David Diga Hernandez - Like Lightning: Christ's Return

I want to read that verse again: Matthew chapter 24, verse 27. «As the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.» Mark chapter 13, verse 26 says, «Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory.» When Jesus returns, the sky will split open, and all will see Him coming in His glory. When Jesus returns, He will come in power and authority. When Jesus first came to this earth, He came as a lamb; when He comes again, He is coming as a lion. When Jesus first came to this earth, He came to bring salvation. When Jesus returns to this earth again, He is bringing with Him judgment and righteousness. Jesus is coming! I know it’s not a popular message, and I know it’s not politically correct to say it. I recognize that I might seem crazy to some for even declaring it, but the Bible teaches it, so I’m going to say it; it’s the truth. Jesus is coming! That’s a warning, and it is also an encouragement. It’s something for some to celebrate, while for others it’s something to fear. Jesus is coming; it will cause terror in the hearts of some, and it will cause us to rejoice as we look and see the coming of our salvation, our Savior, our Lord, coming on the clouds with glory, with armies of angels following Him. Jesus is coming! The Bible says this in 2 Peter chapter 3, beginning at verse number 3: «Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days, scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.» Here’s what they’re going to say, verse 4: «They will say, 'What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.'» So there will be those who say, «Look, nothing has changed. We’ve been continuing with life as we know it, generation after generation. Preachers have said Jesus is coming, and that’s what they’re going to say to us; that’s what they will continue to say. There go those crazy preachers again! There go those conspiracy theorists, those Christians, speaking about the return of their Lord. Well, if He was coming, wouldn’t He have arrived already? What’s taking Him so long? Why is He waiting?» The Bible tells us that this attitude will be present, actually prevalent, in these days. People will mock; people will laugh. But the reality is, Jesus is coming! Verse 5 describes those people who mock: «They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with the mighty flood, and by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment when ungodly people will be destroyed.» Verse 8: «You must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.» Now, this verse here does not give us a literal comparison because in eternity, time does not apply. God is outside the realm of time, so He doesn’t necessarily experience days and years; He sees it all at once; it’s all already occurred. Now, God, being outside of time, is still being very patient. Why? Verse 9: «The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.» But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief, and the heavens will pass away. This is amazing how the Scripture describes this: «Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.» Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live! Let’s take a look at this again, and I want you to really think about what the Bible is saying: «The heavens will pass away with a terrible noise.» What kind of noise is made when the cosmos disappears? What sort of terrible noise is heard when the universe itself ceases to exist? The Bible goes on to say, «and the very elements themselves"—think about that—the very elements themselves will be destroyed in fire. All of reality, as we know it, will cease to exist. Reality will dissolve; the sky will recede like a scroll. As an example to help you understand this, and I’m not even sure this is something we can fully understand on this side of eternity, but I want to help put this into perspective from what we know in Scripture. Of course, I’m not saying even that I fully understand this; I don’t. I cannot comprehend it; I can’t fathom this—that reality itself, as we know it, time, matter, space, will cease to exist. It’s an amazingly deep concept, but I would liken it to this, if I may: Several years ago, I purchased a VR system so that I could entertain friends and family when they came over to the house. Now, the VR technology is amazing; it allows people to digitally visit worlds that would otherwise be unsafe. I’ve had some friends go into the system and go to space, digitally speaking, of course; then others choose the underwater adventure, and most of my friends actually choose that. Most people who try this system of mine choose to go underwater, and I’m always amused when…