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“Surely I am coming quickly.” Revelation 22:20 Those were the last words spoken by Jesus in the Bible. Each generation since the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus has had a faction that thought they would see his return. It’s not hard to blame them when you read words like those. But those words are part of a greater prophetic context. One that requires certain preconditions to occur to bring about the ultimate fulfillment of the return of Jesus. Before we explore those conditions, let us make one thing clear. Jesus is returning. His last words make that clear. As do others he spoke: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Revelation 22:12 “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30 These are just a few of several passages where Jesus refers to his second coming. Some of you might wonder what he meant when he said that “there are some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom.” I believe that is a reference directed at the disciple John who would later be given a vision of Jesus’s return that he would write down in the Revelation. Peter, John and James also were given a glimpse of how Jesus would look at his second coming when they witnessed his transfiguration, which occurred shortly after he spoke those words. “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:1-2 You might ask why Jesus speaks as though his return could have happened at any time, and yet here we are almost 2,000 years later and he still hasn’t come back. To understand this, one must understand the true goal of Jesus. His goal was not to complete his sacrificial act and then return and rule on earth as quickly as possible. His goal was to make sure that all the world knew about the salvation he offered so that as many people as possible could be saved. The fact was, if the prophecies leading to his return all became fulfilled, he could return quickly. But he was not the only force determining the timetable of his return. There were two other factors. The first is the free will of humans. It was up to the decisions of humans to set in motion the conditions that would lead to the fulfillment of the prophecies that would pave the way for the return of Jesus. These key events are: 1. The exile of the Jews from Israel and their miraculous return. 2. The Gospel being spread throughout the entire world. 3. The rise of a 10-nation kingdom, most likely from the remnants of the Roman Empire. 4. The rise of an Anti-Christ who will sign a 7-year treaty with Israel. 5. A return to the conditions that existed in the days of Noah before the Flood. Human conflicts, politics, and technological progress all set the pace for the fulfillment of the above prophecies. I will explore each of these key prophecies in future posts. The bottom-line is that it has taken humans a long time to reach the point of achieving all the key conditions that mark the return of Jesus. The other factor is the influence of Satan. I believe that Satan is the direct source of the visions of the “prophet” Muhammad. The rise of Islam checked the global spread of Christianity and made it impossible for generations of Jews to re-establish the nation of Israel. Satan has been actively trying to establish a global pagan empire, from the days of Babylon to his corruption of Christianity in the Holy Roman Empire. But the Protestant Christian movement checked his ambitions, most notably with the rise of the British Empire and later Christian America (both of which became major forces for spreading the Gospel throughout the world). So you can see how historic events have forestalled the return of Jesus. If things had gone differently, the timetable could have been much different. For example, how much further along would our technology be (and therefore the conditions of the days of Noah – as I will explain later) if we had not endured the setbacks of the Dark Ages? Unlike the Jewish prophetic timetable, The Church Age, the age that spans from the birth of Jesus to our current time, had no definitive timespan assigned to it. It would simply last until the fulfillment of the other prophecies relating to the “End of the Age” or the “Latter Days” occurred. We are now beginning to see the fulfillment of those end time prophecies. Next week I will discuss the most significant of these prophecies. It is the one that has set a deadline for the end of the Church Age. It is the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948.
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Many Christians have come to view the events commemorated on Easter as the culmination of Christ’s work. While the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus did finalize salvation and eternal life for all those who belief in him, this momentous act is but the mid-point of Christ’s work.
There are three groups of prophecies related to Jesus. First are the prophecies that foretold his arrival on Earth. Several Old Testament prophets spoke of the coming of the Messiah – a mighty king from the line of David who would restore the glory of Israel. It is why we read passages from Isaiah during Christmas. It is why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is why shepherds and wise men alike marveled at the baby in the manger. It is why King Herod was so struck with fear of being usurped that he ordered the deaths of all young males under the age of two upon learning of the birth of Jesus. The child born in Bethlehem checked all the prophetic boxes. The second group of prophecies pertained to the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. These events were also spoken of by the Old Testament prophets and by Jesus’s contemporary, John the Baptist. In the Gospels, Jesus himself refers to his fulfillment of these prophecies. The third group of prophecies relates to the return or “Second Coming” of Jesus. This group of prophecies is largely ignored by mainstream Christianity even though such prophecies are perhaps even more prolific throughout both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Jesus himself spoke of his return both in his earthly ministry and later when he gave The Revelation to his beloved disciple John. There are numerous reasons why the prophecies about the Second Coming of Jesus are largely ignored. They contain imagery that many find too confusing and complex to explain. They are viewed as too dark and depressing (although I would argue the torture and crucifixion of Jesus is pretty dark, and the Church has no problem discussing that). Another reason is the fear of losing credibility. There is no shortage of charlatans and would-be Messiah’s who have hijacked the prophecies related to the Second Coming and made a mockery of them. There is an understandable fear of get painted with the same brush as those who have twisted prophecies for their own gain. But the return of Jesus is too important of an event to leave untaught. I have been heartened to see more and more ministries taking on this subject. But there is still a long way to go to bring it to its proper prominence in mainstream Christianity. Why do I place such importance on this? There are two reasons. First, there is no greater message to focus the Christian world on spreading the Gospel than the urgency of Christ’s imminent return. If you know that time is running out and you have anyone in your life who is not saved, you will most certainly be more motivated to minister to them. The second reason is that I truly believe that we are getting close to Christ’s return. No one knows the exact time of this event except for God, but Jesus did give us clues as to when it would be growing near. I will discuss these clues, as well as the prophecies related to the Second Coming of Jesus in an upcoming blog series. So as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus this Easter, let us not lose sight of the fact that he will be coming back to reign on Earth as King of Kings, and he may be coming sooner than you think. |
Joseph Blaikieis a Christian writer whose books include "Why You Don't Believe in God and Why You Should" and "You are Never Too Far Gone for God". To learn more about Joseph Blaikie visit: Amazon.com: Joseph J. Blaikie: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle 
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