He is Coming Again

The Scriptures clearly teach what we confess nearly every Sunday in the Creed, “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” I speak of the return of Christ, or what has been referred to as “The Second Coming of Christ.”

To use an apt illustration by our beloved Dr. Martin Luther, we must try not to be like the drunk who in trying to mount a horse, first fell off one side, and then on the next attempt fell off the other side. “How does this relate to the Second Coming of Christ?” you might ask. Well, it is in how we respond to this doctrine in the Bible. On the one hand, we can become fixated on this teaching to the exclusion of just about anything else. We can get all caught up in speculations as to when, how, and the circumstances of His coming. This is to fall off the horse on one side.

Equally dangerous is when we tire of the doctrine of the Parousia (that is the fancy term for this Coming) and avoid it altogether. We might even reason that the early church believed Jesus was returning soon and that we should live like it and be ready, but they were wrong so we should not put much stock in the belief. Such avoidance and reasoning is to fall off the opposite side of the horse. The point is to find a balance and avoid the opposite pitfalls.

It is clearly taught by our Lord Jesus that He is coming again, to close the present temporal age, to call forth the dead from their graves, to pronounce judgment, to grant the inheritance to the redeemed, and to usher in the consummation of the Kingdom with the renewed heaven and earth. This is our great hope, and we should be waiting for it eagerly.

It is this hope that can sustain us through thick and thin, even during calamities like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since You Asked…

What is the significance of the Day of Pentecost?

A principal Festival, The Day of Pentecost (Jewish harvest festival) was the occasion when the promised gift of the Holy Spirit was sent and poured out on the expectant church. It accordingly marks the culmination of the Easter Season. It occurs 50 days after Easter Sunday. Jesus had promised his followers that when he departed from them (the ascension, not the crucifixion) that he would not leave them as orphans. In fact, until his return at the end of the age, it would be to their advantage that he was departing, for then he would send the Holy Spirit as one called alongside them to comfort them, teach them, guide them, and empower them, even as the Holy Spirit continued to sanctify them (to make holy).