EVEN IN PAUL’S TIME , there were those who looked for the great hope of the completion of redemption to initiate the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The early disciples themselves had been assured by angels that the Lord would return— “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)—and that he would take them with him, as he had promised. “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3) And, they had told others of Jesus’ teachings about end times. “Tell us, when will these things happen?” Jesus said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, Claiming, ‘I am he.’ You must be on your guard. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.’” (Mark 13:4-30, Matt. 24:3-34, Luke 21:8-32)
This word had gone out from the original apostles, all of whom were alive except Judas when Paul was writing the letter to the church at Thessaloniki. And already, there had been mounting persecutions in the early Christian church, a church that longed for the promises of Jesus to be fulfilled in their time. It seems apparent that this had been a concern in this particular church. Paul abstains from offering a sudden and miraculous hope that the current trials will soon be over, but he does so without detracting from the hope inherent in prophecies of Jesus. Instead, he affirms that hope in passing, saying “we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thess. 4:15-16)
Paul moves beyond that assurance to affirming the need for a day-to-day practical outlook. “But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, 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.” (1 Thess. 5:4, 8-10) Paul gave them the most important here-and-now answer that he could possibly give them. “Hold on to our great hope, but meanwhile, live intentionally and fully today.” If we were reading his letter then, perhaps this is how we’d have interpreted what he was saying. It’s what we are hearing now.
Across the ages, there have been many that should have listened. They should also have listened to Jesus. “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matt. 24:34) And they should have listened to Paul. “But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:4, 9)
At the advent of the first millennium, Christians in Europe were struggling against wave after wave of invaders, as well as a tide of famines and epidemics. Many believed then that the Lord was imminent in his return. At the advent of the second millennium, the advance of Islam in the world with the resultant wars, and the widespread famines in Africa as well as fear of pandemics, had the worldwide population of Christians at fever pitch at the year 2000 with the possibility of the Lord’s return.
Throughout history leading to the first millennium and the second millennium, times of great anxiety over world conditions, including times of great persecution in the Christian church, have led to hysteria about his soon return. In our own day, this generation faces conditions in which the church is asking, “Could this be the day?” And in our day, the apocryphal prophecies of scripture appear to be being fulfilled before our eyes. There are false Christs, and wars and rumors of war, and earthquakes and famines and floods and a pandemic. It may be true that the Lord’s return is imminent.
One thing is absolutely true: Right now, the Lord is the closest he has ever been to returning. We may be the generation in which some do not “sleep,” but hear the call of his voice and are “snatched up” into the air. (cf. 1 Thess. 4:15-19) But there are other truths that are more important. One is that we cannot know the day or time, but we are here today, and this day is important. Another is that Paul’s advice is still the best advice: “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thess. 5:8)
But the third, most important truth, is Jesus’ promise to us: “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) He made that promise to the Apostles, and it is a promise that he has extended throughout history to all people who believe in him, in all of the crazy times that the world has gone through, and he makes that promise today.
Nevertheless, maybe today…
Q. What if Jesus came today?
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