April 9th, 2024
Today I want to ask, do you live in anticipation of a coming King?
Last week, we celebrated Easter, but it’s impossible to celebrate His resurrection without anticipating His return. He’s coming back! Now, Bible scholars have studied the details of what the end will look like for millennia, and there are some things we won’t know until He returns. I’m not an expert on eschatology, but there are things we can know about the return of Christ that are simple enough for a child to understand. After Jesus rose from the grave, He appeared to His disciples for forty days, speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven. Then, Acts 1:6-11 says,
‘They asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Jesus was lifted into heaven, in plain sight. Can you imagine what that would have been like? From these verses we see clearly, Jesus is coming back in the same way He went. He won’t be born again as a baby and then be revealed as the Son of God. He’s still in the same body that rose from the grave and He’s coming back on the clouds, in all His Glory.
There are many scriptures in the word of God that speak of Jesus, returning on the clouds of heaven.
Revelation 1:7 says,
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.”
Daniel 7:13-14 says,
“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. 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.”
He’s coming back on the clouds.
We don’t know when He will return, even though we can recognize the signs. Matthew 24:36 says,
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
However, the fact that we don’t know when should make us anticipate His return more attentively. It’s closer than ever!
Jesus told a parable about ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, to paint a picture of His return. As the bridegroom was delayed, the Bible says all of them fell asleep, but at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish took their lamps, without any oil, but the wise took flasks of oil with them. The five without oil in their lamps were cast out of the kingdom. Jesus finished the parable saying, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-12)
Jesus is returning, but He didn’t tell us to be concerned with trying to figure out the details of what the end would look like. What He said over and over again was, “be ready.” He’s coming for a pure and spotless church. He’s coming for a people who are burning with the oil of the Holy Spirit and anticipating His return. As His people, we must stay awake, with oil in our lamps! Our responsibility is not to preach a doomsday message about the end of the world. Our call is to preach the Gospel and to bring people into the kingdom. Matthew 24:14 says,
“This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
The Father is waiting only for souls. He’s patient, because He’s merciful, but the end will come! 2 Peter 3:9-10 says,
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
When He does return, there will be a new heaven and a new earth and Lord Himself will be the light (Revelation 21:1-4). We don’t know exactly what it will look like, but we know the King is coming soon and we should live like it could be any moment. In the last chapter of revelation, Jesus emphasized this truth three different times:
Revelation 22:7
“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
This week, I want to encourage you to focus your heart, not on the end of the world, but on the coming King. You’ll live differently if you’re anticipating the return of Christ! He’s coming back for you. He’s coming for a people awaiting His return. He’s coming back in the same way He went! The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” (Revelation 22:17)
Last week, we celebrated Easter, but it’s impossible to celebrate His resurrection without anticipating His return. He’s coming back! Now, Bible scholars have studied the details of what the end will look like for millennia, and there are some things we won’t know until He returns. I’m not an expert on eschatology, but there are things we can know about the return of Christ that are simple enough for a child to understand. After Jesus rose from the grave, He appeared to His disciples for forty days, speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven. Then, Acts 1:6-11 says,
‘They asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Jesus was lifted into heaven, in plain sight. Can you imagine what that would have been like? From these verses we see clearly, Jesus is coming back in the same way He went. He won’t be born again as a baby and then be revealed as the Son of God. He’s still in the same body that rose from the grave and He’s coming back on the clouds, in all His Glory.
There are many scriptures in the word of God that speak of Jesus, returning on the clouds of heaven.
Revelation 1:7 says,
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.”
Daniel 7:13-14 says,
“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. 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.”
He’s coming back on the clouds.
We don’t know when He will return, even though we can recognize the signs. Matthew 24:36 says,
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
However, the fact that we don’t know when should make us anticipate His return more attentively. It’s closer than ever!
Jesus told a parable about ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, to paint a picture of His return. As the bridegroom was delayed, the Bible says all of them fell asleep, but at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish took their lamps, without any oil, but the wise took flasks of oil with them. The five without oil in their lamps were cast out of the kingdom. Jesus finished the parable saying, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-12)
Jesus is returning, but He didn’t tell us to be concerned with trying to figure out the details of what the end would look like. What He said over and over again was, “be ready.” He’s coming for a pure and spotless church. He’s coming for a people who are burning with the oil of the Holy Spirit and anticipating His return. As His people, we must stay awake, with oil in our lamps! Our responsibility is not to preach a doomsday message about the end of the world. Our call is to preach the Gospel and to bring people into the kingdom. Matthew 24:14 says,
“This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
The Father is waiting only for souls. He’s patient, because He’s merciful, but the end will come! 2 Peter 3:9-10 says,
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
When He does return, there will be a new heaven and a new earth and Lord Himself will be the light (Revelation 21:1-4). We don’t know exactly what it will look like, but we know the King is coming soon and we should live like it could be any moment. In the last chapter of revelation, Jesus emphasized this truth three different times:
Revelation 22:7
“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
This week, I want to encourage you to focus your heart, not on the end of the world, but on the coming King. You’ll live differently if you’re anticipating the return of Christ! He’s coming back for you. He’s coming for a people awaiting His return. He’s coming back in the same way He went! The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” (Revelation 22:17)
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