church

The Timing of Jesus’

Second Coming
Dangers and Pitfalls in
Predicting the Future

Session 12
Reference
 First ings First
When will the kingdom fully come? And what should we expect between
now and then – for things to get better and better, or worse and worse, or a
mixture of both? ese questions, including the question as to the timing
of Jesus’ return as King has occupied the minds of Christians since the
very beginning.

After His resurrection the disciples asked Jesus, ‘Lord, are you at this time
going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’(Acts 1:6). Jesus, however, didn’t
answer them, but told his disciples very clearly that it was none of their
business to speculate about how God plans to work out history. He did
not say, “pack your bags, put your feet up, and wait for my return”. Instead
he gave them a mission to accomplish (Act 1:8). He replied, “It is not
your job to sit back and try to find out the timetable of my return. I know
you do not have the power to challenge the kingdom of Satan. But you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. en you
will have a role to play. You will go out with my authority to the uttermost
parts of the world and bear witness to my kingship.”1 at mission, it
turns out, may actually be the answer to their question, since the kingdom
of God isn’t just a status: it’s a mission and a story in which they – and we
– can play a part.2

It is worthy of note that throughout his ministry Jesus did not dwell much
on the eschatological dimensions of the Kingdom, and when he did, it was
to inspire his disciples to live a life worthy of God and his kingdom in the
here and now. Perhaps he feared that it would engender the sort of
apocalyptic preoccupation that encapsulates one into a dream world of
momentary expectations, constant revisions of one’s ‘prophetic’ charts, and
growing impatience – ‘How long o God?’.3 In fact, Jesus frequently
rebuked those preoccupied with a kingdom about which “people will say,
‘Here it is,’ or ‘ere it is’” (Luke 17:21).4 Only God knew the date of the
return of the Son of Man: “But about that day and hour no one knows,
neither the angles of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father…. erefore
keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of
night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have
let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son
of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew
24:36, 42-44).

Paul later reiterates this viewpoint to the essalonians: “Now, brothers,

about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very
well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1.
essalonians 5:2). Peter likewise admonishes the believers that “the day
of the Lord will come like a thief ” (2. Peter 2:10). Instead on dwelling on
the eschatological, thus, Jesus wanted his disciples to realize that the

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 Kingdom of God had truly come and that his disciples should manifest
the ‘signs’ and confirm its presence. is ministry in the present was every
bit as urgent as the final apocalyptic display of power that would compel
every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil.
2:10-11).5

Disregarding Jesus’ Warning

is caution, however, has not stopped Christians from the first century
onward from trying to figure out when Jesus would return. Interestingly,
most Christian generations have thought that they were living in the last
days and could point to signs confirming their analysis of Matthew 24 and
other prophetic passages. By the sixth century, Pope Gregory was certain
the end was near: “Of all the signs described by our Lord as presaging the
end of the world, some we see already accomplished.... For we now see
that nation rises against nation and that they press and weigh upon the
land in our own times as never before in the annals of the past.”6 Such
theorizing became more frequent toward the end of the first millennium.
Adso of Montier-en-Der wrote in 950 about the imminent return of
Christ. Halley’s Comet in AD 989 and a super nova in 1006 were seen as
signs of Christ’s Second Coming. Many people sold everything they had
in glowing expectation of this event. In more recent times, Christians
have suspected that Napoleon, King George, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin,
Pope John Paul and Saddam Hussein were the Anti-Christ. Dozens of
predictions regarding Christ’s imminent return by recognized evangelical
leaders have gone unfulfilled.7 ese examples should serve as reminders
of what Jesus told us: We cannot know the day or the hour of His return.8

Nonetheless, many Christians continue to assert that the Bible gives a

clear timeline of the future, and they speculate with gusto about what the
timeline is – some claiming direct revelation from God’s Holy Spirit
himself. ey believe that history is, in some sense, like a movie that is
already written, already directed or determined, in God’s mind. It has
already been filmed, edited, and put into the can, and we’re just watching it
play. e Bible gives them a code to know what to expect in the rest of the
movie. People who take this approach don’t necessarily agree on how to
interpret the Bible in general or the teachings of Jesus in particular, but
they at least agree that the future is already more or less determined.9

e problem with this type of speculation is that it is based in a wrong

understanding of Biblical prophecy. e purpose of Biblical prophecy is
not to give us random predictions about the end of the world (like
Nostradamus or others like him did). Rather than a detailing of history
written before time, prophetic and eschatological statements in the Bible
are expressions of hope, understood in the sense of sure expectations and
certainty. ey are declarations as to what will certainly transpire in order
to inspire us to live according to that hope in the here and now. e

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 eschatological consummation will occur! e Lord will certainly return!
e wicked will be judged! A new heaven and a new earth will certainly
come to pass!10

Humanity’s Role in helping Usher in God’s Kingdom

While the end is sure, the path to the realization of God’s ultimate
purpose for creation is in some sense open. We don’t live in a fixed and
closed universe. To the contrary! God himself is the author of the
openness of the historical process, for he calls us to participate in human
history. He invites us to be agents of change in this historical work11 by
giving us a mission and a story in which we can play a part; a part that
carries eternal significance. True, Christian hope for a better future rests
not on our own efforts and successes, but on Christ’s victory in history
over sin, Satan and death, and on His promise to return as judge and ruler.
Does that make human action insignificant and irrelevant, however? No!

is theme is evident in the fact that the return of the Lord may in a sense
be conditional on what we do here on earth. For example, in 2 Peter 3,
Peter discusses the return of Christ. After listing some of the cataclysmic
events preceding the advent, he says in verses 11 and 12, ‘considering that
all this is to happen, what sort of people ought you to be?’ He says our two
responses should be: lives of holiness (separated from sin and to God), and
godliness (life-style worship and service of God). is, he admonishes,
will “hasten on” the Lord’s return. is implies that we can accelerate or
slow down his return, and that the timing of the second coming is
somewhat dependent on us. is interpretation is given further weight
when we analyze Matthew 24:14. In this verse Jesus said that the gospel
must first be preached to all creatures, then the end will come. e end
times, in other words, are partly determined by how faithful we are in
doing his work of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom (see also
Mark 13:10). Or what did Peter mean by these words?: “Now it's time to
change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour
out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he
prepared for you – Jesus. For the time being, he must remain in heaven
until God restores everything again, as he promised long ago through his
holy prophets” (Acts 3:19-21). e implication seems to be that
repentance and obedience are also elements that will determine when
Christ returns. Moreover, what did Jesus mean when he asked us to pray
for his Kingdom to come? In Mathew 6:9-10 he says, “is, then, is how
you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your
kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.” It seems
that Jesus believed that our prayers have an influence on advancing God’s
kingdom and that God has called the people of the church to be involved
in bringing His Kingdom and carrying out His will, on earth as it is in
heaven.12 e Bible furthermore tells us that the people of the church will
one day present our cities and nations as a beautiful gift to God

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 (Revelations 21:23-26)! Indeed, that God has strategically placed
churches as His sustaining instruments for the transformation of their
cities and nations. How? e people of the church, equipped for works of
service, must spread out into all spheres of society— reflecting truth,
justice, and righteousness everywhere they live and work (Ephesians
2:1-10; 3:10).13

From this perspective, doctrines of the Second Coming and the Final
Judgment do not give us the right to assume that the world will go from
bad to worse, making reform impossible and social action unadvisable. On
the contrary, these doctrines demand that our evangelism and social action
should result in curtailing the oppressive totalitarian powers of the human
rulers.14 If God’s future is to be characterized by peace and justice,
Christians today must see themselves as peacemakers, reconcilers and as
defenders of the poor, the marginalized, and the exploited. “Let your
gentleness be known to everyone. e Lord is near!” (Philippians 4:5).
e biblical promise of the renewal of creation, thus, carries a grave
implication for life in the present. God’s intention to transform the
physical world into our new dwelling means that the material universe –
and consequently the material dimension of life – is important. For this
reason, we rightly engage in “material” ministries. Our task is to minister
to whole persons. And our concern extends beyond human needs to
include trusteeship within creation.15

In summary, then, God intended to create our universe the way good
parents give birth to a child: the child is given limits and guidance, but she
also has freedom to live her own life. at means that the future of the
universe is not determined as if it were a movie that’s already been filmed
and is just being shown to us. Nor is it completely left to chance like dice
cast on a table. Rather, God’s creation is maturing with both freedom and
limits under the watchful eye of a caring parent. So what we find in the
Bible and the teachings of Jesus are not determining prognostications or
schematic diagrams of the future but instead something far more valuable:
warnings and promises. Warnings that tell us, that if we make foolish or
unjust choices, bad consequences will follow.16 e ultimate warning that
lets us know that evil and injustice will lose! Promises that inspire hope,
since they let us know that we are on the winning side and therefore can
direct our efforts, prayers, and actions toward the advance of God’s vision
of Shalom on earth! e ultimate promise that God and good will win!

God, it follows, does not to place us in a fatalistic, determined universe

that makes us succumb to can’t-win-disempowerment, fatalism, despair,
and resignation – or can’t-lose-overconfidence, complacency, arrogance,
and triumphalism. Instead, his warnings and promises serve to heighten
our sense of responsibility and accountability, and they wake us up to
realize that serious consequences could flow from our current carelessness.

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 If we believe the warnings and promises, we won’t persist in doing evil or
being complacent, but we will persist in doing good and being fruitful,
even if it’s hard.17 at’s the ultimate purpose of biblical prophecies.
First, to confront us with appropriate warning and then to inspire us with
hope, not to give us some sort of cosmic timetable where the future is all
spelled out and digitally prerecorded.18

So whether Christ comes back in a day or a decade or a century, we accept

our calling to be fully involved in the work of the kingdom here and now:
“Blessed is that servant whom his master will find at work when he
arrives” (Matthew 24:46). We recognize that God expects us to be busy in
our service for him, “redeeming the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians
5:16). e Christians’ future is not to worship God in heaven through
eternity, but to reign on earth. Paul says that we who were dead in
trespasses and sins have already been raised to life and made to sit with
Christ in a position of authority to do good works (Ephesians 2:1- 10). A
believer, therefore, has the responsibility to exercise his authority in his
situation here and now.19 Indeed, to bear witness to the kingship of
Christ is to pick a fight with the prince of death, who wishes to keep this
world in bondage and decay.20 e mandate of the church, then, includes
seeking to model the future society of redeemed humanity living in
harmony with creation, as far as is possible in the present age.21
Sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer Martin Luther aptly summarized
this conviction when he exclaimed: “If I knew Christ were coming
tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree today.”

reflection questions and group dialogue

Take time to reflect on the following questions, and then discuss your answers
with other members of your group. Be prepared to share your insights to the
larger group.

• How do you react to the following quote?: “It is tragic that often the
Christians who take our future hope most seriously choose to spend
their time in trying to figure out the time of His arrival, instead of
seeking to become witnesses of His Kingship.” (Vishal Mangalwadi,
Indian eologian and Development Worker)
• Many of us could not be described as having dominion in the sense of
making a meaningful contribution to furthering the kingdom of God
on earth. What prevents you from doing this?22
• Will you promote the work of Satan by your inaction and bad
theology or will you promote God’s righteousness? Will you remain
silent in the face of evil, or will you speak up for justice, in an effort to
resist evil and promote God’s Kingdom?
• As mentioned above, the Bible tells us that the people of the church
will one day present our cities and nations as a beautiful gift to God!23

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 • Picture the nation that you would want to present as an offering to
God (Revelation 21:23-26). What characteristics would you want
in this nation?
• Do you think God has placed your church in your community,
state, and nation to be the “sustaining instrument for
transformation” for this time in history? How do you feel about
participating in the prayer that God’s Kingdom would come and
His will would be done in your community, state, and nation as in
heaven?24

application journal:

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 endnotes
1 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 139
2 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 171
3 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 250
4 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 214
5 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom, 250
6 online available at http://www.thnet.com/homes/users/thompsbk/
7 For an incomplete list of such unfulfilled predictions see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Second_Coming
8 online available at http://www.thnet.com/homes/users/thompsbk/
9 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 172-173
10 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 622
11 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 622
12 online available at http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/1999/04/08/end-times-and-

christian-responsibility/
13 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 13
14 e kings, president, prime ministers, and business executives of the earth should be

brought under the rule of Christ. at is true prophetic evangelism, demanding that the
laws of the State and Business and Society be just in the light of the justice and
righteousness of God (Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 51)
15 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 646
16 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 173-174
17 Brian McLaren, e Secret Message of Jesus, 174-175
18 Brian McLaren, e Story We Find Ourselves In, 173
19 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 138
20 Vishal Mangalwadi, Truth and Social Reform, 139
21 Stanley J. Grenz, eology for the Community of God, 646
22 Myles Munroe, Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer, 54
23 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 13
24 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 17

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