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 31)
Part Two – The Timing of the Second Coming
Chapter 5 – What Revelation Says
It is most fitting that the book of Revelation be the last in the New Testament, for at this point we see that all steps leading to the Second Coming have been taken except the very coming itself. The branch of the fig tree has become tender, and put forth its leaves; the disciples now know that summer is near (Matthew 24:32).
Revelation, this extended apocalyptic description of the coming of the Lord that is just about to occur, pierces the air like the trumpet of God announcing the King’s imminent entrance. No earthly king ever had a more glorious fanfare than the book of Revelation. This trumpet was blown by the apostle John.
Revelation deserves its own section in this focus on timing, although you will see that John’s thoughts about timing remain the same as what we saw in the gospel that bears his name and in his letters. We have already seen his own testimony that he was alive and well in “the last hour” before the Lord’s return. We know also that Paul and Peter were called upon to bow out gracefully before the final curtain came down. John’s “alive and well” status was in spite of the great tribulation going on around him. He wrote the book of Revelation from the island of Patmos where he had been imprisoned. This book was a circular letter commissioned by Jesus, who had sent the contents through His angel to be written down by John. It was one letter to be circulated among seven particular cities of what we today call Asia Minor. (The island of Patmos was situated just off the coast of this region.)
Of all the passages in the Bible that deal with the Second Coming, Revelation is unquestionably the longest and most extensive. And it is, of course, the only book in the Bible for which the Second Coming in the sole subject. Most people would agree that there are parts of this book that are hard to understand. They also are likely to agree that the salutation and closing of the letter are among the easier parts to understand of a hard-to-understand book. Fortunately, it is these very parts that speak most directly about the timing of the Second Coming. In the beginning of this letter “to the churches” of what we today call Asia Minor, John says he is writing on behalf of Jesus Himself – who having received the contents from God was forwarding them through His angel to John.
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