WHEN WILL CHRIST RETURN?
There are few topics on which there
is more speculation than the time of the Lord's return. Television evangelists
ignore what the scriptures teach on the subject. They write books and preach
sermons that make absolutely no sense. In 1976 Hal Lindsey wrote a little book
with the title, The Terminal Generation (Old Tappan: Fleming H.
Revell). Do you know the meaning of "terminal?" John Hagee's book, Beginning
of the End: The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Coming of the Antichrist
(Nashville: Nelson, 1996), has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. He
says: "The events of these last months draw me inexorably to the
conclusion that the Messiah is coming soon" (p.ix of the Introduction). I
have no idea what the death of Yitzhak Rabin has to do with the Lord's coming.
A number of prominent so-called "prophecy teachers," such as, Dave
Breese, Chuck Missler, Lester Sumrall and J. R. Church published a foolish
book, Earth's Final Days (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press,
1994). The sad truth is: Not one of these men - not even one - has the foggiest
notion about "earth's final days." The end may come today or it may
not come for a million years. Not one verse in the Bible gives us a hint about
the time of the Lord's second coming.
Our study of the theme, "When
Will Christ Return?", is a response to an article in The Tennessean (Tuesday,
September 22, 2009). The article, "End of the world signs point to Jesus'
return, speaker says," was written by Bob Smietana of the paper's staff. The
article discusses a series of talks at Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Jim Reinking was the speaker for a series on the return of Christ and
the end of the world. How did this speaker or anyone else come to the
conclusion that "end of the world signs point to Jesus' return?"
According to Reinking, a so-called
"prophecy teacher" from Washington State, "foreclosures,
economic meltdown, political turmoil, terrorism" point to the end of the
world as we know it (p. I-B). Have not preachers been making similar
predictions for centuries? The article mentions what the Adventists call
"The Great Disappointment." In the early I800s William Miller, one of
the founders of Seventh-day Adventism, predicted the Lord would come either in
1843 or 1844. He missed it. Why do not preachers of all religious groups quit
making predictions of the time of the Lord's return? Every prediction will
prove to be false. Do not false predictions prove the person who makes them is
a false prophet (Dt. 18:22)?
When I was a student at Andrews
University, a Seventh-day Adventist seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan, I
became acquainted with a young black Adventist preacher. He asked me one day
why I was not a Seventh-day Adventist. I told him I did not believe in keeping
the Jewish Sabbath. I also explained that I strongly objected to setting dates
for the Lord's return. He admitted that Adventists had made some mistakes in
setting dates. He then said: "But the Lord will come in the next twenty
years." I asked him how he knew. He said very simply: "The signs of
the times." That was more than sixty years ago. In the words of a song
that was popular a few years ago: "When will they ever learn?
Mike McKenzie, associate pastor of
Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist Church, disapproves of people's using the
book of Revelation to scare people. He criticizes films like, "A Thief
in the Night" and "Image of the Beast" because they
are designed to scare people into becoming Christians. McKenzie said that
"God never intended this kind of world we are living in.... He had a
different design, in which everything would be good" (p. 10-B).
Do Reinking and McKenzie think we
are living in a world that is uniquely evil? Have they forgotten about
conditions in the first century? Romans, Ephesians and Colossians describe
moral and spiritual conditions that were as bad, if not worse, than they are
today. I shall read a few words from the book of Romans. "When they knew
God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their
imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to
be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into
an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to four-footed beasts,
and creeping things. Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness through the lust
of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. For this cause God gave them up
to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that
which is against nature: likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the
woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men, working that
which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error
which was appropriate. And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things that are
not convenient" (Rom. 1:21-28). If Christ were going to come because
"God never intended this kind of world," why did he not come during
the first century of the Christian era?
Have Reinking and McKenzie read
about the situation during "the roaring twenties?" I recommend that
Reinking and McKenzie read Ronald Kessler's book, Sins of the Father:
Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded (New York: Warner, 1996).
Please understand that I am not trying to excuse the evil in our nation, but is
it worse than it ever has been? And even if it were, is it worse than it ever
will be? Do you understand how absolutely foolish and inexcusable it is for
preachers to speculate about the time of our Lord's second coming?
In his book, Soothsayers of
the Second Advent (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell, 1989), William
M. Alnor has a chapter with the title, "The Ultimate Date Setter."
The Subtitle of Alnor's book is: "A compelling expose of doomsday-dating
pin-the-tail-on-the-Antichrist, and other non-biblical games Christians play."
The ultimate date-setter is Charles Taylor, at one time one of the most
influential prophecy teachers in America. Taylor said in September 1980:
"We don't have another decade. Many believe, as I do, that we most likely
have less than one year in which to reach the lost nation (and the world)....
All gifts are tax deductible, but what will it matter if we are "caught
up" into heaven or blown to hell? It's just that serious" (p. 136).
He suggested that the rapture would occur in 1975 (p. 136), in 1976 and in 1980
(p. 137), in 1981, (if 1980 fails) (p. 137), 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 and
1988 (pp. 137-139). You probably remember that Edgar Whisenant wrote a
ridiculous book, 88.Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. The
book sold hundreds of thousands of copies. When I heard about the book, I tried
to find one in some bookstores in West Tennessee. The bookstores could not keep
them in stock.
In my judgment, the best book
dealing with these "soothsayers of the second advent," to borrow the
title of William Alnor's book, is Richard Abanes' book, En-Time Visions: The Road to Armageddon? (New York: Four Walls
Eight Windows, 1988). Abanes devotes one chapter to the signs of the times. He
quotes former president Ronald Reagan: "For the first time ever, everything
is in place for the battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Christ ...
.It can't be too long now. [The Bible's book of] Ezekiel says that fire and
brimstone will be rained upon the enemies of God's people. That must mean that
they will be destroyed by nuclear weapons." Abanes also quotes Dave Hunt,
an evangelical prophecy teacher: "No generation has ever had solid
biblical reason for believing that it was living in the last of the days
preceding the second coming of Christ - no generation until ours.... The
present generation - unlike any generation before it - has more than sufficient
reason for believing the second coming is very near" (p. 256). Jack Van
Impe's book, 2001: On the Edge of Eternity (Dallas:
Word, 1996), engages in the same vain speculations. The subtitle to Van Impe's
book makes that clear. False Prophets, government deception,
international upheaval, devastating natural disasters ... We are on the
threshold of cataclysmic change. A few brief excerpts from Van Impe's
book will show conclusively that he is a false prophet. "Virtually every
sign in the Bible indicates that Christians will be coming back soon with
Jesus" (p. 152). Van Impe repeats: "Jesus Christ is coming soon"
(p. 152, for example).
There is a very serious problem with
these speculations by Ronald Reagan and by Dave Hunt. Both men went far beyond
the evidence to make such foolish observations. In fact, they ignored the
evidence. So what are the signs that have convinced people like Jack Van Impe,
John Hagee, Chuck Missler, J. R. Church and similar false prophets that Jesus
Christ is coming soon? In our Lord's Sermon on the Mount of Olives, Jesus
Christ mentions a number of signs. He warned his disciples: "Take heed
that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that
you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
near. For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in different
places" (Mt. 24:4-7).
Contrary to the speculations of the
so-called "prophecy teachers," these signs have nothing to do with
the end of the age and the second coming of Christ. If you have read the rest
of Matthew 24, you know that is true. Jesus specifically affirmed: "But of
that day and hour, no man knows, no, not the angels in heaven, but my Father
only" (Mt. 24:36). Do we know the meaning of the world "only?"
If only God knows, how could lowly human beings figure out from the signs when
the world will end? Some of the false teachers say we cannot know the day or
the hour, but we can know the general time of Christ's return. That is
absolutely being dishonest to the text. We cannot know within a million years
when the end will come.
But the world is so ungodly, does
that not signal that the end is near? Did not our Lord tell his disciples:
"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the
ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them away; so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be" (Mt. 24:37-39)? We know the warnings Noah
constantly gave to his generation. But the people paid no attention to those
warnings. They went right on with their lives as if nothing were going to
happen. They were "were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage."
Is our Lord teaching that these activities are evil? Although every imagination
of the thoughts of the people who lived before the flood was only evil
continually (Gen. 6:5), that is not what Jesus wanted his disciples to
understand. He was telling them of the indifference and unconcern of the people
who lived while Noah was preaching to them about the worldwide flood God was
sending.
You know, if you believe the
scriptures, that the time of Christ's return was of little or no concern to our
Lord or to his disciples. The New Testament's emphasis is on the fact that he
is coming. The Apostle Peter addressed the need for men's preparation for the
Lord's coming. "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in
both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that you may be
mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior" (2 Pet. 3:1-2).
What did the Apostle Peter want his readers to remember? It is obvious from the
context that he wanted them to bemindful of what the holy prophets and apostles
had said about the Lord's second coming.
By divine inspiration, Peter knew
scoffers would come in the last days (that is, in the Christian era), saying,
"Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation" (2
Pet. 3:3-4). What those scoffers were saying amounts to this: Jesus said he was
coming back. He has not come; so he is not coming. How unreasonable is that?
Peter accused those ancient scoffers and all modern doubters of being
"willingly ignorant." They were not just ignorant; they were
willingly ignorant. Have you ever heard the expression: "There are none so
blind as those who will not see?" The scoffers did not want to see.
Peter accused the scoffers of
ignoring the evidence that not all things have continued as they were from the
beginning of creation. And what was the evidence? "For this they willingly
are ignorant of, that by the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the
earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then
was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day
of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" (2 Pet. 3:5-7). The worldwide
flood in the days of Noah disproves the contentions of the scoffers. I wish I
had time to say more about these verses, but I want to concentrate on the next
few verses.
Peter tells us that God does not
reckon time as we do. "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as a
day." He next assures us that God always keeps his promises. "The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is
longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:8-9). The Lord promised to return (John 14:1-3).
He will return on God's schedule - not on that of the prophecy teachers.
Please listen carefully to the next
few verses in 2 Peter 3. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the
elements that are therein shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). This verse makes
it plain that no one knows when the Lord is coming back. He will come as a
thief in the night. The time of his coming is of secondary importance. What is
of primary importance? "Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and
godliness. Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless" (2 Pet. 3: 11-14).
We do not know when the Lord will
come back. We do not need to know. Had we needed to know, he would have told
us. But we do need to know how to prepare for him, if he comes during our
lifetime or if we die before he comes. Peter tells Christians that we must be
holy and godly. We must "be diligent that we may be found of him in peace,
without spot, and blameless." One prominent evangelical writer insists
that "holiness is not a condition of salvation." One would never get
that impression from these verses in 2 Peter 3. The author of Hebrews teaches
the same truth. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord" (Heb.12:14).
If you are a Christian, you should
live every day as if you knew that the Lord would return immediately. Jesus
commanded his disciples: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Mt. 6:33).
Paul admonished the Roman Christians: "Love one another with brotherly
affection; in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent
in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of the saints;
given to hospitality" (Rom. 12: 10-13).
If you are not a Christian, will
you prepare to meet God by confessing your faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10),
repenting of your alien sins (Acts 17:30-31), and being baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38)?
Please listen to one example of conversion. Philip the evangelist preached Christ to the
Samaritans. "And when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
the kingdom of God, and the name of Christ, they were baptized, both men and
women" (Acts 8:5, 12). Can you think of a better time to obey the gospel
than now?
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
P.O. Box 118
Fayetteville, TN 37334