TGIF
Is Jesus coming back really soon?
Are all these horrors befalling us “signs of the times”?
I get the questions often and the answer I give rarely satisfies the inquirer.
My answer (depending on my mood) is either a flat “no” to both or the more irenic “I don’t know”.
I probably should work “I doubt it” into the mix.
American Christians are steeped in an eschatology that believes things will get worse and worse and worse until Jesus appears in the clouds to save us…and surely He isn’t going to wait much longer because things are really awful.
“Awful” is a matter of perspective…and people get very upset when I note that historically, this is one of the most comfortable, prosperous, healthy times in human history.
It’s not one of the most comfortable times in our experienced history, but I’ll take it over the centuries of the Black Plague, no antibiotics, poor sanitation, and the years before Sunday Ticket allowed me to see Minnesota Viking games in Oregon.
Just kidding on that last one…a little…
As I get older, those questions have started to annoy me, though I couldn’t really discern why.
I figured it out this morning.
The emphasis on the physical return of our Lord to clean up this mess is often a denial that He’s already here and has given us the tools to clean up the mess ourselves…with His help and in His name.
It’s also a denial of the truth He gave us repeatedly…in this world you will have tribulation…and He told us how to react to that truth.
He told us it would be hard and He told us how to cope and stay grounded in the faith until the end.
He told us that the power was in sacrificial love and suffering and those were our tools to overcome the world.
We have rejected those tools and prefer rage and the carnal means of acquiring power…and things are getting worse.
We should not be surprised.
So…this expectation that Jesus is coming to save us when we have told Him that we despise His ways and we demand that things be done our way…is not only slightly humorous, but somewhat blasphemous.
From now on, I’ll answer the question biblically…He’s already here and He’s told us what to do.
By doing this, I’ll make sure that my hearers become “rapture ready”…
Sorry, I couldn’t resist…
Make your own application…
Michael, Amen to all of this. If we are to some degree responding to His here and now presence and trying to translate that gift into some measure of good for our neighbor than we are abiding in Christ and will always be ready to meet and be greeted by Him whether by rapture, the acts of the anti-christ or arriving at the end of our days in our 1.0 bodies.
And you have become an overcomer and will persevere to the end for having remained a faithful Vikings fan in spite of the trauma of Fran Tarkenton. Lol!
vic,
Thank you, well said…and that’s St. Francis here… đ
The reason I get annoyed by this is because it shows a lack of gratitude for all the God has given us. How many times have I heard people, when experiencing a mild, when compared to most things, inconvenience say they wish the Lord would come back and save them from the duress. It’s childish.
Now I myself am anticipating the Lord’s return with joy, but I am also thankful for all the good gifts He has given me. When I think of all the miseries humanity has endured over the millennia, wishing the Lord would return to rescue me from some minor discomfort such as we experience in the West seems whiney.
Again, when the Lord comes it will be great. I am not anti-anticipation of the Lord’s return, but I hope it will be for the joy in seeing my Lord and not because the price of gas has risen and it’s more than I can bear.
Xenia,
Well said, my friend.
Like you, I am looking forward eagerly to His return…but I suspect I’ll go to Him before He comes for all…
I confess the Lord’s return every Sunday: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” I say it right before confessing that the Holy Spirit gives life, that we are to worship, and that the Church is central to our faith…
Makes sense to me…
âAwfulâ is a matter of perspectiveâŠand people get very upset when I note that historically, this is one of the most comfortable, prosperous, healthy times in human historyâ
YESSSS!
I want to shout this from the roof tops!
See, Michael, your ideas DO have influence
JTK,
Thank you for always being an encourager…it matters.
âNoâ
âI donât knowâ
âI doubt itâ
I wonder if any of those phrases are more effective than the next.
I have relatives who are huge rapture ready fans.
In 22 years, Iâve yet to figure out anything that works in even getting through to them.
The last time I tried discussing evidence, they said the matter was settled for them.
Itâs kinda like QanonâŠwhich theyâre sympathetic for.
And they keep sending the stuff.
My latest attempt: These guys whoâve predicted stuff that doesnât happen I wonât listen to.
I just scratch my head.
Maybe Iâll just go back to âWe arenât going to talk about this for awhileâŠâ
And Iâll keep TRYING with youâŠ.đ
Jesus came back soon…
On the third day
In a heaven and earth body…
They did not recognize him until he broke bread
He had promised he would do that with them ‘in the kingdom”
He came and so did his kingdom… but we have to have revelation to see him
and yes he will yet come again… we who know him have work to do… more bread to break
I am debating whether or not your response to these matters is better than my gracious nod and saying something insincere like, “thats interesting.”
However, I guess being born into the kingdom a mere two years before the whole Y2K debacle and living through the Left Behind craze has left me somewhat jaded in these matters. I don’t understand how those who went whole hog into Y2K latch unto the next wave of speculative nonsense. Also I find that at the core of most people I know who hold to a pre-trib rapture their belief in it is more existential and political than Theological or Biblical. Also as a side note it is never the best idea to build a system of Doctrine around an isolated passage of Scripture like 1 Thessalonians 4:18. Or maybe it’s just this pounding migraine talking for me.
Shawn,
These beliefs became identity markers for people…and provided a sense of superiority for them.
they give me a headache too…hope you feel better soon…