We are in the Book of Joel, but I invite you to take your Bible today and turn to Matthew 24 and 25, as that’s where the majority of our text will be.
The day of the Lord is based on the verse in Joel, chapter 1, verse 15: “Woe because of that day, for the day of the Lord is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty.” May we pray.
Heavenly Father, as we continue to look at the day of the Lord that is coming, just briefly today, as we continue where you spoke to your disciples about that coming day and what would lead up to it, we ask that you would give us understanding in our hearts of how to properly and adequately respond to you. May your Spirit give us understanding of these. Father, may He give us a desire to be obedient to you, and may He empower us to carry through with what you ask of us. In His name we pray, I mean in Jesus’ name. Amen.
We’re talking about the Book of Joel, and there’s a chart up there that we’re basically going through the book. What we’re looking at is this repeated theme, the day of the Lord. That’s in chapter one. It’s in chapter two three times, and it is also in chapter three.
We’re in the Book of Matthew, though, where Jesus was talking about this day of the Lord. We’ll just have a brief review of what we covered two weeks ago. It centers around the destruction of Herod’s temple, which would be the first sign of what is going to happen. Because of the enormity of the destruction of Herod’s temple, Jesus said, “When this comes true, you will know that the other things I am telling you today will also come true.”
We read there in Matthew 24, as Jesus left and was going out of the temple, His disciples came up and called His attention to its buildings. He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly, I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
So I have a picture of what the temple complex looked like in that day. There were almost 29 American football fields that could have fit on top of it. It was a huge undertaking that had been built. So for Jesus to say that all of this is going to be pushed off every single stone, the disciples must have just wondered, “It’s taken so many years to build this. How could that ever happen? Why could it ever happen?”
Well, in 70 A.D., the Romans came, and they did exactly what Jesus had said. Historically, we know that they pushed every single stone off of that top platform and left it flat. Even today, we have a picture here of what it looked like at one time—just all these stones, these cut stones would have been everywhere around the Temple Mount.
And because that happened, we can know with certainty that the things that Jesus then relays to His disciples are also going to come true. Verse three tells us that while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, they had gone across from Jerusalem up to where He liked to retreat with His disciples. They approached Him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen?”
This is magnanimous that this is all going to be destroyed. They were very curious and wanting to know. But more importantly, they asked, “What is the sign of your coming and at the end of the age?” They were looking to the restoration; they were looking to the new creation that is promised throughout Scripture, not only spiritually for us, but the world is groaning for the day that God is going to make all things right. They were asking Him, “When is this going to come about?” They were anxious about it.
Two weeks ago, we started going through the list. Jesus said, “Well, there are going to be deceivers, and there’s going to be great deception. There’s going to be wars throughout the world. There’s going to be famines and earthquakes. There’s going to be persecution and hatred from outside the body of believers.” But He said, “There’s also going to be betrayal and hatred from inside towards those that follow the Lord. More false prophets and deception are going to come about. There will be lawlessness that multiplies throughout the world. Love is going to diminish.”
But He made this promise that “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” He said that the Gospel would be spread and will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony not just to some, but to all the nations. After this, the end will come.
We ended up last time, two weeks ago, talking about that the Antichrist is going to come and turn against Israel. I just briefly want to say that the Book of Daniel tells us of this Antichrist that is coming in the final seven years of what we know in this world before Jesus returns and makes things straight. We know from the Scripture that he’s going to come and have 10 nations under his rule. He will reach out to Israel and say, “I promise you peace, and everything is going to be wonderful.” What Jerusalem, what the Jews, what Israel are longing for, he’s going to promise, and he’s going to deliver for three and a half years.
But then at the three and a half-year mark, Daniel tells us that he’s going to walk into the holy place of the temple—the temple that’s not there now; it will have to be rebuilt by that time—and at that time, he’s going to say, “I am God, and you need to worship me.” At that time, the Jews are going to realize that they have been fooled into believing this false Christ.
Jesus says in verse 16, “Then to those in Judea, they must flee to the mountains. A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath during the tribulation period.”
God is going to be pouring His wrath out on the earth to try to get people to turn to Him. But the Antichrist is also going to be working to destroy God’s people, as Satan always has been in the business of trying to destroy Israel, to destroy Jerusalem, and to kill out the Jewish people. When they realize that Jesus says that they need to run, the Jews are going to be under further persecution from the one man that has promised them peace.
The Antichrist will turn against Israel, and then it tells us that great distress will begin. For at that time, there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. When we remember Noah’s flood, how devastating that was to the entire earth, it’s going to be even worse than that, the distress in that day.
Jesus promises us, though, that unless those days were cut short, no one would be saved. Those days will be cut short because of the elect. Even during this traumatic time, when Jesus is pouring out wrath upon the world, when the Gospel is going to continue to be preached, there will be those that come to faith in the Lord, and they will be persecuted. God is going to cut the seven years short. We don’t know how much, but it’s going to be so devastating. If He doesn’t cut it short, everyone would be destroyed. But the promise is there that God is always looking out for His people.
The great distress will begin. The next thing that Jesus talks about is that His return is going to be obvious. As we read through the text here, I want you to see that there are going to be many that come along and say, “I’m the Messiah,” or “I’m God,” or “I can rescue you.” But we’re going to see there’s a great difference between the way that these false messiahs come into the world in contrast to the way that Jesus is going to come.
Jesus says, “If anyone tells you, see, here is the Messiah, or over there, or over here, do not believe it, because Jesus is standing there. I am the Messiah. I have come. If anyone else ever proclaims that they are, they are false messiahs.” False messiahs and false prophets that point to these false messiahs will arise, and they’re going to be very convincing because they’re going to perform great signs and wonders that if it were possible, even people that trust the Lord could be led astray.
Jesus isn’t saying that people who are His elect and chosen and have placed their faith in Jesus Christ will be led astray, but He’s making this emphasis that what these false prophets have to say and what they do will be extremely convincing. It’s a warning to us that we all need to be prepared; that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, so we are not led astray.
Take note: Jesus said, “I’ve told you this in advance. You shouldn’t be surprised when it happens.” So if they tell you, “See, he is in the wilderness,” don’t even go out to hear this false prophet because you know that he is not the true Messiah. Or if they tell you, “See, he’s hiding in this storeroom,” you can come and have a secret meeting with him. Don’t believe it, because I am the true Messiah.
These false messiahs are going to be in the wilderness; they’re going to be in the storerooms. But Jesus tells us in the next verses that He is going to descend from heaven, as was promised in the Book of Acts. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, when there’s lightning outside, we can’t miss it. It shows up. Even if our curtains are drawn at night, you can see the lightning flashing.
Jesus is saying His return is going to be extremely noticeable. “You so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” He’s not going to come in the wilderness. He’s not going to come in the storerooms. To make His point about how evident it’s going to be, He uses this saying that “wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.” If you see vultures flying in the air, what do you know? Something has died somewhere. Just as obvious as it is that something has died, Jesus says His return is going to be the same way. You’re not going to be mistaken by any false prophets, because when He comes, it’s going to be completely different.
If I go back to Acts, chapter 1, verses 9 through 11, I read this: “After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. While He was going, they were gazing into heaven. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? The same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven.'”
Jesus isn’t going to appear in the wilderness or in the storerooms. He’s going to come back and descend upon the world in a cloud just as He left, and everyone will see and everyone will know. Jesus’ return will be obvious.
Let’s read in verse 29: “Immediately after the distress of those days,” and we’ve already read that the distress is going to be worse than anything that has ever happened, this distress upon the earth. But now we’re going to see that the universe itself is distressed before His return, because “the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.” Jesus’ return is going to be obvious.
In Paul’s day in the early church, there were some who were concerned because they were being told, “Jesus already returned and you’ve been left behind.” Paul said, “No, that’s not the case. He has not returned because He will take all of those that are His and gather them to Himself.” Jesus has not returned yet; we’ve not seen these things happening.
Let’s go on to read in verse 30: “The sign of the Son of Man.” Instead of appearing in the wilderness or the storeroom, it’s going to be in the sky. “All the peoples of the earth will mourn because they will all see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Not just here and there upon the earth, not in some building, but Jesus is going to return, as was prophesied, coming in a cloud from the heavens.
The next thing that Jesus promises us is that He’s going to gather His followers. When this happens, it says that He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet. Another verse is the shout, and they’re going to gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. We know for certain that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He knows for certain that you belong to Him, and He says that He will gather all of His followers, that His angels will bring them and unite them with the Lord.
The next thing that we see here is that Jesus gives the sign of the fig tree. We’re talking about the fig tree back in Joel, and I’ve mentioned in the past that the fig tree and the olive tree are always pictures of Israel. So when we read about the fig tree and we read about the olive, sometimes Jesus is helping us to have an example of what is about to happen.
Jesus says, “There’s a lesson here from the fig tree. As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.” In other words, when spring comes about, the trees that have no leaves upon them, all of a sudden, spring to life. What was dead for a while also begins to sprout. He says, “Just as trees do that—in particular, He’s talking about the fig tree here, which is a picture of Israel—in the same way, when you see all these things that He’s already mentioned, recognize that Jesus is near. He is at the door.”
What He’s telling us here is that the fig tree, this picture of Israel, is that Israel is going to appear to be dead as it was for thousands of years. But in May of 1948, all of a sudden, there were leaves coming out of what appeared to be a nation that was dead. Jesus tells us from that point that “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
We don’t know the exact day that Jesus is going to return, but He’s telling us that we can know the time and we can know the season. “This generation,” what does that mean? Since Israel came back to be a nation, there are different ideas. It could be that there will at least be one person alive that has not died before Jesus returns. Or some say it’s going to be within 100 years, that that’s a good number for what a generation is. We’re not sure, whatever it is, but we do know that the season is coming soon, that our Lord is going to return. He will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.
At that time, heaven and earth will pass away, and Jesus makes this promise: “My words will never pass away.” We shouldn’t believe that just some of this is going to happen. We can believe with certainty that all of it will happen. Once again, the fact that that magnificent temple was completely destroyed, Jesus prophesied that, and it happened as major evidence to us that everything else that He tells us in this passage will also come to pass.
We have the sign of the fig tree, but also Jesus shares with us the sign of Noah. Now, concerning that day and hour, no one knows the exact day and hour; we just can know the season is about to come. “Neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, except the Father alone.” But He says, “As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.”
Noah was building the ark. Noah was preaching the gospel that people could be saved if they come into the ark. But no one except for his family paid attention to him. In those days before the flood, while Noah was preaching, while Noah was setting the example of righteousness, and while he was building this huge ark that everybody could see, people were just like, “Oh, well, life just continues on. We’re going to eat, and we’re going to drink. We’re going to marry, we’re going to give in marriage.” And that’s what they did, paying no attention until the day that Noah boarded the ark. God closed the door, and then it was too late.
It says that even though they had all this evidence around them, they didn’t know until the flood came. All of a sudden, they were all swept away. Jesus is saying that this is the way that the coming of the Son of Man will be. No matter what is going on in the world, no matter what devastation or wars or famines, people are just going to keep eating and drinking like they do every day. They’re going to continue to celebrate special occasions in their lives. They’re going to be more concerned about this world and this life than paying attention to the signs around them.
All of the people that do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are going to be surprised when He comes, and it’s too late. The sign of Noah. Jesus tells us next that we need to be alert and ready. He’s told us what’s going to happen. He tells us all the things that are going to lead up to His coming.
So how are we supposed to respond to that? He gives us some illustrations and He gives us some parables in five different ways. He emphasizes to us that we need to be alert, and we need to be ready.
Let’s go to verse 40. It says, “Two men will be in the field,” and all of a sudden, when one turns their head and turns back, one is going to be taken, and one is going to be left. There are going to be two women that are grinding grain with a hand mill; they’re preparing their bread for the day, and all of a sudden, two are there, and then one is gone.
When Jesus returns, it will be suddenly. Jesus says, “Because you don’t know when it’s going to happen, and because it’s going to be such a surprise, you need to be alert.” You need to be alert because you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.
Then He gives us another illustration here. It’s about a homeowner. “But know this: if the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.” If you got a phone call today and said, “Tonight at 11:36, a thief is coming to your house, and they’re going to break in with a gun and take everything you have,” would you go to bed? No! You’d be prepared. You would be waiting. I feel sorry for that burglar that’s coming in.
Jesus says, “In the same way, you need to be continually alert and ready because you don’t know when He’s coming.” This is why you are also to be ready, because “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not know.”
Next, after being alert and ready, Jesus says that we need to be working. We’re not supposed to be just sitting down and waiting in a room for Jesus to return. We’re still supposed to be working and achieving the things that God has prepared for us to do.
He tells us this story here, this illustration about a faithful and wise servant. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant whom His Master has put in charge of his household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom the Master finds doing his job when he comes.”
This is a picture of the fact that Jesus has left us for a while, and He’s left us here to be faithful and wise. We’re supposed to be taking care of His household because we are the body of Christ. We’re supposed to be working with the things that He has given us to do. If we’re working and we’re doing what we’re supposed to, and we’re following God’s will in our day-to-day lives, when Jesus returns, He’s going to find us as being faithful and wise, and there’s going to be a reward for that.
In verse 47, “Truly I tell you, He will put in charge of all His possessions.” But He also talks about the person that isn’t working. Here we have a wicked servant. He says in his heart, “You know, my master is delayed. I thought he was coming back soon, but years have passed, decades have passed. I don’t think he’s ever coming back. So I’m going to start to beat and abuse my fellow servants so that I can be benefited, and I’m going to eat and drink with drunkards instead of doing my work.”
Jesus says for that unfaithful person, “The servant’s master will come on a day he doesn’t expect him, and an hour he does not know.” Maybe at a day when he’s drinking and beating his fellow servants, that is when the master is going to come right back into the house and find him being unfaithful. Jesus says that He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We need to be alert. We need to be ready. But Jesus asks us to be faithfully working. He calls all of us in the body of Christ to be doing something. We’re so blessed in our church because as I look out, most of you are involved weekly in some type of ministry, and some of you are involved outside of the church in different programs and at work. You’re fulfilling the work of Christ by representing Him in this world, and Jesus is going to reward you for your faithful work. But woe to those who are not using the things that God has given them until He returns.
He gives us these examples, but He also has two parables here for us. Can you see? He’s emphasizing over and over because of all these things, you need to be alert, you need to be ready, and you need to be working.
Let’s look first at the parable of the ten virgins in verse 13. The heart of the matter is to be alert because you don’t know either the day or the hour. We’re going to go through this quickly today. Tom Mitune said it took him three months to go through these two chapters, but my sermon can’t be that long because you would be hoping for God’s return before I got past the second point.
I’m going to read in verse 13: “At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.” So here’s your test today. What is the occasion that’s about to happen? There’s a wedding.
Now, when Mary and I got married, we sent out invitations, and then we had bridesmaids and groomsmen. Of everybody there, who did we think should definitely show up on time? The bridesmaids and the groomsmen. The groomsmen needed to have on their tuxes, and the girls needed to have on their dresses. Today they make it even more certain because they send out a notice: “Save the date.” Then you get an invitation later because they want to keep reminding us, “You need to show up.”
So Jesus is saying, “There’s this expectation here. There’s this wedding that’s about to happen.” The story is about 10 virgins that were supposed to be ready. They would be like the bridesmaids. If anybody was supposed to be prepared, they were supposed to be prepared. But Jesus says, “In this particular wedding, five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise.”
“When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them. But the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But in the middle of the night, there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him!'”
Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise ones, “Oh, please give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.” But the wise ones answered, “No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”
When they had gone to buy some, the groom arrived, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. The door was shut. Later, the rest of the virgins also came and said, “Master, Master, open up for us.” But he replied, “Truly, I tell you, I don’t know you.”
We could spend a long time in this text, but the main point is He’s saying, “You need to be alert, and you need to be ready, because I am returning.” But then He goes on to give us another parable. See the emphasis? He’s saying over and over, “Please be ready. Please be alert.” He gives us the examples. He gives us these parables.
Now, I want to read from the parable of the talents, and this emphasizes the fact not just to be alert and ready, but also to be working. The key here is verse 29: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough.”
I’ll begin reading in verse 14: “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey.”
Immediately, the man who had received five talents went and put them to work, and he earned five more. In the same way, the man with two earned two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
After a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, “Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.”
The man with two talents also approached and said, “Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.”
The man who had received one talent also approached and said, “Master, I know you, you’re a harsh man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.”
His master replied to him, “You evil, lazy servant. If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and I would have received my money back with interest when I returned. So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. Throw this good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The picture here is that Jesus has given all of His followers things to work with. He’s given us talents, responsibilities, and gifts, and He’s expecting us to use those things so that others might come to faith in Jesus Christ. Some of us He gives five talents to, and some of us He gives two talents to. You may feel like, “Well, God hasn’t given me as much as someone else. Maybe I can’t sing like Kelly Jo, and I can’t play the piano like Mary, so I’m blessing His kingdom.”
You may feel that way here. Maybe you feel like you just got two or one talent. But being faithful with what you have is going to receive the same accolades from the Lord that both you who’ve used your two talents and the one that has used five. Whether you’ve gotten more or less, you’re still going to share in the same way in the joy of the Lord. But for those who are doing nothing for the Lord, they’re not working while He is away; everything that they have is going to be taken away from them.
We go on now to the sheep and the goats. We’re still in Matthew 25. Be ready, be alert, be working. The third thing I want you to see is that we need to be certain. We need to be certain that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, because what we’re going to read here is that the day is coming that He is going to separate out those that love Him and follow Him and those that do not.
Just as certainly as you can tell a sheep from a goat, there will be no concern about who the true followers of Jesus Christ are. Now, if you have a pet goat, we’re not saying that goats are evil, okay? We’re just saying that they’re completely different from sheep.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.”
Then the king will say to those on His right, those that are His true followers, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Jesus is telling us we need to be certain that we’re on the right side. We need to be certain that we’re on the Lord’s team, because the day is coming when there’s going to be a clear-cut distinction between those that follow the Lord and those that don’t.
It will only be those that follow Him with certainty that will go to live with Him in heaven. Joel, chapter one, verse 15: We’re back to where we started today. “Woe because of that day.” In other words, look out, be ready for the day of the Lord. It’s near. It’s going to come as devastation, and it’s going to come from the Almighty.
When we say it’s near, we use the word “imminent.” It could happen at any time. Before my sermon finishes today, the Lord could return. He might return tomorrow. We just don’t know. That’s why we have to be prepared at all times. When it does come, it’s going to be devastation like we’ve never seen before. We’ll know for certain that it’s from Him because it’s going to be completely devastating, and it’s going to be divine devastation—worse than what the Antichrist will pour out on the world, worse than anything that we’ve seen up until this time.
We need to be prepared for the coming day of the Lord. We need to be alert. We need to be working. We need to be certain. The most important day of the Lord, because we’ve talked about several of them, is the spiritual day of the Lord. That’s when Jesus initially came and lived among us a sinless life so that He could die for us on the cross. That was a spiritual day of the Lord when He intervened in a special way that we might have certainty of our salvation.
The spiritual day of the Lord happened when God supernaturally intervened by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to defeat and judge the power of darkness, defeat and judge the power of sin, and to defeat and judge the power of the grave. He did all of this battle for us that we were unable to do for ourselves. His death on the cross fought the battle for us, and His resurrection then proved that He is the triumphal king because He did not stay in the grave.
It’s only by accepting His work on the cross that we are given salvation. We give a new life, and because of that, we have an eternal hope so that we’ll be ready for His return. That will be part of those on the right side, those that are part of the picture of the sheep, that we might go and live with Him throughout eternity.
Because the other alternative is that we’ll be without Him, lost as the goats were in the picture. So as we come to an end today, I just want you to be thinking as Kelly Jo comes up to lead in our song, are you prepared for the day of the Lord? Are you certain? If you’re not certain of that today, just come to Him and say, “I do accept your work on the cross. I want you to be my Lord and Savior.”
But maybe you’re certain about that, but you feel a little guilty that you haven’t been doing the work that you’re supposed to do. So my encouragement to you is to think about that. “God, am I really doing what it is that you want me to do?” And last, you should be excited about Jesus’ return. All these awful things going on in the world, we can get so depressed and down about it, but they’re just all pictures that victory is just around the corner, and we need to be looking forward to that.
I’m just going to ask you to remain seated today. You might want to sing the last song, or maybe you just want to bow your head in prayer. But ask the Lord what decision you need to make today.
May we pray? Heavenly Father, help us as we are seated and either listening to music or singing, that we would ask you to show us what it is that we need to do in our lives today to respond to your word. May your Spirit move in us, Father, to give us the ability to do that and the desire to do that. In your Son’s name, we pray. Amen.