____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ September 29, 1997 ____________________________________________________ Wake up, Neighbor; Jesus is Coming Again! by Tom Edwards As a swirling breeze undoubtedly moves, a babbling brook is unquestionably wet, and a lambent match-flame is definitely hot, even so, Jesus is coming again -- and it could be this week! We know not the hour nor the day, but we do know that with each passing moment, the time of the Lord's great second advent becomes increasingly nearer. This inevitability of the Lord's return has been promised by Jesus Himself (John 14:1-3), by angels (Acts 1:9-11), and by the apostles who were inspired with the Holy Spirit (1 Thes. 4:16,17; 2 Pet. 3:10; 1 John 3:2). In these scriptures, which prophetically declare of Christ's second coming, we can hear the guileless voice of God with whom lying is an impossibility (Titus 1:2) and easily accept the certainty of the Lord's reappearance. As to when this great advent will take place, no one knows; and to try to calculate it would only be a presumptuous undertaking on our part and a surmising which would be without any substantial basis. Old Testament prophecies, which have already found fulfillment centuries ago, are sometimes wrongly cited by many today as being signs that serve as a prelude which supposedly signify the second coming of Christ. Since these passages, however, are irrelevant to His return (and the Bible gives no signs toward this), it is, therefore, silly for man to even begin to arbitrarily place a date. Some of our premillennial friends believe that there is coming a time when this world will experience a ``seven-year tribulation'' that will begin immediately after the ``rapture'' and will then be followed by a literal ``thousand-year reign of Christ'' on earth. According to this doctrine, it will be the return of Jesus to begin His new reign on earth that will bring an end to this great tribulation period. It is interesting to observe, though, that if this be so, then anyone could pin-point the day (and the hour) of Christ's second coming. How? Simply by adding seven years to the date in which the ``rapture'' occurs. When those ``left behind'' see that the Christians are no longer among them, they can then know that the ``rapture'' has taken place and the tribulation has begun. They could then also know that in exactly seven years from that time, Jesus will return in His second coming. This premillennial theory might sound plausible, but it is without Bible basis; for if it be true, then man could know precisely when Jesus is coming again, but this is not what the scriptures teach. Furthermore, there will be no ``great tribulation'' yet to come, for this has already occurred with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Concerning this decimating upheaval in which an estimated one million Jews were destroyed by Roman besiegement that kept the unbelieving inhabitants isolated from outside necessities, Jesus shows that this predicted tribulation would be so extreme that it would exceed all other desolating agonies that had ever existed in the history of the world or ever would (Matt. 24:21). This is not to say that there will be no troubled waters ahead, but whatever our lot, it could never exceed the hardships of those who slowly perished in that place that had been formerly viewed as God's holy city and which Jesus wept over with great tears of grief toward those who had stubbornly rejected His love, His mercy, and His salvation. They were warned; they were even given ``signs'' (Matt. 24), but they did not take heed. Though we know not the date, the Bible simply refers to the time of Christ's second coming as being in ``the last day.'' Notice the following passages that serve to elucidate a better understanding of this: In John 6:39,40, Jesus teaches, ``And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on THE LAST DAY. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on THE LAST DAY.'' Obviously, this passage emphasizes the redeemed who will one day be raised up to meet the Lord and to enter eternal glory. The time of this occurrence: THE LAST DAY. Not only, however, will the saved be raised on this day, but the Lord also speaks of another event that would take place at this same time. In John 12:48, Jesus declares, ``He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at THE LAST DAY.'' In this verse, we read of the same day, but of a different group of people: the lost, those who have turned from God and ignored the Lord. These will be judged on that day, THE LAST DAY. Here's a good point: after we come to the LAST DAY, how can there be any more days left for a ``seven-year tribulation'' or a ``thousand-year reign''? When we come to the LAST DAY, there will be no days left for either of these events. (Actually, Christ is already ruling; and it has been for almost 2,000 years and not for just 1,000.) After the LAST DAY, though, time will become just one great eternal day. Also, corroborating with the above thought that the righteous and the unrighteous will be dealt with on that same day -- the LAST DAY -- is the Lord's pronouncement in John 5:28,29: ''...AN HOUR is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.'' In this passage, the Lord not only narrows it down to the same day, but also to the same hour, in which the saved and the lost would be resurrected to receive either eternal life or eternal damnation. In considering a further note, we can easily learn from Peter's admonition that when Christ returns, the universe itself from its enormous masses to its smallest components, from its simplest structures to its most complex intricacies, will all be utterly destroyed -- down to its last element (2 Pet. 3:10-12). When will all this occur? When Jesus comes again in the LAST DAY. His second return won't be for just those who have ``missed the rapture,'' but as we have seen in the above verses, the saint, as well as the sinner, will be summoned and have to give an account of himself before the Lord on that same day. Other passages which teach these two classes being present when the Lord returns are 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 and Matthew 25:31-46. Especially, because we do not know the hour or the day when Jesus will come again, we must do our best to always be ready, remembering the words of Christ that ``Not every one who says to Me, `Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven'' (Matt. 7:21). It is only by our faith and obedience that we can abide in the Lord and, thus, do His will; which will also enable us to have confidence when He appears and not have to shrink back because of the shame of our neglect (1 John 2:28). Let us each remember that JESUS IS COMING AGAIN -- and it could be soon! Though the Lord, who is always prepared, will be ready for you, will you be ready for Him? Let us each do what we must in order to get ready, for our CREATOR is coming again. ___________________________________________ For a free Bible course, please send your request to the address shown at the bottom of this bulletin. Thank you. Prayer requests may also be sent to the same address. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________