“I Will Come Again”

Read John 14:1–3. It has already been almost 2,000 years since Jesus

promised to come again. How can we help others see that, despite

the great length of time (which really doesn’t matter), this promise

is relevant even to our own generation, so long removed from the

time when Jesus spoke it?

Four times in the book of Revelation Jesus stated, “ ‘I am coming

soon!’ ” (Rev. 3:11; Rev. 22:7, 12, 20, NIV). The expectation of His

soon coming drove the mission of the apostolic church and filled the

lives of uncountable Christians throughout the centuries with hope. But

generation after generation has died, and this promised event has not

yet occurred. And thus, many are enquiring: How much longer will we

have to preach that “Jesus is coming soon”? Have these words gener-

ated an unrealistic expectation? (See 2 Pet. 3:4.)

Many Christians have complained about the long “delay” (compare

with Matt. 25:5). But how do we, in fact, know that it is a long “delay”?

What would have been the “right” time for Christ to have returned?

Would it have been 50 years ago, 150, 500? What really matters is the

biblical promise that “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as

some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting

anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9, NIV).

Despite the long centuries since Jesus ascended, the promise of His

coming remains relevant, even today. Why? Because all that we have

is our own short life (Ps. 90:10), followed by an unconscious rest in

the grave (Eccles. 9:5, 10), and then the final resurrection, without any

later opportunity to change our destiny (Heb. 9:27). As far as each one

of the dead is concerned (as stated in lesson 3), because all the dead

are asleep and unconscious, the second coming of Christ is never more

than a moment or two after they die. For you, in your personal experi-

ence (as for all of God’s people of every age), Christ’s return is no more

than a moment after your death. That’s very soon, is it not?

Every passing day brings us one day closer to the glorious appear-

ing of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven. Though we don’t

know when He will come, we can be certain that He will, and that is

what really matters.

A pastor preached a sermon, arguing that he didn’t care when

Christ returned. All he cared about was that Christ does return.

How does that logic work for you, and how might it help if you

are discouraged over Christ’s having not yet returned?