I suspect Russell Crowe and the producers of his latest film, in cinemas from next week, had wished they had released Noah in January at the height of the wettest winter on record. The film has inevitably aroused controversy. On the one hand for being creative with the Scriptures, but on the other for assuming that the Flood really happened.

It has certainly divided my Facebook friends. When challenged as to whether I really believed in the story of Noah. I simply replied, “Jesus clearly did, and that is good enough for me.” In our series the Passion of Jesus, as we prepare for Easter, we are listening to Jesus explain the meaning of his death, the significance of his resurrection, the implications of his ascension and the signs of his return. In the first half of Matthew 24, last week, we saw how Jesus answered his disciples’ question.

“What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

I recommended viewing these verses through varifocal lenses. For Jesus describes: The Beginning of the Last Days. The Signs of the Last Days and the End of the Last Days. And all are in perfect focus.

In the verses before us today, Jesus elaborates on the events immediately preceding his return. I want to draw out three implications for us:

1. Jesus will return to an unsuspecting world
2. Jesus will rebuke unfaithful hypocrites
3. Jesus will reward his diligent servants

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In July 2006, at the launch of Christians United for Israel, after recorded greetings from President George W. Bush, and in the presence of US Senators and the Israeli Ambassador, Pastor John Hagee from Texas suggested,

“The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God’s plan for both Israel and the West … a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ.” [i]

Is that what the Apostle Peter had in mind when he said we should “look forward to the day of God and speed its coming”? (2 Peter 3:12).  Is this how we “speed Christ’s coming”?  Well what did Jesus say? In our series The Passion of Jesus, we have come to Matthew 24. The chapter begins with Jesus’ disciples asking him a question.

“What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

They were dying to know when Jesus would return. And Christians have been speculating ever since. In verse 34, Jesus answers,

“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matthew 24:34).

Jesus is Coming Soon from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

The problem has been that Christians in every generation since have believed Jesus was referring to their generation. Were they wrong? Well, yes and no. As a young Christian growing up in the 1970s, I was addicted to books on Bible prophecy like Hal Lindsey’s, Late Great Planet Earth. Lindsey insisted the signs of Jesus return were coming true in our generation. Lindsey figured that the return of the Jewish people back to the land after 2000 years, the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, and the capture of Jerusalem in 1967, were signs that Jesus predicted. Since a biblical generation is 40 years, Lindsey speculated that Jesus would therefore return in 1988.

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