The Second Coming of Jesus
Stephen Terry
Commentary for the September 27, 2014
Sabbath School Lesson
“…However, when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8, NIV
Although as
evidenced by the first century Bible writers, the idea of an imminent return of
Jesus was very real, the literalness of this idea had fallen out of favor over
time and by the nineteenth century, some were seeing the idea as allegory,
while others saw it as a spiritual metaphor for God’s Spirit dwelling with His
people. However the Great Awakening that began in the first half of that
century harbingered a return to biblical literalism on many fronts. Young Earth
Creationism and Triumphalism both have their roots in this period. Adventism, a
belief in the literal return of Jesus, has its rebirth at this time as well.
Originally bound up with such a literal view that date setting was part of the
package, it has since been divorced from that marriage for most adherents.
Why did it
lose its literal standing in the first place? Perhaps because of the many, many
centuries that passed since it was first promised. Initially, Jesus said He
would come back.[i]
The angels said He would come back.[ii]
Even the apostles said He would return,[iii]
but as the centuries rolled by and the Apostles had been long in their graves,
the event seemed less and less likely. Interestingly, this very development was
predicted.[iv]
People would rise up that would scoff at the whole idea of Jesus returning and
would point to all the years that had passed with no return as a justification
for their skepticism.
With time
those skeptics found their views prevailing and even becoming
institutionalized. In this environment, the enthusiastic preaching of William
Miller,[v]
who had served as a captain in the Army during the War of 1812, began calling
out people in New England to believe in a literal return once again. His
followers, who became known as Millerites, were at times expelled from the
churches of the day because of their tenacity of belief in this Second Coming.
Oddly
enough, while the whole movement began as an exercise in date setting, when the
date failed to materialize and Jesus did not return when He was expected to,
some nonetheless overcame any discouragement and continued to carry the idea of
a literal return forward, spreading it throughout North America and the world
with an evangelical fervor perhaps not seen since the Moravians and Count
Zinzendorf a century before. The largest denomination that arose from Miller’s
movement was the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As their name implies, a belief
in the Second Advent of Christ is foundational.
That
literalism in regards to the Parousia has also included some other perspectives
that have arisen as a direct consequence of adhering to Adventism. The accounts
of Jesus’ return shared by Paul indicate that those who have died believing in
Christ will rise from their graves at His return, and this is literally held to
be true by Seventh-day Adventists. Since Populist faith in the nineteenth
century taught that individuals went immediately to Heaven or Hell at the
moment of death,[vi] a
belief that continues today for many, this idea of being in the graves instead
of those places was problematic for many.
Some, who
are drawn to a more symbolic interpretation of Scripture, might look at the “Parable
of the Rich Man and Lazarus”[vii]
as being a symbolic description, but one symbolizing an actual place. However,
this forces them to also see the passages in 1 Corinthians 15, and 1
Thessalonians 4 as symbolic events that need special interpreting in order to
harmonize with that parable. Under this pretense, the literal reading they
presume to be the contrived one.
There are
also those, perhaps heavily influenced by Thomas Aquinas, who hold the idea
that there is a conscious immortal soul that dwells within every human being
and leaves the body at the moment of death. While the Bible never directly
states such, this has become another theological underpinning of Populist
Christianity and perhaps to some degree all Populist faith. The Bible does
speak distinctively of body and breath,[viii]
but at no point does it ascribe consciousness to that breath. While it is true
that the breath returns to God at death,[ix]
that breath, or as some translations, perhaps influenced by Populism, render it
“spirit” is translated from the Hebrew Ruach.
This may be considered life force, inspiration, or wind. However, it does
not imply a conscious, independent entity. Any such belief brings problems with
it, especially if that entity is held to be immortal.
The first
problem would be, if that “spirit” is immortal, where was it before it was
placed in man by God. Of course, this poses little problem for Mormons who maintain
that there are spirits, conscious entities, waiting to be placed in human
bodies for the next stage of their evolving spirituality. While this “Invasion
of the Body Snatchers” theology may seem strange to some, it is a logical
attempt to deal with that problematic question. Unfortunately, it is one of
several cards in a house that doesn’t hold up on closer examination.
Another
problem is what happens to that “spirit” at death? If it is immortal, it must
go on, right? This is where Heaven, Hell and Purgatory come in. They are well
meaning attempts to deal with the idea of an immortal soul and inject some
justice into the system as well. But what about the spirit or soul left burning
in hell for all eternity? Even if there were a heinous enough sin to deserve
that (the Holocaust comes to mind), what does that say about the character of
God to perpetuate pain and suffering for all eternity? Why not just exterminate
the evil and bring it to an end? Could Jimmy really enjoy Heaven knowing that
Aunt Sue, the “black sheep” of the family, was writhing and burning forever
somewhere?
A third
problem is the righteous that die. Wouldn’t we expect them to be singing God’s
praises in Heaven and rejoicing at being in His presence? The Bible says this is
not the case though. We are told that there are no praises coming from the dead.[x]
In fact, it says that death is a place of silence.
A fourth
problem is if the righteous go to Heaven when they die, would it really be
Heaven for them to be able to see all of our troubles here on Earth? This is true
especially if they could do nothing to help. There are those Spiritists who try
to tell us that the dead are actively involved in the lives of the living, but
once again the Bible contradicts this.[xi]
They no longer have anything to do with what is going on “under the sun.” While
there may be “spiritual” activity going on, it does not appear to be the dead
doing it.
With all of
these problems, and I have only scratched the surface, we might wonder why
these ideas about the dead persist? Perhaps it is comforting to some that the
loved one who may have suffered in life is now at peace in God’s presence. But
it can be just as comforting, perhaps even more so, to know that the loved one
is sleeping in the Lord’s care until Jesus returns, and the next thing they
will be aware of will be their Savior coming in the clouds to take them home.
While the
dead may be sleeping, the Bible tells us that for the living, the day of Jesus’
return will be just like any other day.[xii]
We will get up in the morning, prepare for work, grab a cup of coffee and maybe
a little breakfast and head out the door. We will drive the freeway while
listening to the radio or iPod, clueless that we will not be returning home at
the end of the day. We may head for school, and grumble with the other kids at
our load of homework assignments, not realizing that we will never be turning
them in. On that day we will make dentist or doctor appointments that will
never be kept. All of this will be interrupted by the “voice of the Archangel”
and the “trumpet of God.”[xiii]
There will
not be any sneakiness or secrecy to Jesus’ return. Although it may be
unexpected, it will be very raucous. Have you ever been in a thunderstorm where
the lightning flashes and thunder booms? Jesus’ return will be like that except
everyone will experience it.[xiv]
When the thunder storms arrive at our house, our two Siamese cats want to hide
themselves for fear. To those who are waiting for Jesus, it will be a time of
rejoicing, but for those who would rather not meet Him, it will also be a time
of fear. Just like our pets, they will be trying to hide from Him.[xv]
My prayer is to instead be among those who are waiting and hoping for His
return. I hope that is your prayer as well.
