Sermon Tone Analysis

Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the Second Coming.

There are 1,845 references to it in the Old Testament.

Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are 318 references to the Second Coming—that’s one in every 30 verses.

Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this event.

For every prophecy on the 1st Advent of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s 2nd Advent.

We can only conclude that it must be a significant event in God’s plan.

It took on added significance this last week when Harold Camping publically announced the end of the world.

For months, followers of the 89-year-old Camping, who previously wrongly predicted the rapture would occur in September 1994, has been warning that the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011 and that the subsequent destruction of the universe will take place in October.

Supporters would hold placards on busy streets in major cities that read: “Judgment Day May 21, 2011.”

Most of us just smile at these false prophets, but sadly, they do real damage.

* In New York, follower Robert Fitzpatrick, 60, spent his entire $140,000 life savings on 1,000 subway-car placards and ads at bus stops warning about May 21.

The ads read: “Global Earthquake: The Greatest Ever! Judgment Day May 21, 2011.”

* Another Camping follower, 27-year-old Adrienne Martinez, was planning to go to medical school but decided not to after listening to Camping’s predictions.

Martinez and her husband, Joel, had lived in New York City but a year ago quit their jobs and moved to Orlando.

They spent their time reading the Bible and all their money buying and distributing gospel tracts.

They don’t have anything left.

Unfortunately, predictions like this are confusing and misleading a lot of people.

There is the danger that some of his followers If these were Old Testament days, he’d be stoned to death as a false prophet.

When is that event going to take place?

There is only one thing you and I can be absolutely sure about when it comes to our Lord’s return to this Earth in power and glory.

Every morning we wake up brings us one day closer to that blessed event.

The Christians of the 1st century had as many questions about the Second Coming of our Lord as Christians of the 21st century.

At the Church of Thessalonica, some of the Christians were worried about those believers who had already died.

Would they have a part in the Second Coming and the resurrection?

The Apostle Paul devotes most of the final paragraphs of his first letter to the Thessalonian Christians to the subject of the Second Coming.

His thoughts on the matter give us hope and teach us how we are to live in light of our Lord’s return.

!

I. WE ARE NOT WITHOUT HOPE—THE LORD WILL COME

#. it is so easy to become preoccupied with the affairs of this world

#. and when we become preoccupied with world affairs, we become anxious and even depressed

#. but friends, this world is not our home—we’re just passing though

#. something better awaits the Child of God

#. in the Gospels, our Lord tells His disciples that He is going away, but then promises them that He is going to return

* /“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God; trust also in me.

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.

I am going there to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”/ (John 14:1–3, NIV84)

#. this promise is a comforting hope

#. this promise is a compelling hope

#. this promise is a certain hope

#. world events, particularly what’s been taking place in the Middle East, and the powerful earthquakes that have occurred around the world over the last two years, remind us that history is edging ever closer to its consummation

* ILLUS.

The popular Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHay and Jerry Jenkins created a renewed interest in “end-time events” among believers.

Over 62 million books have been sold.

#. the return of Christ is an event we are to pray for, watch for, and eagerly anticipate

#. what are some things that you and I need to know about the Second Coming of our Lord beside the fact that it will take place?

!! A. FIRST, WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN IT WILL TAKE PLACE

#. the Thessalonian believer’s first question was, “Will the believers who have already died have a part in the Second Coming?”

#.

Paul s answer is, /“Of course!”/

* /"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."/

(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, NASB95)

#. the Apostle Paul clearly asserts that the dead in Christ will rise first

#. the Thessalonian believer’s do not have to worry about believers who have /‘died in the Lord’/—their resurrection is sure

#. but the Thessalonian believers also had a second question, /“When will this glorious event take place?”/

#.

Paul’s answer is an unequivocal /“Ya got me brother!”/

* /“Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,”/ (1 Thess.

5:1, NIV84)

#. in this verse the Apostle Paul refers to the unexpectedness of the Lord’s return—it’s like a thief who takes the owner of the house by surprise

* ILLUS.

Thieves do not send warning letters announcing: /“Tomorrow, at such and such a time, I’ll pay you a visit.

Be sure to hide all your valuables:”/

#. the Thessalonians know very well this truth, because it’s found in the Gospels

* ILLUS.

Jesus paralleled His Second Coming to the Days of Noah.

He tells His disciples that “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the day of Noah.”

In those days, people were living normal lives—they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the Ark.

They did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.

#.

Christians are still asking the question /“When will the Lord come?”/

#. the Bible tells us that this is one of most closely guarded secrets of the cosmos

#.

Jesus, on several occasions, spoke of His coming again, and each time warned His disciples not to speculate about when it would take place because even He did not know

* /“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”/

(Matthew 24:35–36, NIV84)

#. this verse has done nothing to dissuade men from endlessly speculating and establishing dates for our Lord’s Second Coming

#. many have calculated and formulated and boldly predicted that Jesus will return on such-and-such a day

* ILLUS.

In the 1830s, William Miller, a farmer from upstate New York and a veteran of the War of 1812, created an “End-is-near” hysteria in our nation when he began preaching that the apocalyptic doom recorded in the Book of Revelation was about to take place.

Miller drew a large following and in 1840 announced a range of dates for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

He said it would occur sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.

When the March 1844 date came around and Jesus didn’t, it caused a real problem for Miller’s leadership and credibility.

Thousands of followers had sold or given away all their possessions in anticipation of the big day.

But then one of Miller’s followers realized that his calculations were off by one year because he neglected to count the BC to AD rollover.

So Miller revised the date to October 22, 1844.

On October 21, an estimated 100,000 “Millerites” expected to see Jesus coming in the clouds of glory.

Many dressed in white robes and climbed up on roofs and hilltops.

Most of New England waited with baited breath.

Shops closed and communities came to a stand-still.

The chosen night came and went.

The milestone would come to be known as the Great Disappointment of 1844.

#. it seems that men never learn the folly of trying to predict our Lord’s Second Coming

#. between 1877 and 1975, the Jehovah's Witnesses set twenty-five different dates

#. they have missed every one

#. the Unification Church—better known as the Moonies—said that 1985 was the year the Lord would establish his Earthly kingdom

#. they too were wrong

#. in 1988 a NASA scientist wrote a book entitled 88 Reasons why the Lord is Returning in 1988

#. it took the nation by storm

#. some believers went out and bought expensive homes and cars in September thinking they could enjoy them for a month before the Lord returned in October!

(That says something about our culture, doesn’t it?