a day of gloom, a day of darkness, the day of the Lord. And the Bible tells us in the New Testament, his coming will be like a thief. He'll come suddenly, unexpectedly. When you don't think he's going to be there, he'll arrive.

And when you read the book of Revelation and you think about all the horrendous things that take place during the tribulation, you would think that people would begin to cry out in repentance. You would think that they would look to the Lord of life. But they don't. In fact, back in Revelation chapter 9, it says these words. Revelation chapter 9, when the sixth trumpet blows and the sixth angel when he sounds that trumpet, there is such great devastation on the earth. Then it says this in verse number 20: "And the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders nor their sorceries nor their immorality nor their thefts."

They did not repent. Why? Why would they not repent? Simply this: Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Man loves the dark. He loves his sin. He loves his evil. In spite of all the prophets have said about the coming and the return of the king, a sure event that's going to take place, a surprising event, a sudden event, it will be a supernatural event. Unlike anything before it, it will be supernatural.

The Bible says in the book of Philippians, the third chapter, Philippians chapter 3 verse 20: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly await for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory, by the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself."

There's something that we eagerly anticipate, the return of the Messiah. It's a supernatural event. Now understand this, when we talk about the return of the king, we talk about the return of the king in two phases: the rapture of the church and the revelation of the Christ. Both are supernatural events, and everything that happens in between is a supernatural event. And we'll talk to you about the rapture of the church.

Yes, the word rapture is not in the Bible. It's from a Latin word translated to a Greek word meaning "harpazo," which means to snatch violently away. And it means to catch away. It's based on 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 to 18, which talks about the catching away of the bride of Christ. And so the return of the king is inaugurated with the rapture of the church and consummated with the revelation of the Christ when he comes down to this earth and sets up his kingdom and reigns a thousand years.

Let me give you just a brief outline. I'll give it to you throughout our entire time together, but you need to understand this. It all begins with the rapture of the church. And with the rapture of the church comes the resurrection of the saved dead, right? Those who are dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together in the air with them. So there's a rapture of the church that's understood by the resurrection of the dead saints and our reunion with them in the air.

And when that reunion with them in the air, with the resurrection of those who are dead in Christ, comes the renovation of our bodies, a glorified body, a body just like our Lord's. And with that then comes the rage and the revenge of the tribulation on this world for seven years. After that is over comes the revelation of Jesus Christ, the return of the king to the earth. At the rapture of the church, he doesn't come to the earth. We are caught up together with them in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. But the revelation of Christ, he comes down to the earth. Revelation 19 verses 11 to 16.

And with his return to the earth comes the retribution of sinners. Revelation chapter 19 verses 17 and 21, where he destroys all those who are wicked and against him. After the retribution of sinners comes the removal of the serpent. Revelation 20 verses 1 to 3. With the removal of the serpent comes the reign of the saints. Revelation 20 verses 4 to 6. Then comes the release of Satan after a thousand years of bliss upon this earth. Revelation 20 verse number 7. And then the revolt of all society who is not born again. That's in Revelation 20 verses 8 to 10.

Then comes the recompense for every sinner. Revelation 20 verses 11 to 15. Then comes the reality of the new heaven and the new earth. Revelation 21, Revelation 22. It is a supernatural event.

Hollywood could not depict what's going to take place on this earth when the church is translated out of here and the world has to experience the supernatural act of judgment upon them and then the supernatural return of the king and everything surrounding that event. Now we'll lead you through all those things in the months ahead so you begin to understand them. And we'll give it to you in small doses so that we don't inundate you with verses and information so that you're drinking water from a fire hose. We'll try to go as slow as you possibly can.

But it's a supernatural event. It is a sudden event, a surprising event, a sure event. It is a sobering event. This is so important. It's sobering. The return of the king is a sobering event.

2 Thessalonians chapter 1 says this, verse number 7: "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day and to be marveled at among all who have believed."

This is an extremely sobering event. The prophet Zechariah tells us in Zechariah chapter 13 verse number 8: "And it will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish," speaking to the nation of Israel. Two-thirds of the Jewish population at that time will die and they will perish. "But the third will be left in it."

There will be a third that will be born again, that will be saved. That third is the definition of the "all" in Romans 11 when it says that all Israel will be saved. The "all" that are saved is the one-third that's left when the king returns. The rest would have perished.

Very sobering events. We think of the Jewish population and their Messiah returning for them. Most of them will die in unbelief, but a third, a remnant, will go into the kingdom that's been promised to them through Abraham, through David for centuries.

It's a sobering event because the Bible says very simply in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 these words, verse number 9: "The one who's coming is in accord with the activity of Satan," speaking of the Antichrist, "with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."

That tells you why people take the mark of the beast. They don't love the truth so as to be saved. They love themselves. They love their sin. But they do not love the truth so as to be saved. Verse 11, listen carefully: "And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness."

Folks, listen very carefully. I firmly believe that if you live in a country like ours and you have the opportunity to hear the gospel and you reject that gospel, when the church is translated out of here, you will not have the opportunity to believe the gospel anymore. Why is that? Because of the strong delusion that will be sent. You will believe a lie, and you won't believe the truth. That's what 2 Thessalonians 2 says. A strong delusion. You will believe the lie because you didn't love the truth. You didn't believe the truth because you took pleasure in wickedness.

The deluding influence of the Antichrist will lead you astray to cause you to take the mark of the beast. The flip side of that is that Revelation tells us about the great multitudes that will be saved during the tribulation, but those multitudes that are saved are not the ones who have had the opportunity to hear the gospel like people like us have. They are the ones in countries where the gospel has not been preached. They haven't heard yet. But they will give their life to the Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah.

But those who go to church Sunday after Sunday after Sunday and refuse to obey the gospel, who do not love the truth, but take pleasure in wickedness, when the translation of the church occurs, there will be no opportunity for them to ever believe again. And they will experience the plagues of this world and they will die in their sin because they will believe a lie from the Antichrist.

It's a sobering event, the return of the Messiah. It causes us to want to share our faith with those who have yet to hear the truth of the gospel.

Turn with me if you would to Luke chapter 17 for just a moment. Luke chapter 17. Jesus is speaking about the second coming. He said in verse number 26: "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all."

It's an illustration that Christ uses to help you understand how man takes pleasure in his wickedness and does not love the truth. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like the days of Noah. They were warned about the impending judgment. They were warned about the coming judgment upon the world, a worldwide flood, but they would not believe. They laughed, they scoffed, they mocked Noah, his sons, his daughters. Yet when the judgment came, they were all destroyed. They just kept living as if everything was normal.

And that's the way it will be during the tribulation period. Amidst all the tragedies, all the devastation upon this world, and if you were with us in our study in the book of Revelation years ago, you know all about the terrible days of tribulation. We'll talk about them in weeks and months ahead. But they'll just keep on getting married, being given in marriage, eating and drinking as if there is no coming of a Messiah. And then all of a sudden, bang, sudden destruction.

Then he says, verse 28: "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot. They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, and they were building. But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed."

Same thing. And then he says, "On that day, let not the one who was on the housetop and whose goods are in the house go down to take them away. And likewise, let not the one who is in the field turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it."

"I tell you, on that night there will be two men in one bed. One will be taken into glory, and the other will be left for judgment. There will be two women grinding at the same place. One will be taken to inhabit the kingdom of God, and the other will be left for judgment. Two men will be in the field. One will be taken to glory, and the other will be left for judgment."

He says very simply, "Remember Lot's wife." On that journey from the Sea of Galilee down toward the region of the Dead Sea that when we go to Israel we make, that phrase in Luke 17 always rings and resounds loudly in my ears as we go to that area where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood, and the exhortation to remember Lot's wife. Because she is a classic example of someone who loved the world.

You remember her because she desired the world. She didn't leave Sodom. She loved Sodom. She loved everything about Sodom. She loved them all in Sodom. She loved the clothes she was able to obtain in Sodom. She loved her friends in Sodom. She desired the world. And because she desired the world, she defied the word of God. She defied it.

The angel said, "Don't look back. Don't look back." And the only reason you would look back is because you love the world. Christ said, "No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of heaven," right? That's what Jesus said. He said, "Don't look back. Don't do that."

Lot's wife, I don't even know her name. Lot's wife. That's how sad it is. She just couldn't help but turn around and look. She couldn't imagine all of the wonderful things that she had in Sodom being destroyed. She desired the world. As you heard the fire and the brimstone fall from heaven and the people screaming in the city, she couldn't help but turn around and look one last time.

I said don't do that. She defied the Word of God. Those who defy the Word of God do so because they truly desire the world more than they desire the Word of God. And instantaneously, she was turned into a pillar of salt. She defied the word because she disbelieved the warning. She disbelieved. "Come on, we have a loving God. We serve a good God. He didn't do those kind of things." She disbelieved the warning that was given: "Don't turn back. Come on, it's not that big. I'm so far away. It's not that big a deal."

But you see, it was her heart that wasn't right. So because she desired the world, she defied the word. She defied the word because she disbelieved the warning. And she died on the way. She died on the way.

Remember Lot's wife. It's a sobering event, the return of the king. Jesus goes to great length to say, "You know, this is the way it's gonna be like it was in the days of Noah. It's like it was during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. People eating and drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, buying and selling, everything that's gonna go as it always has because where is the promise of his coming? Everything continues as it always has been."

And it escapes their notice, Peter says, of the judgment of God. I told you Sunday this past week that's why the very first prophecy given from God to man, for man, about God was a prophecy about the coming judgment of God. Jude 14 and 15. That was Enoch. Very first prophecy by man to man from God about God. What is this coming judgment? It's inevitable. It's going to arrive.

It is a sobering event, but it is a sanctifying event. It is a sanctifying event. Titus chapter 2 verse 11 says: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age." Why did God's grace appear to people like you and me? So we live differently. We live righteously. We live soberly. We deny ungodliness. "And looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds."

There's something about longing for the appearing of Christ that makes you zealous for Christ. It's a sanctifying event. That's why the Bible says in 2 Peter chapter 3: "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?"

Because all this is going to happen, it's a sure thing. What kind of person should you be? Holy person, a godly person. "Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat. But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."

"Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, spotless and blameless." See, it's a sanctifying event. Same thing is said over in 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 says, verse 13: "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

It's a sanctifying event. 1 John chapter 3 verse number 1 says simply this: "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

Everyone, not some of you Christians, but everyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself as he himself is pure. The return of the King is a sanctifying event. It sets us apart, makes us different to the world because we're looking for the return of the Messiah.

Lastly, point number seven, if you've been following along in your outline, it is a sovereign event. A sovereign event. The Bible says when you pray, pray this way: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

When you pray, you pray for God's name to be hallowed in your life, that your life would be holy like his, and you pray for the coming kingdom of God to this earth. A true prayer warrior wants a sovereign king to rule on this earth. The Bible promised the coming of a king.

The Bible says in the book of Micah, the fourth chapter, first verse: "And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. And many nations will come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us about his ways and that we may walk in his paths.' For from Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty distant nations."

That's what our God will do. Verse number 6 says: "In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather the outcast, even those whom I have afflicted. I will make the lame a remnant and the outcast a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on and forever."

It is a sovereign event decreed by God where his son the Messiah will ascend the throne in Jerusalem and rule over the people of God. That was the promise, the promise given to Mary in the gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 1: "His name will be Jesus, and he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end."

It is a sovereign event. Please understand that the reason Christ is going to return is for his glory. It's primarily not for you or for me. It's for his glory, to keep his word, what he prophesied to the prophets of old. Oh yes, he will take us home to be with him. And yes, we will receive a glorified body. But in our narcissistic community and the way we love ourselves, we must always remember that the return of the King is about his glory, his honor, his praise.

Your salvation is not about you either. Philippians 1:29, you were saved for Christ's sake, not for your sake. And when you suffer, you suffer for Christ's sake, not for your sake. When the Christ comes back, he comes back not for your sake, but for his sake. Because it's a sovereign event where the King will ascend his throne. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

He is the King. He is the King of the universe, the sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is our Messiah. So this is an introduction to the return of the King. Hopefully, as you stay with us, you'll begin to understand more and more of the events surrounding his return and look and long in anticipation for his coming.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for tonight, a chance to study your word. What a joy. What a joy to know that you're coming again. Help us to live in the light of your coming. Help us to live knowing our King will arrive. Take us home to be with him. Present us before his father in heaven. Celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb. Bring us back to show his bride to the world. He is faithful. He is true. And then to destroy those who have not believed. To set up his kingdom to rule and reign as you said you would. Help us to live in anticipation of your coming for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.