The Second Coming: What Difference Should it Make?
by John Akers
Few truths in the Bible are clearer: Some day this present world will come to an end, and Jesus Christ will come again to establish His Kingdom of perfect peace and righteousness. “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
This is a profound and sobering truth, and yet our world largely ignores or scorns it. Tragically, many Christians even overlook it or pay it little heed. Preoccupied with the incessant demands of daily living, they seldom think about the angels’ promise after Jesus’ ascension: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The Forgotten Truth
Why is this truth so often overlooked? Why do we lose sight of its reality or become confused about it?
The problem isn’t new; even in the first century some Christians pushed the truth of Christ’s return to the back of their minds. Other people cynically dismissed it: “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” they sneered.
“Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). At the opposite extreme, some claimed Christ had already returned, while others apparently quit working and sat around waiting for Christ’s return, convinced He was coming at any minute (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; 3:11-12).
But these individuals overlooked two important facts. First, they forgot Jesus’ repeated promise that He would return and that the whole world would witness it: “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26). Second, they forgot Jesus’ warning that, while His return is certain, the exact timing has been hidden from us: “No one knows about that day or hour” (Mark 13:32).
The same can happen to us. Preoccupied with our problems, absorbed in our daily routines, focused on our own plans for the future, even immersed in worthy causes—we can easily lose sight of what the Bible calls “the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Has this happened to you?
Read the rest @
BGEA: Our Ministries: "Decision" Magazine
by John Akers
Few truths in the Bible are clearer: Some day this present world will come to an end, and Jesus Christ will come again to establish His Kingdom of perfect peace and righteousness. “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
This is a profound and sobering truth, and yet our world largely ignores or scorns it. Tragically, many Christians even overlook it or pay it little heed. Preoccupied with the incessant demands of daily living, they seldom think about the angels’ promise after Jesus’ ascension: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The Forgotten Truth
Why is this truth so often overlooked? Why do we lose sight of its reality or become confused about it?
The problem isn’t new; even in the first century some Christians pushed the truth of Christ’s return to the back of their minds. Other people cynically dismissed it: “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised?” they sneered.
“Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). At the opposite extreme, some claimed Christ had already returned, while others apparently quit working and sat around waiting for Christ’s return, convinced He was coming at any minute (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; 3:11-12).
But these individuals overlooked two important facts. First, they forgot Jesus’ repeated promise that He would return and that the whole world would witness it: “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26). Second, they forgot Jesus’ warning that, while His return is certain, the exact timing has been hidden from us: “No one knows about that day or hour” (Mark 13:32).
The same can happen to us. Preoccupied with our problems, absorbed in our daily routines, focused on our own plans for the future, even immersed in worthy causes—we can easily lose sight of what the Bible calls “the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Has this happened to you?
Read the rest @
BGEA: Our Ministries: "Decision" Magazine
