When Christ returns in glory, and ushers in the new Heavens and the new Earth, none of us will be able to say: “That’s exactly as I predicted!”
Richard Bewes writes:
‘In our fallenness, we can all to easily get it wrong, despite the clear signposts!
Few were ready for the birth at Bethlehem.
The disciples were demoralised at the death of Jesus – despite his predictions.
The resurrection, when it happened, was a bombshell among them.…
Matthew Westerholm has noted that many churches no longer sing about Christ’s second coming as they used to.
But Paul (1 Thess 4:18) says that Christians should ‘encourage one another’ with the message of our Saviour’s return.
One simple means of encouragement is found right at the end of the Bible:
Rev 22:20 – ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’
1. Our Final Hope
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Our ultimate hope is not in a political party, a pragmatic paradigm, or a popular programme. …
It was J.N. Darby who in 1830 first articulated the idea that in the end times the church will be secretly taken up to heaven, leaving behind a sinful and godless world.
The key text is 1 Thessalonians 4:17 –
‘Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.’
The Thessalonian believers had been troubled that in the time between Paul’s evangelistic activity among them (in AD 49) and the time that this letter was written (up to two years later), some of their number had died. …
Does the New Testament teach that Jesus’ return was expected imminently (i.e. within the lifetime of that first generation of believers)?
Jesus taught that his disciples should be ready for his return given that he himself did not know the day or hour that it would happen (Mt 24:36).
Other New Testament passages imply that his return could happen very soon (1 Cor 1:7; Phil 4:5; Tit 2:13; James 5:8f).
But other passages teach that certain things would occur before his return, including the destruction of the Temple (Mt 24:2; see also Mt 24:30; Lk 21:11).…
Daniel 7:13f – “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.…
Mt 24:34/Mk 13:30/Lk 21:32 – “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
Jesus has been speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the ‘coming’ of the Son of Man.
Taking our Lord’s words at face value, it is possible to suppose that he is teaching that the parousia would take place within the lifetime of his hearers (‘this generation’). If that is what he meant, then he would appear to have been mistaken.…
1 Peter 4
The letter begins: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
Peter deals with the very practical tension between the dignity of being God’s chosen people and the struggle of living as Christians in an alien and often hostile world.
4:19 provides a summary of what has gone before:- So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.…
Peter Lewis (The Glory of Christ, 400) reminds us that the doctrine of Christ’s return affects everything in the Christian life. It:-
(Source unknown)…
