The Second Coming - 3
Hastening His Coming
Some have suggested it was Christ’s purpose to return quickly. If He had had His way without hindrance, would He have already returned? The sober truth is we, His followers, were tasked to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16 verse 15). Have we achieved this? Jesus specified in Matthew 24:14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
There is a way to hasten His coming. Live only for Christ. Peter wrote, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (2 Peter 3 verses 11 and 12). Twenty centuries have rolled by – O the marvellous, inconceivable patience of God the Father. Patience is love at its best. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation for more and more in this day of grace (2 Peter 3 verse 9).
The failure to trust and obey is always costly, but God is always a Redeemer and it is not His will that any should perish.
A Jewish teacher I used to work with once asked me, “Is there not a more unambiguous sign, a more convincing sign about Jesus return that hasn’t been going on like wars and earthquakes for hundreds and hundreds of years?”
Yes there is. It’s the nation of Israel, the key to prophecy. In Jeremiah chapter 24 the Jews are likened to figs in the vision of two baskets of figs. Israel is the fig tree nation. Do you remember the enacted parable where Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered? It was the day after Palm Sunday and Jesus was making a statement about Judaism. “He found nothing but leaves” (Mark 11 verses 12 to 14). Judaism is the root but Christianity is the fruit.
Jesus told the disciples enquiring about signs of the end of the age an important parable in Luke 21 verses 29 to 33 “Look at the fig tree” (remember, the fig tree nation is Israel) “and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation (or race) will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
There are bible scholars who interpret this passage as follows. Israel is the fig tree nation. When it begins to blossom – and all the nations bud and sprout – we’re nearing the time of the manifest kingdom.
Hadn’t the Sovereign Lord promised His ancient people, “I will bring you back to the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37 verse 12)? The race that sees the fig tree nation emerging – and all the new nations – will not pass away until all these things have happened.
Here’s the wonder. Fact is stranger than fiction. It’s unthinkable that Israel, God’s chosen people, should be placed on the back burners like the cursed fig-tree of Mark chapter 11, dried up from the roots through unbelief and sin – but it happened.
After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD under Titus’s invading army, the spot light of God was turned from the Jews onto the Gentiles. The Jews were scattered among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other.
We read of the rise and fall of nations, but here’s the end time prophetic sign – the rise and fall and rise again of Israel. Having been buried in the nations of the world, what Ezekiel prophesied has happened, “I will take you out of the nations, I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land (Ezekiel 36 verse 24).
In the parable of the ten bridesmaids in Matthew 25 it says “The bridegroom was a long time in coming and they all became drowsy and fell asleep” (verse 5). The church needs to be aroused regularly to be sober and vigilant. After mentioning “the fig-tree and all the trees”, Jesus instructs His disciples, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth (Luke 21 verses 34 and 35). Francis Frangipane writes, “In the days ahead many will be stirred by proclamations, both true and false, of ominous events set for fulfilment on specific dates. However we are not being prepared for a ‘date’ but for a marriage. It is the depth of our day by day relationship with Christ that defines walking with God at the end of the age.”
I close with these questions, “Are you ready for Christ’s return?” “Are you watching and waiting for this blessed hope?”