What difference does Jesus' return make to today?

What difference does

Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; return make to today?

ď&#x20AC;&#x201A; Looking Deeper

 Looking Deeper What difference does Jesus’ return make to today?

uite a few years ago I was part of my church’s music group. We were rehearsing one Thursday evening for the Sunday morning service. It was a good bunch of songs; we knew them well and we were enjoying praising God together. Then the lead singer said something that has stuck with me ever since: “This is one of those evenings when you really hope Jesus won’t return just yet—I’m having such a nice time!” To be honest, I knew something was odd about what she said, but as a relatively new Christian I couldn’t put my finger on what it was straightaway.

But it’s come to mind more than a handful of times since then, and a while ago I finally twigged what was so strange about her statement. In our songs we were literally praising Jesus, singing of our love for Him and affirming His goodness. Surely the pinnacle of the evening would have been His return! I guess we can easily be so caught up in the moment that we lose sight of the big picture . . . Yet even so, it makes little sense—if you love someone, surely being with them face to face is always going to be better than just talking about them? But maybe this singer gives us a picture of something we all struggle with. We get sucked into the here and now of life very easily—we are surrounded by it after all. And the idea of Jesus’ return can easily be forgotten, misunderstood as something to be worried about or seen as a disruption rather than the very event we’re meant to be “eagerly” heading for (Philippians 3:20). There are a lot of wise, relevant and biblicallybased theories about the details of Jesus’ return. But this booklet is not about discussing them. This booklet is about the fact that Jesus is “coming soon” (Revelation 22:12). We can understand this statement to be less about ‘speed’ and more about the certainty of Jesus’ return. In other words, Jesus’ second coming is not pending, but active—right now. He is coming. Much of the New Testament teaches that Jesus’ return should have an impact on our life, attitude and perspective today. So the question is: what difference should it make? [2] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

What is Jesus’ return?

here are a lot of things about the return of Jesus that the Bible doesn’t make clear. But rather than focusing on the things we aren’t sure about, let’s summarise Jesus’ return with the concrete facts we can know for certain: Jesus is coming back to this earth: Jesus arrived as a baby in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life of service and suffering, died as a sacrifice for our sins and came back from the dead. All of those things were promised in the Old Testament long before they occurred. There are, however, many more prophecies about Him that have not yet been fulfilled. Jesus repeatedly talked about the fact that He is going to return to the earth (see Matthew 24:29-44 for an example). When He does, He will fulfil the Jesus rest of those promises He made about Himself. Instead of coming repeatedly as a humble baby, this time He talked about will come as the conquering King. He will return to judge the the fact that world: It is no secret that our He is going world is broken. Sin has damaged to return to God’s creation and caused a deep rift between us and Him, for which the earth. Jesus’ death was the ultimate

WHAT IS JESUS’ RETURN? [3]

payment. But even after Jesus was resurrected and returned to heaven, the problems in our world still exist. If anything, they seem to be getting worse. And they will continue to get worse until Jesus comes again to get rid of evil once and for all. The Bible has a few names for the day when Jesus returns: “the day of the Lord” (2 Peter 3:10), “the day of God’s wrath” (Romans 2:5) and “the day of judgement” (Matthew 10:15). While they all sound quite intense, the point for now is that He is going to judge the world: Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron sceptre.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. —Revelation 19:15 The ones who will face this “wrath of God Almighty” are called “the nations.” That phrase refers to those who do not have a relationship with God. They have rejected Jesus and His salvation—and must face Once the His final judgement: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal final day life, but whoever rejects the Son comes, it will will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36; see also be too late 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). for people to Although this imagery is severe and frightening, we must trust Jesus. understand that God is being [4] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

patient and giving the world time. He wants all people to have the opportunity to give their lives to Him and trust Jesus as their Saviour. Once the final day comes, it will be too late for people to trust Jesus. Until then, we are living in a time of God’s mercy. The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgement and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 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 Peter 3:7-9

We who trust in Jesus do not need to fear God’s wrath towards our sin, because Jesus took it all for us on the cross where “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). There is no condemnation left for us to face (Romans 8:1). For us, Jesus’ return will be a glorious day of fulfilled promises and satisfied desires. Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. —Hebrews 9:28 He will return to bring us home: For those of us who have chosen to trust Jesus, we have the assurance

WHAT IS JESUS’ RETURN? [5]

of a far different meeting with Him at His return. Instead of facing Jesus as our judge, we will meet Him as our Saviour! On the night that He was betrayed and arrested, Jesus first gave His disciples this promise: My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. —John 14:2-3 Jesus’ return is the ultimate hope of His followers— He is coming to take us home forever. Then, there will be no barriers to our relationship with God; we will be in a perfect, peaceful, unending relationship with our awesome God for eternity! Right now, we only have a glimpse of what is to come; but when Jesus returns, we will have the fulfilment that our salvation promises: All creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are . . . We long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. —Romans 8:19-23 (nlt) We can sometimes imagine that heaven will be a bit dull. That may be what made the singer not want Jesus to come back too quickly when she was having such a good time. But life with Jesus won’t be boring! It is “a better country” which “[God] has prepared” for [6] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

us (Hebrews 11:16). So even the best things of this life are The best things meant to give us a hunger for the better, deeper, longerof this life are and purer happiness meant to give lasting that awaits us when Jesus us a hunger returns. He came to give us life in all its fullness for the better, (John 10:10), but no matter how deeper, longer- good it gets in this life, it will lasting and purer only ever be a pale shadow of the life to come. His home happiness that is where everything is made awaits us when new and perfect, never to break or grow old, “for the Jesus returns. old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). If we imagine heaven as boring, then we’re not imagining it right. It’s an exciting place of eternal happiness and peace all because we can finally live with and know Jesus just as we were always meant to.

WHAT IS JESUS’ RETURN? [7]

How does it affect today?

nowing that Jesus is going to return to the earth, fulfilling all of the promises of the Bible, how should we, as Christians, be living? Be ready: Imagine what would happen if a bride turned up for her wedding day with her hair in rollers, wearing pyjamas and with toothpaste all round her mouth. We would assume something is very wrong with such a bride. She might have the cake, the flowers and all the paperwork to get married, but she’s not really ready. Similarly heaven is described as a wedding feast between Jesus and us, His bride (Revelation 19:7). And so, in one sense if we trust Jesus, we are ready for His return. The Bible is very clear that, “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That is our spiritual status; we are ready. Yet Peter wrote: “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray” (1 Peter 4:7). And similarly Paul reminded the church at Thessalonica: “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night . . . So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:2,6). As these instructions were written to people who were already trusting Jesus, it seems like our alertness for [8] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

His return is not only a status but also a way of life. In many parts of the world, the church doesn’t talk that much about Jesus’ return. It is probably fair to say that many of us are distracted by daily life: both in the comforts we may enjoy or the pains that seem impossible to look beyond. Yet living in readiness for the return of Jesus means having an eternal perspective in all circumstances. Instead of living for this world—its riches, status and pleasures—we should have our focus on our future life with Jesus in heaven. Is meeting Jesus where we feel like we are headed? Is that what we are looking forward to in everything that we do? Focusing on Jesus’ return can’t help but shape the things we’re going to be committed to and spending our time on. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. —Colossians 3:1-4

Of course, it is important to keep a balance. When I was young, my parents were so certain that Jesus would come back before I grew up, that they never encouraged me to pursue my interests. They didn’t save anything for me or plan for the future. Taken to an extreme, that mind-set could lead to thinking that we don’t need to work hard at our jobs or marriage or

HOW DOES IT AFFECT TODAY? [9]

exams—it’ll all soon be history anyway. Why put in the effort? We are clearly told, in the very same chapter: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). In fact, Jesus’ return shouldn’t sap our daily activities, relationships and efforts of their meaning, but give us even more passion and energy for them. In everything we do we can try to make Jesus known through our attitudes and words. Why? Because He is coming soon! That is the context the whole world exists in. Knowing this, we can try to give this truth the attention it deserves with our every activity, rather than allowing it to drift into a forgotten nothingness. Live clean lives: Peter reminds us that since “the earth and everything in it will be found to deserve judgement . . . what holy and godly lives you should live” (2 Peter 3:10-11 nlt). We are looking forward to “a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight” (vv.13-14 nlt). The point is that knowing Jesus is coming back to judge the world and complete our salvation helps us to live God-centred lives today. Why would we want to continue to gossip, lie, steal, hate and stir up trouble when these are the sorts of things that we know “will be found to deserve judgement”? Before He can “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5), Jesus will destroy everything that is [10] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

imperfect and corrupt in the world. Keeping that in the forefront of our minds can make us think twice about continuing in the attitudes and actions that have caused this corruption in the first place. Because Jesus is coming to judge sin, His return is a great motivation for us to turn from the damaging things that deserve His rejection and instead ask Him to give us the strength and passion through His Holy Spirit to live for Him now, in readiness for “a world filled with God’s righteousness”. [We can] say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. —Titus 2:12-14 And more than just saying “no” to sin, with His Spirit in us we can also actively enjoy the glimpse we have of “a world filled with God’s righteousness” during our time spent with Him and His church. As we pray, read the Bible, go to church and simply spend time with other Christians, we can celebrate the future these things promise, keeping us “eager to do what is good” as we live for our awesome God “who gave himself for us”.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT TODAY? [11]

Be encouraged: The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. —1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 The New Testament Bible writers saw Jesus’ return as fuel for encouragement—the subject that is going to keep us going “all the more as [we] see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). Jesus’ return is not something we need to be unsure about. Sure, there are a lot of details in books like Revelation that make us scratch our heads, but the core message is clear: Jesus is returning—and it is the very best news! John wrote these words in his vision of Jesus’ victorious return: I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” —Revelation 21:3-5 [12] WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS’ RETURN MAKE TO TODAY?

We can and should make Jesus’ return part of our encouragement and care for one another in the church. It may not change the burdens and difficulties we’re going through, but it gives us a wonderful, sure hope of where we are heading. No pain, no setback, no disruption, no bad news, no breakdown can change the promise of what God has in store for those of us who trust Him. His words are “trustworthy and true.” Rather than being an interruption to our daily routine, Jesus’ return is like the next natural step in our relationship with Him. We want to be able to see and talk with the One we love and trust! And really we belong in His presence; that is why Paul wrote: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). What depth this eagerness will bring to our quiet times, as we remember we are talking to the God we will soon enjoy knowing, even as we are known (1 Corinthians 13:12)! Share the gospel with urgency: Complacency and forgetfulness about Jesus’ return not only robs us of important joy, strength and direction in our walk with Him, it also removes our urgency for the world around us. We are surrounded by people in our communities, workplaces, schools, clubs and homes who have no idea that they are headed for judgement. The Bible is quite clear about what our stance towards these people should be. We are “Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

HOW DOES IT AFFECT TODAY? [13]

While we cannot force anyone to trust Jesus, we are to “implore . . . on Christ’s behalf”. The only way we can actively live and pray with this perspective is in anticipation of Jesus’ return and judgement. If we are just focused on lifestyles and achievements, it may well look like the people we know are doing pretty well for themselves. In fact, we can be tempted to envy non-Christians if they are having an easy life while we struggle on. Yet the thing that really matters is their relationship with God. Does this person know God for themselves? Are they clinging to Jesus for their hope and strength? That is what it all comes down to. Those who don’t know God—whether they are rich or poor, happy or sad, enviable or unlovable— need our prayers and witness. They are headed for judgement if they don’t accept the loving, saving hand of God extended in Jesus. Do we have this urgency for the non-Christians we know? Are we praying regularly for them? All their searching and meaning won’t find any lasting satisfaction until they belong to Jesus and personally know His love for them. If we’re complacent about their standing before God, it may show we are quite complacent about Jesus’ return in general.