The Triumphal Entry: to Death

– The Triumphal Entry: to Glory

By Pastor Dan Kennedy

©March 28, 2010

www.pastorkennedy.com

pastorkennedy@gmail.com

The Triumphal Entry – to Death

We love to enter in to the joy and beauty of the morning when Jesus entered into Jerusalem as our humble King; riding on a young donkey through the Golden Gate into the Temple, to the accolades of a multitude of voices shouting praises, waving palm branches and placing their coats under the hooves of the lowly donkey as He passed by. 

The Triumphal Entry was Sunday morning, that year, the 10th day of the first month of the Jewish New Year, crowds were gathering around in the temple to select the “priestly approved” lamb to be slaughtered at dusk the 14th day of the New Year, when the classic feast of the Passover is celebrated.

It was a Triumphal Entry, but it was a Triumphal Entry to Christ’s Death!

Background:  The WAR

Jealousy, Anger, Deception, Dark Political Power, Plots of Murder, Acts “in God’s Name”… These are all involved with today’s epic narration of what we have come to call, “the Triumphal Entry” on Palm Sunday.

The Triumphal Entry, in one sense, is a continuation of a war – a cosmic war.  A war that began in the portals of heaven when Jesus Christ, God the Son, The Word, spoke into existence powerful, superhuman angels with a will of their own; along with all visible and invisible thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities (Col. 1:16; see also the superhuman power of the enemy, Jude 8-10; 2 Peter 2:10-12). 

The enemy of our souls rebelled against God, in wanting to rise to be like God himself, but who was subsequently cast from heaven to defile God’s human creation (Is. 14:12-14; Rev. 12:7-9).

Primary Weapons of this Powerful Spiritual Warfare

In this war between God the Creator and powerful angelic created beings, one of the primary sources of warfare is the stronghold of the deception of the mind.

2 Corinthians 10

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…

In the verses above, look what primary Weapons the Spiritual Warfare of God seeks to counter:

a)      The spiritual strongholds that we fight against are not of the flesh.

b)      Arguments.

c)      Lofty opinions.

d)      Thoughts that need to be brought captive to obey Christ.

None of the domains of the above warfare are body/physical domains, but instead those relating to the mind, the soul and the spirit.  This is a different battlefield than we might normally expect, but all of us know that these nonphysical domains are very real.

Today we are looking at first hand what battles Christ had to deal with in His battle against enemies of God, the Father and Himself. 

Keep in mind that the human individuals that Christ was battling were the “religious, spiritual elite” of the day.

This battle was obvious at the Triumphal Entry.  The Jewish leaders were blinded to who Jesus was.  They should have recognized who He was when He called Lazarus from the tomb, but they were blinded, and remained blinded.

Observation: When one’s eyes are blinded, one cannot see the obvious.

Observation:  If truth is manipulated into that which is not truth, causing us to consistently hold to something, which is substantially wrong, then there are mainly four reasons why one cannot perceive the truth:

1. 1.Because our mind does not or cannot perceive enough actual facts (information) to conclude what is truth, and to deny what is false.
   

2. 2.Because our mind has been deluded and manipulated by deceiving spirits in not processing the truth accurately.
   

3. 3.Because our mind has been falsely persuaded by “group think” (what the society/family/group of people around you believes to be true), when the reasoning and thoughts are actually not true.
   

4. 4.All of the above.
   

The narrative of the Triumphant Entry is not a “stand alone” event.  It is preceded by events, and is itself a precursor of events, which are being brought to a rolling boil and ready to spew out the top of the cauldron of world turmoil, in the “fullness of God’s time” (Gal 4:4,5)

“The Lazarus Effect” Sets the Stage for Jesus’ Triumphal Entry and Death

The event of the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus directly led to the tragic (but profoundly Redemptive) conclusion of death for Christ Jesus, the Messiah.

1. No one could deny that a miraculous resurrection had taken place.
   

2. No one could deny that Jesus, through the power of God, had raised Lazarus from the dead.
   

3. The mind of the Pharisees were made up…they could see the reality with their own eyes and hear of it with their own ears, but they could not believe the truth of Christ who had proved Himself as the Messiah.
   

John 11

1. ✴ The event centers on the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.
   

2. ✴ Lazarus had been sick and then died.  He had already been dead four days when Jesus and His disciples arrived.
   

3. ✴ Jesus is torn by the grief of Martha and Mary.
   

4. ✴ Lazarus is raised from the dead, by Jesus Christ.
   

5. ✴ The Pharisees and Chief Priests plot Jesus’ death because more and more people are following Him.
   

6. ✴ Jesus went to a region near the wilderness to a town called Ephraim to avoid the Pharisees and their plot.
   

7. ✴ The Passover was coming and many folks went up from the countryside to Jerusalem to purify themselves and celebrate the Passover there.
   

8. ✴ The Pharisees were looking for Jesus and had given orders that if anyone knew where he was to let them know so they could arrest him.
   

Six Days Before the Feast of the Passover

John 12

1. ✴ Jesus returned to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus raised from the dead.  Jesus knew he was going back into a life-threatening situation.
   

2. ✴ Saturday evening, the beginning of the seven days celebrating Passover, Mary, Martha and Lazarus served at an appreciation dinner for Jesus at the home of Simon the Leper (who had been healed by Jesus).  This meal was put on was in the face of the known threat on Jesus’ life.
   

3. ✴ Following the meal Mary took a pound of expensive ointment and anointed Jesus’ head and feet with it and wiped his feet with her hair.  The house was filled with the perfume’s fragrance.
   

4. ✴ Judas Iscariot was incensed that Mary had “wasted” the perfume on Jesus’ feet when it could have been sold for as much as a common man’s year’s wages and the proceeds given to the poor.
   

5. ✴ The Scripture notes that he was not that concerned about the poor, but that he was the treasurer for the disciples and used to help himself from the money that was given to Jesus.  Can you imagine what he could have done with that kind of money?
   

6. ✴ Jesus told Judas to not be so concerned with the poor, because Mary had anointed his body for his burial.
   

7. ✴ A large crowd learned that Jesus there and they came out see him and also Lazarus, because he had been raised from the dead.
   

8. ✴ The chief priests made plans to put both Jesus and Lazarus to death, because it was on account of Lazarus’ resurrection that many people believed on Jesus (Jn. 12:9,10).
   

9. ✴ The next day, Sunday, the crowd that had seen Lazarus raised from the dead begin telling those who came to the Passover about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  This caused a great crowd to gather palm branches in their hands and go out to meet Jesus, crying out “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”  the tenth day of the Jewish month Nisan, on which the paschal lamb was chosen from the temple lambs and set apart until the 14th, on which day it would be killed and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts, and the classic Passover meal prepared and served.
   

10. ✴ Jesus told his disciples of a specific young donkey which had no previous rider; had his disciples bring it to Him, sat on it and rode into Jerusalem, just as it is prophesied in Zechariah 9:9, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”  It was the Triumphal entrance into Jerusalem of the King of Peace.
    

11. ✴ The crowd was extremely large because they had been told about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.  They went out to greet Jesus in such a “kingly” manner the Pharisees chided one another with, “look the world has gone after him!”
    

12. ✴ Jesus entered the temple, Sunday, on the 10th day of the first month of the Jewish New Year, the same day that the heads of the household were coming to choose their Passover Lamb at the temple.  Jesus came through the Eastern Gate right into the Temple courtyard, where the exchange of money was taking place and the bartering was being done at the vender’s booths, for the sacrificial animals.
    

Exodus 12

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight (Heb. “between the two evenings”).

Jesus Symbolically Overthrew and Drove out those making Mockery of God’s House, that Palm Sunday, following His Triumphal Entry

It is interesting that the priests had quite a racket going of making money in the conversion of the trade of temple currency from the Roman currency, which could only be used in the purchase of temple goods and sacrificial animals.  They also had the only monopolization of “temple” lambs authorized as acceptable for sacrifice, if one purchased their lamb from one of the official temple vendors – who paid the appropriate price to the priests for their business.  It could be a tedious and painful process to get a homegrown lamb from the countryside to be certified as “pure” enough to be used as a sacrificial animal, when the temple animals were automatically accepted.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple, Heals the Sick and Has Praise from Children – still the chief priests and scribes were so deceived they could not perceive the truth of who Jesus was.

Matthew 21

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”

Christ Jesus came from His Glory to become a seed planted, for the salvation of the world…of those who would put their faith in Him!

John 12

23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The Triumphal Entry – To Glory!

One day Christ Jesus will return for His Own.  This will be the Triumphal Entry into His Glory!

He has triumphed over sin!  He has triumphed over the grave!  He has triumphed over all His enemies!  And, He has triumphed over the final enemy for all the world: death, for it too, will be destroyed.

Revelation 19

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Christ Coming in Glory will itself follow a series of spectacular events in heaven and earth, according to Scripture

•Christ’s Glorious Return is at the end of the seven-year Tribulation.

•The Rebuilding of the Temple must be accomplished so the sacrificial system can be reestablished (Daniel 9:27; 8:13). 

•The Strong Covenant Established with Israel, by the antichrist (Daniel 9:27)

•The Abomination of Desolation revealed in the middle of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27)

•The Two Witnesses are revealed which call down untold mayhem for the world are reveal for some time in Jerusalem and are then killed by the antichrist and rise again after three and a half days (Rev. 11:3-12)

•The Mark of the Beast is evident to all and obvious as a world-wide necessity for commerce, which will be rejected by those who believe on Christ (Rev. 13:16-18)

•Catastrophic events will take place on earth (Jacob’s Trouble)

Daniel 12

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

•Devastating signs in the heavens will take place (Rev. 16:8-11)

•Christ will send out His angels (with a loud trumpet call) and gather all of His elect.  The angels bring these elect from the four winds…from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:31)

•There is a serious gathering of the nations of the world to battle against Jerusalem (Joel 3:2; Zech. 14:1-5; Rev. 19:19)

•The Final Battle – Armageddon (Rev. 16:16)

•There is a splitting of the Mt. of Olives and subsequent fleeing of those surviving in Jerusalem – through the newly exposed mountain valley (reminding us of the Children of Israel with Moses escaping through the parting of the Red Sea).  (Zech. 14:4,5

•The world will see the Son of Man Coming on the clouds of heaven (remember the “sign” of the Messiah, Daniel 7:13). 

•Christ Returns in Power and Glory (Rev. 19:11-16; Matt. 24:30)

There is a seeming “conflict” in pattern between the Second Coming of Christ in Glory and the Church being ready at any time to receive or to see their Master. 

We need to be ready at any time for the Coming of Christ!

•“Be Prepared”.  This Coming will affect everyone and we need to be ready for it!

Matthew 24

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,but the Father only. 37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Diligence and Faithfulness Rewarded

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 12

You Must Be Ready

35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

41 Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come son a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. [See the O.T. Law re: “beating” in Deut.  25:1-3 - Jesus was well aware of it as well as those to whom He was speaking.] 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Stay Awake, Watch and Be Ready

•The Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lampsand went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Other Verses Pertinent to Christ’s Imminent Coming

1 Corinthians 1

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 4

5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

1 Corinthians 15

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 16

21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!

Philippians 3

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Philippians 4  

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand….

1 Thessalonians 5:9

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain

salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

2 Thessalonians 2

6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed…

Titus 2:13

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ….

James 5:7-9

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

1 John 2:28

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

Revelation 3:11; 22:7,12,20

“I am coming soon!”

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

God has also seen fit to consistently take His Children out of, or away in times of extreme judgment

Throughout Scripture, God has also seen fit to take His Children out of, or away from the extreme judgment times, in which He brings upon the world, or certain parts of the world.  There is a pattern of deliverance of God’s Children in times of His Wrath.  Waiting up until the time of the “Second Coming” does not resolve this “protection” of Christ’s Bride, but a “secret” catching away prior to God’s wrath seems to find consistency with other examples of other deliverance.

•Noah and his family are saved from God’s judgment on the world during the Great Flood (Gen. 6-8)

•Lot and his family are saved from the fiery judgment of Sodom (Gen. 19).

•Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are delivered from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3).

•Daniel is spared from the Lion’s den (Dan. 6).

•Daniel prophecies in Dan. 12:1, deliverance from the terrible “time of trouble”…not just “wrath”.

“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. (This obviously includes non-Jewish believers!)

•In Jeremiah 30, there is a prophecy of the coming days when God restores His blessing on Israel.  Yet, within this passage the prophet speaks boldly of “Jacob’s Trouble” a phrase used to identify a time of terrible suffering that will come on the earth – such as has never, ever been seen before.  Unusually, within this context there is embedded a promised deliverance!

Jeremiah 30:7

Alas! That day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be saved out of it.

“When the prophets used the phrase ‘in that day,’ they were usually referring to the future time when God will judge the nations of the world and restore the Jews to their land.  Before Israel is delivered, however, all the nations of the earth will experience ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’  (v. 7), a phrase that describes the time of tribulation that will come upon the earth (Matt. 24:21–31; Mark 13:19–27; Rev. 6–19). A frequent biblical symbol of suffering is a woman in travail (Jer. 30:6), and this image is used to describe the Tribulation in the end times (see Isa. 13:8 and context; Micah 4:9–13; 1 Thess. 5:1–3).” Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1995). Be decisive. An Old testament study. (Je 30:1). Wheaton, Ill.:Victor Books.

•Churches so honored by God are to be delivered:

Revelation 3:10

“I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.”

Imminency is alluded to by the illusive words of 2 Thess. 2:6-8

These verses, to me, are the clearest (and most mysterious) support of the Church’s catching away prior to the Tribulation.

2 Thessalonians 2

6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed…

It would seem that the Holy Spirit is “He who now restrains” the lawless one, in the above verses.  Since the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, and believers in Jesus Christ are the “Temples of the Holy Spirit”, then it would seem very reasonable to me...since “those whose names are in the Book of Life” will be delivered from this “time of trouble” (Dan. 12:1), then a rapture of the church before the time of trouble, would be a reasonable explanation to the removing of the restraint holding back the lawless one in 2 Thess. 2:6-8.

Imminency is meant to cause Anticipation of Christ’s Return, not Procrastination

Can’t you hear people saying…“Oh, such and such event has not happened yet, so Christ won’t be coming back for at least seven years…”, or ten years, or fifty years, etc.

It seems that one reason God has allowed the sense of urgency in the imminency of His Coming is to nullify the natural reaction of people's procrastination...so they won’t put off looking for His return and thus become spiritually lethargic and impure.  Isn’t it interesting that in every generation, from His ascension forward, in every culture, this anticipation has been keenly felt!

There is always the agnostic scoffing and plying the line…

1 Peter 3:4

4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Peter follows this nay saying line in the following verses, with additional, Godlier reasoning: “They deliberately overlook the fact…”

When we know we have “time” we may want to procrastinate – we also may be less motivated to live a holy life.

Imminency undermines such procrastination and unbelief, and goes on to give us great Hope in a world groaning under the weight of the curse of sin, waiting for our redemption (Romans 8:22-25).

The Cause for Hope, Celebration and Purity

We have the greatest hope and cause for joy in the world.  One day our Redeemer will return and bring us to the home He has been preparing for us and change our sin-cursed bodies to be like His Own!  We will be delighted when the “curse” of our depravity and the “groaning” we have, together with the world around us, because of sin, will be taken away (Romans 8:18-25)!

John 16

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

John 14

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Romans 5

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Hebrews 9

28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

1 Peter 1

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 4

13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

1 John 3

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Conclusion

The King has come once as a lowly and humble King of Peace, at which time He gave His life for the Redemption of Mankind.  All those who receive the Free Gift of God, which He has provided, will be transformed by the Holy Spirit and Born Again into the family of God.  These will not face the condemning Judgment of God, but they will be given the eternal inheritance of the saints of God.

The King, Christ Jesus, will come again, putting on His glorious robes and majestic Eternal Glory.  He will justly judge every human creature.  Every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess Him as Lord, to the Glory of God, the Father!

Which will it be for you?

No matter when Christ returns, we must be ready.