The Whole Christmas Story

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 9:6-7
New Testament Reading – Acts 1:1-9

The Whole Christmas Story
“The Soon Coming King”
Titus 2:11-14

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

   The foundational passage for this sermon is Titus 2:11-14, to which the Reformers referred as the “Great Doctrine of Grace,” for in these four verses, the Apostle Paul defined the goal of God’s plan of redemption,

• “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
• The grace of God appeared to all men in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, which must be accepted or rejected by everyone.
• Those who received the gift of God’s grace by their expressed faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will evidence their faith by the way they live, always looking forward to Jesus’ return as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
• Therefore, the second coming of Jesus Christ is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith; it is the final chapter of the whole Christmas story.
• The Sinfulness of Man – shows us the need for Christmas. Every person is born with a sinful nature and cannot save himself. There-fore, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and is in need of a Savior.
• The Seed of the Savior – shows us God’s provision for our need. In Genesis 3:15, God said the Seed of Eve would eventually crush Satan’s head for having deceived Adam and Eve to disobey God.
• The Sign of the Savior – in fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, the prophet Isaiah said a virgin girl would conceive and give birth to a man-child and call His name Immanuel – God with us.
• The Son of Mary – the Son of God – in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, Mary gave birth to her firstborn son, whom she called Jesus, which means “God-Saves”
  • Having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus was holy; He was the very Son of God.
  • Having been born through the womb of Mary, Jesus was human; He was the very Son of Mary.
• The Soon-Coming King – just as Jesus fulfilled hundreds of specific prophecies related to the Messiah in His first coming, we can know the rest those prophecies will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again.
  • The one whose first coming was that of a suffering servant will return as the conquering King.
  • The one whose first coming was in silence and simplicity will descend from heaven with the army of His followers at His side, and the whole world will see Him.

  The most neglected study in the church today is that of Eschatology.

• Professor J. Barton Payne lists 1,817 messianic prophecies in the Bible, about half of which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s first coming as our Savior.
• Based on that record, we can assume that the balance of them will be fulfilled when Jesus returns as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as He promised.
• The Hebrew Scriptures indicate the Promised One would appear, be cut off, and reappear in victory.
• In His first advent, Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for our sins, and having completed His mission by His death on the cross, He returned to His throne in heaven.
• In His second advent, Jesus will return to destroy Satan and all of his followers, remove the curse that God imposed on the earth, and establish His Kingdom on this earth for 1,000 years.

A Chronology of coming events:

• The Rapture of the Church – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – When those whom the Lord has ransomed and redeemed are “snatched up” from the earth to meet the Lord in the air. This includes those who received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord from Pentecost to the Rapture. Those who have died will be resurrected from their graves to join with those who are alive at that time, and caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord.
• The Antichrist and the New World Order – 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 – Once the Church is removed and the Holy Spirit no longer restrains the rise of evil, the “lawless one” will be revealed. According to Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 13, this man, who will become possesed by Satan, will gain worldwide power and insitute a new world order, including a global religious system that will require all of the people to worship the Antichrist.
• The Tribulation – Revelation 6-16 – When God pours out His wrath upon sinful humanity for their unbelief in Jesus Christ as the God-sent Savior. Jesus called the last half of this seven-year period the Great Tribulation, with a level of death and destruction as the world has never seen before, nor ever will ever see again. This period of time will end with the return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
• The Judgment Seat of Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:10 – While the unbelievers are suffering God’s wrath on the earth, believers will be standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven, explaining what we did during our days on earth. While this event will not determine our salvation, it will examine our works and determine our rewards. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
• The Battle of Gog-Magog – Ezekiel 38-39 – Prior to the beginning of the Tribulation, and perhaps even before the rapture of the Church, a great army of the North, which is probably Russia, will form an alliance of other nations, and come against Israel. God will supernaturally intervene in that war and not only destroy the armies carrying out the attack but also the nations from which they came. A battle by the same name emerges at the end of the Millennium.
• The Abomination of Desolation – Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15–16 – Romans 11:26 – Midway of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel, enter the Temple he allowed them to rebuild, declare himself to be God, and demand to be worshipped as God. A remnant of the Jews will flee to Petra, where Jesus will reveal Himself to them, and they will be saved.
• The Battle of Armageddon – Revelation 16:12-16 – Armageddon refers to a climactic future battle between God and the forces of evil, as recorded in the book of Revelation. The word comes from the Hebrew word Har-Magedone, which means “Mount Megiddo,” the predicted location of the battle. Under the banner of the Antichrist, the armies of the world will come against the City of Jerusalem. But, when it appears that all will be lost, Jesus will return in all of His glory, and as Mark said, the armies of heaven will return with Him. According to Revelation 19:11-12, Jesus will destroy the forces of evil with the sword of His mouth, and the Antichrist and False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire.
• The Judgment of the Nations – Matthew 25:31-46 – Jesus will judge the survivors of the Tribulation, separating the righteous “sheep” – those who received Jesus Christ as their Savior during the Tribulation, and survived, from the wicked “goats,” those who survived the Tribulation, but did not receive Christ as their Savior. The “sheep” will be invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and the “goats” will be cast into hell forever.
• The Binding of Satan – Revelation 20:1-3 – Satan will be bound in chains and held in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.
• The Millennial Kingdom – Luke 1:32-33, Revelation 20:2-7 – To fulfill God’s covenants and promises to Abraham, when Christ returns to earth, He will establish Himself as the King of Jerusalem and sit on the throne of David. The Millennium will be a 1000-year period of peace and prosperity such as the world has not experienced since the first days of the Garden of Eden.
• The Last Battle – Revelation 20:7-9 – Everyone who enters the Millennial Kingdom will be holy. However, those humans who survived the Tribulation will bear children who possess the old sin nature. Near the end, Satan will be released to tempt those humans to rebel against God. However, he will be defeated and cast into the lake of fire, along with the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and those who rebelled against God.
• The Great White Throne Judgment – Revelation 20:11-15 – All unbelievers from the beginning of time will be judged according to their works – even those in hell will be raised to stand before God. Since no one will be found worthy to enter heaven, they will be thrown into the lake of fire forever.
• The New Creation – Revelation 21-22 – this heaven and this earth will pass away, and God’s new heaven and new earth will take its place, as God makes all things new.