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LONGING FOR HIS APPEARING!
2 Timothy 4:1-8
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,and in view of his appearingand his kingdom, I give you this charge:
2Preachthe word;be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebukeand encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
3For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,do the work of an evangelist,discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering,and the time for my departure is near.
7I have fought the good fight,I have finished the race,I have kept the faith.
8Now there is in store for methe crown of righteousness,which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
CONSIDER THIS:
Does Jesus return seem strange and unusual? Or, do you pray for it?
“but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
Titus 2:11-15
11For the graceof God has appearedthat offers salvation to all people.12It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions,and to live self-controlled,upright and godly livesin this present age,13while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearingof the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,14who gave himself for usto redeem us from all wickednessand to purifyfor himself a people that are his very own,eager to do what is good.
15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Who Longs for his appearing?
Examples …
Mark 5:21-24,35-43
Jairus’ daughter is sick and dying, Jesus goes with him and she is raised to life.
- the very sight of Jesus, the thought of Jesus, becomes the deepest desire for Jairus and his family after their daughter is given back to them alive.
Mark 7:24-36
v24ff. Jesus heals/delivers the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman and the mute girl is set free.
v. 35 A man’s ears were opened and his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
v37. RESULT: People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute to speak.”
“HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING WELL – that is why we long for his appearing.
WHATEVER HE TOUCHES IN OUR LIFE IS HEALED AND MADE NEW.
1. HE SHALL RETURE to the earth.
(Acts 1:11; Heb. 10:37;John 14:3)
Acts 1:11
11“Men of Galilee,”they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come backin the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Hebrews 10:37
“In just a little while, he who is coming will come, and will not delay.”
John 14:3
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
2. THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS SHALL BE BODILY RESURRECTED to begin a new, undying life.
I Thess. 4:13-18
13Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformedabout those who sleep in death,so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who c15According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,with a loud command, with the voice of the archangeland with the trumpet call of God,and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17After that, we who are still alive and are leftwill be caught up together with them in the cloudsto meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lordforever.18Therefore encourage one anotherwith these words.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
51Listen, I tell you a mystery:We will not all sleep,but we will all be changed—52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,the deadwill be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.53For the perishablemust clothe itself with the imperishableand the mortal with immortality.54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law.57But thanks be to God!He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
3. JESUS WILL REIGN as King of Kings and Lord of Lords
2 Peter 3:10-13
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.The heavens will disappear with a roar;the elements will be destroyed by fire,and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives12as you look forwardto the day of God and speed its coming.That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,where righteousness dwells.
Revelation 22:3-5 (nature of his reign is the nature of his heart.)
3No longer will there be any curse.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
4They will see his face,and his name will be on their foreheads.
5There will be no more night.
They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.And they will reign for ever and ever.
Rev 19:1-3 Hallelujah, Salvation and power and glory belong to our God
Rev 19:6-10 – the wedding supper of the Lamb
Rev 19:11 ff the white horse/ Faithful & True / v 14 the armies of heaven / the wrath of God unfurled / King of Kings and Lord of Lords / the capture of the beast and false prophet – cast into hell. \\
Rev 20: 1-6 6 x we are pointed to the Thousand Year / Chiliasm / Judgement of the dead / cf the White throne judgement and the bema seat of Christ
Rev 22: 12 Behold I am coming soon!
16 I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star ( he is the ruler / the hope and fulfilment of our desire)
Rev 22:20 – 21 Yes I am coming soon. / Amen, Come Lord Jesus / The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.
EXTRA NOTES: Question: "What is the Parousia?"
Answer:The Greek word parousia (pronounced pair-oo-see-ah) is a noun that means "a coming" or "a presence." As it is used in the New Testament, it can refer to any individual's coming or presence to a specific place or to be with specific people. For example, in1 Corinthians 16:17, Paul writes of "the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus." In2 Corinthians 7:6, Paul writes of "the coming of Titus." InPhilippians 2:12, it is used to refer to Paul's presence.
Most importantly, however, if you were to do a search of the Greek New Testament, you would find that primarily this word refers to the Coming of the Lord Jesus. It can refer to either His second coming at the END of the 7-year tribulation period (Matthew 24:27,37,39;Revelation 19:11ff), or to His coming to rapture His Church PRIOR to the 7-year period known as the tribulation (1 Corinthians 15:23;1 Thessalonians 2:19;5:23;James 5:8;1 John 2:28).
So, the Parousia is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you have to look at the context to determine whether it refers to His appearing in the air to rapture or catch away the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), or whether it refers to His second coming to Earth to setup His millennial kingdom (Matthew 24-25;Revelation 19:11ff;20:4-6).
Recommended Resource:Understanding End Times Prophecy by Paul Benware
The Parousia - What is it?
The Parousia is a theological concept that comes from the Greek wordparousiameaning "coming" or "presence." In the study of Bible prophecy, the term Parousia is used in reference to the Coming of Jesus Christ.
In some cases, the Parousia is used in reference to the time when Jesus Christ comes to rapture His people to be with Him. For example,1 Thessalonians 4:15-17says, "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." At any moment, the dead in Christ will rise followed by those alive in Christ to be with Christ forever (also1 Corinthians 15:23;1 Thessalonians 2:19;3:13;5:23;James 5:8;1 John 2:28).
In other cases, the Parousia refers to Christ's return at the end of the seven-year tribulation period.Revelation 19:11-21speaks at length about this event. Jesus will return in victory and defeat His enemies at Armageddon, beginning His reign upon David's throne in Jerusalem with His people.
It is important to understand that the Bible speaks of two different "comings" of Jesus Christ. Some believe Christ will return only once, at the end of the seven-year tribulation. However, a study of the passages that refer to Christ's coming note many differences between the rapture and the second coming of Christ. Most notably, at the rapture Jesus will come on the clouds to take His people to be with Him. This will take place at any moment and before the seven-year tribulation period. At His second coming, Jesus will come down to earth with His people to defeat His enemies and begin His reign in Jerusalem for the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:1-7). The following (adapted from www.pre-trib.org/data/pdf/Ice-DifferencesBetweenTheRapt.pdf ) highlights many of these key differences:
RAPTURE
• Translation of all believers
• Translated saints go to heaven
• Earth not judged
• Imminent, any-moment
• Not in the Old Testament
• Believers only
• Before the day of wrath
• No reference to Satan
• Jesus comes in the air
• Jesus claims His bride (the Church)
• Only His own see Jesus
• Tribulation begins
SECOND COMING
• No translation
• Previously translated saints return to earth
• Earth judged and righteousness established
• Follows definite predicted signs, including tribulation
• Predicted often in Old Testament
• All people impacted
• Concluding the day of wrath
• Satan bound
• Jesus comes to the earth
• Jesus comes with His bride (the Church)
• Every eye will see Jesus
• Millennial Kingdom begins
The Parousia is an essential part of the study of biblical prophecy. In discussing the Parousia one should be careful to define to which coming of Christ he or she is referring and to note many of the important, significant differences between the rapture and return of Christ.
Question: "What is the Judgment Seat of Christ / Bema Seat of Christ?"
Answer:Romans 14:10–12says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. . . . So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (ESV).Second Corinthians 5:10tells us, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” In context, it is clear that both passages refer to Christians, not unbelievers. The judgment seat of Christ, therefore, involves believers giving an account of their lives to Christ.
The judgment seat of Christ does not determine salvation; that was determined by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf (1 John 2:2) and our faith in Him (John 3:16). All of our sins are forgiven, and we will never be condemned for them (Romans 8:1). We should not look at the judgment seat of Christ as God judging our sins, but rather as God rewarding us for our lives. Yes, as the Bible says, we will have to give an account of ourselves. Part of this is surely answering for the sins we committed. However, that is not going to be the primary focus of the judgment seat of Christ.
At the judgment seat of Christ, believers are rewarded based on how faithfully they served Christ (1 Corinthians 9:4-27;2 Timothy 2:5). Some of the things we might be judged on are how well we obeyed the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), how victorious we were over sin (Romans 6:1-4), and how well we controlled our tongues (James 3:1-9). The Bible speaks of believers receivingcrownsfor different things based on how faithfully they served Christ (1 Corinthians 9:4-27;2 Timothy 2:5). The various crowns are described in2 Timothy 2:5,2 Timothy 4:8,James 1:12,1 Peter 5:4, andRevelation 2:10.James 1:12is a good summary of how we should think about the judgment seat of Christ: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”