THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS -
Part 3
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
It is just as important to understand what will NOT occur when Jesus returns as it is to know what He will do. We have seen that Jesus will NOT set up a kingdom when He returns. The simple fact still stands that His kingdom is presently in existence (cf. Rev. 1:9). It has been in existence since the first Pentecost following His resurrection and ascension (Acts 2). There are those who will privately contest this statement. It is also very unlikely they would challenge publicly what we are about to affirm.
There is nothing at all in the Bible that would support the unfounded allegations of those who believe Jesus did not set up His kingdom when He was here in the flesh. Their contention is NOT biblical; in fact, it is actually anti-biblical. One of the most widely read millennialists is Hal Lindsey. In his book, There's A New World Coming, he wrote: "For anyone who cared to investigate, there was no lack of evidence to show that Jesus was indeed the long awaited Messiah. Had the people received Him, He would have fulfilled the Kingly prophecies in their day in addition to the one regarding the suffering Messiah. But when the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Christ, the fulfillment of His kingship was postponed until the final culmination of world history. This is the subject of the Book of Revelation." (Page 30).
If the above assertion is true, Jesus actually made a false claim when He said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me" (Matthew 28:18). The millennialists would amend that to say, "Yes, Lord, you have almost all authority and power, but not quite all." They would have to attribute more power to the Jewish nation than Christ had. If the rejection of Christ as Messiah by the Jews caused postponement of His kingship, then all of God's plans and promises were suspended by the infidelity of a nation of people.
Numerous prophesies were given in the Old Testament that the kingdom was to be established when the Messiah came. Notice just one or two: "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed" (Daniel 2:44). In a previous lesson we learned very clearly that "these kings" of this prophecy refer directly to the days when Rome ruled the world. That was during the time Christ was on earth. God intended and promised to set a kingdom up during the lifetime of Christ and the apostles. But if the Jewish rejection canceled it, which is more powerful?
Later, Daniel said: "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him and to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language, might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14). This prophecy could only be true if, when Jesus came to the Ancient of Days (the Eternal Father) with the clouds (at His ascension – Acts 1:9-11) He became King. It is a simple matter to see that when Jesus ascended He became King. But His kingship was NOT postponed. Nor was it a kingship over a nonentity. He became King over His kingdom. That is why Paul referred to Him as "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15).
When John the Baptist came, he proclaimed: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus preached the same message: "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). The expression "at hand" means "ready to begin." Other passages clearly show that "at hand" means very near or close: "And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples" (Matthew 26:18). Again, "Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matthew 26:45). Again, Jesus said, "Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me" (verse 46).
One reason why there is so much misunderstanding of the kingdom is that many think of it in material or physical terms. Thinking of the Kingdom as a worldly organization causes many to reject plain simple statements from Christ. Remember that Jesus said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world then My servants would be fighting that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36). Further, Paul wrote: "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
That kingdom is the same as the church Jesus established. Paul wrote to the church of Christ at Colossae, and said: "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14). Friends, if the kingdom has not been established there is no salvation, no redemption, no deliverance, no benefit from His shed blood, for these things are all directly related to being delivered from the power of the dark side into Christ's kingdom of light. The kingdom has been established; Jesus will NOT reign on this earth when He returns.
When Jesus comes again He will raise the dead. He said, "Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and shall come forth. Those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life; those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29). Notice very carefully that Jesus said that both the righteous and unrighteous will be raised in this "hour" when He returns. There is no thousand year span separating the two resurrections. In fact, there is only ONE resurrection mentioned. Two classes are mentioned, but it is the resurrection that will occur in the "hour" when Jesus returns.
For those who take the Bible designation of time periods literally, this is really a problem, for they are the ones who argue that the "thousand years" in the Book of Revelation is a literal period of time. But they also believe that there is a thousand year span of time separating the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. In a book of symbolism they take a time period literally, and in a book of plain fact they take a time period symbolically. They need to simply reverse their hermeneutical procedure. Paul wrote: "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (1 Corinthians 15:23).
When Christ returns it will be a glad day for faithful servants of God. Paul wrote: "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" (1 Thessalonians 2:19). If we truly believe He is to return there is a stability we are given by such a great promise. Paul wrote: "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13).
Dear friends, the real issue for all of us is
whether we will be ready to meet Him when He comes. We
urge you to carefully consider your own condition right now. If you are
NOT ready to meet Him - not ready to go back to Heaven with Him for
eternity - please do something about it now. Jesus
said, "If you do not
believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24). He also said, "Except you repent you will all
likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). And finally He said, "Except a man is
born of water and
of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Very simply summarized, Jesus said "Believe,
repent, and be baptized (immersed in water) for the remission of your
sins, live a faithful life of service in the kingdom of God, and
heaven, with all its grandeur and
bliss, will be yours. Will you accept this
offer from
the King today?