Second Coming of Jesus

EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS!

Is it true, as someone recently indicated to me, that John wrote Revelation, including 22:20, before 70 a.d., having in mind the coming of Jesus to destroy Jerusalem? After all, Jesus said, Surely I come quickly. And wasn’t the Apostle Paul expecting the same when he wrote to churches encouraging them with the hope of the Lord’s coming? And isn’t it most natural to understand Jesus’ words in the gospels (ex. Matthew 24), watch...for you know not the hour, to be primarily referring to His coming in the generation to whom He was addressing?

The point of this short article is not to answer all the questions relating to Jesus’ prophesy of the destruction of Jerusalem and how the statements of His coming fit in. The point here is simply to respond to the proposition that when Jesus or the Apostles spoke of the coming of Christ they were thinking of His coming in their generation to destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Those who think this way tend to read most, if not all, references to the coming of Christ in the Epistles and Revelation as history.  And if not all history, they certainly do not think references to the future coming of Christ to be intended for us.

It is a grave error of interpretation to teach that references to Christ’s coming again primarily refer to 70 a.d.. Such teaching should be rejected. Here are three reasons, among others, that may help dispel this error:

1. Quickly refers to suddenness, not time frame. It fits Paul’s description (and Jesus) of Jesus’ coming as a thief in the night (1Thess. 5:2).

2. Peter concurs with Paul regarding the nature of His coming, as a thief in the night (2Pet. 3:10). Peter is answering the objection of those who see the delay in the promise of His coming to be an indicator that He is not coming. Peter dispels that notion and concludes that we look for new heavens and a new earth, following fiery renovation of the present, which happens at His coming. His “delay” is intentional so that all those He does not intend to perish will come to repentance.

3. Finally, John’s reference to Christ’s coming and appearing in 1 John 2:28 and 3:2,3, are intended for all of the sons of God in these last days following the resurrection of Christ. This is OUR hope, not merely those present at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d..

Any teaching that distracts our faith and hope from the coming Christ and that would discourage us from praying, Even so, come, Lord Jesus, must be rejected.

Why Satan?

FUTILITY OF REBELLION AGAINST YOUR CREATOR

Have you ever wondered why God created a being called Lucifer, the chief of the angelic realm? Scripture indicates there was none in all God’s creation above him (Ezekiel 28:13-15) . But he was created. God made him.

The Scripture reveals him as the chief rebel of God’s creation. He is described as being full of pride (Isaiah 14:13,14; 1 Tim. 3:7). His fall, along with a great number of angels, was great (Luke 10:18; Rev. 12:3-9).

Jesus calls him a murderer and a liar (John 8:44). Hebrews 2:14, refers to him as having power over death. His goal has always been to destroy life and separate mankind, who is lower than angels, from God. He has done all that he could to derail the purpose of God in creation. 

But we know that Satan will not win. He knows he will not win (Rev. 12:12). From the beginning it was prophesied by God that a seed would come from the woman, without the aid of a man, that would crush the head of that old serpent, the Devil (Gen. 3:15). That seed which came was the Son of God...that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). We know that this Prince of darkness was judged at the Cross. His place, along with the angels who fell with him, is reserved in everlasting chains under darkness (Jude 6).

Yet, his rebellion continues as he seeks to keep unbelieving ones in darkness, blind to the only hope for sinful man (2 Cor. 4:3,4). And so all who continue to follow him in his rebellion against God will be cast into the same place of eternal judgment prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

Satan is not God’s equal. God is not competing with Satan. Satan is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is targeting as many as he is able, seeking to do as much damage as possible. But God is not threatened by Satan. God is not trying to defeat the Devil. His doom is sure.

Why then has God permitted him to operate so freely and with so much power in His world? There are other answers, but I would suggest that Satan represents to us the futility of rebelling against our Creator. Though he is the most powerful of created beings, his destruction is certain.  He will be bound and confined to a place of absolute misery forever.

What do you hope to accomplish in the end by continuing in your rebellion against God? Learn from Satan! He is held forth by God as the ultimate example of rebellion against Him. He will not succeed. Nor will you! Continue in love with your self and sin, controlled by the pride of your heart, and you will receive the same judgment as the devil.

This is not a cosmic game. Satan was not made so that God would have competition in His universe. God has put before us a clear example of the futility of rebellion against Him. Repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  

How Does Your Testimony Compare?

EXAMINING YOUR FAITH

Have you ever listened to someone else give their testimony of conversion  to Christ and wondered, in light of all they experienced, whether your conversion is real? It is no light matter. If you have never truly been born again you cannot see and will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And so you examine yourself, comparing your own experience with the impressive testimony of whoever, and it seems you come up short. Or, perhaps you are on the other side of the evaluation and feel pretty good about yourself because your experience exceeds the one you have just heard. In fact, you find yourself questioning the genuineness of, whoever.

There is good reason to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). You know it is possible to be deceived. You know it is possible to imagine yourself to be something you are not. A true believer is sensitive to this possibility. A lost person really has no interest in examination. So, if you are interested in examining your profession of faith, you have reason to be hopeful.

But in your examination you must not compare yourself with others. This is dangerous. Wouldn’t it be disastrous to get to the end, stand before the judgment of Christ and be shocked that someone you thought you far exceeded in genuine Christianity was welcomed, and you were rejected? It could also happen that one whose verbal testimony you thought far exceeded yours, and stirred up doubt about yourself, is turned away and  you are welcomed.

You must judge yourself by God’s standard. Do you honestly recognize that God owes you nothing but death and condemnation (Rom. 6:23)? Have you submitted yourself to God’s righteousness in the Lord Jesus (Rom. 10:3,4)? Have you surrendered your own efforts to attain God’s favor while at the same time turning away from all that would separate you from Him (Rom. 5:20-6:2)? Are you coming to God through the only One who is able to present you faultless (Jude 24; Heb. 7:25)?

If you can honestly answer “yes” to all the above, then you ought to also be seeing other indicators in your life that the Spirit of Christ is in you (Rom. 8:9). How about: a hunger for His Word (Acts 2:41; 1 Peter 2:1-3), a longing to do His will (1 John 2:15-17; Gal. 2:20), an increasing distaste for sinful pleasures (Rom. 12:1,2), a love for other believers (1 John 4:7,11), fruits of the Spirit increasing (Gal. 5:22,23), and increasing dependence upon Christ (John 15:5; Philip. 4:13)?

Is the faith of the Son of God at work in you?

DON’T APOLOGIZE FOR GOD

There are passages in Scripture that make most of us rather uncomfortable. For example, when God says, as part of His judgment against Judah, He would cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of this friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them (Jeremiah 19:9). We cringe when we read such statements. We hope that no one else, especially our unbelieving friends (or enemies), will find those passages and ask us about them.

It was reported that the infamous atheist Richard Dawkins offered to put up money to buy Bibles for children in the schools in England. He wanted them to read it from beginning to end. He wanted them to see what the God of the Bible was really like. He spoke with certainty that having read all the Bible they would certainly reject the God it proclaimed.

Christians, knowing that such thinking exists in the world, often set out to defend and debate the revelation God has given of Himself in Scripture. In an attempt to answer objections, they often dull the cutting edges of certain Scripture to the point that it may as well have not been written. Do you suppose that God wants us to know Him just as He has revealed Himself? Is it possible that we actually do not know what we are doing when we attempt to either conceal harsh sounding Scriptures, or explain them in such a way that the true nature of God is not revealed? Do we really want to hide the fact that God is holy and just, and that He will indeed punish the wicked?

If God did not want Himself known in the light that Scripture reveals Him, He would have had His prophets speak in another way. He is the one who said, I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons… It is true the cause would be by way of the siege and the siege was due to God lifting His hand of protection from Jerusalem. Yet, it is clear that God wants us to know He is behind the judgment. In the book of Jeremiah this point is made in an almost exhausting manner. It is as if God wants us to know that He will indeed punish sinners!

Hell (gehenna, or the lake of fire) is the eternal punishment that God has promised to all who are not saved, or rescued, by the Lord Jesus Christ. Interestingly, gehenna is connected to the valley of the son of Hinnom found in Jeremiah 19. This is the valley that Jeremiah prophesies would be turned into a valley of slaughter (vs. 6). It is the valley that became a perpetual smoldering pit for trash, dead criminals and animals. Gehenna, translated hell in the KJV, is the word Jesus used to refer to the place of eternal punishment.

But hell is future. No one has seen it. Could it be that the graphic terms of Old Testament punishment against sin are given to assure us that the graphic terms of future eternal punishment are for real. God told Israel in graphic details what would come of them if they continued in rebellion. For the most part they didn’t believe God. Surely, He wouldn’t do such a thing. God is not like that! Yet, He did do it!

As to the gory thought of cannibalism in a city under siege, prophesied through Jeremiah in 19:9 - it really happened! Lamentations 4:10, The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; they became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people. (NKJV) God is letting the world know that hell is no more beyond Him than the awful judgments predicted and carried out in the OT time period.

You can’t believe in a God like this? Well, you can make up your own god. Or, you can deny there is a god. Many have followed their own imagination and feelings before you and come to various conclusions. God reveals Himself very clearly in Scripture. It is in your best interest to bow before Him and heed what He says. Those who do not will be punished with everlasting destruction from His presence (2 Thess. 1:9). He is a consuming fire. You need to know this!

Christians, don’t hide the truth concerning God. It may be uncomfortable. But it is necessary that the world know who the true and living God really is. If they conclude they cannot believe in a God like this, then they will have to deal with their conclusions. But if you misrepresent God, and someone believes in your misrepresentation; you will have God to answer to! God is not ashamed of His revelation. Should we be?