Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 7)
Part Two – The Timing of the Second Coming
(continued)
Chapter 2 – What the Gospels Say
The Times of Jesus the Messiah
To talk about what the Gospels say is to talk about what Jesus said, for the Gospels are the record of His ministry and teaching. And He is the first source we should consult, because no one on earth knew more about the subject of the Second Coming than He did.
The place to start our discussion is to recognize that Jesus lived His earthly life in a unique historical age. The time in which Jesus of Nazareth lived has been called a messianic age even by those who do not believe He was the Messiah. This age can roughly defined as 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. Both Jewish and Christian historical sources confirm that the expectation of Messiah’s appearance was widespread. Messiah’s coming was associated with the last days and judgment which Israel’s prophets had foretold so you can imagine the questions and concerns that were running through people’s minds.
A whole class of literature arose during this time called “apocalyptic,” defined as writing which is characterized by “symbolic imagery and the expectation of an imminent cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling power of evil and raises the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom.” Of course, we recognize the New Testament book of Revelation as matching this sort of description. So, although the book of Revelation may seem strangely
different and out-of-place to us, people of that age – especially Jews – would not be thrown off, as if they had never seen this type of writing before. In fact, the book of Revelation is sometimes called the Apocalypse (from the same word as apocalyptic). “Revelation” is from a Latin word and “Apocalypse” is from a Greek word, both meaning the same thing: an uncovering or unveiling; that is, to reveal, or give a revelation.
To go along with the anticipation of Messiah, the consequential speculation about when and how he might appear, and the associated flourishing of writings which vividly and picturesquely described the end of the current world order and the establishing of a new age, we also find that there were many individuals ready and eager to accept the title of Messiah. In other words, there were many false Messiahs (or, you could say, false Christs). Such an atmosphere fosters pretenders, and there was always a group, whether large or small, ready to follow these leaders both in their rise – and in their inevitable demise.
This keen awareness and uncertainty about Messiah, the last days, the end of the world, and all else that went with these things, is clearly reflected in the pages of the four gospels. For if you read the Bible sequentially from Genesis you notice something radically different in the air when you get to Matthew. What were hints and promises in the Old Testament become full-blown expectations in the New Testament. The prophets had spoken of a great one to come “in many portions and in many ways,” but not until the New Testament do you see at every turn people asking, “Where is he? Have you seen him?”
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