LESSON 18 – THE MOST DRAMATIC DAY
THE MOST DRAMATIC DAY
The most dramatic event in all history will be the visible appearance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When this occurs, it will be seen by all. Jesus describes it for us in Matthew 24:29-31:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’”
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes on the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)
This is the most prophesied event in the Bible. This event marks the end of the secret presence of Jesus. While he has been secretly with his own during the days of the tribulation, he now will appear openly to the entire world. He will especially reveal himself to Lawless One. Paul speaks of this in 2 Thessalonians:
“And the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming, The coming of the Lawless One will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed by all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. (2 Thess 2:7-10).
The tribulation will essentially be the revealing of the brutality of man., the cruelty and unbelievable violence of the human heart unrestrained by grace. As Jesus said, it will be a day of unprecedented human evil, of terrible slaughter and human suffering.
It is not only Jesus that tells us of these dark earthly traumas, but other prophets from the Old Testament have foretold them. For instance, Isaiah tells us in 13:9-10:
“Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light.”
This violent turmoil and mayhem in nature is followed by the Son of Man in heaven and the visible appearing of Jesus Christ to all the earth:
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
This will be the second time the world sees Jesus Christ, but this time the world sees him coming triumphant in power and glory. (Remember the end of “The Lord’s Prayer?” … The power and the glory are yours, now and forever.) Thus, when Jesus appears it will mark the close of the age, but it will also be the opening of a new age, and the paramount characteristic of the new age will be that God dwells with His people. John describes it in Revelation 21:3: “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them.” He comes that he may be, as the Old Testaments prophets said, “Immanuel-God with us.”
Jesus comes and appears boldly and triumphantly. Everyone shall see him. In 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8, “Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, in blazing fire, inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.” The present age, when God allows man to have his authority, is ended, and God now reasserts his right to rule over all the earth. Revelation 11:15: “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”
The announcement of Jesus as Lord and King will also bring forth the mourning of the nation Israel. Jesus’ reference to “all the tribes of the earth will mourn” is the tribe of Jews. In Revelation, John says, “All tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” It will be the mourning of Israel in her hour of national sorrow.” Their mourning will fulfill Zecharia’s prophecy 12:10,11: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”
They will discover that the One who appears in power and great glory bears in his hands the marks of nails and in his side the wound of a spear. We know that all the world is guilty of his piercing, but the Jews were forces in that respect. They will recognize that their fathers had crucified was the one who had loved them and given himself for their sins, and they will cry out in heartache over the long years of rejection that have followed his crucifixion.
But what else will happen to Israel when Jesus appears in power and glory? Jesus also says, “He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Jeremiah confirms this promise in verses 7,8. He says: ‘“… the Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel’. Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who is in travail, together; a great company, they shall return here.”
This gathering will certainly include the 144,000, and most likely those alive of the “great multitude” who believe in Jesus because of the remnant (the group of Jewish people who remained faithful to God) Israel. Remember in the parables of Matthew 13 Jesus suggests others are included. Jesus says in verses 40-43:
“Just as the weeds [tares] are gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” So, Jesus makes clear that “all causes of sin and all evildoers” will be removed from his kingdom at the same time that the elect are gathered.
Also, it will be at this time that the Lawless One will come to his end. John says in Revelation 19:19-21:
“And I saw the beast and the kinds of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse (the Lord Jesus) and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”
Notice that Jesus has laid great stress on Israel. Most of us are not Jewish, but Gentile, so what is the significance for us? In previous lessons, we have noted that whenever God wants us to understand how he will handle us as believers today, he holds before us the
history of the nation Israel.
By understanding the history of this race, you will see what it means. When they were slaves and in bondage in Egypt, the angel of death passed over them, and in that first Passover, they were born as a nation by God’s grace. They were redeemed, brought out of bondage and set free. But God’s grace was repaid by pride, arrogance and without any genuine conviction of heart. They were complaining, murmuring and grumbling, and were unhappy and frustrated with the situation that God has placed them. For centuries they wandered throughout the earth, preserved as a nation, but still in unbelief. Even when they were allowed to go back to Israel and establish themselves as a nation, again they did so in unbelief. But Jesus says that the hour is coming when by the act of his sovereign grace and without any merit on their part, God will bring them back again to the land. This time it will be an hour of mourning and repentance when they will at last understand what God has been wanting to do with them. They will enter into a time of national health and wholeness and will become the instrument of blessing to all the earth.
In the book of Romans, the same story is told. God has designed for us a way to bring men into genuine liberty, joy and the true excitement of life. In chapters 9-11 of Romans’ Israel is brought in as the illustration of all this. These trace for us a way that God will work with us. When we come to the place of utter spiritual bankruptcy, when we stop thinking that we can contribute something of value to God, and begin at last to rest, to rely wholly upon his ability to do everything through us, then we begin to enter into the fullness of life that God has planned for man. This is the meaning of God’s dealings with Israel.
Jesus’ coming is a certainty, and as the timing is unknown, we best be prepared, for if then Christ is not you Savior, He will be your judge.
John Tillotson, the late Archbishop of Canterbury said, “He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever.
Please Lord, let us not be fools, but let us confess with deep personal meaning: “Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever.”
Until next time, may peace, love and joy be with you always.