For Sept 8

 

Sermon Notes:  You’ll Never See It Coming

Intro: No one saw it coming. Tuesday, Sept 11, 2001. A cool, cloudless morning. Thousands of people went to work in the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the 110 story towers standing out on the New York City skyline. New York City Fire Department and EMS workers reported for their normal shifts. Workers at the Pentagon in Virginia, center of the most powerful military establishment in the world, reported for their workday. Commuters and tourists traveled the sidewalks of the New York City business district, going about their business. Airports were busy, as people boarded planes, like Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco, oblivious to the 19 hijackers who had also boarded four of the planes taking off. No one suspected that at 8:46 AM, one of the planes would smash into the upper floors of one of the twin towers, and a second plane would smash into the second tower 17 minutes later. And a third  plane would crash into the Pentagon 34 minutes later. A fourth plane, Flight 93, headed for the Capitol building in Washington D.C., but would be crashed by the courageous acts of its passengers near Shanksville, PA at 10:03, one hour 17 minutes after the first Twin Tower attack.

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I. The Day of His Return

A. No one saw it coming until, during the attacks, numerous people were able to call loved ones to say their final farewells. Many prayed, and cried. Flight 93 passengers had been alerted to what was happening, and realizing their intended fate would kill many others, took control of the plane, forcing it to crash before it reached its intended target.

B. Before the day was over, 2953 people in the Twin Towers, 184 people in the Pentagon, 343 firefighters, 441 EMS workers, and 44 passengers (including the 4 hijackers) would die. Some would die heroes. Other heroes survived. More would die from their injuries or exposure in the next days, weeks, months, even years. Countless others who had been able to get out of the buildings, or had not gone to work that day, or perhaps rescheduled their flight, would experience some sort of survivor’s guilt. And thousands more who had been left behind, some with fond memories, some with regrets mourned loved ones. No one had seen this coming until it was too late.

C. This past Wednesday, Sept 4, at the Apalachee High School in Winders, GA, staff, teachers, and students prepared to start the new day. A little after 10:30, a 14-year-old with an AR15 rifle opened fire, killing 2 students, 2 teachers, and wounding 9 others. Some active shooter preparations were in place, but at the beginning of the day, no one had seen this tragedy coming. Yet, many students, staff, and their loved ones will be affected for years to come.

D. Not many of us begin our days anticipating a medical issue, an accident, or tragedy. Yet those who watched that day will never forget it. I remember that day, as the Facilities Manager of a 23 story twin tower

apartment building in downtown Cleveland, watching in horror on a TV as the Twin Towers collapsed. Our buildings, were a similar, but much smaller target than the Twin Towers, but most of us on staff stayed on site to assist our nearly a thousand residents in case of an attack on us. But there was a noticeable change in attitudes as fear for the future set in. A few empty rooms were hastily set up as prayer and meditation rooms. Several days later, we even hosted a multi-faith service on site. How differently that day might have gone for so many if we could have seen the attacks coming.

E. Afterwards, churches across the nation began to fill on regular basis, as people began to renew their faith practices as the reality of what had happened made them suddenly feel vulnerable, with a need to find refuge in a powerful Almighty God. It was a time of renewal for many, a new start for others, and yet reason to defiantly blame God for still others.

F. We may wonder, if we had known what was coming, what changes might have resulted?  And yet, in our Gospel reading Jesus does warn us about the Day of His Return. We won’t see it coming either, at least not the day or the hour. But we’ve known it was coming since Jesus’ teachings. At that time, Jesus had not yet been crucified and resurrected, so it might not have been too well understood, especially by those outside the Jewish faith at that time. But the Jews well understood God’s judgements in the short term and the long term. They had known destruction of Jerusalem and The Temple and subsequent 70 year exile for their sins. They had lived normal lives, eating, drinking, and marrying, raising families, while Noah was building a large Ark far from the sea, and didn’t heed Noah’s warnings about the coming of the Flood as a judgement for their sin.

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II. Matthew 25:36-51

A. But the Day of Jesus’ Return will not be as final as the Flood’s coming. There’ll be time for some to repent before the final judgement. Notice in the passage from Matthew that two men will be working in the field; one will be taken, the other one left. Two women will be grinding with a mill; one will be taken, one will be left. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says that Christ’s Return, which the Church calls the Rapture, will be to gather believers with Him in the clouds, those who had died as believers, then those who were living as believers. The word rapture is defined as a feeling of intense pleasure or joy, so the Rapture is the intense joy, or pleasure, of believers meeting Jesus in clouds.

B. Believers will have seen that coming, and have been prepared. The Rapture will probably be a very short event followed by an eternal time of joy in being with our Lord. But those left on earth, who didn’t see that coming, and had not prepared, will face a seven year period of trial called The Tribulation. It will be a time where Satan rules, although it will also be a time for many to still accept Jesus as Lord through this time of great persecution by Satan’s followers for them. Think about how much worse our world would be without practicing Christians, which is what happens during the seven year Tribulation

C. So, Jesus warns us to keep watch and prepare for the Day of His Return, the Rapture, for no one knows the day and hour of His Return, not even Him. He uses the example of the servant who is responsible for caring for others in the Master’s care. But the servant has deluded himself that the Master has been gone a while and wouldn’t be coming back for a while, so he begins to abuse the other servants  Since he hadn’t anticipated the reality of the Master’s return, he is severely dealt with for his unfaithfulness. He may have known the Master, earned the Master’s trust, but proved unfaithful.

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III. Revelation 19:11-21

A. Recall that the Book of Revelation is John’s vision of the end time during his visit in heaven. He sees what is happening in the heavens and on the earth. His vision is described with much symbolism, so there are various interpretations. Satan is seen as the Dragon, the fallen angel who had attempted to become God and banished from Heaven, and comes to earth to wage war against God’s creation. For the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, unchallenged by the now absent Christians, he begins his earthly rise to power. After the 3 ½ years, a Beast rises from the sea. The sea in the Bible often symbolizes the mass of people, restless and always in motion. So out of the sea of people the Beast, the Antichrist, arises and is given the power of the Dragon. A second Beast, identified as the False Prophet, some say the Anti-Spirit, also arises, and is given the power of the Dragon to do the Antichrist’s bidding.

B. Satan is now set to rule his kingdom with the Anti-Christ and Anti-Spirit uniting the people and the world governments. Some of the people who were left may have repented and accepted Christ, but they will suffer intense persecution under Satan’s government. During the last

3 ½ years, two witnesses for Christ appear on earth, seeming to be Moses and Elijah, Moses symbolic of  the Law, and Elijah symbolic of Prophecy, and will bring some to Christ before they are killed in the last days of the Tribulation. Their unburied bodies are allowed to remain in the streets before they are resurrected and taken to heaven.

C. This all sets the final battle scene we read from Revelation 19. If you had been prepared for the Rapture, you have been watching the Tribulation from heaven, now preparing to watch the battle scene from heaven. The kings of the earth, with their armies of the world have gathered at Armageddon, in Israel, to declare war on God. John then describes heaven as standing open, revealing a Rider wearing many crowns, called Faithful and True, seated on a white horse. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. Recall in the opening of John’s Gospel, he writes, “In the beginning was the Word”, referring to Jesus. On the Rider’s  thigh is the name: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is no doubt this Rider is Jesus Himself. Symbolic of the Word of God, a sharp sword to destroy the nations is seen coming from His mouth.  

D. I hope this next part gives you goosebumps like it does for me. As a kind of heavenly trash talk, an angel invites the birds of the air to gather for a banquet of the flesh of the kings and the mighty warriors, and the people, great and small. Then the Rider with the armies of heaven following proceeds to the battlefield where the kings of the earth and their armies had gathered together to wage war against them. Without any details provided, we conclude the battle is very brief. The Beast and the False Prophet are captured and thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest are killed by the  sharp sword of His mouth. The Word of God was all it took to defeat the evil kingdom of Satan. Satan himself is seized by an angel of God descending from heaven with the key to the abyss, and holding in his hand a great chain to bind him for a thousand years. Satan is thrown into the Abyss, which is then locked and sealed to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore. He is to remain there for a thousand years and then released for a short time, leading a short rebellion before he is thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the Beast and False Prophet to be tormented there for ever and ever.

E. None of us saw 911 coming. If we had, we could have prepared for it, but we can’t assume the future. Today may be all we have. We get lulled into a false sense of security and don’t see what’s coming until it’s too late. Jesus said His return would be like a thief in the night. If the owner of the house had known a thief was coming, he would have taken appropriate action. But we do know Jesus is returning. Even if we don’t know when, we know what to look for and what will happen. It’s right there in our Bibles. But so many people don’t want to read the Bible. If they did, they would know to prepare for the coming Rapture, or be willing to face the Tribulation.

F. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches us how to prepare and how to be ready for His coming again. The various New Testament writers amplify His teachings. Unlike the unfaithful servant we read about in Matthew, we can anticipate the Master’s return and be found faithfully executing His Will, or be willing to face His wrath. Unlike the owner of the house that the thief came unexpectedly, we shouldn’t be caught by surprise and unprepared.

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Conclusion: The world has continued to turn it’s back on God, the one who sent His Son to declare His love for His children, and to die for us that all might have that salvation. He sent His Holy Spirit to help us prepare, to ensure we will be ready for His triumphant return in the joy of the Rapture. And so that none will be lost, we must continue to spread His Gospel message so others will hear His message. But until that day, we don’t have to worry about the future when we walk beside him, for He knows what lies ahead, even guiding us through the dark valleys of this life  Because we know who holds tomorrow.  Amen