The Eschaton II

This edition of The Eschaton will center on the promises of Christ's return. Thinking about the end times, or eschaton, should always be centered on the return of Jesus, not on all the peripheral things that are usually attached to end times discussions.

One further point to be made in the beginning of this discussion is that while the coming of Christ is most generally thought of as an event, a better way to refer to it is presented in the Greek word that refers to it as the "parousia," which means "presence," with the Latin translation, "advent" being the more familiar term. This term also means "arrival" rather than "return," which helps us see this as the arrival, or appearance of the presence of Christ.

Before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus spoke often to His disciples about leaving them and returning again. As Jesus prepared the disciples for His death and ensuing events, He said this in John 14:1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Another instance of Jesus' words to His disciples is found in Matthew 24:30: "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." While the disciples seem to have forgotten Jesus' words of promise during His trial and crucifixion, they did provide something that gave them hope after His resurrection and ascension had taken place, and these words have been preserved for us that we too may have hope in His appearing some day.

Luke records some of the events following Jesus' resurrection in the Book of Acts. Included in Luke's account is the promise to the disciples who were present at Jesus' ascension into heaven. This promise was given by a heavenly angel and is recorded in Acts 1:11: "Men of Galilee . . .why do you stand here looking into the sky? 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."

One final statement from the Bible that confirms the promise of the parousia of Jesus. That is found in Revelation 1:7: "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen."

As a disciple in the twenty-first century I can still claim these promises. Being able to live in the hope of the fulfillment of these promises helps keep me from living a life of fear or dread of what may be in store. I know that whatever happens, now or in the future, that God is in control and somehow in His time and in His way these promises will indeed come to pass.

Are you puzzled by the passing of time since these promises were made to the first disciples? I want to discuss the time element and how that affects our thinking on this subject. Stay tuned.
I remain

Pilgrim on the way