Quick Reads #3 – The Second Coming
To say that we have been through a difficult few years is putting it mildly. And if commentators are to be believed, it will become a whole lot worse. The reasons are many and varied. No matter your standpoint it’s pretty clear the world is at a moment of truth.
It makes no difference who is responsible or to whom you may wish to apportion blame. But, the fact that people are taking to the street in their millions every day is a sign something important is taking place. For many Christians, it is seen as a forerunner to the return of Jesus: the Second Coming with the prospect of deliverance from a world at peril. But, there’s a slight problem here.
Jesus did not say He was returning to save us from great tribulation. But, as Paul reminds us Jesus did say He would never leave us: for he has said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5) He said nothing about the rapture as taught today, but He did say,
I will not leave you comfortless: “I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
So the difficulty is: why would Jesus come a second or third time to save our physical selves, where would He take us, and for how long a period, when, where and why would He return us, and for what purpose. Naturally, here is no agreement within the churches to any of these questions. The hard truth is Jesus is not troubled about our physical well-being but He is greatly concerned about the condition of our spirit, as entry to the Kingdom cannot be by flesh and blood.
He did not say He would come to our physical aid, but did say; the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it cannot see Him or knows Him as He dwells with you and shall be in you. (John 14:17)
The Spirit of Truth, given at Pentecost, has been within all who believe ever since.
He is still here and will remain until His work is done in each and every one us. Notice that Jesus describes the Sprit of Truth as a noun using ‘He’ as He is referring to Himself.
Jesus was declared by Isaiah and arrived as promised. He fulfilled His ministry and returned to His throne. His work was done once and for all. He has returned as the Spirit of Truth as He said He would. The fact is we are saved, we are redeemed the debt of sin purchased, and can now enter the Kingdom. This is why He came and at the end said: “It is finished.” His work is done, there is no more, and we have all we need.
There is no tribulation we are ‘saved out of’ but we are told more than once we go through trial. And here we remain, having survived conflict, famine, pandemics, persecution, war and poverty throughout our history. Tribulation is part of our journey in faith as we grow in the Gospel. It’s a very simple thing this Christian faith made needlessly complicated. We believe and are baptised, we keep the Commands He gave us, are guided by the Spirit of Truth as we rest in His Grace until we are taken home. Nothing else is required, nothing else matters.
It really is that simple.
The Secret Rapture of the Saints is a cruel theology. It offers false hope and was unheard of until the early 1800s. Its foundation is the 16th Century Jesuit school of Futurism though it lay dormant until it entered the Anglican Church in 1826; later picked up by John Darby in his teaching on Dispensationalism in the 1860s. It was given a veneer of respectability when popularised the notes of the Schofield Reference Bible. All it does is to show a lack of faith in the LORD’S Salvation as this notion was never taught, or even suggested by JESUS, the Apostles or Paul.
In peace and love as always,
James