When Will We See Jesus?: Part 1

WEDNESDAY June 25

When Will We See Jesus?: Part 1

Matthew 24 is a pivotal chapter on the second coming of Jesus, recording Jesus' own response to questions raised by His disciples, questions we still have today about the when of the Advent. Jesus emphasized several points, among them the following:

1. We should not be alarmed. (In the Greek, the statement is terse; we might even say, emphatic: "see to it that you are not alarmed" (vs. 6, NIV)—whether by famine, by earthquake, or by conflict between nations (vss. 6-8).
   
2. We will face conflict and hatred, even within the church (vss. 9-13).
   
3. We should not be naive and gullible as we wait for the Second Coming (vss. 4, 5, 23-26). (Jesus lingered on this point!)
   
4. The gospel will be preached in the whole world before the end (vs. 14).
   
5. The event will be a spectacular, visible, worldwide phenomenon (vs. 27).
   
6. Certain cosmic signs will signal the Advent's approach (vs. 29).
   
7. As the end arrives, angels will gather together the faithful from all over the globe (vs. 31).
   
8. The day and hour of the Advent is known only to God (vs. 36).
   
9. Notwithstanding all warnings or predictions, the Second Coming will be sudden and unexpected (vss. 42-44).
   

One important point worth emphasizing from the above list has to do with the Gospel. It says that the Gospel will be preached everywhere "as a testimony" to all, "and then the end will come" (vs. 14, NIV). This suggests that Christ's followers play a role, however indirectly, in creating a condition vital for the termination of human history. It thus calls for increased fervor on the part of each of us to advance God's kingdom where we are.

Leighton Ford tells about a prison chaplain trying to bring a condemned prisoner to Christ in a London jail. "Do you really believe what you say, Chaplain? . . .If I believed your Gospel were true, I would crawl across England on broken glass to tell men about it"—The Christian Persuader (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), p. 29. That is the kind of enthusiasm needed now.

If the Gospel must go everywhere before Christ returns, and if we are called to preach that Gospel, then we ourselves have a role in working with Him to hasten the Second Advent, do we not? Yes or no? What are the challenges, opportunities, or problems this idea presents to us?