The Lord Is Coming – Side B
There is a special reward promised to Christians who love and long for the Lord's Appearing (2 Tim 4:8). Beyond that, we are commanded to watch. I believe this would include imagining and even speculating what the return of Jesus may look like and perhaps even the possible timing of this great event. This is actually the theme of my personal commission from the Lord, to prepare people to meet the Lord Jesus at His soon appearing. Having said that, there is a flip side to this great doctrine.
As Paul, the apostle, was with the believers in Thessalonica, he delivered teaching to them about the return of the Lord, the events of the end-times, and the future man of lawlessness. He did not seem to give this much emphasis on end-time things to any of the other churches. However, this attention to end-time events had some unintended consequences.
It appears that some people quit working. Jesus' return was close, wasn't it? With all this extra time on their hands, they led undisciplined lives. Some wandered from house to house, hoping to arrive at lunch time to get a meal. Some sat around to hear and repeat the local gossip. With nothing to do any more, they roamed around town bothering people who were working. Paul hears about this. He tells people to not feed these self-appointed wandering busybodies. He exhorts everyone to continue working and living responsible lives.
There is a story, usually attributed to Martin Luther. Someone asked him what he would do if he knew that the Lord was coming that day. He said, I would plant a tree today because Jesus said to occupy til I come. Was he really intending to plant trees? Of course not but the correct response to the truth of Jesus' return is to be found making long-term plans.
According to the angels present at Jesus' ascension, Jesus return will be just like His departure: bodily, literal, and physical (Acts 1:11). This is supposed to be a glorious and joyous day.
How does the truth of the Appearing of the Lord affect us? Fear and dread? Shame and regret? I can't wait to be rid of my mother-in-law's complaining? If we are in pain or dealing with disease or some other unpleasant situation, we may grab onto the idea of Jesus coming to rescue us out of some things we do not want to deal with. It's not wrong to realize that going to be with Jesus will spell the end of suffering.
In 2017 I was dying with stage 4 medically incurable cancers. I was not intending to get healed. I really looked forward to seeing Jesus in just a few weeks, months at the outside. Very unexpectedly, I was healed in an instant. I went from death bed to digging fence post holes the same day. And concrete work the very next day. In my case, it was not God's will for me to enter eternal rest just yet. I was able to write 2 books plus many short articles about the Appearing of the Lord. God must think it is important.
Jesus is returning physically someday to receive His people. This is important. There is another important truth. He is here now, by His Holy Spirit. Do we recognize Him? One of the main things the Holy Spirit did in His coming in Acts chapter 2 is to show the Jewish believers that the Gentile believers were now part of the same family as they. Do we recognize that? There are some miserable, ungodly-behaving people around us that claim to be believers. Apart from the Bible's admonition to not fellowship with some people in severe cases, these people may belong to the same family as we. They may have the same Spirit that we do. Do we recognize that?
Paul said that many people have died prematurely because they will not recognize the Spirit of the Lord present now among the believers (1 Cor 11:30).
If you do not acknowledge that the Lord is present now you will not want to see Him physically. If you believe in the Rapture you also must love the brothers.
Aug 28, 2025