The Coming of the Son of Man (Part 1 of 2)

The we seek to try to understand what the Bible has to say about the end times. How do we avoid the pitfalls of speculation.

Alistair Beggs says the answer begins by sticking to the irrefutable facts that Scripture provides in today on Truth for Life. Alister guides us through a helpful depiction that Jesus gives us about the coming of the Son of Man. Verse 24 of Mark chapter 13.

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken and then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven, from the fig tree learn its lesson as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place. You know that he is near the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Then father, help us as we turn to the Bible. Now, to understand it to believe it, and to obey it, for Jesus sake. I had a rental car this week. I was in North Carolina at the Billy Graham conference answer the call and I drove from Charlotte to Asheville and that it had wing mirrors what you would expect, but on the wing mirrors. There was another little mirror that was over in the corner that I think was there in order to help you see how close people really were. I'm not sure I think it's that I think it's there to replace what you have on the mirrors they don't have the we mirrors where the it says objects may appear closer than they actually are something like that. I don't know you know what I mean don't you they have that thing I know I never fully understood that I was physics I couldn't could possibly be. But anyway, the reverse is the case as we continue to study the apocalyptic discourse of Mark chapter 13 i.e. events are further apart than the appear to be this way been discovering all the way through his reviews the metaphor of hill walking and we've said that things that have appeared in a passage of Scripture right beside.

The next thing in the Scripture make it seem as though the two things are right on top of one another when in actual fact to realize that the things are much further apart than they appear to be is not the entire story, but it is an important principle and is helping us from going badly wrong, at least many of us in trying to understand these things we are considering the events of the end disciples have asked questions Jesus is answering and that we have this telescoping.

Did I mention whereby some of it as an immediate application some sort of midpoint application and some of it a much longer term application. What we are really discovering is that the end of all things has three dimensions to it in the same way that we speak about the salvation where we will say I have been saved from sin's penalty and being saved from sin's power and one day I will be saved from sin's presence, and in much the same way we are able to say that the end has come.

The end is coming and the end will come is not of help to you. Just forget all about it by the end has come in as much as the coming of Jesus was the beginning of the end he said I didn't, and when you read the Gospels, and when you read, for example, Hebrews, we read in Hebrews 926. He has appeared past ends once for all at the end of the ages. Notice the phrase he came at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. So in the first coming of Jesus.

The end has come. The end is coming, and eventually at the second coming of Jesus.

The end will finally come now in this little section before us this morning, and none of these sections get easier than the previous one, but I want us to notice. First of all, a picture to be understood, which is what were given here and then a lesson to be learned and then thirdly a word to be trusted. First of all, then a picture to be understood as the picture. That is, therefore, is in verse 24 and 25.

Become familiar with the fact that we've been saying to one another. If we had lived in an in the era of the first leaders of the gospel we would have each of as being better place to deal with this than many of us are today and that is because we have to, sadly, recognize that we are not as familiar with the Old Testament as we ought to be and as would be helpful for us to be, but the early readers of this gospel would immediately in reading this verse concerning the darkening of the sun and the moon not giving a slight they would immediately be able to connect it to the day of the Lord prophesied in the Old Testament and once again I'm very � you to trust me on this. And then I'm going to ask you to be Berea in about it and go away and examine the Scriptures and see if these things are so. But if your Bible is there in front of you.

I encourage you to turned to Isaiah chapter 13 and Aaron Isaiah 13 under the heading of the judgment of Babylon, which is the immediate historical application of this chapter, we read of the day of the Lord and the exhortation comes in verse six whale for the day of the Lord is near as distraction from the Almighty. It will come.

Verse nine behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with Roth and fierce anger, to make a land of desolation and to destroy its sinners from it for the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light soon you come to that you begin to say all I get it. I'm beginning to get it now I can see where this has its genesis, the sun will be dark and it's rising and the moon will not shed its light. Now what we have to be aware of is this principle that is the sent of comprehensive notion of the prophetic word that this prophecy, and 13 of Isaiah is immediately to be worked out in the context of Babylon. The prophecy we find exemplified in the movements and shifts of nations and events throughout time and eventually it will be reaching its great d�nouement. When Jesus Christ returns and I think that this picture is better understood as being figurative rather than being as literal as some of you get immediately concerned about that because you run outside and say the pastor is no longer interpreting the Bible literally. He said he was dealing with it figuratively as exactly right. I was taking it literally in a figurative sense because not picture that is given to is there is of the powers of the heavens being shaken and to the degree that these things unfold in this way, then the picture would simply be fulfilled. What you have in the picture is a description of the aspects of life.

If you like that are normally routine and the things that are apparently stable being disrupted. Whatever else you do with it. That's what we're finding. This is not catch a falling star and put it in your pocket.

This is something far more dramatic than that stars will be falling from the heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. In other words, it is up. It is a picture of cosmic shaking of all that represents stability within the world.

In other words, the day of the Lord has come is coming and will come. And when the idea of the Lord comes.

He will then intervene and put two rights establish the justice for which men and women say they long, although if you were to establish it now. They wouldn't be so quick to long for the reason that the day of the Lord has not appeared.

Mark 13 Peter tells his readers is not because God is slow concerning his promises, but because he is patient, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance by the patience of God is not infinite.

It is finite and there will be an end to his patients and on that day when his patients ends then these things that are portending this drama will be seen in all of their fullness. One of the commentators puts it as follows. God has a day scheduled on the calendar when he will repay all the dirty deals and broken promises and backstabbing's of history. He will take care of Hitler. He will take care of injustice. He will take care.

Of all the times when we ran our newspapers and said you know that person got off apparently scot-free.

His justice will satisfy himself and will satisfy all who are present our loved ones. It is imperative that we understand something of the solemnity and the gravity of this when when you look at that chapter and I just commend it to you for your own further consideration when you read Isaiah and and and look at what is being said there and when you go on into the 14th chapter, you realize that here's material concerning which we need to put our hands over our mouths. This is the purpose that is purposed concerning all earth and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations for the Lord. Of course, has proposed our purpose and who will annul it. His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back is speaking there on the hand of God's judgment over the nations of the world. I let McTeer in his wonderful commentary on Isaiah was helpful to me in this respect, and I will will be helpful to you because when you think of this picture of the all the represents stability in reality being completely shaken and God intervening.

You have the question where does man's inhumanity finger in the fact that God is a sovereign God over all of that inhumanity. How does it work out says material. We mustn't think of human beings as puppets with the Lord as their puppet master. On the contrary, they are being themselves to the full with their natural eggs fulfilling his supernatural purposes in a very real sense, therefore, what the Bible speaks of as the stretching out of his hand, which I just quoted from the $0.20 worth of Isaiah 14 what the Bible speaks of is the stretching out of his hand would be more easily understood if we thought of it as the withdrawing of his hand to leave sinners to implement all the inhumane savagery of fallen human nature, bereft of the restraining humanizing efficacy of common grace.

So when you read Romans chapter 1 and it says and God gave them God said fine. You want to try it like that. Here's what it looks like when you do, here's what it feels like when you respond in that way.

Here's what happens to a culture without the restraining kind of common grace we couldn't manage to for a nanosecond in contemporary America. For it is the restraining hand of grace which prevents it from absolutely decaying to the point of extinction, but Tia, the creator has so constituted humankind that sin progressively makes people less human and therefore less humane sin makes people less human and therefore less humane the process, however, is not allowed to run his logical course in the logical way or else the race would've perished as soon as sin entered into the world, the Lord remains sovereign operating his own rules directing restraining prompting by the time will come the day of the Lord when in a climactic way. Sin will take the stage of the total destroyer.

It always is and sinful human beings who for so long, have determined their own destiny without God will be left and indeed direct it to do so. That's why Townsend and Gatti in their song have the line I showed of joy cry of anguish, as Christ returns and every knee bows low either. When that day dawns and the heavens move in the earth shakes and the Son of Man descends in the clouds and we see him we will either say fantastic or we will say no with no prospect of anything to plead in our defense.

Then he says, then the Son of Man will be from will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Now once again, you need to have the Old Testament because this is the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 7 Daniel chapter 7 in verse 13 I saw in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven, there came one like the Son of Man is the prophecy of Daniel you looking forward in the night vision. The he sees this and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, we shall not pass away.

In this kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed.

Fantastic and easy. The people in Jesus day lived with this prospect of this Son of Man Son of Man is used as description just of humanity in general cents in the Old Testament, but it is used specifically, peculiarly in relationship to the one as described herein, Daniel chapter 7 of you think about it. You've already got part of the picture on this because you will remember that when we began to study Mark hundred years ago and we got to chapter 2 and the man can bring in the paralyzed man in the drop them down through the roof. Jesus had already announced what the kingdom of the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is near.

Repent and believe the good news. What was he saying that he was saying, but all the things that the Old Testament has been preferable be in prophesying there all fulfilled in me there fulfilled now. There's nothing really that is going to take place in the second coming that hasn't been actualized in his first. That's why we are able to say that the end has come is coming will come.

Is this Son of Man that is prophesied in Daniel that is expressed in the Gospels that is now the one who will come in clouds with power and great glory know some of my best friends once to see in this the ascension that a sailor Daniel 714 fits far better. The giving of the kingdom to Jesus in terms of now he is ascended, he has led captivity captive, and so on and so now from his position as the ascended Lord. He pours out his gifts upon the church and his messengers go around the world and that is verse 27. According to that view. The messengers go around the world and collect his elect from the four corners of the will of the earth. I'm not convinced of that you might be.

I'm not. I think that even if there is that foreshadowing all that in the notion of the ascension or the typifying audit if you like that we still have to see in this at the return of Jesus Christ, even to the phraseology Rick coming in the clouds with great glory. I know it fits. Daniel seven, but it also fits why are you folks standing looking up into heaven and don't you realize that he he will recon in the same way that he was taken from you up into heaven, and what are they just witnessed they had witnessed the fire that he was caught up into the clouds and now he returns, but this is a promise will be no empty seats and have none, whom he has purchased will be missing no one will business owner civil where the rest of people to fill up the seats. I was he going to do this. Listen to Calvin. Whenever we perceive the church scattered by the wiles of Satan or torn in pieces by the cruelty of the ungodly, or disturbed by false doctrines are tossed about by storms that is learned to turn our eyes to this gathering of the elect and if it appears to is a thing difficult to be believed that his call to remembrance the power of the angels which Christ holds out to us for the express purpose of raising our views about human means about human means are you going to bring all the people that died in there in the Titanic to send his angels for the church be now tormented by the malice of man, or even broken by the violence of the billows and miserably torn in pieces so as to have no stability in the world that we ought always to cherish. Confident hope because it will not be by human means, but by heavenly power, which will be far superior to every obstacle that the Lord will gather his church receipt. This is this is lift your eyes and look up for your redemption draws nigh. This is not get get all freaked out by dramatic signs in the heavens are trying to tie the signs and heaven to contemporary events know the purpose remains always moral. It remains always evangelistic.

If you like these things are to teach you during the confusing time in which we live. These are comforting lessons from Jesus your listing to Truth for Life. Alastair beg is titled the study Mark 13, the coming of the Son of Man. Today's message represents one small portion of a much larger collection and I'm excited to let you know about a special resource from Truth for Life.

It's a USB drive that contains the entire study of Mark's gospel chapter 1 all the way through the chapter 16. This study includes 87 messages guiding you through a comprehensive journey of the life of Jesus's death and his resurrection and he gives you a great way to spend one-on-one time with Jesus during the months ahead so that you can deepen your relationship with him. This USB drive is available today for just five dollars and the shipping is free to request one right now. Visit Truth for Life.org or just tap the image in the Truth for Life mobile app high quality teaching like this from Truth for Life is made available in various formats every single day and all at exceptionally low prices. We hear from people who tell us how much they appreciate the affordability of Alistair's teaching. Some are inspired by the low prices to purchase multiple copies to give away. This is what you make possible. When you add a donation to your purchase today or when you go online to give a one time gift. Your support helps others who want to learn about the Bible so we hope you'll give generously if you been meaning to request a copy of John Stott's excellent book called the disciple. Be sure to respond right away. This is the last day I'll mention this offer.

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Wishing you a restful weekend and inviting you to listen again Monday. As we continue our study in the gospel according to Mark today's program was furnished by Truth for Life with the Learning is for Living