“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” Luke 17:24
“Christ will come when He pleases, to show His sovereignty, and will not let us know when, to teach us our duty.” Matthew Henry
It was in the mid 1970s that I became a follower of Jesus. That was a time when there was a lot of activity around predicting the second coming of the Messiah. “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsay came out suggesting that the end was nigh. People like Herbert W. Armstrong (predicting 1975) and Jerry Falwell (c. 1980s) and Edgar C. Whisenant (1988 or 1989) threw out their ideas. There were speculations based on The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the book of Daniel, Armageddon, the sudden appearance of Israel in 1948, the emergence of the Common Market and significant advances in technology which seemed to enable circumstances predicted by Biblical prophesy. In all it seemed pretty convincing to me as a young Christian. Until they all failed. Thankfully my faith is not based on hare-brained predictions about the end of the world. Of course, there have been predictions going on for hundreds of years. 1688 was proffered as a return date, and many preachers were forecasting dates in the 1800s. Paul even had to reassure the church at Thessalonica that they had not missed out. (2 Thess. 2:1-2.)
My purpose here is not simply to point out that everyone who has tried to predict the second Advent has failed. There are broader implications. What concerns me about the ongoing quest for a return date is that it seems to represent the Scriptures incorrectly.
It is not only in relation to the return of Christ that this problem arises. People use the Bible to justify many (often contradictory) views. “Jesus is a Socialist”, “Jesus is a Capitalist”, “Jesus is a Pacifist”, “Jesus advocates for just war”, “Jesus advocates for self-defense”, “the Bible is pro-this” or “anti-that”. It is possible to justify almost any position you want by suppressing some text and emphasizing others. This seems like dishonest use of Scripture. At the end of the matter, the Bible reveals the basic purposes and character of God and points us to Jesus. I think any attempt to apply Scripture to our personal agenda is misguided, including speculation about the return of the Messiah.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36
Jesus was clear that there is no knowing when His return will be. ”What about the ‘signs’ along the way that Jesus talks about?” It’s been two-thousand years and many very knowledgeable people have looked at Scripture, history and the circumstances of their generation. None have been able to determine what Jesus said would be impossible anyway. I know that not everyone spends excessive time in pursuit of the date of the return of the Christ, but many do. Each failure is ammunition for unbelievers to use against the Church, and can cause a crisis of faith for some believers. For all of us, it seems to me that we’re better off spending our time growing our relationship with Jesus to make Him more attractive to a lost world.
What’s most important is that we realize that since we cannot predict the return, we must be mindful that Jesus could return before our next breath. This means that we must be constantly vigilant and prepared as best we can in heart, mind and soul to meet Him face to face. Leave the Second Advent in the hands of the Father, and focus on presenting a spotless Bride to Christ when He does return, whenever that may be.
Random Thoughts 