When Will the Lord Return (Matthew 24:32-44)

 Jesus delivered several major addresses, one of them we are going to look at today was on prophecy, he delivered it on the top of the Mount of Olives which is form where it gets it names. It is recorded for us over two chapters in the book of Matthew and in it, Jesus talks about the fact that just before he comes there will be a tribulation on the earth. We looked at that in some detail last time. In several days we shall see that he will meet with his disciples in an upper room, and again he will say, “I’m going to leave but I’m going to come back, and I am going to receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also”. On all these occasions Jesus is referring to here is what we typically call “The Rapture and the second coming”. However, there are some very real difficulties here when approaching this passage but even if we cannot completely solve all of it, we must nevertheless boldly face what it says.

The word rapture does not appear in the Bible; however the word rapture is just a Latin word which simply means to be caught up, or lifted up, and that’s the way Paul describes these very events in his First letter to a church in Thessalonica. So, here’s the issue, Jesus say there’s going to be a tribulation which will last seven years, and he also said there’s going to be a rapture where believers are caught up, raised up to meet him in the air.

Now the question asked by the disciples at the beginning of this whole conversation, back at the start of this chapter was, “when the Lord is is going to return, is he going to do it before that seven-year, during that seven-year, or after that seven-year. Needless to say, that question still today sparks a great theological debate, and frankly there are some good and godly men on each side of this debate.  So, what did Jesus say, did he give us any hint. With that in mind, today we are looking at Matthew chapter 24 beginning at verse 32.  But as we work through this passage keep in mind up until this point he has said many things in this discourse but the major thing that he has said is that there is going to be a tribulation period. 

This passage will tells us a couple of things, first of all it tells us some things that we can know and secondly it tells us some things we cannot know. Before I start let me just tell you that this is a difficult passage as a matter of fact one author has said there are few passages which confront us with greater difficulties than this one does, and he’s absolutely correct there are real difficulties in understanding this passage, which is why I’m going to try explain my perspective on it and what I think it tells us about the Lord’s return. So, let’s begin with what is known. In verse 32 Jesus begins with a parable of a fig tree, something that all the people there would have been very familiar with. He’s sitting on the mount of olives remember and the mount of olives had fig trees as well as olive trees on it. This is what he says.

The Parable of the Fig Tree.

 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So, you also when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  (Matthew 24: 32-35)

Thee fun starts here, first of all what does he mean by, “This generation”, and secondly what does he mean by, “All these things”. As you can imagine there are a number of interpretations for each of these phrases. If you’re just reading the passage casually you might conclude that this generation is just the generation he’s talking to at the moment. That might be a very natural easy way just to place all this teaching in the past and understand as talking about historical events that that generation will face. After all he has just told them about and up and coming seven-year tribulation. He’s speaking to the generation that’s going to be living when all these things take place. But let me remind you of what I said last time about how it was a characteristic of the Hebrew prophets to project themselves into the future and speak as if they were then present.

This is not an unusual characteristic when you’re dealing with biblical prophecy at all. So, “this generation” mentioned here, is the generation that is living when these things will come to pass , but also has a meaning and a fulfilment in the future. So, when he says “This is the generation will by no means pass away until all these things take place. Of course, he means those to who he is speaking too, but it also applies to anyone living prior to the tribulation period. Anyone that’s alive to hear this can even today can reasonably expect to experience this unless the Lord calls them home earlier, by their death. So it going to happen for seven years, and then he says this heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

What he tells us is to pay attention because what I’m saying, he says, is eternal truth, heaven and earth will pass away, but these words will stand for eternity. In other words what I’m saying to you is eternal truth, so we had better listen and listen carefully. What we’ve seen thus far is this there are some things we can know that ours or a future generation will experiences, and what they/we will experience can be summed up by the word tribulation. Most who understand this to be referring to the future would agree basically with what I’ve said thus now going to tell us what we do not know and he’s equally emphatic about that.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

“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. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  (Matthew 24: 36-44)

 Firstly he says that nobody knows the time this will happen, not even the angels, the only one that knows is my father who is in heaven. It going to happen, just like in the days of Noah. No one in Noah’s day knew the exact moment when the rains would begin to fall. Now that just seems to fly in the face of everything he’s just said previously when he told us to watch for specific signs. Does that strike you as a problem, well there are two explanations as to what’s going on in this passage. Remember the context he’s been talking about was the tribulation, for that he gave us signs and season, but now he has moved onto the second coming so he’s now talking about the fact that you won’t know the day or the hour of the second coming of Christ. It has to do just with the flow of the context.

Later in the passage he says in verse 38 that just like in the days before the flood that was eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day that Noah entered the ark no-one knew when the flood would come and when it did it swept all of them who were outside the ark away. Think about this for a second, when the flood the people on the earth where weren’t taken to heaven, they were taken away in and too judgment.

There is a case to also say that this passage is talking about what is called the rapture. Because if you read verse 42 it talks about men being in the field and one will be taken the other left. It also talks about two women grinding at a mill and one will be taking the other left behind. That sounds a lot like the rapture to me. It seems to me that’s this is at least a two stranded teaching about judgement and the rapture, or maybe just the rapture alone. If that’s the rapture and you follow all of the chronology and the flow of the passage then the rapture is at the end of the tribulation that means that believers are going to go through the tribulation,  and by the way that’s a big bone of contention and that’s what a lot of Bible teachers say. It's important to me that whatever view you take you handle it in the  right way and be gracious towards Christians who have settled on one view or another.

Now, I accept that the view that this passage is talking about the rapture is a minority interpretation in evangelical circles and I can see that there are people who are some very influential and godly people who have hold this and there are people that have held this for years and years and although inclined towards a different interpretation I am still open to persuasion that it is talking only about the coming judgement of God. I only really made a decision on this recently, and only because I knew I would have to share with you what I think this message is teaching when we arrived at this point in our working together through the Gospel.  As an aside, I am glad I have a few years yet before I will be tackling the enormity of the message and ideas around this same issue of the rapture and the second coming of the Lord portrayed in the book of Revelation. Having said all that, we must never let ourselves get distracted by these theological discussions on the nature of prophetic revelation. We must not let them distract us from remembering there is a sovereign God in whose hands the issues of life and death are held and that wherever whenever he  comes, at morning, noon, or night, we must find ourselves ready.

May I remind you that the Bible says that those of us who know the Lord are meant to be pilgrims, we’re just passing through this life, this world is not my home. The problem it seems to me is that some of us have traded our tent for a house and we want our mansion here on earth. As Jesus says you’ve been lulled to sleep but rise up Oh Spirit and awake from the dead, so Christ can live in you. Don’t sleep through the night, because her feet may come in and take away those around you that you love. Jesus says here, wake up, don’t be lulled to sleep.

 I think many people that call themselves Christians are spiritually asleep, so wake up, and Jesus here is saying, wake up, and once you’re awake get up and get ready. Get dressed, get prepared, that’s sort of the idea going on here. Get ready for the son of man is coming in an hour you do not expect. You need to be ready because he comes like a thief in the night and  thieves do not advertise when they are coming, they just show up, so, wake up and stay awake. To live without vigilance invites disaster. A thief does not send a letter saying when he is going to burgle your house; his principal weapon is surprise; therefore, a householder who has valuables in his house must maintain a constant guard. But to get this picture/metaphor, right, we must remember that the watching of the Christian for the coming of Christ is not that of terror or fear; rather it is the watching of eager expectation for the coming of glory and joy. 

So, let me ask you a question. Are you ready! Are you ready, well you get ready by trusting Jesus Christ who died for you who paid for your sins who rose from the dead. Trusting Jesus Christ plus nothing else to get me to heaven. If you have trusted in Christ and you have lived a loving life you have nothing to fear when you meet the Lord upon his return, or when you shuffle off this mortal coil, either way.

Two people are going to be working then one’s going to be taken and the other left, however you interpret this passage, it obviously represents a believer an unbeliever and they are going to be separated. Meaning people that are near and perhaps dear to you are going to be taken away separated from you at the end of days, if one is a believer and the other is not. That’s really sad, but perhaps one of the things you could do to get ready is make sure you tell all the people around you about the Lord and how they need to be ready also. 

Are you ready to meet the Lord? That good but I also I think that some are going to stand before the Lord and regret that we didn’t tell people who they loved about him. We need to be about the business of telling people about the Lord Amen 

Let me try and summarise this all started out saying this passage tells us what we can know and what we don’t know.  The sum is this what we know is that the people living in the run up to the tribulation will be able to see signs that tell them that the second coming is near. What we don’t know is, the exact hour or day that will start or the day or the hour the Lord will come back. Therefore, we need to be wide awake spiritually and ready for his coming anytime. Regardless of the interpretation of certain aspects of this passage there is no doubt in my mind that the New Testament constantly teaches that the Lord could come back any minute, and that we ought to be ready. Even if you don’t fully agree with my interpretation of biblical prophecy, all can agree that that’s what the New Testament is teaching. It’s unmistakable. You must not become blinded by preconceived ideas so that you do not to see how many times the Lord says in scripture that he is, “at hand”, “at the door” meaning he is coming could happen anytime. The point is we need to be constantly watching and waiting and preparing to be ready to meet the Lord.

There is an old Victoria fable which tells the story of three apprentice devils who were coming to this earth to finish their apprenticeship. C.S. Lewis based his whole book, “The Screwtape Letters” upon this fable. They were talking to Satan, the chief of the devils, about their plans to tempt and destroy people. 

The first said, "I will tell them there is no God." Satan said, "That will deceive only some, but not many, for many know in their hearts there is a God." 

The second said, "I will tell men there is no hell." Satan answered, "You will deceive few that way; for many also know in their hearts there must be a punishment for evil and that place is hell.

The third said, "I will tell them there is no need to hurry." "Go," said Satan, "do that and you will bring ruination on them by the millions ." 

The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time. The most dangerous day in a person’s life is when they learn that there is such a thing as tomorrow and that they can put things off. 

But there are things which must not be put off, for no one knows if for them tomorrow will ever come, and no knows the hour or the day on which the Lord will appear.