The Acts of the Apostles 12

Subtitle: Peter Preaches Again part 2

Acts 3:17-26.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 7, 2022.

We pick up Peter’s second recorded sermon this morning, which we started last week.  Let’s get into the passage.

God had sent Messiah and they killed him

Peter has outlined how they have been fighting against God in their actions.  God had sent Messiah, but they had crucified him.  They were more than simply resisting God’s directions.  They were hostile to them.

Yet, in verse 17, Peter points out that they and their rulers had done it in ignorance.  Jesus on the cross had prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  They didn’t realize that they were actually killing Messiah, but that doesn’t make what they did good.  It is simply a mitigating factor.  At many points, the rulers and people had mistreated Jesus, refused to accept the truth, and then put to death an innocent man.

Ignorance speaks to the knowledge and understanding that one has.  There are many things we simply do not know.  In fact, we are born 100% ignorant of life.  We begin to accumulate knowledge and understanding little by little.  Can we not see that the things of which we are ignorant are practically infinite?  What we do know only scratches the surface of all that can be known.  Thus, the most knowledgeable among us may not be ignorant compared to the average person, but compared to God they haven’t even reached 1% of what can be known, much less the stuff that we cannot know because God has not designed us with the capacity to discover them.  A wise person recognizes that the more they learn, the more they become aware of just how great their ignorance really is.

This brings up the subject of willful ignorance.  The truth can be staring us in the face, but we refuse to recognize it because of certain ramifications we are unwilling to accept.  Where is the line between inherently not knowing, like a child, and being stubborn and willful in refusing to accept the truth?  Only God can perfectly judge those kinds of issues of the heart.

Peter brings up the fact that God had foretold all of these things through the prophets.  They were told in advance that the Messiah would suffer in many different ways through many different prophets.  This doesn’t mean they should have had perfect understanding of what Jesus was doing and who he was, but they could have had enough understanding to be more careful.  Even John the Baptist, who demonstrated great understanding of the identity and work of Jesus, wrestled with the way things were going.

The people and their rulers could have had a better understanding than what they had.  They had become curiously incurious about certain passages and teachings of the prophets that would have at least helped them be more careful.  Yes, we can’t help a certain part of our ignorance, but some of it we can.

In fact, the most important part of this whole issue is not even our knowledge level.  It really comes down to being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  Peter, John, James, and all the others, didn’t reject Jesus and call for his crucifixion.  They were able to get to that place by responding in repentance and faith at critical points in that 3 ½ years that Jesus ministered in Israel.

We are not so very different today.  The Church can be very proud about the great amount of knowledge that we have received through Jesus and the apostles.  However, that cannot take the place of sensitivity to what the Spirit of God is doing now.  Many very learned people have so systematized the biblical information that they are willfully ignorant to things that contradict their theological traditions.  Sound familiar?  We can become so enamored with the things of this world that we don’t seek God for the truth.  We can be happy with a surface knowledge of many things, or a rationale that we have adopted, but those things need to bow before the authority and power of the Lord Jesus.

Have I become a student of the Lord Jesus?  Think of it.  In the Bible we have a written document of the things that the Creator of all the universe wants us to understand, wants you to understand.  Many people who are ignorant in the eyes of the people around them will be found holding on to the Lord in the days ahead, having wisdom in the one thing that truly matters.  And, many who have the most biblical knowledge will be found fighting against what God is doing, lacking wisdom in the one thing that truly matters.  Jesus is working to give us a love of the Truth (2 Thess 2:10-12), so that it is love for him that will bring us through in the end, just like Peter all those years ago on the shores of Galilee in John 21.

Here is the good news.  God is still gracious.  Peter tells the crowd that they can still repent and turn to God.  In English, the word “repent” focuses on turning back to sorrow for one’s actions (for sin), as opposed to continuing forward in them.  This covers several important aspects of what the Bible says must happen in our hearts.  However, the word it is used to translate also has a meaning of a change of mind.  Of course, one must have a change of mind in order to turn back and have sorrow for sin, so I am not quibbling with the translation.  Rather, I am homing in an unseen aspect in this text.

We must have a change of mind about our life, and not just an alternate rationale created by us.  We really must adopt the mind of Christ.  We really must allow him to be the lord of our life.  This change of mind will turn us back from resisting and fighting what God is doing.  It will lead us to put our faith in Jesus, his commands, and the teachings of his apostles.  It will keep us from sacrificing Jesus for the sake of our willful way.

In this life, we will have a continual need for learning.  Thus, repentance will always be a part of the believer’s life.  It must never become a thing of the past.  Instead, it must become the daily path on which we walk.  Many are the exits that will take us off the road of repentance.  May the Spirit of God keep us on that Highway of Holiness, that good path, that we can only know through relationship with Jesus and the Word of God.

This brings us to verse 19.

Repentance will bring blessings

If we repent, then there are some good things from God that we will enjoy.  But, if we do not repent, then we stiff-arm the blessings that God wants to give to us.

Peter tells them that they need to change their mind and turn back into their sins being blotted out.  The direct result of changing their mind about Jesus and putting their faith in him will be the blotting out, or wiping out, of their sins.  It is the cancelling of the official record of our sins.  Sure, the fact that there are blots speaks of sins, but the fact of them being blotted out means they cannot be held against us before God.  Oh, this world will continually try to pin you to your past sins.  However, God offers freedom from those sins, and will not use them against you in the future.  Hallelujah!

In Isaiah 44:22, God promises Israel that, “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” (ESV)  Praise God that our sins can be blotted out when we repent, take on the mind of Christ, and exercise faith in the Son of God and the Word of God.

A second blessing is mentioned in verse 19, “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  The word “may” here does not question that they will come, but rather repentance removes a hindrance that keeps the Lord from sending them.  When it is removed, then he will send them as he determines.

In this life, we cannot get very far without being refreshed.  However, don’t settle for mere refreshing of your body and mind, your flesh.  I guess we could call those “refleshments.”  We not only need our bodies and minds refreshed, but more importantly, we need our spirits refreshed by the Spirit of God.  This is what Peter is talking about.  We need God’s periodic spiritual refreshment in order to successfully navigate this life, and He knows when we need it.  Yet, the problem is that our flesh and the enemy seek to consume us with refreshing the flesh to the exclusion of our spirit.  Another problem is that His refreshment doesn’t always look like such to us.  They had destroyed the refreshment of Messiah in their midst, but here was God offering them a second chance to drink from the wells of salvation and receive the Messiah back into their lives.

This is intended for them as individuals, but also as a nation.  Salvation gives us a relationship with the Lord of Life who cares for our soul and is the good shepherd.  Yet, it is clear that Peter ties in their repentance as a nation to the next blessing- a Second Coming of the Messiah.  It is interesting that the book of Zechariah pictures a great work of repentance in Israel where they will “look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zech. 12:10 NKJV).  Then, in chapter 14 of that same book, God promises to save Israel from complete destruction at the hands of the nations of the world by coming down out of the heavens Himself.  This is the Second Coming of Christ that pictures his feet touching down on the Mount of Olives and splitting it in half.  What a refreshing time that will be for the nation of Israel!

Thus, the next blessing Peter mentions is that God may send Jesus back and begin the Restoration of All Things (verses 20-21).  Jesus must stay in the heavens until the time of The Restoration of All Things.  The earlier refreshments by God’s Spirit would keep them sustained until they came to that Great Refreshing that God has promised in His Word.  All the prophets pointed to a time when all that has gone wrong in this world and in the heavens will be restored to their proper state.  The Bible can be seen as a story of how everything went wrong (think Genesis), and yet how God is bringing everything back to a restored state that is even better than the original (think Revelation with its New Heavens and the New Earth).  That day is set by God.  We have a destiny in the future that cannot be avoided.  Yet, there is a sense where repentance could perhaps speed it up.

Peter specifically reminds them of the prophecy of Moses found in Deuteronomy 18 (esp. vs 18).  Moses leads up to this prophecy by warning Israel against listening to spiritists and those who practice divination.  God had not given Israel over to these lesser Elohim.  They had a greater destiny than the nations who were following the wrong Elohim.  Their destiny was to first receive the word of the One True God through Moses in building up the nation of Israel, and then later, God would send them another Prophet like Moses. 

Hebrews 3:1-6 emphasizes this connection by pointing out that Moses was faithful as a servant of God to build the house of Israel.  However, Jesus Messiah was faithful “as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” (Heb. 3:6 NKJV).  This speaks of the “house” of the Church.  We don’t have time for it today.  However, this language of a house being built by the son for himself so that the Church can live with him is the wedding analogy that Jesus used so often.

In Jesus, Messiah had come to make an offer of betrothal to Israel.  As a nation, they rejected it, but Christ takes a remnant and sends them to the nations in order to raise up a bride that will be married to him at the end of this age.  All the prophets warned of this critical period, and Moses stated that those who rejected this Prophet, Messiah, would be destroyed from among God’s people.  They were in danger of losing their place, their lot, their inheritance.

In verse 25, Peter reminds them of their heritage.  They are the sons of the prophets, and the offspring of Abraham.  This means that they had inherited the writings of the prophets, and the promise of Abraham that the families of the whole earth would be blessed through them, i.e., Israel.  All that we know of God is passed to the Gentile nations through the people of Israel.  Israel is far more important than any other nation in the sense of God’s work in the world.  However, His work is for the sake of all the nations of the world.  In fact, God did not just choose Israel from among the nations back in the days of Abraham.  Rather, God rejected all of the nations, and instead, created a new nation by His own hand as Adam was created directly by God.

This is why God sent His Servant Jesus to Israel first.  They had been and still were the instrument through which God had spoken to the nations.  They were God’s witness to the world.  However, the word first, implies others.  The Gospel of Jesus would go to the nations through his faithful believers, and thus, all the earth would receive a second witness through the Church of Jesus.  Here we are today hearing these same words that Israel heard 1,990 some odd years ago.

O, how America needs a time of refreshing in which we are turned away from our sin into full faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus the Messiah.  It will only happen as Spirit-filled believers, who are keeping in step with Jesus, interact with a people who are steeped in all manner of ignorance.  May God refresh his people today so that we can renew our battle against the works of Satan upon those around us!

Peter Preaches Again 2 audio

The Acts of the Apostles 2

Subtitle: Jesus Ascends Into Heaven

Acts 1:9-14.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 01, 2022.

We pick up where we left off last week.  Jesus has given his final instructions and now he leaves them in a manner that has more of a finality to it.

The Ascension (1:9-11)

The term “ascension” is generally used of this event because Jesus used it in John 20:17. He tells Mary Magdalene that, “I have not yet ascended to my Father.”  The Apostle Paul also emphasizes this term in Ephesians 4:10. “He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.”  This word is also used of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11.  “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’  And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies say them.”

It is important to note that the ascension ends this transitional time of Jesus proving his resurrection to his disciples and focusing them on the task ahead.  He will operate from heaven from now on- not that he can’t appear for particular purposes at particular times as he did with Saul of Tarsus- until His Second Coming.  But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The disciples watch this whole event.  There is no slight of hand happening.  We are not told how quickly or how slowly the event happened.  It simply states that Jesus was “taken up.”  This taken up aspect reminds me of the prophet Elijah.  He was taken into heaven in a fiery chariot.  However, he was also in a mortal body at the time.  Jesus has an immortal, heavenly body that has powers that are essential that of angels.  He can appear and disappear, and even ascend into heaven in a fashion that they would be able to see.  He does not need a fiery chariot to carry him to heaven.  I believe that the ascension of Jesus has a greater majesty to it than Elijah’s.  Yet, even it pales in comparison to the descriptions of his Second Coming.

Jesus ascends until he goes into the clouds and is thus out of sight.  This way of leaving would help them to psychologically make the transition.  He isn’t going to appear again like he has been doing.  We need to focus on the task at hand.  It will also serve to encourage them that things are as he said they were.

The clouds are in important reference in this description.  It has Old Testament connotations to it.  Yahweh led Israel through the desert as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Deuteronomy 33:26 tells us, “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.”  God riding through the heavens is connected to the clouds throughout the Psalms even referring to the clouds as God’s chariot (Psalm 104:3).  In Daniel 7, the Son of Man comes to the Ancient of Days “coming with the clouds of heaven.”

This is why the New Testament prophecies about the Second Coming of Jesus often mention Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:30; 26:64; Mark 14:62).  Jesus is that Son of Man who would ride the clouds of heaven in order to receive the kingdoms of the earth from the Father.

There is no telling how long they were staring into the sky looking for another glimpse of Jesus.  We are told that two men in white apparel appear.  They are no doubt angels.  We have seen many such appearances of such “men” in connection with the resurrection of Jesus.  However, it is their message that is most important.  Essentially, they ask them why they are still staring at the sky.  The disciples are most likely somewhat in shock.  This question will serve to knock them out of this state and focus them on what they should be doing now.

They emphasize that this “same Jesus” will return in “like manner” to how he left.  This is important.  We are not waiting for another Messiah who will get rid of the wicked rulers.  It is this same Jesus who died on the cross for us.  The suffering servant has earned the right to be our Avenging Kinsman who will come to judge the earth.

Now, the second coming will be far more glorious than the ascension.  We are told that every eye will see the Second Coming.  However, we can make some comparisons.  Jesus will return to earth in bodily form.  It is not merely a metaphor for him coming into our heart at salvation.  It will be visible, and not an invisible return.  He will come on the clouds of heaven.  He will return at the Mt. of Olives first.  Lastly, the disciples of Jesus will all witness this event one way or another.

Let me take a moment to encourage us to remember that our Lord is coming back, and this earth will not continue forever, as it has since then.  Also, though Jesus is coming in bodily form, visibly and actually on the clouds of heaven, there is an important spiritual aspect to all of these.  In other words, the metaphorical meaning behind these things is important too.  Jesus does come into the life of the believer in a very real way.  He is already invisibly here observing all that the world does.  Yet, we should not ridicule or reject the literal.  The literal and the metaphorical are both important.  In fact, you should recognize that the metaphor loses its true meaning if the literal never happens.

The disciples get back on mission (1:12-14)

The words of the angels serve well to snap them out of their stupor.  They now get back on mission.  Yes, the mission is to take the Gospel of Jesus to the ends of the earth, but they are also supposed to wait in Jerusalem for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit before they commence.  Verse 12 tells us that they returned to Jerusalem in obedience to the earlier words of Jesus.  They are supposed to be in Jerusalem when the Spirit of God is poured out.

Jerusalem was filled with places that one could rent due to the several feasts of the Lord that required all Israelite males to come to the city and celebrate.  Pentecost is at most 10 days away and people would be arriving and needing a place to stay.  The disciples have a place that is large enough to accommodate 120 people (see verse 15). 

Luke lists some of the people who are there.  The Eleven disciples are there, of course Judas Iscariot is no longer with them or alive.  “The women” mentioned are a group of people that would include the sisters Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, and others.  Mary the mother of Jesus is of course there.  Notably, the brothers of Jesus are there too.  Clearly the resurrection and appearances of Jesus have convinced them from their earlier skepticism.

We are told that these disciples continued in one accord.  This phrase pictures a group that is working as a unit with a passion for something.  In fact, Paul uses it of a mob in Acts 19.  The idol makers of Ephesus had stirred up the whole city and pictures them rushing into the theater “with one accord” in order to seize Paul and his companions.

The passion of the disciples was focused on receiving the Holy Spirit, and so they are spending their time in prayer asking for Jesus to send the Spirit.  Two words are translated “prayer” and “supplication” in the NKJV.  The first is a general word for prayer.  The second emphasizes a petition, or asking.  They are waiting for the Holy Spirit, but they are not inactive.  They are praying. 

We should note that their activity is not focused on their flesh.  Yes, they would have to sleep and eat, but they have a single focus and passion for receiving the Promise of the Father!  Is it possible that our lives are so full of other things to be passionate about that we are no longer as singular in our passion for the Spirit of God, like they were on that day?

Let us know that Jesus has gone into the heavens.  It does not help us to stand still staring at the heavens looking for his return.  He will come back at a time that we do not know.  Meanwhile, we must be about our Father’s business.  We must obey the commands of Christ in taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We must be on mission, but also filled with the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus comes back, what will he find us doing?  May he find us being good and faithful to him and his work.

Acts- Jesus Ascends audio

Jesus Prophesies about the Future V

Mark 13:32-37.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 18, 2020.

This morning, we will finish this section in which Jesus tells us about what is in the future.  His prophecy breaks up into three sections: a time of birth pains, also called the times of the Gentiles, that follows his ascension, the Great Tribulation, which is the climax of the end times, and the Second Coming of Jesus.  These three sections start out slow and long, 2,000 years, but then become a quick succession of blows (7 years and then 1 moment/day).

After those prophecies, each of the three synoptic Gospels take time to emphasize that you will not want to be caught off guard by the Second Coming, and that is what we will look at today.  The Christian is not oblivious to the judgment that hangs over this world.  God has a contention with all of the nations of this world and has judged them all to be unworthy of ruling the earth.  Because of this, Christians are to live a life that is focused on God’s work, and being ready for the return of Jesus at all times.

Only the Father knows when the Son is coming back

By way of refresher, we have talked about how the Second Coming of Jesus is like a Galilean wedding.  John 14 tells us that Jesus went back to his Father’s house to make a home for his bride, the church.  He will no doubt come back for his bride at some point in which they all go back to his Father’s place to have a wedding party.  Eventually, Christ and his bride come in judgment to take up the rule of the earth.

One thing that was unique about the Galilean wedding is that the son could have a place prepared and want to go get his bride, but he had to wait until his father said it was time.  This may help us understand a bit more why Jesus would emphasize that he doesn’t know the time (even though he clearly knows that it will be longer than his followers will want to wait).  Let’s not jump ahead on this point yet.

Jesus first points out that “no one knows”, which is a reference to all humans.  Through the years, many people have predicted when Jesus was coming back, whether they spoke of it as the Rapture or as the Second Coming.  They typically justified their predictions by some slight of hand.  Some would emphasize that you couldn’t know the day or hour, but you can know the 2-day window, or week, or month, or year.  Some would emphasize that they have received a vision from the Father or Son and God now wants us to know.  However, this seems odd since Jesus warns that the end times will come as a trap and at a time that the disciples do not think.  His point is not, wait until God reveals it.  Rather, it is always be watching and ready!  No, there will not be a time when God changes His mind and begins telling believers when the Son will return.

Jesus follows this by saying that not even the angels of heaven know when it will occur.  Incidentally, this would rule out the devil and his angels.  If they angels of heaven don’t know then those who had earlier fallen would not know either.  Satan is chomping at the bit and always ready for his chance to dominate the world and have it worship him.  Are you ready?

The next point, however, is the true puzzler.  Not even the Son knows the day or hour.  Now, it is one thing for Jesus to say that the Father has not given him permission to share that knowledge, but it is quite another to say that the Son of God does not know.  It begs this question.  How can Jesus be both divine and not know this?  Isn’t he supposed to be omniscient?

I do not want to get bogged down in the weeds of answering this question, but let’s spend a few moments exploring it.  Many biblical teachers have talked through various aspects of its implications.  Let me just make a couple of points so that we can be clear that this is not a true contradiction to the divinity of Jesus.  First of all, it is unclear whether Jesus means that he didn’t know in his human nature, and that his divine nature was just keeping it from his human side through wisdom.  Of course, this gets into the quagmire of how the mechanics and internal operation of the incarnation of Jesus worked.  We should fear to tread too far into that territory since the Bible says precious little on that topic.

Second of all, it is also unclear whether Jesus meant that he didn’t know then, but that he would know when he ascended to the right hand of the Father.

Perhaps, it is best to understand this in the same way that we understand the subservient role that the Son fulfills.  Though the Son is equal to the Father in the sense of his being or substance (that is, divine) he can perform a subservient role without diminishing his essence or being.  Think of one human being serving another human being.  The lesser role does not somehow render the servant as less human than the one served.  Thus, in eternity past, when the plan of salvation was created, it was agreed upon that only the Father would know and that the Son would voluntarily restrict his omniscience to the time of his Second Coming.  We could say that omniscience is to know all things that one chooses to know.  Just as omnipotence does not mean that God has to do whatever we tell him to do, in order to prove it- He can exercise restraint in accordance with His own wisdom- so the Son can choose to restrict or restrain the exercise of his omniscience in any particular area he so chooses.  This is not a true contradiction, but rather a point that is totally unexpected.

There are some practical implications to the reality that no one knows when Jesus is coming back.  We should stop listening to people who set dates and invite us to sell all of our stuff and join them in a rural compound.  We should even be careful of those who do not prophesy particular dates, but only say that certain dates are somehow more possible than others.  Of course, no one can live without conjecturing about the future.  However, pumping up particular dates every year or more has the opposite effect upon people’s readiness.  They tend to have a flurry of activity leading up to the time, and then a relaxing when it doesn’t happen.  This is not what Jesus has called us to do.

It is not our job to predict when Jesus will come back, and thus we shouldn’t listen to those people.  However, it is good to recognize the signs of the times that we live in, and the signs of the times that are next on the docket.  They can encourage our faith to keep focused on Christ and being ready.  We live in a time where the prophesied events of the book of Revelation are not only possible, but becoming more and more likely every day.  The world is clamoring for a global governance that can control, or harness, the power of mankind.  Like a Neo-Nimrod building a modern tower of Babel, our world is rushing forward into the Great Tribulation.  However, it is still being restrained by God until that point that He says enough.

This means that we should live in a way that we are always prepared.  The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, or Semper Par as they say; “Always ready!”  Those who remember the Royal Rangers youth program of the Assemblies of God will know that the motto taught to young Christian boys was “Ready!”  It meant to be ready for anything.  If you are trying to predict a date then you will have a series of relaxing and stressing, being ready, and then not being ready.  Over time, such a build up and let down can wear out our faith in its truth.  However, if you are always living prepared and Jesus doesn’t come back during your life time then you will also be ready for that next moment after death.  In that moment, you either go into the grave awaiting judgment, or you go into the presence of the Lord.  Friend, don’t put off your preparation for that day a day longer.  Make sure that you have turned from your sin and this world, and that you have turned toward Jesus and following him.  Though the Christian is to live always prepared for our Lord’s return, notice in verse 33 and 34 that our Lord has work for us to do.

You need to focus on the work that Jesus commands

Verse 33 gives us a series of commands to believers from the Lord.  We are first told to “take heed.”  It means to see and discern the world around us and our own spiritual condition.  Luke 21 warns, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”  Wow!  Believers are not to live a life of carousing, drunkenness, and worried about the cares of this world and our flesh.  Such a life is not only unprepared for the Second Coming, it is also unprepared for its own death as well.  This world is used by the devil to tempt Christians into all manner of sinful activities.  They become an exit ramp from remaining vigilant and discerning about the condition of our soul.

The second command is “Watch.”  The point is not so much sitting and looking at the sky, but rather at its root means sleeplessness.  A man who was on watch dared not fall asleep.  It meant disaster for the camp or village if he did.  It speaks to a wakeful frame of mind in the midst of a world designed to put you to sleep spiritually.  Matthew 24 adds the warning that before the flood of Noah’s day came, people who had been warned were going about life as if nothing bad was on the horizon.  They were asleep spiritually.

The New Testament often ties the word “watch” together with the word “pray.”  The third command from our Lord is to “Pray.”  As we pray to God, we are watching over our souls and maintaining our faith so that it is not diminished in any way.

When we put all of this together, we find that, through prayerful vigilance, we can live a life for God’s purposes.  We can live a life following the Spirit of God and not our flesh, a life of the love of God for others, a life of strengthening fellow believers, and a life of sharing the Gospel with those who do not believe.  We are to be a light in this generation.  When they see our lives, they will get a glimpse of who Jesus was and is, the very righteousness of God.  When they hear the Gospel, some of them will believe and be brought into the family of God.  We must focus on the work that he has given us in our families, jobs, Church, and community, being a light because the night is coming when no man can work!

Jesus gives another analogy

Jesus ends with a parable or analogy that is very clear and simple.  There is a man who leaves his house and goes into a far country.  He puts his servants in charge of his affairs.  There are two aspects regarding his servants.  First, they have been given authority to run his affairs.  If we think of this as a group of believers then we see how we are to be working together and yet certain ones may have a higher authority than I do.  Whatever gift and role God has given to us, and at whatever level of authority, we need to use it for the building up of the faith and the life of one another as brothers and sisters before God.  This starts as a faithful companion in worshiping, and living for Jesus, whether in or outside of church.  We are to encourage one another as a family.  It may specialize beyond this, such as those who lead in music, teach in various ways, preach, watch over the affairs of the property, oversee a food pantry ministry, etc. 

In this scenario, those who are the doorkeepers and are watching for the Lord’s return would represent the prophetic role that warns God’s people of external enemies, internal laxity, and the Lord’s return.  God calls watchmen who are to be vigilant in this sense.  This doesn’t absolve all believers of personal responsibility, but becomes an added layer of protection, especially for new believers.

However, we should also see this at an individual level.  We all have a duty to be diligent in the things that the Lord has given to us to do.  We can fall into the trap of wanting something bigger, greater, or more like another servant.  This only diminishes our gusto for the tasks that we have been given.  Give yourself to the people, relationships, and godly duties that you have right now.  Meanwhile watch over your spiritual life, and the temptations of the enemy so that you will be ready at his return, or your death.  Like Nehemiah and the exiles who had returned to a devastated Jerusalem and were rebuilding the wall, we live this life with a trowel for building in one hand and a sword for defending in the other.  We are to live in this world focused on the mission of Jesus, vigilant against our spiritual enemies, and not losing faith that our Lord is returning one day.

Let me say this again; you do not want to be caught sleeping or abusing your authority when Jesus returns.   In verses 35-37, he reminds us that we don’t know if he is coming in the night, or midnight, morning, or noon.  In fact, globally it will be all of these at once.  For some it will be each of these times depending on your time zone.  The problem would not be sleeping physically, but sleeping spiritually.

In Mark, we are only warned that we don’t want to be caught sleeping.  Yet, in Matthew 24, Jesus follows this up with a greater explanation.  The faithful and wise servants will be found doing exactly what their master told them to be doing, making sure his house is running well, and increasing.  However, there will be some evil servants who say in their heart that he is delaying his coming, or even that he will never come.  Jesus warns that such evil servants will abuse their power in his Church and abuse their fellow servants, even eating and drinking with the drunkards.  The warning is severe.

“The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Matthew 24:50-51 (NKJV)

It is not enough to join God’s people and even receive a high position of authority within it.  If we use God’s things for our own pleasure then we are following the spirit of this world rather than the Spirit of God.  Such people will receive judgment from the Lord.  You do not want to be caught spiritually sleeping, or drunk on the pleasures of this life.  So, Watch!

Jesus Prophesies about the Future IV

Mark 13:24-31.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 11, 2020.

In our passage today, Jesus instructs us about one of the cardinal doctrines that he gave to the Church.  He will come again, a Second Coming.

The idea of him leaving and then coming back had already been revealed to them.  John 14:1-3 says this,

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”  (NKJV)

It is clear that Jesus has in mind a wedding analogy.  The description of what he says completely fits a young man preparing a place for his bride on his father’s property.  Jesus had warned them that he would be leaving them, but that it was for a purpose.  He would eventually return for his bride so that they could be together.

In our passage today, he promises his disciples that this coming again would be in “power and great glory,” in order to reward the saints and remove the wicked.  Of course, there is much more to it than that, but I do not want to stray from our focus on this passage.

So, in the setting of this passage, Jesus has told his disciples that there would be a period of time from his leaving until his coming back that would be a time of labor pains for the world, a time of sorrows.  It would be a time of the Gentiles in which God would send the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  This long period (almost 2,000 years now) would come to an end in a seven-year period of difficulty called the Great Tribulation, which we discussed over the last two weeks.  Mark 13:24 begins the third stage of this prophecy, the Second Coming of the Son of Man, which basically happens on a single day, but will have repercussive events.

Let’s go through the passage.

The Second Coming of Jesus

Jesus actually refers to this event as the coming of “the Son of Man.”  He is employing a phrase that can be a way of calling someone human, but when it is used in a prophetic passage about the end of the age, it is a clear reference to the Son of Man that is prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.   ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Jesus is connecting his leaving and coming back to a character of ancient prophecy, the Son of Man who would come on the clouds and receive the kingdoms of the world from the Ancient of Days.  If you read the context of these verses from Daniel, you see that the Ancient of Days has overruled the attempt of multiple “beasts,” a metaphor for Gentile Empires, to rule the world.  Instead, the God of Creation gives the kingdoms of this world to a particular human who can ride the clouds of heaven and will share his kingdom with the saints of God, rather than the powerful of this world.  This is a strange and cryptic figure.  He is clearly human, “son of man,” and yet rides the clouds, something a heavenly being would do.

Now let us look at the wording of verse 24.  Jesus says that this coming would be “in those days,” and “after that tribulation.”  He is very clear about connecting the Great Tribulation directly to his Second Coming.  This is important because we do have to watch for the tendency of prophecy to conflate events separated by long periods of time.  However, the terminology that Jesus uses states that the Great Tribulation will have come to an end (“after”) and yet, the Second Coming will be in “those” days.  On top of this, Matthew 24 uses the word “immediately.”

In fact, the Second Coming of Jesus becomes the apex or capstone to the terrible days of the Great Tribulation.  To the wicked who have chosen to worship the beast and his kingdom, it will be the final blow of the wrath of God.  To the righteous who have chosen to wait for Jesus, it will be the beginning of the Utopian age of which mankind has often dreamed.  This is the same thing as shown in Revelation 19.  At the conclusion of the Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, and Seven Bowls of Wrath, Jesus comes riding on the clouds of heaven with an army in tow.

Even at the worst time of all human history, God has a plan and has not forgotten us.  He will save humanity from itself, and from the fallen angels.  He has not abandoned us!  The Great Tribulation will be God’s last attempt to draw humans back from the abyss that we longingly push towards.

Jesus then describes some signs that would be seen in the heavens or sky.  The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars of heaven will fall.  This is then summarized as, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

I believe that there is a literal and metaphorical overlap happening here.  The book of Revelation also mentions the sun becoming black as sackcloth, the moon becoming like blood, and the stars of heaven falling to the earth.  Some of the devastation upon the earth is from things that are falling from the sky, whether they are asteroids, comets, or meteors is not specifically made clear.  Such events would put enough particulate in the atmosphere to obscure the light of the celestial objects.  Yet, there are cryptic references in the Old Testament to the day of the Lord’s coming that also seem to imply a supernatural reason for the lights to go out during what should be day time (Zechariah 14:6-7).  We can say that this is only metaphor, but then must deal with all the other places in the Old Testament that connects the darkening sun and blood-like moon to the Day of the Lord.  There will most likely be both natural and supernatural things going on.  Luke 21 tells us that men’s hearts will fail them for fear of the things coming upon the earth, when these things happen.

Yet, the stars and falling stars is used metaphorically to refer to angels and rebel angels respectively.  Thus, Revelation 12:12 says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”  That book pictures the rebel spiritual forces being pushed out of the heavens down onto the earth, as well as the Abyss (a prison for fallen angels) opening up to release others.  The earth becomes the ground for the Day of the Lord’s great judgment against Satan and his forces, and those who join in league with them.  The things happening in the natural become a symbol, or picture, of those things that are happening in the spirit realm.

It is interesting that all three Gospels use the phrase, “they will see” at the Second Coming of Jesus.  At the least, it implies that the disciples in front of him will not be on the earth at his Second Coming.  It may even imply that the Church has been raptured before this point.  However, those points are tenuous from this text.  The point is that following the celestial signs will be a celestial event in which the world sees the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and great glory (described in Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19).  This is one of the main points of contrast that we looked at last week.  The false christs and false prophets of the Great Tribulation will do powerful things in order to wow humanity.  However, their coming will be nothing compared to the coming of the Son of Man, the one who rides the clouds and vanquishes his foes.  Nevertheless, the deceptive character of Satan would lead us to believe that the Antichrist will appear to put down a group of diabolical leaders as an attempt to mimic this.  Satan’s empire always has innumerable groups of diabolical leaders from which to pit one against another by means of deception.

In contrast, what a day that will be when Jesus splits the sky!  Whether you have already passed from this life, have been raptured, or are still barely surviving here on the earth in that moment, what a glorious moment that will be!  After all the turmoil and rage of the Antichrist kingdom, decreeing and executing those who do not take its mark, God sends His Son, His Savior, from the heavens to save mankind.  He is faithful to the end, even when we are faithless.

Part of the appearing of the Son of Man will be the gathering of all of his elect.  The word “elect” can also be translated as “chosen.”  Just as we will soon turn in our ballots depicting who we are choosing in November’s election, so Jesus has chosen some to be his.  Our choosing will be important, but it pales in comparison to the real question, “Has Jesus chosen me?”

He has chosen those who would turn their back on their life of sin, pick up their cross, and follow him.  He has chosen those who would continue to live in faith of his coming, and his resurrection, even in the face of a world that ridicules and persecutes them for it.  He has chosen those who are not seduced by the antichrist spirit of this age, that powerful beastly spirit, that only seduces those who choose to follow their flesh over the top of the Holy Spirit.

We are told that the angels gather the elect, the chosen, from heaven and earth.  The righteous who have physically died throughout the ages will be gathered from the heavens to come back with Christ, and those on the earth who have refused the beast kingdom, and survived the Great Tribulation, will also be gathered to Jesus.  They are to share in his reward of taking hold of the kingdoms of this world.  Amen; even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Following his description of the Second Coming, Jesus gives a parable to emphasize how closely connected the Second Coming is to the Great Tribulation.  Whether a fig tree or any other tree, the sprouting of green leaves in the spring testifies to the nearness of summer.  This lesson in the natural is intended to encourage us in the spiritual. 

Some make a big deal regarding the fig tree representing Israel.  Though the nation of Israel is an important prophetic sign, it is not exactly what Jesus is meaning here.  He makes it clear by saying “when you see these things happening, know that it is near” (Matthew says “all these things”).  It is not seeing the beginning of these things (The Time of Sorrows, which we now know lasts almost 2,000 years), but the seeing of all of these things.  Clearly, this means everything mentioned up to the Second Coming.  The events of the Great Tribulation will make it clear that his coming is near.  Jesus wanted us to know that, when it all goes down, it will happen quickly and people should not despair.  Neither should believers give up their hope in his coming, and begin to follow after the temptations of sin, especially joining the beast-kingdom via the mark.

Verse 30 is often pointed to by critics of Jesus and the Bible as proof that Jesus was a false prophet.  They assume that Jesus is pointing to his disciples and telling them that they and their generation will not pass away until all of these things happen.  Even some who claim to be Christians will waffle on this point, saying that Jesus thought it would happen in a generation, but was mistaken (i.e. everything he said is true, but he was mistaken on the timing).  I do not believe Jesus was talking about his generation.  The context is about those who see all of these things.  It is that generation that will not pass away before all things he spoke would be fulfilled, not the generation that sees some of them.  The nearness is to those who see them all, which is, more than likely, less than 3 ½ years.

Jesus finishes this section with a statement about how dependable and trustworthy these prophecies are.  They are more dependable than the continued existence of the earth and the heavens.  In light of God’s revealed intent to recreate the heavens and the earth in the future, this makes perfect sense. 

It is not the amount of hydrogen fuel in our sun that is the clock on how long humanity has on this earth.  It is the end of the times of the Gentiles, the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and the Second Coming of Jesus that helps us to know how much time we have left.

However, there is a more excellent way.  Don’t tell yourself that you can get ready if it appears that it is getting worse, or closer.  You only deceive yourself and harden your flesh against the Spirit of God.  Put your faith in Jesus today, and live with the Blessed Hope of His return in your heart every day.  That way, you no longer have to worry about how much time is left because you are always ready; semper paratus!