Have you ever heard that things are getting worse, so Jesus must be coming back soon? Where in the Bible did you hear that?
I understand where Christians get that understanding from passages like 2 Timothy 3:1- But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
But does this mean that all the issues in the world today mean Jesus is more likely to come than he was in the lead-up to WW2, or during the sexual revolution of the 60s, or during the industrial revolution, or during the Crusades?
I’d push back slightly by pointing to today’s reading in the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan that our church is going through right now. Jesus said that people would not be expecting it but enjoying life even before judgment came:
Matthew 24:36–39- “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
In fact, Jesus says Matthew 24:42–44- “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
He tells us to be always prepared, which DA Carson points out is like a homeowner in a dicey neighborhood who doesn’t know when a thief will turn up. Rather, he takes such precautions that he is always prepared.
This is a fascinating article that shows the early dispensationalists actually pushed back against everyone in the 18th century trying to set dates of when Jesus was coming back, and I’d encourage you to read it. I agree with these students of God’s word that there have always been different problems and times that are to force us to always be ready – Jesus could return today, every day. So look to your own soul and those around you; what will the judge say about you when He arrives?
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