Signs of Christ's Coming, Part 1

The signs intended to alert the world to the Second Coming of Christ and the destruction of this present age are evident in nature, in the realm of human activity and life, and in the church. They are designed to touch all people wherever they are and whatever their physical conditions may be. In nature, the signs occur in the form of "great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11; Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8). In the realm of human activities, there will be wars and rumors of wars and at the same time life and business as usual. {eople will be insensitive to the eschatological implications of such events (Matthew 24:6-7; Matthew 37-39; Luke 17:26-30). The moral fabric of human life will deteriorate so that people will become increasingly selfish, proud, abusive, disobedient, slanderous, pleasure-seeking, and the like (2 Timothy 3:1-9).

In the realm of the church, false christs and false prophets will appear; "the love of many will grow cold"; lawlessness will increase; and many will fall away (Matthew 24:5, Matthew 10-12). "Some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." They will forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Many will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

One of the most evident signs that the world is approaching its end is the appearance of the Antichrist within the church. The "man of lawlessness," as he is also called, who "opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship." He will also display all power and false signs and wonders, with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 7-12).

To be continued...

-Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Historic premillennialism holds that Christ will return to establish a thousand year kingdom on earth. Christians who have died will be raised, Christians who are still alive will be transformed, and they all will reign with Christ during this thousand years. This view is called "historic" because many of the first Christians held such a view, and it is called "pre-millennialism" because it holds that Christ will return before this millennium.

Postmillennialism holds that Christ will return after the millennium. Unlike historic premillennialists do not believe that the millennium of Revelation 20 should be taken literally. They do, however, regard the millennium as a recognizable and hoped-for "golden age" in which there will be peace, order, and prosperity and where the gospel of Jesus Christ is widely believed and where the Christian influence is pervasive.

Amillennialism, despite the name, also holds that Christ will return after the millennium (for this reason, it might be named less misleadingly as "realized millennialism"). In this regard those who hold this position are identical to postmillennialists (and, infact, "amillennialism" is sometimes called "postmillennialism"). Unlike postmillennialists, however, amillennialists do not expect that a "golden age" will precede and signal the return of Christ. Amillennialists regard the entire New Testament age, extending from Christ's first coming until his second coming, as the millennium.

Dispensational premillennialism holds that Christ will return to establish a thousand year kingdom on earth before the general resurrection, final judgment, and new creation. In this way dispensationalists are premillennialists. Unlike the premillennialists, the eschatology of dispensational premillennialism emerges from and is only a part of a complete theological system. The theological system understands that God has dealt with human creatures in different ways during different periods of human history, These different ways are called "dispensations," and the most common number of dispensations is seven.

Tomorrow we will look at what the Bible has to say about Christ's second coming.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

 

The Manner of Christ's Second Coming

The New Testament reveals that Christ will return visibly. All nations will see him, believers and unbelievers, including those who were responsible for his death. He will appear in the unveiled glory and majesty of God, sitting at the right hand of the Father and coming on the clouds of heaven, accompanied by the holy angels (Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:64; Luke 9:26; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).

When the Son of Man appears in the sky, all the tribes of the earth will mourn (Matthew 24:30). They will call "to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come'" (Revelation 6:16-17). Sinful humanity cannot stand in the presence of the holy God and view his unveiled glory and majesty (Isaiah 6:5). The people of God, however, will raise their heads with joy, knowing that their redemption is drawing near, and Christ will "save those who are eagerly waiting for him" (Hebrews 9:28; Luke 21:28). Christians also have the Lord's promise that when they see Christ face-to-face and behold him in his glory, he will transform their bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:49).

The Lord's return will be a personal, physical coming. He will be the judge of all humanity, clothed in divine majesty, but in his human nature as the God-man (Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Matthew 26:64; Acts 1:11). His return will be different, therefore, from his coming as the Son of Mary, from his coming through the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and from his coming through Word and Sacraments. At his last coming Christians shall see him face-to-face.

Jesus' return will be unexpected and will find many unprepared (Matthew 24:37-44; Matthew 25:1-13; Mark 13:33-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3; Revelation 3:3). The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:43-44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 16:15). Life will be going on very much as usual. As in the days of Noah and Lot, the world will be preoccupied with the routine things of this life, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building (Matthew 24:37-41; Luke 17:26-30). Humanity in general will be insensitive to and undiscerning of the signs God provides as reminders of his coming and as means to urge repentance and an attitude of watchfulness.

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

 

Millennialism

The term "millennium" refers to the thousand years of Revelation 20. Revelation 20 and 21 portray the entire New Testament era and its consummation with the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. It begins with a picture of an angel capturing Satan and binding him in the "bottomless pit" for a millennium, after which he must be released for a little while (Revelation 20:1-3). During this millennium the martyrs are raised in a first resurrection and reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). When the millennium is over, Satan is released and assembles forces to attack the camp of the saints. But fire comes down from heaven and consumes them, and Satan is thrown "into the lake of fire and sulfur" (Revelation 20:7-10). Then come the resurrection and the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-13). The wicked are thrown into the lake that burns with fire and sulfur (representing eternal death, Revelation 20:14-15) and the righteous inherit eternal life in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21).

But the term "millennialism" has come through the years to refer not only to various views about this period, but also to different views about the timing and even the nature of the return of Christ. As the label suggests, "Millennialism" and "Millennial views" refer to this millennium. The most common millennial views may be classified under four categories: "historic premillennialism," "postmillennialism," "amillennialism," and "dispensational premillennialism."

We look look at these four categories in the next few days.

-- Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

 

The Time of His Second Coming

According to the gospels, Jesus repeatedly taught that the day of judgment would occur in the near future (Matthew 10:23; Matthew 16:28; Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32).

However, some of these passages may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem, and others may refer to Pentecost or to the Savior's return to take the believer to himself in death. It is evident that not all "comings" are to be identified with the parousia (Christ's second coming), since Christ and the apostles also caution the Christian to remain watchful because the Lord's return may occur at a more distant time, and scoffers may use the delay to deny that he will ever return (Matthew 24"48-50; Matthew 25:5,19; Luke 12:45; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Peter 3:4).

There may even be those who will claim that the day of the Lord has already come (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The Lord, however, clearly indicates that the time of the parousia has not been revealed. It is unknown to all except the Father. Even Jesus in his state of humiliation did not know the time of his coming (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3; 2 Peter 3:10).

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

 

Over the next few Good Morning Church devotions I will be looking at what the Bible has to say about Jesus' second coming and what that looks like and what it doesn't.

The Second Coming of Christ

The coming of Christ to this earth is clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament announced a "day of the Lord" a day of judgment and salvation when the wicked will be destroyed, when God and His people will be vindicated, and God will show Himself to be king over the whole earth. Isaiah 2:12-21, Isaiah 13:9-13, Joel 2:30-32

The fact that Christ will come again is clearly established by Jesus himself in Luke 9:26, Matthew 24:30, and Matthew 26:64; by the the testimony of angels at His ascension (Acts 1:11), and by numerous references in the epistles (1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 11:26; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 John 2:28; James 5:7-9; 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:13)> The knowledge and firm confidence that the Savior will return has been an important part of the Christian church's confession of faith throughout its history (Apostle's Creed; Nicene Creed; Athanasian Creed; Augsburg Confession III, Smalcald Article II; Luther's Large Catechism)

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

 

Ecclesiastes 2:9-11

On April 12,2012, Philip Humber pitched a perfect game. That is, he retired twenty-seven batters in a row, three up and three down, every inning for nine innings. No walk, no hits. Only eighteen other men in the 108-year history of Major League Baseball have accomplished the feat. In November of that same year, his team cut him, making him available to any team in the league. What happened?

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Humber tried to explain it. The article is subtitled: "For one magical April afternoon, Philip Humber was flawless. But that random smile from the pitching gods came with a heavy burden: the pressure to live up to a standard no one can meet."

The ladder of perfection has no top rung. There is no platform upon which we can finally rest. Whether our goal is to be a good father, a good Christian, or a good pitcher, each exemplary act carries with it the expectation (the requirement) of another. And another. "Being like Christ" is not like throwing a perfect game. It is like throwing perfect games every day of your life, while never being proud of the fact that you're throwing perfect games.

The quest for glory, the chasing of perfection, killed Humber's season. He never regained the form that mowed down all those hitters, and his team eventually gave up on him. In order to move on, Humber had to give up, admitting that "he's done chasing perfection. He's done trying to be the pitcher with the magical fastball and the unhittable slider. He knows he's a 30-year-old pitcher with a fading heater and a curveball that doesn't bite like it once did, and he accepts that."

Humber came to grips with his limitations, the truth about himself. He knows that, in order to be a good pitcher, he has to let perfection go. Let's remind ourselves daily, hourly, and by the minute that we can let perfectio go, because it is a mantle that Christ has taken up for us.

Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,