Advent Series (5)

His Glorious Return

A new year hs begun and we enter into it with some fear perhaps, some wonderment and hope of new possibilites and opportunities. For some of us we have decided to change our minds, our bodies our jobs through the good ol’ Newyear resolutions. But what happens when that fear grips you, that hope and wonderment get crushed by the weight of the world and the gym membership lies wasted in the draw at home. Christians seemingly are planning their lives 1 year to 5 years in advance as sojourners and as we can see our 1 year plans lay ruined at the best of times. We forget that we have our Lord and Saviour who will be back soon, we tend to relate this return in our own timing which seems to us a very long time. However wether you live 10 years or 90 years this is but a drop in the ocean of time as we don’t live by our time but by God’s. Here are some verses to remind us.

Psalm 144:4 “They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.”

James 4:13-14 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

I am not saying we shouldn’t plan for somethings, nor sitting on your rooftops just waiting for Jesus’ return as Paul taught against that kind of idleness in 2 Thess 3. but you must hold them loosley and with all plans ran past the one who has it it all planned out including his mighty return and that is God himself our Abba Father. Becasue there will be soon a time that this passage of scripture will be fulfilled and it will affect everyone and I mean everyone, the Christian, the atheist, the agnostic, the gender fluid, the left, the right, the woke, the pro-abortionist the saint, the sinner.

LUKE 21:25-28 ““There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.””

Signs - sign (indication) n. — a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent; as a visible clue that something has happened or will happen. As a sign (σημεῖον), pointing to something beyond itself, a mark of the power or grace of the doer or of his connection with the supernatural world.

Son of Man - A man who had divine origins. He was sent to restore humanity to God. Also: The Son of Man. A phrase frequently used by Jesus to describe Himself and His ministry. The phrase “son of man” is found 93 times in Ezekiel and refers to the prophet’s humanity This figure seems to have influenced Jewish expectations of the Messiah before the time of Christ.

Clouds - have a significant meaning in the OT. In this case the word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals. This splendour and glory is the immenent return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. bursting forth like a storm that the clouds cannot contain anymore.

Power and Glory - power n. is the word dunomous where we get our word dynamite from, but this power is greater than any manmade power that effects reality, this power means— possession of controlling influence; often understood as manifesting influence over reality in a supernatural manner. Glory is the highest state of honour that any being or thing could possess and Jesus deserves this golry and he will come with all power and importance at the second coming.

Definition and Significance in the New Testament

The Greek word parousia (παρουσία, parousia) means “presence” or “arrival.” It is used as a technical term to refer to the return of Christ in glory at the end of this world. However, “parousia” is only one of a range of words used by the New Testament writers to refer to this event. Similar terms that imply a second coming include “revelation” “appearance” and “coming”. The term “second coming” itself is not used in the New Testament. Christ’s return throughout the scriptures is a central theme, and is used as a reminder and beacon of hope, assurance and excitement for those who are in Christ.

V25-26) - 21:25–26 It is not apparent that verses 25–28 refer to a different time period than the ones preceeding them. Looking back, we see that Jerusalem was surroundeed by her enemies. Then the temple was destroyed in AD 70, but Jesus did not physically return as some hoped the scriptures meant.

We find an important parallel with the way OT prophecy works. If we take Isaiah 40–66 as an example, it is evident in reading these chapters that the end of Israel’s exile is predicted there. Israel will return in a new exodus, the new creation will dawn, a new David will reign, and the new covenant will commence. The prophecy was not mistaken. Israel did return from exile, but the promises in Isaiah were not realized in their fullness.

Still, the OT community did not conclude that Isaiah was mistaken; they believed there to be an inaugurated fulfillment, with Isaiah’s prophecy to be realized in its fullness in the future. The same paradigm should be applied to what Jesus says here. On first reading, we might have expected Jesus to return physically when Jerusalem was destroyed. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple verified that Jesus did not err, but it became apparent to early Christians that there was to be a temporal interval between the destruction of the temple and the return of Christ. The one functions as a type of the other.

What does the second coming entail? What does it mean for us and for the world?

That the world will be destroyed in some way, as to the completion of Judgment

Is. 13:9-11 “See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.”

Ezk. 32:7f “When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

Rev. 6:12f “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.”

Where we rejoice others mourn the coming of Jesus

Da 7:13 ““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.”

It is important to remind ourselves of the signs that come about before his glorious return. We need not to try and fugure out timings per say as we have already established that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. One thing i know is that none of us can be definite on when he will return. But to wait paitently and with anticipation. They got his first coming wrong by believing tradition rather than scripture let us not allow our endtime beliefs stop Jesus coming the way that God desires.

Mark 13:32 ““But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

What We Can All Agree On

For the world

The judgment of Jerusalem reminds us that life on earth will not last forever; those who oppose the Lord will face judgment. The temporal judgment of Jerusalem points to a greater judgment, a final judgment, a judgment that will never end. The final judgment accords with God’s justice and holiness. Speaking of justice and holiness and judgment is alien to many today. It seems unjust and unloving to think that the Lord will judge and condemn those who oppose him, but such a perspective shows how little we understand God’s holiness and how trivial we think sin to be. We tend to think our perspective on justice to be correct and any other viewpoint to be unethical. But when we think this way we are actually acting as if we were God, as if we knew better than he, as if we were the standard of justice. The Word of God comes from outside us and confronts us with a God not made in our image. Bad news for the world, and a fearful time. But not for us

For the Christian

We also see in this passage that Jesus is coming again with power and glory, and when he comes he will bring the kingdom to consummation. The time before his coming will be frightening and chaotic. Unbelievers will be seized with fear and dread, but Jesus encourages believers to be full of hope and optimism. Jesus’ coming will be the day of our final liberation, of release from this world and all of its trouble and suffering. “When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.”

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.””

Reflection:

Jesus came, just like God said He would. But God’s promises don’t end there. Just like God’s people waited with eager anticipation for Jesus to come and rescue them from their sins, we are waiting too. God made us another promise. He promised that Jesus would return to earth. He has already saved us from our sins if we love and trust Him. But when He comes the second time, He will save us from all the brokenness that sin has caused in the world. Just like before, God has given us hints and clues about how and when Jesus will return. And just like before, we wait. Sometimes we wait patiently. Sometimes we wait with tears and frustration because we can’t wait to live in a world without any sin. Sometimes we forget and wonder if Jesus really will come back. But God is faithful—even when we are faithless. And Jesus will come back.

Question: How do you think we should be waiting for Jesus’ return? What should we do as we wait?

You would be almost forgiven to think that it has been a longer time for the return of Christ than expected. In fact we are not the first generation to think this. For example when the temple was saked by Titus in approx 70 A.D. the Christians at the time lost hope and had despair as they thought Jesus was going to return soon after. Countless other times over our short history we have thought that we were the last generation before Jesus coming back. We have analysed the times and scripture as we should and we have fell short. And why wouldn’t we, just look at our times for example. World politics gone made, seemingly increasing rates of persecution, So many false prophets with wolf like intentions fleecing the people of God. Churches that have left their mission and/or allowed the world dribble into the church. We see Pastors suing Pastors and Churches suing Churches and looking to attack each other for personal gain. We see wars and rumours of wars that might lead to the worlds extinction, we see earth quakes and a world that is so devoid of human decency and dehumanizing acts that He must be coming soon. We are to not allow these things to drive us to despair, or the failed attempts to predict when he is coming. He is slow for our benefit and for those who have yet heard the gospel and respond. His timing is not like ours. We still look to the birth pangs of these things happening.

Jesus himself warned us of this. First, he listed off some signs he said must take place before he returned:

An accrual of very compelling, powerful false prophets who lead many astray on a scale large enough to be recognized by the church everywhere (Matthew 24:4–5, 11, 24–28);

A remarkable and frightening amount of natural and national calamities (Matthew 24:7–8);

An unprecedented level of persecution of Christians, along with an imminent threat of global human extinction (Matthew 24:21–22);

And the “gospel of the kingdom [would] be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

And it’s important to remember that the Bridegroom “delays” out of unsurpassed love for his bride. Hear his heart:

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

The first truth to keep in mind is that God marks time differently than we do. Moses wrote, “A thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4). And the apostle Peter wrote, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).

It’s only been two God-days since Jesus ascended and Luke quoted him on his return

This time, Jesus will not come in the middle of the night as a baby. He will not be weak and helpless. The Bible tells us that when Jesus comes back, He will ride out of the sky on a horse, carrying a sword. He will do battle with Satan. And He will win. Our Rescuer is coming back! While we wait, we wait with hope. We live lives of joy, peace, and compassion. We strive to be more like Jesus, every day putting sin to death. And we tell others that Jesus came to save sinners in hopes that they will love and trust in Him, too. Jesus is coming back. We don’t know when, but we know He’s coming. Soon. So be ready. Soon we will worship our King, as He deserves, forever. Come, Lord Jesus, come!

1 Thess 5:1-6 “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.”

1 Thess 5:7-11 “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

is one example among many of how the future pours into the present. This is not a foreign concept to us because future days often influence our present days. The future paycheck encourages you to get up and to go to work today. The future result of a fit body inspires you to go to the gym today, even if you don’t feel like it. Your future graduation ceremony motivates you today to get your homework done. To save yourself future car trouble, you get an oil change done now. In reality, the future is stamped on today more often than we might realize.

How much more should the future day of judgment and salvation drive our today? We live, today, as those who are waiting for Jesus’s return. Martin Luther rightly had two days on his calendar: this day and that Day.

Hebrews 6:5 “who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age”

The tension between the now and not yet is a tough one, as we are in so many ways partakers of the Kingdom of God already, yet we also partake of the suffering and residue of sin in this time and place. Given that, The resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity. There is indeed no hope without it. But Christ’s resurrection is also central to Christian living in the last days. It is a time-changing event that reconstitutes where we live and how we live. We live “in Christ” and we live for Christ in the overlap of the ages. His defeat of death has ushered in the age to come, and we now get glimpses of the future — foretastes of the heavenly world we call home

He is risen. And that means we can be certain of our physical resurrection. We can be convinced of our righteous standing before God. We can be calm on the final day of judgment. And we can be courageous in our fight against sin. Living between the times is riddled with theological and practical tension. But adopting the already–not yet mindset will better equip saints to read the Scriptures faithfully and live out the gospel powerfully, all the while giving thanks to the God who raised Jesus from the dead, and brought the future into the present.

What is our response to the coming news apart from being ready and ensuring we are looking up.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Living the last days now is not really any different than it was for the first-generation Christians. We stay ready the same way they were to stay ready:

We watch the signs.

We pray for laborers to be sent into the harvest (Luke 10:2) — and say with Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8) — and pray for the Lord to return (Revelation 22:20).

We encourage one another with our hope of resurrection and the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18).

We dont get distracted with shiny objects and trinkets, we don’t let ourselves fall into the faint remembrance of his return and then gorge ourselves on the worlds promises of health, wealth and power in its temporary state.

We travel light. We are exiles and sojourners here. We must not encumber ourselves with unnecessary baggage and treasures here because our real homeland and our real Treasure is up ahead (Matthew 6:19–20). And that’s where we want our hearts to be (Matthew 6:21).

And wether by death or by the twinkle of an eye we partake of the promise of being with him the Lord forever.

1 Thess 4:17 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”