Jesus is coming soon

Pastor Max Lyons opens with the three declarations of Revelation 22: "Look, I am coming soon." Soon for God is not the same as soon for us, since a thousand years is like a day to the Lord, but that does not make the promise untrue. In the meantime believers do not scoff, as 2 Peter 3 warns some will; they wait. The kingdom of heaven is here but not yet fully here, which theologians call the now and the not yet. We await the day when Jesus brings His kingdom fully to earth.

Why waiting is hard and comfort is dangerous

Waiting for anything is hard, and He contrasts a first-class flight to Sydney where he did not want the flight to end, with a later flight in an economy middle seat that could not end soon enough. The less comfortable the journey, the greater the desire to arrive. Christians in Iran or North Korea long for Jesus to come quickly; comfortable Americans risk becoming lukewarm and unprepared.

The most discussed and least understood topic

The Bible speaks of Jesus' first coming about 300 times, yet Jerusalem failed to recognize it. The second coming appears in 1,845 verses, in 23 of the 27 New Testament books, roughly one in every 25 New Testament verses. Pastor Max compares this to his bafflement at Britain's Guy Fawkes Night: the locals understood it intuitively, and he did not. Much of Scripture works the same way because we are not first-century Jews.

The blueprint of a Jewish wedding

Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding, the church is called His bride, and in Matthew 22 He says the kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet. Pastor Max explains that an ancient Jewish wedding followed a very different pattern. First came the betrothal: the groom and his father negotiated a covenant (Hebrews 9 calls Christ the mediator of a new covenant) and a bride price, or mohar. The groom then poured a cup of wine; the bride accepted the covenant by drinking it or rejected it by refusing. At the Last Supper Jesus did exactly this, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." He then promised in John 14 to go and prepare a place in His Father's house, just as a groom built a room on his father's estate.

The preparation and the return

During the betrothal period the couple were legally married but not yet living together. The groom could not return until his father approved the dwelling, so only the father knew the timing, echoing Matthew 24, where not even the Son knows the day or hour. Meanwhile the bride prepared her dress (Ephesians 5), stayed faithful (2 Corinthians 11), and stayed ready (Matthew 25). When the father finally said go, the groom and his friends arrived unannounced, often at midnight, shouting and blowing a shofar. Then come the consummation, when heaven and earth become one (Revelation 21), the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19), and eternity together.

Are you ready?

Second Corinthians 13 calls believers to examine themselves. Scripture is clear that many are not ready: the virgins without oil found the door shut, the guest without wedding clothes was thrown out, and only a few in Sardis kept their garments clean. Pastor Max recounts a video of a deployed service member who came home early to surprise his wife, only to have another man open the door. If Jesus knocked on the door of your life today, what would He find in your calendar, your bank statement, your search history?

The cup is offered

The message closes with communion, taken a second time that month so it can carry new meaning. The covenant has been made, the bride price paid, the place is being prepared, and the return promised. Jesus pours the cup and asks, "Are you in?" If there is sin, repent; if you have drifted, come home; if you hold bitterness, forgive; if you have never said yes to Jesus, today is the day.