The Last Day (LHCOC)
The Last Day
Introduction:
1. One of the most debated topics in the so called ‘Christian’ world today is the end times.
a. What will happen at the last day? Will Jesus come back to set up an earthly kingdom or will the earth be destroyed? Are there signs we should look for, if so, what are they?
b. Will people be punished at the last day? Will we live on the earth for 1000 years? Must the temple be rebuilt in Jerusalem before Christ’s return?
c. We will answer these questions in our lesson today either directly or indirectly.
2. I admit, I do not know every little detail about the 2nd coming of Christ. However, I also admit that the 2nd coming of Christ is not as complicated as some make it out to be.
a. Many are confused because they look at passages that are figurative in nature (not to mention hard to understand), and ignore the plain straightforward passages concerning the parosia of the Christ.
b. I am convinced, that if we look at the simple passages concerning the events surrounding the 2nd coming of Christ, we can know what we need to know concerning the Lord’s coming.
3. Today we want to look at the topic of the Last Day and find some the answers to the questions just posed by noticing the following points:
a. What will happen on the Last Day?
b. What will not happen on the Last Day?
c. When is the Last Day?
d. How shall we prepare for the Last Day?
4. Transition: We approach this first question with the understanding that Jesus is now in heaven seated at the right hand of God; He has all authority and power; and the general consensus that He will reappear one day to judge the world.
Discussion:
I. WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE LAST DAY?
A. Jesus will be revealed from heaven and descend with the angels (1 Thess. 4:16).
1. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first"
2. Jesus will leave heaven accompanied by an archangel, and the trumpet of God.
B. There will be a resurrection of the dead (John 5:28-29; Rev.20:13).
1. "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" – John 5:28-29.
2. “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works” – Revelation 20:13.
3. After the descention of the Christ, all souls will come forth from the grave to be judged.
C. All bodies will be changed in the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess.4:16-17).
1. "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" - 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
2. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
3. This process is necessary for the final judgment. Our perishable bodies will be change to non-perishable bodies ready for our eternal sentencing.
D. After the resurrection, the earth, as we know it, will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10-11).
1. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness" - 2 Peter 3:10-11.
2. This passage is pretty clear, the earth and its evil works are going to be done away with.
E. Then the righteous, as well as the unrighteous, will be judged and separated (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt.25:31-33).
1. Christ is appointed by God to judge the world (Jn.5:25; Ac.10:42; 17:31).
2. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10.
3. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." - Matthew 25:31-33.
4. Separation of the righteous and unrighteous will occur at the judgment.
a. The faithful will be granted an entrance into heaven: "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:" - Matthew 25:34.
b. The unfaithful will then be cast into hell and punished forever (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:15). "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" - Matthew 25:41. "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" - Revelation 20:15.
F. The last enemy will be destroyed (1 Cor.15:24-28).
1. "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.
2. After the judgment, the work of the Christ will be accomplished. Death will be no more. He will deliver the kingdom to the Father.
G. The righteous will inhabit the eternal domain where God is and righteousness dwells (Rev.21:1-4; 2 Pet.3:10-13).
1. "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" - Revelation 21:1-4.
2. Only the saved will inhabit the heavenly habitation.
II. WHAT WILL NOT HAPPEN ON THE LAST DAY?
[By noticing what will happen at the Last Day, we can automatically exclude some popular teachings concerning this subject:]
A. Jesus will not establish an earthly kingdom and begin to rule over it at His coming (1 Cor. 15:24-26).
1. "Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" - 1 Cor.15:24-28.
2. In the same context as the 2nd coming is the discussion of Jesus returning the kingdom back to the Father.
3. There is only one conclusion that we can arrive at, i.e. the kingdom is already here (not to come in the future) and Jesus is ruling over it NOW.
B. There will not be a secret rapture in which only the righteous are taken from the earth (1 Thess.4:17; Jn.5:28-29; Rev. 1:7).
1. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" - 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
a. Some would take this verse to mean, “Only the church will be caught up [raptured].”
b. By harmonizing other passages in the NT we understand that the “catching up” consists of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
2. "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen." - Revelation 1:7.
3. "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" – John 5:28-29.
C. Jesus will not actually set foot on the earth when He comes again (1 Thess. 4:17).
1. "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" - 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
2. The Bible is very clear.
D. Because the earth will be destroyed, it would be impossible to live for another 1000 years on it (2 Peter 3:10-12).
III. WHEN IS THE LAST DAY?
[So you say, “This sounds pretty serious, when will all of this take place”? The answer to that question is, “We do not know when, but we do know it will.”]
A. No one knows the day (Matt.24:36-39).
1. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" - Matthew 24:36-39.
2. Many predictions have been made over the years of the specific time of the return of Christ, obviously all have failed.
B. We do know the last day will come unexpectedly (1 Thess.5:1-3).
1. "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape" - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3.
2. When does a thief come and break into a home? When the owners least expect it.
IV. HOW DO WE PREPARE FOR THE LAST DAY?
A. Since we do not know when Jesus will come, we must be ready at all times to meet Him. "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" - Matthew 24:44
B. We must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess.1:7-9).
1. "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" - 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.
2. Obeying the gospel consists of believing that Jesus rose from the dead (Rom.10:9-10), repenting of your sins (Lk.13:3), confessing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God (Ac.8:37), being baptized for the remission of your sins (Ac.2:38).
C. Once we obey they gospel, we must walk in the light (1 Jn.1:5-9).
1. "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:5-9.
2. Have you been baptized into Jesus’ death to have that soul saving blood applied to your life?
Conclusion:
1. Are you ready to meet God in judgment?
2. Why not make sure today?