False Ideas (3) Jesus is Coming soon
Most Christians believe that the second coming is very close. This belief is now so universal that it is hardly ever questioned. However, Christians in every age have believed that the second coming is near, but they all proved to be wrong. We need to be careful that we do not make the same mistake. The second coming of Jesus is not necessarily as close as most bible teachers claim.
I believe that the second coming of Jesus could be several thousand years away. There is a lot of good stuff promised in the Bible that has not happened yet. Fulfilling all God's glorious promises could take quite a while.
Most Christians will disagree with me, but I am not worried, because through history, people who did not believe Jesus was coming soon have been proved to be right. I am in good company.
4 comments:
Jesus said that the gospel would be preached in the whole world before the end would come. There would be believers from every tongue, tribe and nation. Yet there are still thousands of languages of tribal peoples (the ones that we know about) that don't have a single word of the bible translated. Quite a lot would have to happen pretty quick for Jesus to return next Tuesday.
"since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!"
Seems to me each disciple is to wait for and hasten that Day. Each day presents ways to hasten that Day, and so as long God is patient that Day may be put off. But we should not allow His patience to decrease our hastening it...when it comes it will be as a thief.
I think I would be careful about splitting hairs on prophecy. Psalm 2:1,2 was fulfilled in spite of only one king (Herod) and one ruler (Pontius Pilate) where the prophecy has those plural. There are still a few stones of the temple standing on each other and most consider Jesus' prophecy about its 'not one stone on another' as fulfilled. God very likely has ways to fulfill 'every tongue, tribe, and nation'...without our help if necessary.
Steve
The problem with Jesus' statement about the gospel being preached to all nations is that it was fulfilled while Paul was still alive.
In Romans 1:8, Paul gives thanks the Christian faith is spoken of "all over the world". Colossians 1:6 says that "all over the world the gospel is producing fruit". The most specific fulfilment is given in Colossians 1:23.
"This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every nation under heaven..."
Jesus was describing events that would occur before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Not surpisingly, this sign took place before AD 70.
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