RECAP:
1. Christ died on the cross
2. Peter and John visited the tomb
3. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and the disciples
4. The two on the road to Emmaus
5. Jesus fed the disciples on the shore and they caught the fish
6. Jesus ascends to heaven
7. Last week we talked about the signs of the end times
TODAY
THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
Matthew 24:27-31+ Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 24:27-31
27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 “Immediately after the distress 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.’ 30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 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 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
ATTENTION GRABBER!
Homecoming -Tell your class about a time when you were expecting a special visitor.
It may have been an aunt or uncle or someone else that you were particularly close to. Tell them about your preparation, your anticipation, and how you felt when the visitation came.
How did you feel to be reunited with this special visitor?
Ask your class to share some experiences of the anticipation of a visit. What did they do to prepare? How did they feel when their guest arrived?
Tell your class that you will be learning about a very special visitation today. Explain that the best person we could possibly imagine is coming back for us, and He could arrive any minute.
LESSON TIME!
Jesus was preparing His disciples for a very difficult time. He was going to be arrested in a few days and die on the cross for our sins. Then in three days He would conquer death and rise from the grave.
His disciples didn't fully understand what was happening. They did not realize that Jesus’ kingdom was not a physical kingdom (the one we see with our eyes), but that His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom (a kingdom in our hearts through the Holy Spirit).
They thought that Jesus, the promised Messiah might overthrow the Romans and establish His kingdom on earth right away.
Jesus was going to share with them that His kingdom was in their hearts and that He would leave for a while, but would return later for His people and establish His kingdom on this earth at that time.
There will come a time when Jesus will have a physical kingdom on this earth. We should be watching and waiting for that time, as His disciples did. It will happen when Jesus returns.
The first time Jesus came to Earth He came as a baby. He grew to be a man and showed us how to live.
He died on the cross for our sins so that we could be forgiven for the wrong things we do.
He showed His power by rising from the dead and made the way of salvation so that we could go to heaven. He then “ascended” (went back to heaven) to be with the Father in glory again.
The Bible teaches that at the time Jesus returns He will first rapture or take His church to be with Him.
A seven-year period will then come when God will pour out His wrath on this sinful world.
There will be a time of tribulation so bad that there has never been anything like it.
It is after these seven years of great tribulation that Jesus will return to this earth to set up His kingdom.
In the following passage, Jesus tells the disciples about His Second Coming when He will come as our conquering King to judge the world.
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Jesus’ Second Coming will be very sudden like a flash of lightning. He will be very visible. People will gather around to see what is happening.
Most people will be afraid, but those who have believed in Jesus after the rapture will have no need to be afraid.
They will rejoice. Jesus has promised to always be with us and to take care of us, now and in the world to come.
Unfortunately, for those who don’t know Jesus it will be very sudden, even take them as a thief in the night. That means that it will be by surprise. A thief doesn’t send a letter ahead to announce to the owner of the house that he plans to rob it at a certain time.
If that were the case, the owner would be ready. Like the surprise, it is to find out that you have been robbed, those who don’t know Jesus will be caught by surprise when Jesus returns.
If we know Jesus, we should be watching for His return and living according to His will so we can be ready when He comes.
. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Just before Jesus’ return, there will be a time of great war and suffering called the tribulation.
A lot of people will be killed. Mankind will be on the verge of destroying themselves and the whole world.
Satan and his followers will seem to be winning, but they won't. Jesus will come to judge the world and save those who believe in Him.
This verse is talking about the destruction and the loss of life that will come because of the bad things happening during the tribulation.
Isn’t it great that we don’t need to worry about these things because we know Jesus!
We need to be praying for those who do not know Jesus to receive Him so they do not have to go through the tribulation but will be ready for Jesus.
29 “Immediately after the distress 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.’
This will be a catastrophic event when the sun is darkened and the moon, which reflects the sun’s light, will fade out.
Without the light of the sun, the earth will be pitch black. It seems that God will make it dark to match people’s hearts that are very dark and sinful apart from Jesus.
There will also be amazing things happening in the sky as stars fall and the very powers of heaven are shaken.
During this future time, the whole world will be in total darkness. There will be falling stars like we have never seen before. The heavens will be shaken and changed.
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is going to appear in the clouds with great power and glory with an army of angels to judge the world and bind Satan from his evil influence.
Everyone will know that there is no one as powerful as Jesus.
The people of the Earth who have rejected Jesus will be afraid and mourn the wrong things they have done. They won't be able to share in Jesus' glory. They will have to share in the punishment of Satan and his evil angels or demons.
Those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts and are living for Him won't have to fear.
In fact, it will be a very happy and exciting time for them. Jesus is all-powerful. We will share in His power, His glory, and His love.
31 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.
Have you ever gone on a long trip? You have to pack your bags and get ready.
There are many preparations that you need to make before you go.
Get ready, Jesus is sending His angels with a loud trumpet call to gather all of His children and take them to heaven to live with Him forever.
Heaven will be a place of life, beauty, and extreme happiness. We'll never hurt again. We will be surrounded by wonderful love.
Heaven will be better than we can possibly imagine. There will be no more sorrow or tears.
Jesus is all-powerful. He made the sun, moon, and stars. He is over all, yet He loves us and is concerned about every part of our lives, even the smallest things. He has promised to be with us always.
We can depend on Him to take care of us now and forever.
So how do we get ready to go?
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
PRAY
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