I'd like to invite you to take your Bibles with me this morning and find your way to the Gospel of Matthew, the 24th chapter, Matthew chapter 24. We're turning to the first of two chapters in the Gospel of Matthew containing the Olivet Discourse. This is the most significant prophetic message that Jesus ever shared, and so we find ourselves once again in the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The 24th chapter of Matthew contains explanations and predictions having to do with the second coming, the first portion of the Olivet Discourse, and the second portion, which is the 25th chapter, provides applications and illustrations as the Lord brings the message to a conclusion The Olivet Discourse is the Savior's answer to the question that his disciples asked of him. He had said that Jerusalem would be destroyed and the temple, not one stone would be lasting upon another. And so in the third verse of Matthew chapter 24, the disciples ask, when will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming, and specifically of the end of the age? Matthew 24, beginning in verse 26. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. Behold, he is in the secret chambers. Don't believe it. For as lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. or wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. And immediately after the tribulation of those days, so the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the heaven to the other. Now, learn a parable of the fig tree. When the branch is yet tender and puts forth its leaves, we know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, When ye shall see all these things, know that it's near, it's even at the door. Verily I say to you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of the day and the hour knoweth no man. No, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field, the one should be taken, the other left. Two women should be grinding at the mill, the one should be taken, the other left. Watch, therefore, For you know not what hour your Lord doth come, but know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant? whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say to you that ye shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delays his coming. and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken. The Lord of that servant shall come in that day when he looks not for him, and in that hour that he's not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping, and there shall be gnashing of teeth." I'd like to speak this morning on the second coming of our sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lord Jesus Christ as he has spoken of it in Matthew chapter 24. So let's ask his blessing on the consideration of his word. Father, I pray this morning that you'd give us rapt and eager consideration of the word of God, that the spirit of God would be our teacher, that before we go out from this service, we would say in our hearts, even so come Lord Jesus. That we'd be looking upward, knowing that the judge is near, he's even at the door, and living in light of your coming. Bless your word to our hearing this morning, Lord, and may we say as we go out from this place, truly, it's been good to be in the house of the Lord, for it's in Christ's precious name we pray. Amen. The preacher had selected Revelation 22 and verse 21 for his text. Behold, I come quickly. The preacher did not like carrying notes with him to the pulpit. As he arrived at the pulpit, he knew his text. It was in the Bible, but his mind was clear of everything else. So he thought, well, if I warm myself up by citing the text, perhaps it will help my memory to engage and I can remember the points of the message that I want to bring. So he came to the pulpit and he announced his text. Revelation 22 and verse 21 says, behold, I come quickly. Nothing. So he thought, well, maybe if I rehearse it again, this time more softly. So he stepped forward and he said, behold, I come quickly. Nothing. There was a little lady sitting down on the front row who was rooting for him that morning. Nothing was happening in his mind. He went through the fifth time. Behold, I, thinking every word should be emphasized, and then his notes would come to his mind. Come, quickly, nothing. The eighth time, he backed up, and he ran to the pulpit, and as he hit the pulpit, he said, behold, I come, and the pulpit fell, and he fell into that dear lady's lap. He was so embarrassed, he apologized. And she said, sir, you need not apologize. You told me eight times that you were coming. Since this is our fourth message in Matthew chapter 24, and since we are once again looking at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, I thought it was well for me to let everyone know that we do seek to teach the whole counsel of God here at Colonial Hills Baptist Church, and biblical prophecy is not our theme every Sunday morning. Since our Lord is focused on the second coming in Matthew chapter 24, we need to follow his example and focus also on the second coming once again as we conclude our considerations of this 24th chapter. Friends, one of the great tragedies of our times is that prophecy is increasingly neglected. Sensationalism has caused many people to turn away from the teaching of biblical prophecy and caused many people's ears to be stopped. After all, how many date setters do you need to hear before you're pretty much turned off? Confusion has caused other people to turn away from the teaching of biblical prophecy. After all, there's perhaps no more debated theme in the Word of God other than the topic of salvation. than the theme of biblical prophecy. And quite frankly, a lot of people don't focus on biblical prophecy because we're living in a generation of egocentrism rather than bibliocentrism. People go to church asking, what's in it for me? Instead of going to church asking, what does the Bible say? And if we really ask what does the Bible say, we come to understand that the Bible has a whole lot to say about the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of 318 times in the New Testament. 23 of the New Testament's 27 books speak of the second coming. It's a theme that you cannot get away from. Jesus said to his disciples in John chapter 14, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. Jesus said to his disciples in Acts chapter one, before he ascended up into heaven, the kingdom would come and the angel came to announce that this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go up into heaven. The apostles were ever looking for the second coming, The Apostle Paul would write to Titus in Titus chapter two and say, the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul would tell the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. And indeed, John the Apostle would write at the end of the book of the Revelation, chapter 22 and verse 21, behold, I come quickly. Now in Matthew chapter 24, King Jesus is providing a detailed description of his second coming. We began our consideration last week of the descriptors, if you will, that Jesus has given to us. I'm gonna bring you up to speed and move us forward as we look in Matthew 24 this morning. You'll recall that we discovered in this text that the second coming will be a public event. The 27th verse, Jesus said, as lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. No one's gonna have to search for the King when he comes. In fact, in verse 26, he says, if some are telling you he's in the desert, like John the Baptist was in the desert, don't believe it. If some say he's in a secret chamber, don't believe it. He's gonna come in a very startling manner, he says. It's gonna come like lightning. And the Word of God tells us in Revelation 1 and verse 7, every eye will see. How's that possible? Folks, the Lord's not gonna need the World Wide Web. He's not gonna need some telecast to help him out in displaying his glory when he comes. How's it possible then, pastor, that every eye is going to see? Don't you understand? Matthew 19 says, with God, all things are possible. And Jesus tells us very clearly, not only here, but in Matthew chapter 25, he says, when the son of man shall come with his glory and all the holy angels with him, then will he sit upon the throne of his glory. And verse 32 of Matthew 25 says, and before him will be gathered all the nation. How is that possible? I don't know how to explain it, but I know Jesus says when he comes, it's a very public event and no one will be able to miss it. There's a second detail that he's provided. He says that this coming event is going to be post-tribulational. In the 29th verse, immediately after the tribulation. Now the chronology of this passage tells us that Jesus is coming after the tribulation. How so? Well, back in verse 15, Jesus said, when therefore you see the abomination of desolation set up, that was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, somehow Satan and his emissaries, the Antichrist in particular and the false prophet, will invade the temple that is reestablished in Jerusalem and an abomination of desolation is going to be set up. Daniel told us in the ninth chapter in the 27th verse that happens in the middle of a seven year period of time that the Spirit of God has revealed to us and called the tribulation. And so as I look at the chronology of this passage, the 21st verse says, then shall be great tribulation, such as not since the beginning of the world, not to this time, no, nor shall ever be. And then he says in verse 22, now, if those days were not shortened, No flesh would be able to survive. No flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, God will shorten that time. But oh, the awful carnage that the world will know. For the Word of God says in verse 28, Jesus speaking, wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. And having described the abomination of desolation in verse 15, that is at the middle of the tribulation, Having now said the great tribulation is breaking loose and having described this carnage, we're able to say that Jesus' second coming, when he returns in power and steps upon the earth again, that second coming is going to be after the tribulation. It is a post-tribulational coming. As I look in this text, we discover in verse 29 a third detail that we've already considered. Jesus says it's going to be a powerful event. For in the 29th verse, he says immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun is gonna be darkened, the moon is not gonna give its light, the stars are gonna fall from heaven. Hebrews 1 tells us in verse 3 that today he is upholding all things by the word of his power. But the word of God tells us in the book of Revelation chapter 6 and verse 13 that the heavens like you see them today, the moon and the sun and the stars, will not forever hang there like you see them today. For the word of God says the stars are gonna fall like figs off of a fig tree, and the skies are gonna be rolled back like a scroll. At the equator, the world is spinning at some 1,000 miles an hour. as that world spins, change the dynamic of it just a tad on its axis. Scientists will tell you that the topsoil will be torn off, the bedrock, and earthquakes and challenges such as the world has never known would occur. And there are those who say, no, we know that things have always gone on like they are now, but the word of God contradicts that. 2 Peter 3 says, but the day of the Lord will come and it will come like a thief in the night. And the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with a fervent heat. And the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. And then this passage says in verse 30 that all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. And so we've discovered that this is going to be a painful event, a painful event. In fact, the book of the Revelation tells us that two groups will mourn. In Revelation, the first chapter of the seventh verse, the Bible says, behold, he cometh with clouds and every eye will see him. and they also which pierced him, and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Here in verse 30, Jesus says, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. The book of the Revelation breaks it down this way, those in chapter one and verse seven who pierced him, and those other nations will also mourn. What's he talking about? He's telling us specifically that Israel will mourn. Zechariah 12 says in verse 10, that they will look upon him whom they pierced. We're coming to the close of the Gospel of Matthew, and in the close of the Gospel of Matthew, we discover that soon, having come unto his own, his own not receiving him, they're going to cry out, let him be crucified. Zechariah chapter 12 says, one day Israel will look upon him whom they pierced and they will mourn for him. But Jesus says all the world, every tribe is going to mourn for him. Why? Because now he's coming as judge. Now he is coming and it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. We've discovered that this is a personal event for in verse 30, They will see the sign of the Son of Man coming in the clouds. The sign of his coming is personal. The disciples had asked back in verse three, what will be the sign of your coming? Jesus has talked about earthquakes and pestilence and wars and rumors of wars. When the early church fathers looked at verse 30 and talked about the sign of the Son of Man, they speculated that perhaps the sign was a cross in the sky that could be seen by all the world. I don't believe that. I believe that Jesus Christ is himself the sign. that every eye will see him as he is descending with clouds out of heaven. For it's the sight of his person that is so powerful as to cause all the world to tremble. They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Over and again, the Bible talks about him coming the same way he went. He went up in the clouds, he comes back in the clouds. Now folks, take your Bibles and turn with me to Colossians chapter three for just a moment this morning. Colossians chapter three. By this time, we've described the grandeur of the Lord's second coming. And having described the grandeur of the Lord's second coming, with the stars falling from heaven, with the earth being shaken, with the sun being blackened, with every eye seeing him, there might be somebody here that's saying, I'd like to see that. I'd like to see that. We take our Bibles and we turn to Colossians chapter three. Word of God is ever so explicit when it comes to the matter of the second coming of Christ. Zechariah 14 says his feet are gonna stand on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem. That's where he's coming. The Bible says what's gonna happen when his feet stand on the Mount of Olives? The Bible says it's gonna split in two. The Bible says all the world is trembling and there's been great carnage before his coming because after all, it's at the end of the tribulation. And there may be somebody saying, I'd like to see that. You're not gonna see it from down here if you're a believer, but you'll see it. Not from down here if you're a believer, but you'll see it. How do you know, Pastor Phelps? Look at Colossians chapter three, the fourth verse. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Did you connect with that verse? When Christ shall appear, then shall ye, believers, appear with him in glory. You see, Revelation 19 says it this way in verse 11. I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. And the 14th verse of Revelation 19 says, And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, and they were clothed with fine linen. They were white and clean. The Bible teaches that when Jesus comes, the church that has already been raptured out before the tribulation will be coming with him. Revelation 19, they come as the armies of heaven in white linen. The word of God tells us when he comes in his glory, then you will appear with him. I'm not gonna be on the earth looking up at the sign of the Lord's coming. I'm gonna be coming with him in his glory. What a wonderful treasure for us to realize. Which side will you be on, dear friend? The earthly side when Jesus comes or the heavenly side coming with him? This week we travel farther into this text. We discover a few more details that Jesus has given. We discover that the second coming will be a purposeful event. It will be a purposeful event. Now there are many purposes when the Lord comes again. But in verse 31, Jesus reveals one of the most significant purposes of his coming. He says in verse 31, he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens, even to another. Now he's coming to judge and he's coming to rule. He's coming as the sovereign. Matthew presents Jesus to be King of kings and Lord of lords. And here in verse 31, He speaks of that coming, but He's spoken of it before. Back in Matthew 13, He said in verse 41, the Son of Man shall send forth, listen to it, the Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of the kingdom all things that offend. And them which do iniquity, He will cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus spoke of it in Matthew 16, verse 27. He said, the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels. And they shall reward every man according to his works. What's the purpose of the second coming that's being developed here? Well, really two purposes are being developed. He speaks of sending the angels to protect the elect. He will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect. And I pause there and I ask, Who are the elect? Because he speaks of the elect twice in the Olivet Discourse. First in the 21st verse, Matthew 24, verse 21. There should be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time. No, nor ever shall be, and except those days be shortened, there shall no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake it will be shortened. The elect comprise a group of people No God's particular grace in shortening the time of the tribulation. Who are the elect? Here he says his angels come and they gather together the elect. Perhaps the best way for us to discover who the elect is is for me to read from Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight says in verse 31, what should we say to these things if God before us who can be against us? He that spared not his son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And then this, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies, who is he that then condemns? It's Christ that died, yea, rather that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Friends, the elect are the saved. Now wait, Pastor Phelps, I'm confused. Didn't you say the saved would be coming with him? Yes. Who then are these elect? These elect, dear friends, are those who during the time of the tribulation have heard, according to Revelation chapter seven, from one of the 144,000 witnesses that have been let loose throughout all the earth. These elect are those who have heard, according to Revelation chapter 11, from the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah. These elect are those who, during the tribulation period, have come to turn to Christ as Savior, and the word of God makes much of them. Revelation chapter seven says, and after this I beheld on a great multitude which no man could number of all the nations and of all the kindreds, of all the peoples and all the tongues stood before the Lamb and they were clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. And they cried salvation to our God and to his throne. Jesus is coming to gather together the elect, those who are believers. He is bringing the elect from heaven. for their first ever reunion with the elect who are upon the earth. And what a day it's going to be. What's the purpose of this second coming? Well, at the end of verse 31, he says, and he will gather them from the four winds. And here, friends, I see Israel. Not only the elect who have trusted Christ, but there's also a national intent. He is coming to protect the elect and he's coming to protect Israel. You see, in Deuteronomy chapter 28, the word of God says, when Israel offends, God scatters them. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, God says, even when I've scattered you, I bring Israel back. And in Ezekiel 12 and verse 14, God pictures it this way. I will scatter them to every wind and gather them from the four winds. Jesus then, in verse 31, is saying he's going to protect those who are believers, who have turned to him during the tribulation, and he's going to particularly protect Israel. And I learn here, and I pause to reflect on it, that God always protects his own in the hour of judgment. God protected Noah. Somebody asked, who's the Old Testament's greatest female financier? You know the answer? greatest female financier in the Old Testament, has to be the daughter of Pharaoh. She went down to the bank of the Nile and withdrew a little profit. Who's the Old Testament's greatest man financier? Well, the greatest man of finance in the Old Testament was Noah. His stock was floating high when the rest of the world was in liquidation. God remembered Noah, didn't he, when judgment came? God remembered Lot when he allowed fire and brimstone to fall upon Sodom. God remembers his own, even in the awful hour of the second coming when Jesus comes to bring judgment to the world. Jesus dispels any uncertainty and verifies what he's predicting when he says that the second coming is a promised event. Verse 32, the second coming is a promised event. Jesus says, now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when you see all these things, know that it's near, it's even at the doors. And verily I say to you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word is not going to pass away. It's a promised event. He promises it with really two pictures. He says it's like a fig tree. You see, the fig puts its fruit on, and then it's clothed itself with its leaves. And so when you see the leaves, you know the fruit is there. Even so, he says, it's like a fig tree. You can see these things happening. You see the wars and the rumors of wars. You see the earthquakes and the pestilences. As you see all these things happening, you know, according to verse 33, that it's near. What's near? The disciples asked him in verse three, when is the end of the age? When does the world end? What's this world coming to? Jesus says, when all these things happen, when you've seen the false Christ, when you've seen the abomination of desolation, then you know just as surely as the fig tree setting on its leaves that it's near. Many people have made much of that 33rd verse, haven't they? That 32 in verse 33, what's the fig tree? And some say it's a symbol of Israel. Folks, Jesus goes further in this text to say in verse 34, verily I say to you, this generation will not pass. And that word generation's interesting. Is he saying, as some believe, that when Israel became a country in 1948, since 1948, you can check out the generation, and the generation that was on the earth in 1948 will not pass until the Son of Man comes? No! He's not saying that. He's not saying that. Sorry to break anybody's bubble. What's he saying? He's saying it's like a fig tree. You know how a fig tree develops. The fruit comes, then comes the leaves. And he's saying just as you see a fig tree, you can see in the circumstances, the rising up of these false Christs, the setting up of this abomination of desolation, that the end is near and this generation is not going to pass. What generation? Some would say it's the generation living on the earth during the tribulation. But there's another way to view it. The word generation is ganao. That word generation often speaks of descendants, a people group, a tribe, a family, if you will. So if we look at it that way, Jesus is saying this. All right, you've seen all the signs. You need to know the end of the age has come, and I want to give you this assurance. There's a family. There's a people group that will not pass away until all this happens. What people group might that be? Israel. This generation is going to last, Jesus says, even on this earth until all these things. I'm not alone in believing that's a good way to interpret this text. P.B. Fitzwater said the word generation here means race or family or stock. Therefore, it means the Jewish race will remain intact until the end of the age. Jade White Pentecost agrees. He says, there's been a difference of opinion over the interpretation of generation in Matthew 24. The word generation is to be taken in its basic use, race, kindred, family, stock, breed. So the Lord here is promising the nation of Israel will be preserved under the consummation of her program. And folks, if you ever ask the question, how do I know that God is true? A great czar in Russia asked that generations ago. He asked his court religious officer, proved the veracity of the scriptures. And that court counselor and that court chaplain said, the Jew, the Jew. The Jew is God's great signal post that he is sovereign. And that as the end of the age comes, who could imagine a Galilean rabbi who lived 2,000 years ago could pan forward to the future and say, if you want to know that God's in charge, remember the Jew. But more than that, Jesus says, look at it there in verse 35, heaven and earth will pass away, my word won't. These promises are sure. His second coming is a promised event. And oh, may God be true, and every man a liar. As I look in verse 36, I discover that the second coming is a parting event. It's a parting event. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only. And now he speaks of a very sobering separation. As he's spoken of his second coming, He says, first, it's going to be like the days of Noah were. In verse 37, as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they did not know that the flood would come and take them all away, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Oh, the terrible parting. When men and women floating, scraping upon the wood of the ark, and there was no door to be opened, no escaping the awful flood that came. Even so, Jesus says, normal people going about their normal activities. And the day that I come will be astounded and separated one from another. He says, two will be in the field, the one will be taken the other left. Two will be grinding, the one will be taken the other left. And oh, by the way, the one's taken here. are not taken in the rapture. The ones taken here, Jesus has already predicted it earlier in Matthew. The angels will come and winnow out all that which would be evil in preparation for the king's arrival and in preparation for the kingdom being established. These that are taken wish they had not been. Those that remain remain in prospect of the kingdom. I remember when I was a young person, the late great Planet Earth movie came out. The theme of the movie, the song said, I wish we'd all been ready. Folks, I wish we would all be ready because the coming of the Lord is going to be a parting event. And as I discover in the end of this chapter, the coming of the Lord, the second coming is an event for which you must plan. It's an event that must be planned for the Lord says, watch in verse 42, for you don't know the hour in which I come. He says in verse 44, be ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man is coming. Don't live unaware. Don't be unprepared. Don't be the fellow that the Lord describes in verse 48, who says, the Lord is, he's delaying his coming. I have nothing to worry about. Remember Harry Truman? Not Harry Truman, the president, the other Harry Truman with his 16 cats. The Harry Truman that lived at Mount St. Helens back in 1980. Some of you are too young to remember this Harry Truman. Mount St. Helens was going to erupt. Everyone was evacuated except Harry Truman. Harry Truman said, I've lived here all my life. I know there's a lot of bubbling and noises going on, but I'm staying here. They never found him or his cats. I'll say no more about that. I wanna be your friend after this service. The moment's coming, folks. Oh, can you say we are ready? Brother, ready for the Lord's coming. 2 Corinthians 5 says in verse 10, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give account of the things done in our body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Pastor, what good is it for us to consider The Olivet Discourse. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Oh, how much more persuasive we ought to be when we realize that some of the folks that we rub shoulders with are holding on to that which is going to be pulverized. 1 John 3 and verse 3 says, he that has this hope in him purifies himself. Are you living in light of Christ's coming? Are you prepared? Watch therefore, for you know not what hour the Lord will come. The preacher with a bad memory said, behold, I come quickly. He had a great text. He just had a bad way of presenting it. The end of the book of the Revelation ends, behold, I come quickly. And what blessing to know that he continues and my reward is with me. He's coming, friends. Are you prepared? Let's stand together, please, as we pray. Father, today we've rehearsed our way through a text that's challenging and thrilling. And oh, Lord, I pray that you'd bring us to the conclusion that we need to come to, that we're ready for the Lord to come. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed, and no one looking around this room this morning. In a moment, the instruments are gonna play number 290. It may be at morn when the day is awakening. As we think again of the second coming of the Lord Jesus, he has said so much because it's so important. And the question we ask is when those angels come to do their work of separating, on which side will you be? When the Son of Man will come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, will you be coming with Him from heaven rejoicing or standing in fear before Him to be judged by Him? The Bible says now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. His coming could happen right now. The rapture of the church, the joy of being together with Him. Following that rapture, the awful atrocities that we've reviewed in Matthew 24, and where would you be? Dear friend, you can know Jesus Christ as Savior today and know the blessing of the one who said, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her. He died upon the cross to protect you from the wrath of God, paying the penalty of your sin by his blood. and rose again the third day with power to prove that he's the Son of God with power by the raising from the dead, and he's coming again. And so this morning, if it's your desire to trust Christ as Savior, as the instruments begin to play number 290, Pastor Ben will be here in the front. If it's your desire today to trust Jesus Christ, move out from where you are. Move to the front here and allow someone to take you to a private room and show you from the Bible how you can know for sure you're going to heaven when you die. Dear Christian, are you prepared for His coming? If the Lord came today, would there be many tears that would need to be wiped away in preparation for the joy of heaven? Would you have those crowns to cast before Him? Are you living in light of His coming?