I have heard all my life that Jesus is coming soon, and it could be today. Well, that is a true statement as far as it goes because God is Omnipotent and can do whatever He decides to do. But honestly, I don’t think Jesus is coming very soon at all, and I hope you will read the rest of this to understand my thinking.
The Bible says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. 2 Peter 3:9-10 (NLT). In the past two centuries, there has been a popular teaching that has affected the church and that teaching states “the world will get worse and worse until the Lord finally gets fed up with it and comes back”.
The reason I think this teaching is incorrect is because it admits that God is not sovereign over the world. It basically places Satan above Jesus as far as this world is concerned. Now the Bible does state that Satan is the prince of the power of the air, but it also teaches us that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. One teacher I had used Matthew 24 to teach this doctrine. He said the world will get worse and worse until the Lord comes and used “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.” Matt 24:37-39 (NLT). My teacher said the evidence would be that people would be eating more, drinking more, and marrying more (because of divorce); that is how the world will end with moral decay.
I believe this has caused the church to take a “shelter in place” attitude. If we believe the world will continue to get worse and worse, we are not surprised when we see moral decay all around us, and we go to church to console ourselves that we are not like them. We have taken a fortress approach to the church instead of a mission approach.
The first century church took a mission approach; they met together to worship, to instruct one another, and encourage each other. They studied scriptures and prayed and then went out into their communities to witness to others because they believed that Jesus wanted His kingdom to grow through them, and they expected to see God do great things. Paul said it like this, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT). Jesus said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile and burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:5-8 (NLT).
What type of Christians do we want to be? Do we want to be those who study the Word of God to see how bad things are, looking for signs of His coming? Or, do we want to study the Word, and pray, and expect God to do great works because it is His world?