On recent Sundays I’ve been preaching on the return of Christ. I grew up with some very mixed-up ideas about the Second Coming, but understanding the doctrine in our heads surely isn’t enough. As I’ve preached these sermons, I’ve found myself asking again and again, 'how much do I look forward to the return of Christ? How much do I want him to come again?'

The New Testament takes it for granted that believers will long for the return of Christ. The Christians in Thessalonica had only been believers a short time when Paul wrote his first letter to them. But already people throughout Greece were commenting on what had happened to them. 'They report . . . how you turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who saves us from the wrath to come . . . '. Godless people were talking about these Christians, their strange behaviour, their strange beliefs. And one of the things that struck them most forcibly was that these Christians were all waiting for God’s Son from heaven. I wonder whether our unbelieving friends would say that about us.

When he wrote to the Philippian believers Paul could say, 'our citizenship is in heaven and from there, we wait for a Saviour . . .' (Phil. 3:20). When he wrote to Timothy he could simply describe Christians as 'all those who have loved his appearing' (2 Tim. 4:8). In his letter to Titus, he pictures believers 'waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:13). As he came to the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, he used a one word Aramaic prayer: 'Maranatha!' - 'Our Lord, come!' The Corinthian church was in Greece, but Paul knew that all his readers would understand that Aramaic word. Why? Because it was a prayer they used constantly. New Testament believers prayed for the coming of Christ.

Peter in his first letter (1 Peter 1:3-7) takes it for granted that his readers, however painful their trials on earth, are still rejoicing at the thought of all the blessings that will be theirs when Christ returns, when their faith 'will be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ appears . . .' And in his second letter, he talks of Christians 'waiting for and hastening the day of God . . . According to his promise we are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth . . .' (2 Peter 3:11-13).

And how does the Bible end? Almost the last words are these: 'He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon". Amen! Come Lord Jesus!'

That is normal New Testament Christianity. The Christians we read about in the New Testament were waiting for Christ’s return. They loved the thought of Christ’s return, they rejoiced in Christ’s return, they prayed for Christ’s return.

I wonder how many normal Christians you know - Christians who are normal by New Testament standards, Christians who evidently have this this heart-felt desire for the return of Christ. I don’t find it in myself. I don’t see it in many others.

Yes, I still meet some believers (though not as many as I used to) who are fascinated by the 'signs of the times' - the things that may or may not happen before Christ returns. They want to talk about the place of Israel in the end-times, the role of the European Community, the identity of the antiChrist and so on. They’re gripped by these things. But I meet very few believers who seem gripped by the thought of Christ himself descending from the skies. It’s very rarely that I meet a believer who’s excited by the things that the Return of Christ will bring:- the final defeat of evil; the resurrection of the dead; the Day of Judgement; the wedding of Christ and his people; the everlasting joy that we will experience in the new heaven and new earth. It’s very rarely I hear a believer pray, 'Come Lord Jesus!'.

First, we may be reacting against the cranky obsession with prophecy that has marked many believers in the past - including some of us. We’ve been put off by the silliness of so much Christian talk about the end-times. Again and again Christians have announced that Jesus would come in their lifetime; that this would be the last generation. I remember a confident young man explaining why the three families in the church he attended all had girls but no boys. It was because these girls would never need to look for husbands. Christ would return before they had grown to adulthood! Some Christians have been reckless enough to give specific dates which they’ve calculated from the Bible. Some have pointed to particular events and used them as signs that we’re into the final run-up. I was told as a child that Jesus must return within forty years of the formation of the State of Israel. Well, 1988 came and went. Some have pointed to specific politicians and world-leaders and said 'this man is the Antichrist - so we know Jesus must return in his lifetime'. And then the leader has died or fallen from power, and they’re left with egg on their faces.

We’re embarrassed that these people call themselves evangelical Christians and then misuse the Bible so grossly. We see how often their emphasis on prophecy leads them into bizarre decisions and unbalanced living. And we decide we want nothing to do with it. We think that the best way to avoid crankiness is to push out of our minds the thought that Christ could return soon. We tell ourselves that it’s best just to get on with the work that needs to be done today, and forget the second coming.

Over-reaction is always a danger in the Christian life. We see some believers going to extremes, so we swing to the opposite extreme. The fact is that according to the New Testament no Christian can fulfil his duties effectively here in this world without the motivation of Christ’s second coming. A Christian who goes through his life without looking for Christ’s return is an unbalanced Christian.

Secondly, we live in an extraordinarily wealthy and comfortable society. There’s never been a generation in history that’s had such an easy, pain-free life. Many of us live through much of our life without experiencing any great physical or emotional trauma. Few of us experience the extended physical pain that was part of life before the introduction of modern anaesthetics. Few of us know what real hunger means. Few of us bury one child after another. And few of us face life-threatening persecution. It’s many years since UK believers have had to face the sort of persecution that believers in many parts of the world take for granted. So why should we long for this world to come to an end? Why should we long for Christ to return? Many of us have already got just about everything we want - we’re satisfied. The good things we’ve already got here seem more real to us than any amount of joys that may be on offer in another world.

New Testament believers faced pain in so many ways. And especially they faced constant persecution. So when they were told that Jesus would come again and rescue them from this world, it seemed to them the best news that they’d ever heard! If we were told that Christ was to return next week, how excited, how joyful would we feel? Have we invested too heavily in this world and all it has to offer?

Thirdly, I wonder if we’re intimidated by the godless society around us and the way it ridicules any talk of Christ’s coming and the end of the world. The Christian preaching the coming of Christ is a figure for cartoonists to point fun at. He’s wearing a sandwich board with the slogan 'The end is nigh' or 'Prepare to meet thy God'. He’s probably got a long beard like Moses and is wearing sandals. Perhaps we feel that if we talk about the return of Christ, we’re giving the sceptics an opportunity to sneer.

Or worse, we’re giving them the impression that we’re part of a sinister and fanatical cult. After all, most of the cults major on end-time prophecies. Every Jehovah’s Witness who arrives on our doorstep wants to talk about Armageddon and Paradise on Earth. Look up Jim Jones on the internet. He manipulated his followers with prophecies about the end of the world and then persuaded them all to commit suicide.

Godless people around us view any talk of Christ’s return as weird, crazy, fanatical. And they tell us that it’s this world that matters. We’re told constantly that if we want to win people’s respect we’ve got to show them that Christianity is relevant in the here and now. The world will tolerate us if we get involved in helping the poor, building hospitals, improving society. But talk about the world to come, and the world will close its ears.

I wonder if we’ve been affected by that propaganda. Paul wasn’t afraid to speak to the self-satisfied intellectuals of Athens about the return of Christ. 'God has fixed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed . . .' (Acts 17:31). Well some of the clever people laughed. But that didn’t stop Paul preaching that Christ will return.

Fourthly, I suspect that many of us have a very nebulous doctrine of the world to come. The reason we are supposed to look forward to the coming of Christ isn’t just for its own sake; it’s because of the wonderful new world that will begin when Christ comes. But most Christians have only got the vaguest idea of what that world will be like. They can’t look forward to it because they can’t imagine it. An eternity spent playing harps with a huge crowd around the throne? Well they know that that’s a picture, but they’ve no idea what it’s a picture of. They know we’ll have resurrection bodies but what are these bodies for? If we have hands in that world, what will we use our hands for? Here in this world we’ve got bricklaying and gardening and architecture and music-making and computer programming . . . what’s there to do in that world? I’m afraid for many Christians all they feel about the world to come is that it’s a world where every pleasure they’ve ever experienced here - marriage, eating, hobbies, their job - has been taken away, and nothing solid’s been put in their place.

I suppose I’ve got to hold preachers - including myself - to blame if that’s so. Perhaps we haven’t spent enough time explaining the wonderful pictures of which the Bible’s full. Before this Sunday evening series is over, I’ll be trying to do that.

But it can’t just be the fault of the preachers can it? How much time do you spend meditating on those wonderful closing chapters of Revelation, with their picture of the city where the Lamb dwells among his people? How often do you pray that God will open your heart to understand the glories that lie ahead? Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that the 'eyes of your hearts might be enlightened, that you might know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints . . .' (Eph. 1:18). Do you pray that for yourself and for your fellow-believers in this church?

And then fifthly. Isn’t the ultimate problem simply this: that we - I - don’t love Christ as I should? In the end it all comes down to that. If I loved Jesus Christ with all my heart, I would be longing to see him. I wouldn’t be fascinated by sensational events that may or may not lead to the big day. I wouldn’t ever feel at home in this world, where I’m separated from him. I wouldn’t be put off by the thought of Judgement Day and the secrets of my life that will be exposed then. Even my concern for loved ones who are unconverted would come second to this: 'I want to see him! I want to be with him!'

Jesus said to his first disciples, 'I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be always . . .' (John 14:3). Whatever else the Second Coming means, it means that: we shall be with Him! And for the Christian who loves him, that is the greatest joy we can imagine.

So the question I really need to ask myself is not, 'Why don’t I long more for the Second Coming?' It’s 'Why don’t I love Christ more?' Perhaps we all need to ask ourselves that question.

So why are normal believers so rare? Let me suggest some reasons.
First, we may be reacting against the cranky obsession with prophecy that has marked many believers in the past - including some of us. We’ve been put off by the silliness of so much Christian talk about the end-times. Again and again Christians have announced that Jesus would come in their lifetime; that this would be the last generation. I remember a confident young man explaining why the three families in the church he attended all had girls but no boys. It was because these girls would never need to look for husbands. Christ would return before they had grown to adulthood! Some Christians have been reckless enough to give specific dates which they’ve calculated from the Bible. Some have pointed to particular events and used them as signs that we’re into the final run-up. I was told as a child that Jesus must return within forty years of the formation of the State of Israel. Well, 1988 came and went. Some have pointed to specific politicians and world-leaders and said 'this man is the Antichrist - so we know Jesus must return in his lifetime'. And then the leader has died or fallen from power, and they’re left with egg on their faces.

I'll read the whole post later. Its a long one.

When I was a young Christian in the 1970’s I got caught up in all of those end-time books lining the bibles book stores shelves. The most notable was Hal Lindseys, The Late Great Planet Earth. Although they were fascinating reading, so much of it seemed like too far fetched to believe it could happen in my life time.

Cashless Society? In the 1970’s the thought of using a debit card almost anyplace, including vending machines and parking lots seems just too far out. Well today I go weeks without paper money or coin. I can probably can go without it all together, if it wasn’t for the coffee kitty at work.

ONE World Leader? This was always a great mystery. How could one man become so popular so fast as to set him self up as God in a short 3 ½ years. Mystery no more. I am not saying Obama is the Antichrist, but his coming from nowhere in such a short time to become a Godhead among his Koolaid drinking followers that spread beyond our borders, is just to strange. It shows you how fast the real Antichrist can enter the World Stage.

World Government? Hard to fathom in the 1970’s. Now, its something even the main stream media is picking up on. And the World Wide Web, not something Hal Lindsey even dreamed of, now makes a World Government an easier thing to accomplish.

Now add to this a world-wide calamity, say tens of millions of Christians disappearing, planes falling out of the sky, cars crashing because of missing drivers, THE RAPTURE, and ALL of the above can happen in very short order.

Since Obama was elected things seem to be moving way too fast not to see that something BIG, and terrifying has been set in motion. Something foretold in the Book of Daniel and in Revelation.

I sincerely believe the clock is ticking away, and its almost midnight. as a Christian who's price has already been paid I am looking forward to His Return and am praying for others who are not.

This morning I had a wonderful oportunity to hear a message I had never heard before. We all know the "Prodigal Son" (Luke 15) The speaker went further to talk about the "other son" and pointed out that the entire chapter is a response to the Pharisee's criticism of Jesus fellowship with sinners. While we quickly see ourselves as the "saved son" we almost completely miss the fact that the "other son" is also "lost". He did "everything he was asked" but found no joy in his relationship with his father. I was sort of gobsmacked (if you will) but there it is, the real message Jesus was giving was criticism of the Pharisees. Jesus doesn't stop there when you consider, "What did the "other son" do when the younger left?" Did he go after him, did he find him in his misery and encourage him and bring him home to the bower of his father? No, he was too busy "doing all that he was asked".

Wow. I was really being "enlightened" by all this but the speaker didn't stop there. He pointed out that Our Father has done more for us and offered us more than the Prodigal's Father. He has sent His Son to find us in the wilderness of a foreign country and restore us to our relationship to Him. Our Father's "other son" (for he is our brother in that he was the "first created") hasn't just "done all that he was asked" but has truly "given up" His all for us. Wow.

To what purpose? Read John 17 and see what Jesus prays for, that "we future believers can know Him". So there it is, in a nutshell. His plan for our salvation. That we may have a relationship with Him. To those that don't care to have such a relationship, that is their choice. "The little ones" Jesus made pretty clear that he brings them to Himself so I don't have much concern on that score. I suppose the category you would call "born again" fits the description of those who "know Him". I don't like cliches so I try to avoid "born again" but I do like David's description, "if you truly seek Him, you will find Him."

I hope this helps. I would truly like to be an "older brother" who "comes to find" his brother and "bring him home" from the pig trough. It is very hard to be gentle enough to not be offensive and yet firm enough to communicate the facts.

Μολὼν λάβε

“Thanks, Marie.
But I'll take a pass.
You enjoy your faith tho...!”

Your comments have been duly noted. Up Above!

I don't know what church turned you off to Christianity, but I feel sorry for you. Its a shame to, because The Heaven you don't believe in is going to be Wonderful.

The Heaven that awaits the believers is not harps, white robes, and never-ending boredom which is the perception that many people have, because that is what movies, cartoons, and paintings have showed us what it is like.

The Heaven John wrote about in the Bible is so full of wonders and mysteries that in our wildest dreams we could not imagine it. Certainly Heaven contains many surprises which we will never be able to comprehend in this life. And it will not be boring.
Think back to the one single best day of your whole life. Maybe it was your wedding, the birth of your child, your first trip to Disneyland, the anniversary cruise with your spouse, whatever. Now imagine each day in Heaven being that multiplied 100-fold, and the number of those days will be endless. That is what I firmly believe Heaven will be like. Is it no wonder that John saw All the Heavenly host worshiping the creator of it all.

I heard it said once that, - “as a Christian, the day I die will be the best day I’ve ever lived. But it won’t be the best I will ever live.”

Wish you could join us.

All those who, while not your friends, believe differently than you

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

It doesn't matter what men believe, it does matter what God has said about the only way to Him and the only way to salvation. What men may or may not "believe" could not be more irrelevant.

All those too young to know what they believe, or to be able to "believe" at all

Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. (Matthew 18:3-5)

But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.(Luke 18:16-17)

We have been given a specific example in the Old Testament of an infant who died and would live forever in heaven. And Jesus Christ Himself, in the New Testament, stated that little children retain the qualities that make a person eligible to inherit the kingdom of God. We see, then, that infants and small children that die are in a safe state, and will live eternally in heaven.

People spend eternity in hell for the deliberate rejection of Christ as Savior. Children do not have the capacity to understand the enormity of sin and how that sin separates us from a holy God. Therefore, they simply cannot make the decision to knowingly reject the death of Christ on the cross as payment for their sin and therefore do not suffer the eternal punishment for that rejection.

All those who are non-born again christians, tho righteous

But we are all like an unclean thing,And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

There is not one iota of Scripture anywhere that makes the slightest suggestion that our own "good works" and "righteousness" will make us clean and guilt-free in the eyes of God. It is only through Christ's atoning, sacrificial death on the Cross that fallen, filthy, sinful man becomes acceptable to God. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation and the belief that we can earn our salvation is nothing more than human pride.

All those of other faiths and dogmas

And there is salvation in (A)no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Sin must be punished. And the penalty for sin is death. Since we all sin, No one will escape, for God the Judge is not unjust like man the judge. Justice "must" be served, thus the penalty must be paid. There is no probation, there is no time off for good behavior, and there is no suspended sentence. A Holy and just judge demands that justice must be served. The wages for sin must be paid.

There is only one faith that answers, "The Sin Question!" The Christian faith. Only one God answers the question of how can this punishment of death that justice demands be satisfied. The God of the Christian Bible! No other god, religion, or philosophy, be it far east, near east, middle east or west, answers the dreaded "Sin Question." Only one offers 'The Way' of payment for sin that God absolutely requires. Christianity is a God/Man, a substitute who has come unto us, taking upon Himself all our sins, which leaves us clean (without sin) in the eyes of God. Laden with our sins He willingly suffered and died for us, that we might escape death. No 'winking' at sin by God is possible because His justice demands payment.

For Jesus Christ to do what He did, for Him to willingly give His life in our place so that we would have a way out of the penalty God demands for sin, would require Someone who has nothing but "charity, forgiveness, kindness, and understanding".

It appears as though your problem is with God, not Marie2. You need to take up the problems you have with Him with Him.

Good luck.

There’s an unbeliever sitting in my chair right now. I have asked many people many times why God, Jesus or whomever doesn’t step in and perform a blatant and obvious miracle in these modern times to PROVE their existence. No answer has been sufficient, just quotes from the bible and generalized platitudes about faith and “mysterious ways.” For real, let there be a plane that’s getting ready to crash and have God or Jesus or whomever step in and stop the tragedy and set the plane gently onto the runway with no loss of life. Then I’ll believe in your magic man (men?) in the sky. In your bible there were miracles about every 15 minutes during ancient times. Now we only get “miracles” like the Jesus cheese puff or some hillbilly claiming to be cured of a disease that was never properly diagnosed.

Okay God, if you’re there... prove it! Do something obvious and unmistakeable. Lift a sinking ship from the sea, right a toppling building, let a hundred murderers simultaneously drop dead for no apparent reason. Something real. Anything real.

For you believers, why doesn’t God believe in karma? Wouldn’t that be pretty much a given that he would want to punish bad behavior and reward good behavior without making us all wait for an ‘afterlife’ that doesn’t exist?

And why do religious people all feel the need to judge and pity those of us who think differently?

I’m not typing in anger, just wanting some real proof that God is not just some fictional character in a book.

diatribe! "nonsense"

Diatribe? I've seen the life-giving truth of God's Scripture described as many things, but I think you are the first I've seen dismiss it as "diatribe". Wow. The day you stand before God you can tell Him why you think His love-letter to us, His map to eternity with Him, is "diatribe". Now, "nonsense", yes I've seen that. God had something to say about those who hate His Word and ridicule it:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Natural, unredeemed man believes God's Word to be nonsense, subsequently dismisses it, and chooses to die in his sin without ever giving himself a chance to know how God paid an enormous cost to keep him out of eternal damnation. Believe me, you are not the first to think of the Word of God as "nonsense" and you won't be the last. God Himself told us that more people will choose death than will choose life.

I wish you luck because, at this point, luck is all you have. You have chosen to have nothing but luck. You have chosen to reject the One Who would give you not luck, but abundant life, a relationship with the King of kings, and eternal life with Him. That is the choice you have made. You should be thanking me for wishing you luck because that is all you have.

And yes, I pray for those who don't know Christ and who will spend eternity separated from Him, but there comes a point when a person's heart has become so hardened from repeated rejection of Christ that that person will absolutely have nothing to do with God whatsoever and that is when God leaves that person alone and gives that person the desire of his heart: eternity spent apart from Him.

So, call it a "diatribe", and "nonsense"- you are not affecting me at all. Just consider this- that this thread may be the only time in your life that you hear of what Christ did for you. I would think many, many times before I just turned away and I would think it over before I died laughing.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.