STUDIES ON THE SECOND COMING
INTRODUCTORY STUDY
A MORE DETAILED LOOK
AT THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF HISTORY
and
THE SECOND COMING
COMPLETES WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY STARTED
In the last session we looked at the wider context in which the second coming falls, the on-going conflict between Christ and Satan which started before time began (Rev. 12:4) and which will conclude only with the return of Christ. It is important to reinforce this view of history if we are going to understand the second coming of Christ, especially the Book of Revelation.
Although I was already beginning to settle on a certain view concerning the second coming of Christ, 1 John 2:18 settled the question about the second once and for all for me (I had to study this verse as I was preparing a dissertation on the writings of John). Regarding the situation he and his church were facing, John writes:
"Children, it is the last hour.
And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming,
Even now many antichrists have arisen.
From this we know that it is the last hour¡¨ (1 John 2:18).
Notice that John doesn't just say that it is the last hour and moves on. No, he first states that he is living in the last hour, then states the reason why he believes that, and finally goes on to repeat his claim that he is in the last hour. Whatever else this verse might say, it definitely says that John believed he was living in the last hour. Why would he believe that Christ was about to return?
Why would John believe this? Because of the emergence of many antichrists. Now many conservative Christians would rebut this view and say that John wasn¡¦t claiming to be living in THE last hour because at that time there will be only ONE antichrist and not many as this verse is saying. Yet if you study what Jesus says in Matt. 24, He claims the rise of many antichrists; He never states that there will be just ONE. In fact He gives us Matt. 24 so that we won't be misled by these many antichrists.
From 1 John 2:18 I realized that John was not claiming that Christians were going to be raptured one day and then the tribulation come. Rather, he believed that he was actually going through that dark hour because of the emergence of the antichrists. (It takes a lot of talking to explain away what John is claiming here; some though go ahead and try to explain away what John is saying.)
When I finally realized what John was saying in this verse, the rest of the NT passages/books on Jesus¡¦ second coming made sense. Few scholars doubt that the Book of Revelation is primarily referring to the great tribulation which occurred at the end of the 1st century A.D. when the Roman Empire launched a systematic persecution against the Christian church. It is difficult to read Matt. 24 and not come away with the impression that in that chapter Jesus is referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It is only when you come to 2 Thess. 2 do you see a teaching about the second coming of Jesus which is not tied to any historical event. It points strictly to the future.
And yet look at a mysterious statement Paul makes in 2 Thess. 2:7:
"For the mystery of Lawlessness is already at work.
Although, as we shall see, 2 Thess. 2 deals with a completely futuristic event, the rise of Antichrist and the return of Christ, Paul admits that this spirit of Antichrist was actually already operating in his day. He would emerge at the end of time as a final figure who would wage one last battle against Christ and His people; however, He was already operating during the days of Paul. In other words the Antichrist is not just a one-time figure but rather one who emerges periodically throughout history, bringing about great persecution for God¡¦s people and great wrath upon his followers.
When you read the Bible, you now see that principle actually working. John claims that the spirit of Antichrist was actually working in the city of Sodom (Rev. 11:8. He also claims that the spirit of Antichrist was working through Pharaoh (Rev. 11:8). In fact there are 2 huge similarities between the Exodus of Moses' day and the tribulation mentioned in Revelation:
Now go to John 13 where John describes that fateful encounter between Jesus and Judas Iscariot at the last supper. Jesus announces to everyone¡¦s dismay that He is to be betrayed by one of the 12. Peter, distraught, motions to John the beloved disciple to discover who the traitor is. Peter plans on killing the traitor. Jesus replies that the traitor is the one to whom He will give a morsel of bread after He has dipped it into the herbs and sauces. He takes the morsel and gives it to Judas. Now is the moment of decision for Judas. Judas knows that he has been outted. He knows that Jesus knows he is the traitor. Jesus though is giving him one last chance to repent. Without an ounce of shame in his body, Judas accepts the morsel. For him Jesus is a dead man. At that point John writes: "Satan then entered into him.¨ He became Satan incarnate, Antichrist. Jesus then tells Judas to go do quickly what he intends to do. John then writes that Judas went outside and that it was night (John 13:30).
By the clause "it was night¨ John was not giving us simply the time of day. He is speaking about the spiritual darkness which is falling all around that little band of apostles and Jesus. Satan has been unleashed. In fact Jesus will later say that the hour of darkness is come (John 14:30). The conflict between Jesus and Satan 2000 years was THE great conflict, the GREAT tribulation. Just as God's people suffer persecution during the Great Tribulation, so Christ suffered the most terrible persecution on the cross; however, just like Christ will accomplish a great victory over His enemies when He returns, so He also accomplished the great victory over Satan on the cross. His second coming is actually a mop-up operation, finishing what He started on the cross.
The conflict had occurred between Eve and the serpent, between righteous Lot and Sodom, between the Israelites and the Pharaoh in Egypt, between the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar and the 3 Israelite children, between Judas and Jesus, and then between the Christians and the Roman Empire (Book of Revelation). Now it would be strange if the conflict between Jesus and Satan stopped after 100 AD (the major situation in the Book of Revelation). In light of all this, history actually then is the on-going conflict between Jesus with His people against Satan with his accomplice¡Xthe Antichrist. The Muslim invasion against the Christian Byzantine Empire continued this conflict between Satan and Christ (600-1500 AD). Hitler with Nazi Germany played the role of antichrist in the 1930's-40's, while Satan used Stalin in a dramatic way in the Soviet Union. (Few realize that Stalin killed more people than Hitler did. The reason we didn't make a big deal out of it was that Hitler persecuted Europeans, whereas Stalin persecuted primarily the Slavic races.)
Two things to keep in mind as we move on:
THE SECOND COMING COMPLETES WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY STARTED
INTRODUCTION
Again, so often when many study the second coming, they focus only on the timing of the rapture and the horrible things that the Antichrist is going to do to the Jewish people who are left behind because of their unbelief. (I am not saying this is what will happen; I am just saying this is what many focus on). The second coming of Christ is much more than that. It completes what God began in Christ 2,000 years ago.
COMPLETES SALVATION
This title startles a lot of conservative Christians: ¡§What do you mean it COMPLETES our salvation? We are already saved.¡¨ Yes, that is true; however, our salvation is NOT complete. Salvation is not only a past event in the life of the Christian, it is a future event. In fact the only reason it can be completed is that it has been started.
At the beginning of this study, I warned you that the second is a whole lot bigger than what most of us make it out to be. Even more is coming.