The study of future events is often called “eschatology,” from the Greek word eschatos, which means “last.” The study of eschatology, then, is the study of “the last things.” Unbelievers can make reasonable predictions about future events based on patterns of past occurrences, but in the nature of human experience it is clear that human beings of themselves cannot know the future. Therefore, unbelievers can have no certain knowledge of any future event. But Christians who believe the Bible are in a different situation. Although we cannot know everything about the future, God knows everything about the future and he has in Scripture told us about the major events yet to come in the history of the universe. About these events occurring we can have absolute confidence because God is never wrong and never lies.
The Bible talks about certain major events that will affect the entire universe. Specifically, it tells us about the second coming of Christ, the millennium, the final judgment, eternal punishment for unbelievers and eternal reward for believers, and life with God in the new heaven and new earth. The study of these events is sometimes called “general eschatology.” This week we will look at the question of the return of Christ, or his “second coming.”
There have been many debates, often heated ones, in the history of the church over questions regarding the future. We will begin with aspects of Christ’s second coming with which all evangelicals agree, and then at the end move to one matter of disagreement: whether Christ could return at any time. Then in the following weeks we will discuss the question of the millennium, a topic that has long been a source of disagreement among Christians.
There Will Be a Sudden, Personal, Visible, Bodily Return of Christ
Jesus often spoke about his return. “You also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). He said, “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). Immediately after Jesus had ascended into heaven, two angels said to the disciples, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Paul taught, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The author of Hebrews wrote that Christ “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28). James wrote, “the coming’ of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). Peter said, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:10). John wrote, “when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). And the book of Revelation has frequent references to Christ’s return, ending with Jesus’ promise, “Surely I am coming soon,” and John’s response, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
This theme, then, is frequently mentioned throughout the New Testament. It is the dominant hope of the New Testament church. These verses predict a sudden return of Christ that will be dramatic and visible (“He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him,” Rev. 1:7). The passages are far too explicit to allow the idea (once popular in liberal Protestant circles) that Christ himself will not return, but simply that the spirit of Christ, meaning an acceptance of his teaching and an imitation of his lifestyle of love, would increasingly return to the earth. It is not his teachings or his style of conduct, but “the Lord himself” who will descend from heaven (1 Thess. 4:16). It is Jesus himself “who was taken up from you into heaven” who “will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). His appearing will not be a mere spiritual coming to dwell within people’s hearts, but will be a personal and bodily return “in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
We Should Eagerly Long for Christ’s Return
John’s response at the end of Revelation should characterize Christians’ hearts in all ages: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). True Christianity trains us “to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13). Paul says, “our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).
Do Christians in fact eagerly long for Christ’s return? The more Christians are caught up in enjoying the good things of this life, and the more they neglect genuine Christian fellowship and their personal relationship with Christ, the less they will long for his return. On the other hand, many Christians who are experiencing suffering or persecution, or who are more elderly and infirm, and those whose daily walk with Christ is vital and deep, will have a more intense longing for his return. To some extent, then, the degree to which we actually long for Christ’s return is a measure of the spiritual condition of our own lives at the moment. It also gives some measure of the degree to which we see the world as it really is, as God sees it, in bondage to sin and rebellion against God, and in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).
But does this mean that we should not undertake long-term projects? If a scientist who is a Christian eagerly longs for Christ’s return, then should he or she begin a ten-year research project? Or should a Christian begin a three-year course in a theological seminary or a Bible college? What if Christ were to return the day before graduation from that institution, before there was any chance to give a significant amount of one’s time to actual ministry?
We should commit ourselves to long-term activities. It is precisely for this reason that Jesus does not allow us to know the actual time of his return, he wants us to be engaged in obedience to him, no matter what our walk of life, up until the very moment of his return. To “be ready” for Christ’s return (Matthew 24:44) is to be faithfully obeying him in the present, actively engaged in whatever work he has called us to. In the nature of the situation, since we do not know when he will return, on that day there will no doubt be some missionaries just departing for the mission field, who will never reach their destination. There will be some men in their last year of seminary education who will never use their training to pastor a church. There will be some researchers handing in their doctoral dissertations on that day, the fruit of years of research that will never be published and never have an influence on the world. But to all of those people who are Christians, Jesus will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).
We Do Not Know When Christ Will Return
Several passages indicate that we do not, and cannot, know the time when Christ will return. “The Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13). Jesus said, “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33).
It is simply an evasion of the force of those passages to say that we cannot know the day or the hour, but that we can know the month or the year. The fact remains that Jesus is coming “at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44), and “at an unexpected hour” (Luke 12:40). (In these verses the word “hour” [hora] is best understood in a more general sense, to refer to the time when something will take place, not necessarily a sixty-minute period of time.) The point of these passages is that Jesus is telling us that we cannot know when he is coming back. Since he will come at an unexpected time, we should be ready at all times for him to return.
The practical result of this is that anyone who claims to know specifically when Jesus is coming back is automatically to be considered wrong. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have made many predictions of specific dates for Christ’s return, and all of them have turned out to be wrong. But others in the history of the church have made such predictions as well, sometimes claiming new insight into biblical prophecies, and sometimes claiming to have received personal revelations from Jesus himself indicating the time of his return. It is unfortunate that many people have been deceived by these claims, because if people are convinced that Christ will return (for example) within a month, they will begin to withdraw from all long-term commitments. They will take their children out of school, sell their houses, quit their jobs, and give up work on any long-term projects whether in the church or elsewhere. They may initially have an increased zeal for evangelism and prayer, but the unreasonable nature of their behavior will offset any evangelistic impact they may have. They are simply disobeying the teaching of Scripture that the date of Christ’s return cannot be known, which means that even their prayer and fellowship with God will be hindered as well. Anyone who claims to know the date on which Christ will return, from whatever source, should be rejected as incorrect.
All Evangelicals Agree on the Final Results of Christ’s Return
No matter what their differences on the details, all Christians who take the Bible as their final authority agree that the final and ultimate result of Christ’s return will be the judgment of unbelievers and the final reward of believers, and that believers will live with Christ in a new heaven and a new earth for all eternity. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will reign and will be worshiped in a never-ending kingdom with no more sin or sorrow or suffering.
Next week we will finish this discussion.