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 40)
Part Three – The Nature of the Second Coming
Chapter 7 – How the Bible Describes Truth
Putting Together Images
We have already seen the error of assuming that the additional image must refer to an additional event. And we have also seen that it is only the insistence upon a physical Second Coming that forces one into such an error. But since we are spiritual people looking for spiritual answers, let’s look at this issue spiritually.
Fortunately, the apostle Paul has already done the work for us on this one. In 1 Thessalonians 4-5 he is coaching his disciples about the hope of the Second Coming and mentions the clouds, angels, and trumpet we heard about from Jesus in Matthew 24-25. Paul then goes on to say that
…the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are
saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
Aha! Jesus’ coming will be like a parade to those in the light…and like a pickpocket to those in the dark. This is not so difficult. Jesus is telling us that His coming will be open and obvious to some…and totally undetected by others. The key concern should then be – how do I make sure I am one of the people who sees? This same contrast, between those who see and enjoy the Second Coming and those who are oblivious to it, is seen in Paul’s next letter to the Thessalonians. For in its first chapter we see him speaking of Christ coming “to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.” But Paul also mentions “those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” and who, as a result, will be “away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” You and I can see the same sort of contrast today, for, to some, God is a great light, but to others He is nowhere to be seen. The contrasting images are different facets of the same reality.
Such contrasting images take us back to the words of the prophet Jeremiah:
Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.” Jeremiah 17:5-6
Note the phrase “and will not see when prosperity comes.” Jesus and Paul were speaking of these kinds of people. These people would not see because they were not willing to see. Prosperity, for them, would come and go like a thief in the night…and they would never be the wiser. For them, life is a desert waste. They wonder why God has taken so long and not answered their cry. They had missed Him because they had made “flesh their strength.” That is, things they could see with their physical eyes became their only source of encouragement. Wasn’t the entire ministry of Jesus to lead us away from a reliance upon flesh – that is, what we can see with our physical eyes – to a reliance upon spirit (that is, upon the Lord’s word – remember how He said that His words were “spirit” in John 6:63?).
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