Looking Forward: With Expectation

We complete our study on "looking forward" by learning that we CAN look forward with expectation because Jesus will return to bring us into His kingdom.

Every December we celebrate the coming of Jesus as an infant. As significant as that event was, few people on the planet were aware of His arrival during that time. Jesus’ second coming will not be like His first. All will see the return of Christ and there will be no mistaking or misunderstanding what this event is. 

Until that time, we can eagerly look forward to His victorious return and be prepared. To be victorious is to overcome an antagonist or enemy.  It is derived from the word Victoria, an ancient personification of victory.  First appearing during the first Punic War from 264-146 BC. This goddess  was associated with Greece's Nike. The word nike is derived from an ancient word associated with struggle, strife, which reminds me of Isra + el indicating struggle with God (El).

As a brief aside, have you ever wondered why so many of the Roman pantheon were so similar, or derived from Greece's pantheon? The gods and goddesses of Italy were frequently derived from their Greek allies in the Greek mainland as they derive from their settlement of the Greeks in Southern Italy and Sicily.  These regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers since the 900-800s BC.  The settlements in this region, founded initially by their mother cities, eventually evolved into strong Greek city-states, functioning independently. 

The settlers brought with them their Hellenic civilization, and from this developed their own civilization as distance from the motherland and the influence of the indigenous peoples of southern Italy left a lasting imprint on the culture of ancient Rome. They also influenced the native peoples who became Hellenized after they adopted the Greek culture as their own.  This hellenization was what the Jews of Jesus' era were striving so hard to counter.  They sought to retain their own culture rather than have a foreign culture adopted as their own.  

So in this study we learn that everyone will see or perceive the "second coming" and Jesus will return as an "overcomer".  No longer will humanity have to struggle with God.  They will be directly aware of God and, perhaps, find it easier to choose between a God-focused or a self-focused life.  But when will this second coming occur?  That is what we look at as we read from Matthew 24: 32-44.

In Matthew chapters 24 and 25 he relates the story about Jesus’s comments about the majesty of the Jerusalem temple and his prophecy that the temple would be completely destroyed. The disciples asked two questions: when would the destruction of the temple occur and what would be the sign of Jesus’s return and the end of the age (of the Temple at Jerusalem). 

Jesus answered His disciples questions, offering parables about the disciples’ need to always be alert and expectant of His return.  First Jesus gives us the "signs".

Matthew 24:32-35

32 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near—at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Starting in verse 4 of this Chapter Jesus outlines the signs of the end of the age (of the Temple at Jerusalem), BREIFLY described here as: 

• Many will claim to be preaching Jesus' teachings...
• Many will claim "I am the messiah"...
• There will be wars and the clamor of, or for, war...
• Governments will "rise up" against each other...
• There will be famines and earthquakes in various locations... (perhaps contributing to the rising up of nations)
• Christians will be persecuted and put to death and will be hated by all nations... (hence the need for false messiahs to "placate the people" with the concept Christians are "just like the rest of the world"?)
• Much of humanity falls away from faith in God.
• Much of humanity will hate and betray each other.
• Wickedness will increase and Love will decrease, but the Gospel of the Kingdom of God will still be preached to the world... then the end will come.
• Someone will stand up, and claim that they are actually God.
• Jesus won't come silently this second time.  He says "for as lightening that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."
• Then there will be "lots of death", the "sun will be darkened", the "moon will not give its light" and the "stars will fall from the sky" and "the heavenly bodies will be shaken."  Then will appear THE sign of the Son of Man in heaven (a Cross?) and then "all the peoples of the earth" will see "the Son of Man coming ON the clouds of heaven", with energy and great light. Angels will, with a loud trumpet call, gather God's chosen people from ALL OVER.

The setting of these verses was that Jesus and His disciples were sitting on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem. He earlier had told them that the city and the temple would be destroyed. The disciples asked Jesus when these events would occur and what would be the sign of His return. Jesus answered both of these questions in Matthew 24–25. 

Jesus used a parable about fig trees. The fig tree’s branches have rough leaves which appear in the spring along with its fruit. This is a clear sign of the changing of the seasons and that summer is near. The figs ripen in the summer months, at which time they are ready for picking. Just as the fig tree’s bearing fruit indicates the coming of summer, so too all these things which Jesus had described will be an indication that the time is drawing near for the return of Jesus, the Son of Man.

Just as you can tell when summer is coming by watching the trees and plants, when you seek all of the things of the end times occurring you can know that the end is near. But just as the seasons ebb and flow, so the signs of the end times generally ebb and flow.  For the past few years we have noted how close to the end times we have felt.  

But THIS is why Jesus points out that we always need to be ready for the end times.  It might be this time, it might be next time, or it might be decades or centuries away.  WE can't know!  Shoot, we can't accurately predict how "global warming" will proceed, much less the second coming of God to the planet; when Jesus will return a second time, not as a suffering servant but as a ruling King.  So if, when he first came, angels, wise men, and miracles occurred, what would you expect the second coming of the ruling savior to carry with it?

When all of this transpires, Jesus says, that you "can know that He is near – at the door."  He is Jesus, the “Son of Man”.  A door or gate serves a purpose.  It is primarily to prevent intruders from intruding into the space of the home.  A closed door or gate indicates stay away.  An open door indicates an invitation to visit. A closed mind is one that's is resistant to new ideas, or ideas different from currently held beliefs.  A closed heart is one which is unable to fully express itself or to connect with others (including God). Jesus notes that when all of the indicators are visible and understood, Jesus will be at the door.  He will be ready to visit. Will the recognizing individual have placed the come on in sign or will the do not disturb sign be visible?

Perhaps the best way to understand Jesus’s words in reference to the term generation is that His teachings have a dual fulfillment. One generation during the time of Jesus’s first disciples would experience the destruction of Jerusalem, and in the other reference, in the future, humanity will see a greater series of catastrophic events in relation to Jesus’s second coming. Or stated another way, when they see these signs coming to pass, that generation will not pass away until Jesus returns. 

Jesus then says "Heaven and earth will pass away." This phrase encompasses the entire created order. The earth is the world in which human beings live, while heaven includes the sun, moon, planets, and all that outer space contains. All of created order is temporary, but the words of Jesus are the absolute truth of God, and Jesus is the embodiment of God's truth. A billion years from now, when we are safely in our eternal home, Jesus’s words will still forever comfort and inspire His people. His Word is eternal and unchanging.

So, now we know the how, let's look at the when.

Matthew 24:36-39

36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. 37 As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. 39 They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be.

Jesus, after telling us to be aware and be prepared, then tells us that no one knows when it will occur.  Think about it this way: the end of the world WILL occur someday.  We must always be prepared for it.  Humanity likes to think that we can predict when an asteroid will strike earth, but the unforeseen cannot be predicted.  Jesus told the disciples, who asked for a prediction, that the unforeseen cannot be predicted, you must always be prepared to return to God.  

I have heard it said that our profession of faith into Christ is, in itself, a "second coming of Christ"...first at his incarnation, and second at our baptism into the Holy Spirit.  WE know that the King of the Universe is here and is in command of the Universe.  WE know that the times are changing.  WE know that someday the cosmos will pass away, but WE also know that the energy of God can NEVER be destroyed and can never pass away.

Jesus/God didn’t give us this mystery for us to debate the timelines, dissect the metaphors, and figure out the precise meaning of the mark of the beast for us to learn the answer. He just TOLD us to always be ready. He gave us this mystery to encourage and activate us to accomplish His mission.  

Jesus knew that even normal everyday life can cause us to lose sight of His immanent return. Jesus emphasized that when the end will come has not been revealed. It should not be the concern of His disciples to attempt to set dates as that does not enhance one’s faith and is only a hindrance to doing the tasks God has appointed for them. It is certainly shocking to learn that even the Son Himself does not know. Jesus’s self-confessed ignorance of His return must be taken in the full light of the incarnation. When God the Son was on earth, He chose to forego some of His omniscience as part of becoming human.  Only the Father has knowledge of when the end will come. 

That Jesus made a distinction between Himself (God the Son), and God the Father is noteworthy. It emphasizes the subordination of God the Son to God the Father.  I suppose that you could paraphrase this passage as "when does the world end?"  Only the Cosmos knows, but it will come as surely as the seasons change, the solar system that we know, and even the universe itself, after some immeasurably long time, will be destroyed.  Material things pass away and are changed into something else.  Spiritual things endure forever. Wouldn't you like to develop and mature your spiritual nature that endures forever rather than merely seek pleasure in material things that will some day be destroyed?

In order to further magnify the unpredictability of the time of His coming, Jesus compared it to the days of Noah. He notes that the Spiritually unaware will be living life as usual when the King of the Universe makes his presence known on the Earth.  

In the days before the flood people were apparently unaware of the coming correction – God dictating what is right (judgment). But in their midst was a man building an ark, a feat that experts estimate to have taken anywhere from 50–120 years. We can surmise that the people who perished had a sign of things to come, but didn’t recognize it because they were busy living a life distracted from spiritual activity. 

The reason for the flood was the pervasive and constant nature of evil (selfishly harmful nature) among humanity. Because of this, God decided to wipe out the entirety of humanity, save for Noah and his immediate family.  But notice that in this verse Jesus did not just focus on the people’s wickedness in those days before the flood. Rather, He focused on the fact that the people were going about their daily lives. They gave no thought to the possibility of God’s judgment upon them.

God’s warnings to humanity through Noah ended when He told Noah, his family, and the animals to board the ark and shut the door.  The people of Noah’s time didn’t know in the sense that they did not take Noah’s warning of impending judgment seriously and continued on with their daily lives. They ignored Noah, doubtlessly thinking that they knew better than the guy building a giant box in the desert expecting it to float on an ocean.  That is until the day of God’s judgment came and the flood swept them all away.  Just as the people were going through the motions of life in the pre-flood world, so it will be before the return of Christ. The majority of the people will not be ready to heed God's direction.

The phrase the coming of…  was an expression often used for visits of high-ranking officials or heads of state. An official visitation of a ranking official coming to visit, discern, and take, or recommend actions to be taken.  

So let's next look at some of those actions.

Matthew 24:40-44

40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

OFTEN this is taken as a description of the rapture, and it may be, BUT it is also an adequate description of everyday life.  Every day someone dies unexpectedly.  Jesus is telling us that WE don't know when WE will be called to account so we need to always be prepared, we need to always be ready.  We need to always expect it; to be prepared.  

How would you live your life differently if you knew when Jesus was coming? 

WE know that Jesus is already here. He lives with us, inside of us as the Holy Spirit.  Hopefully we will CONTINUE to improve our knowledge, wisdom, and ability to share God’s Gospel of Love, with Love.

Jesus used two illustrations to emphasize the need for His disciples to be ready for His return. The first had to do with agriculture. Able-bodied men worked as farmers and herdsmen in the fields. The second illustration involves women who will be grinding grain at home. Grinding grain in preparation for making bread was a daily activity of women in first-century Israel. 

Jesus tells us that one will be taken and one left.  This sentence can be interpreted in two ways. First, it may be referring to one person being taken to God’s judgment, but it could also mean that the one being taken is a believer who will be taken to be with God. 

In either case, when Jesus comes there will only be two categories of people: the prepared and the unprepared. Believers in Jesus will go to be with Him in shining glory forever, and the rest of humanity will face God’s judgment and an eternity separated from His presence.

Jesus tells us to "be alert", remain fully alive (“awake”). Jesus expects His disciples to be diligent in doing the work that He has given them to accomplish.  Most people are no more ready for the Lord’s return than most homeowners are for someone breaking into their houses. The return of Jesus, the Son of Man, is assured. All of Jesus’s disciples can count on this fact. However, the specific time of His return is unknown. 

The term expect  has the meaning of to suppose or presume. Despite the many attempts by some to pinpoint the time of Jesus’s return, the reality is that we cannot know precisely when this event will occur. Because of this fact, it is the Lord’s expectation, and all believers’ duty, to remain in a constant state of readiness by being about the duties that He has given them – demonstrating, telling and teaching others about God.

No one knows when Jesus will return. But when He returns, everyone will know. We are to live consistent Christian-faith lives and demonstrate those to others.  This, in my opinion, is NO more a call to live “Christian-religion lives” that Jesus’ call was for non-Jews to become Jewish converts and live “Jewish-religion lives.”  A Jesus told us God doesn't care if you keep all five daily prayer times punctually, or just pray silently to yourself in your closet regularly.  God just desires your attention.  Our Christian-FAITH demonstrates OUR relationship with God to others so that hopefully they may choose to develop their own faith-based relationship with God.

One way we do this is to always be prepared for His second coming. Many of us have "preparation lists" for what to do in an emergency (in our region for hurricanes).  We have to think beforehand what we are to be about and make a plan for incorporating it into our lives.  As a quote just floated across my desk this morning states:

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.

— Annie Dillard, ’The Writing Life’, 1989

Have you determined, for YOU, what "live consistent a Christian-faith life" means?  Have you built a scaffolding upon which to do your labor on behalf of God?

It will help you to look forward with expectation.