The relevance of Jesus' Second Coming to our generation

"Studying Jesus' Second Coming has no real impact on us, now, and is therefore irrelevant."

I hear this all too often, or something similar. I'm sure you have too, or maybe that is your belief and you have said it yourself? I believe that this is not only an un-Biblical, but a very dangerous position to hold as a Christian in this day and age. Some will have objections to this, of course... probably the strongest being from the camp of Preterism, who in a nutshell believe that most or all of prophecy regarding Jesus was fulfilled in or before 70 A.D.  I will not address this, here... I will simply say that this doctrine misses the mark in a terrible way, and is not worthy of rebuttal here... I have some other thoughts on it in this blog post. If you do want me to address the topic of preterism more in full, I may in the future. The others that often object to the relevancy of Jesus' Second Advent, in my experience, often seem to base it around the idea that it doesn't actually help us living our lives now. However... this seems to assume that either (1) we aren't actually in the transition period directly before Jesus' return or (2) we have no way of knowing when Jesus will actually return. You could say there is a third category (3), wherein it would be said that even if both 1 & 2 were false (meaning that we can know when Jesus will return and we are in the "beginning of birth pangs" now [Matthew 24:8]) then it would still be irrelevant... it doesn't change how we approach our relationship with God. I won't address it  specifically as I think that is simply silly, and the answers to 1 & 2 will reveal my answer to 3, should it still remain. Onward! 1. We ARE in the transition period that precedes Jesus' return. Two prerequisites need to be met before Jesus will return: (I) The arrival of Israel as a nation-state. Much of the eschatological events within Scripture happen in Israel and around Jerusalem. This is one of the main things that needed to happen to "facilitate" Jesus' return. After 2000 years, Israel is back on their own ground. This ought be be an obvious cold-water-to-the-face event as to what time we are entering into. (II) When the gospel is preached to all nations, then the end will come. (Matthew 25:14). We are nearly at the completion of this! Some estimate that within 10 years  the Great Commission will be fulfilled... 25 years would be conservative, but even still. Beloved, these are the two conditions that are set out in Scripture that must precede the Second Coming of Christ. I am not saying that we know the exact day or hour that Jesus is coming... surely not! Many have objected that "many have said that Jesus is coming soon!" and that's true... many have. But our generation will live to see the completion of these two prerequisites! This will mean that everyone on earth has had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ! God is patiently waiting for these to fall in place. He is waiting... and is excited. The Second Coming of Christ means the culmination of human history, the point at which Jesus' long betrothal to the Church will be consummated... and we will enter into a new age. The Father and the Son and the Spirit are longing for this day, and they will not delay one moment longer than they have decreed. 2. We ARE REQUIRED to know when Jesus will return. In Matthew 24-25, Jesus tells us with no uncertainty that we are to recognise the season that precedes His return. He describes (without any indication that these things are symbolic, I might add) in detail what will happened at the end of this age, and then beginning in verse 32, to describe how believers ought to be ready: (I)In the parable of the fig tree, He simply says "you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. (Matthew 24:33). We are to KNOW that He is coming, because of what we have seen. (II)In the parable of the days of Noah, Jesus is telling us to understand... those those who did not understand, in the days of Noah, were unprepared, and perished. Noah was preaching to the people for 100 years while he built the ark! God told Noah ahead of time what was coming, that He would understand and know. Jesus is affirming that this is how the end of the age will come about... we won't be ignorant of it, we're to KNOW when He is coming! (III)Then Jesus speaks of the man who did not know when the thief was coming... and told us not to be like that! He told us to be ready... for we didn't know what hour He was coming at... but we do KNOW He is coming, and we KNOW the signs of His coming, which He just explained earlier in the teaching. (IV)In verse 45, Jesus begins to tell of the faithful servant, which is quite sobering, especially in the latter half:

"But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 24:48-51)

(V)In chapter 25, Jesus continues His discourse with the parable of the virgins. Again, at the end, He tells us to "be on the alert"... for the virgins KNOW that the Bridegroom is coming soon, but they do not know exactly when. (VI)In the parable of the talents, Jesus is instructing us to be prudent with the knowledge that we have been given regarding His Second return (remember this is still in His response to the disciples question in Matthew 24:3). We know what will precede and herald His second coming... there is more content in Scripture about Jesus' Second Coming than His first... and we are to use this knowledge. If we simply ignore it and hide it... well, the consequences are not pretty. (VII)As we KNOW the judgement is coming, Jesus indicates how we ought to live, what our attitude is to be as believers, and how we will be judged. Friends, most of Jesus is this passage is centred around us (as the Church) knowing and preparing for His coming. We are to (I) know the signs, (II) understand, (III) be ready, (IV) be faithful with the knowledge we've been given about the end, (V) be vigilant and maintain intimacy, (VI) be prudent with the knowledge that we have (that is, that the Bridegroom is coming!), (VII) Live our lives in service to Him in preparation. I believe that Jesus makes it extremely clear in Matthew 24/25 that we are to live our lives in earnest expectation and knowledge of His return! Seven times in Matthew 24/25 we are told to know when He is returning, —————————————— I trust I have made it clear that we are both entering into a time of transition which precedes the judgment events and Jesus' Second Coming, and that we are to know the time He will return... the order really ought to go in the other direction... we know what to look for, so we know we are in that transition time preceding His coming. Beloved, the study of eschatology does not tear us away from the core of Christianity... it drives us to it. The bulk of prophecy leading up to Jesus was about His second coming, not His first. Jesus Himself talked more about His second coming than anything else. There are several portions of the New Testament that are dedicated to His second coming and understanding it! Even looking at the book of Revelation... what is one of the first things we read? "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (Revelation 1:3). There is blessing in reading and hearing Revelation... and heeding it. Heeding it being... not ignoring it. Even before that, in Revelation 1:1, we find the whole point of the book: the Revelation of Jesus Christ! All of Revelation is pivoted around Jesus Christ, and His unveiling. If you want to know Jesus, you cannot ignore the book of Revelation... and it should not be ripped out of it's eschatological context: doing so that will only lead to a twisted and untrue understanding of who Jesus is. Hmm, this has probably gone on long enough. I have said enough, I think, to get my point across, but in the interest of brevity for your sake, my persevering reader, I shall end here! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here, or email me!