END TIMES

“I Will Come Again”

It is one of the most compelling proclamations in all of scripture. Jesus Christ came once, 2,000 years ago, and he has promised that he will come again —

Joh 14:1-3 : 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

It was certainly something that Christ's disciples were curious about —

Mat 24:3 : And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Is this the “end of the world” then? The word translated world in Matthew 24:3 is the Greek word aion. A better translation would have been age. It is the end of the current age and the beginning of the next age, the age of Messiah's rule on earth.

Back at the Mount of Olives, just before Christ's ascension into heaven, the disciples were still curious —

Act 1:6-7 : 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Do we have a contradiction here? A few days earlier, in Matthew 24, Jesus had been happy to tell the disciples about the details leading up to his return. Now when they ask, he says it is not for them to know. But understanding the context of the two questions, there is no contradiction at all. Much had happened in those few days. Christ had been formally rejected by the nation of Israel, he had been crucified, and he had risen from the dead. Plus the question was a little different this time. Rather than a general “When will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming?”, it was now a very specific “Will you restore Israel's kingdom now?”.

Looking back today, the answer was obviously “No. Not now. Later.” But at the time they asked the question, the answer may have been more like “Possibly, but only if the nation of Israel receives me now as their Messiah.” As events unfolded, although individual Jews received him, the nation still did not. In any case, the answer he gave, in my mind at least, sounds more like “Focus on the present: the Church is about to be born with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” There is now a bigger purpose in mind, the salvation of the world —

Act 1:7-8 : 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Christ's answer applied to the disciples he was addressing at that place and time, not to all his followers at all times. The disciples who asked about the timing of Israel's restoration were not to know at that moment, but later they might, and certainly other believers would. But even though the disciples weren't given details on the timings, Christ's return was still promised, along with a critical detail on location —

Act 1:9-11 : 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

When Messiah returns to earth at the end of the tribulation to rescue Israel and restore the kingdom, he will be seen by all —

Rev 1:7 : Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Though seen by all as he descends, he comes down to one location —

Zec 14:3-4 : 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

It is one more wonderful detail about Christ's return that ties the Old and New Testaments together.

Psa 96:11-13 : 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 13 Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Rev 22:20 : He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.