God of the Times and Seasons

What will the Second Coming of Christ be like? 

It won’t be long before we are talking again about the next item on God’s calendar, the Ascension which falls on May 17^th.

One of the questions about Jesus’ ascension was His Return.  He Himself, tied them together in John 14:1-3 “I go to prepare a place for you...but if I go I will come again”.  That’s what all children want to know when they hear a parent is leaving, when is Daddy coming back?

When the actual day of departure arrived as it always does, His followers then asked about other specific topics like, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”    Jesus’ timeless answer is recorded, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority…”  Leading some mistakenly to say we are not to talk about this at all.

Jesus Himself taught about the “when”.  The night prior to His suffering on the cross He talked about His return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”  (Matt 24:36).  That no one knows that date is truly a wise and merciful thing. Imagine the world-wide mess we’d make!

But he also said this, “Watch therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”  (Matt 24:43)  This demonstrates we are not prohibited from thinking and talking about it because we are told to watch for it. 

After He was taken up, Scripture records, Two “men” who were there said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”  (Acts 1:11)

So we know where He is, and we know He is coming back.  We also know He is paying close attention to His church and her activities.  We are His Bride after all.  (Read Matthew 25).

Our Lord says, “Behold I am coming quickly”  three times in the last chapter of the Bible.  He says “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”  (Rev. 1:8)

Will there be a rapture of the church?  Will there be a tribulation?  What about all the different views of Jesus’ return?  We should all be energized by the fact of His coming.  There’s a lot of unanswered questions about the when and the how.  We have lots of details given to us in God’s Word about this.  So that shows us that we can indeed study and think about it—as long as we don’t set a date and remember that He’s the God of the times and seasons.

Are you waiting and eager for His return?  Will it be good news or horror when that trumpet sounds? 

That’s my two cents...

Pastor Tom