“After a Long Time,” Thoughts on the Return of Christ

It’s happened again. Another verse has stood out after having read it many times. I read a short line in Matthew 25:19, the passage about the parable of the talents. In light of the desperate condition of our world, and that inner longing for the return of Christ, it hits me that we simply don’t know when he will return. We can’t know.

We have all had to wait on things. As a kid, I used to look at people older than I, some even not that much older, and wonder what it would be like to be that age.

I also recall wondering what it would be like to be in high school, then college, then wondering what work I would do. I wondered what it would be like to be married, be a parent.

Waiting is part of the human experience. We Americans are not very good at it.

I used to read a lot of Bible prophecy, all in an attempt to figure out what was what, when would this happen, who is the anti-Christ, when will the temple be built in Jerusalem, how do you interpret signs, all kinds of stuff. I used to get frustrated when I read something that was not in line with how I hoped things would be.

Then, I heard a humorous statement by someone I held in very high regard. When asked if he was a pre millennialist or a post millennialist, he responded, “I’m actually a pan millennialist; I believe everything will ‘pan out’ in the end.” This definitely caught my attention. How could someone like him feel that way?

Then the Bible began to redirect my thinking. I got the impression after searching and not finding any answers I liked, that I should be ready for whatever is next. I honestly did not know what that would be, but I had to be ready. I finally understood.

The passage that really stopped me cold, and settled the issue was in Matthew 24:36. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Wait…what? You mean even Jesus did not know when that day would be when he was here on earth…? That’s how my layman’s mind interprets that. Of course, now that he is glorified, sitting on the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, I assume he knows now. But, if even he did not know when that day would come, how can WE know? Where do some get that arrogance, claiming to know something even Jesus did not know when he was here? Later, he issues a bit of a warning in Matthew 24:42, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” The original says, “Keep watch…”. In other words be ready for whatever is coming.

Admittedly, it has been a LONG time since Jesus uttered those words. Many in the New Testament years, and beyond, fully expected his return during their time. As the centuries passed, that expectation continued. At one point in the19th century a group gave up all their possessions and waited on a mountaintop for him to come on a specific day. It did not happen. In the 20th century a lot of things happened that seemed apocalyptic, much like our own desperate times now.

In times of distress, we might pray a prayer like, “How much longer, Lord?”, or, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” That’s fine. He understands our frustrations, and want us to pour out our hearts to him, but his timing is his own. It is something we simply cannot know.

Our best option is to remain faithful, keep at his work, and hope he finds us busy when he does return.

I was happy to see that the Church of the Nazarene — of which I am a former member — elected its second female General Superintendent a few years ago, Dr. Carla Sunberg. Something by her was posted on Facebook the other day, a statement that speaks volumes in our desperate day: “The world is changing. We can either get frustrated and try to control it or we can say, ‘Maybe God is at work,’ and get involved.”

I am choosing to not fret, but to abide. I am choosing to continue his work to which I have been called. I am choosing to not strive. I will try to be faithful until his day actually comes.

Remember, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows…”. We are just to abide in him and stay busy.

Thanks be to God.