Various visions of the future capture our imagination, from the humanistic hope of Star Trek to the apocalyptic terror of the Terminator. Some predict a coming utopian era of peace & prosperity. Others fear a new world order of globalistic tyranny & a brave new world of technology out of control. Others envision environmental obliteration.
The Bible holds out a different vision of the future. It doesn’t lead to wishful thinking or fearful handwringing. It all depends on where you stand with the Lord because one day He will send His Son back to complete the story of this world & to begin the next! The Great Day of the Lord will be a day of transition as everything changes forever. All history & God’s purposes for it will reach the climactic consummation as God (and nothing else) will end the world (2 Pet. 3:10, 12). It will neither be evolved into a paradise nor blown to pieces.
But His purposes for us will continue as we enter the next age in the new heaven & new earth (2 Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1). Just as there are various secular views of the future, so Christians hold various views of the coming kingdom. That’s because prophecy can be literal or figurative. So I won’t delve into the different schools of interpretation on the nature & timing of that Day’s arrival. My intent is simply to remind that God has a plan for the world’s final chapter.
It will be a Day of both joy & judgment. It will be joy for God’s people because Jesus has promised to prepare a place for us in the Father’s house (John 14:2-3). Our faith will be vindicated & rewarded. It will be a Day of resurrection when Jesus comes back on the clouds with power, revealed in blazing fire with powerful angels. Those who have already died in faith already know the Lord’s presence (2 Cor. 5:8). They will accompany Christ & receive their resurrection bodies. Those who are still alive will rise to meet Him in the air (Acts 1:9-11, 2 Thess. 1:7, 1 Cor. 15:52, 1 Thess. 4:14-17).
But there is also a “resurrection” of the unrighteous (John 5:24-29, Dan. 12:2). These are those who will be caught off guard & mourn when they see Christ (Matt. 24:43, 1 Thess. 5:2, 2 Pet. 3:10). The unjust will be judged & separated from God & the just forever (Matt. 13:24-50). Those outside of Christ will continue to exist but will not experience the immortal quality of life that those in Christ will inherit (2 Tim. 2:9-10).
It will be a Day of anticipation. No one knows when it will happen (Matt. 24:35-44). It will be “soon,” which means “suddenly” – we’re to anticipate it at any time, whether it takes place in the next minute or the next millennium. But aren’t there certain signs to look for? Yes, but they seem to be things that have been generally present since the time Christ first came. The Apostle Paul seemed to believe Christ could return in his own lifetime nearly 2,000 years ago.
Some are waiting for total world penetration of the Gospel to take place first (Matt. 24:14), but Paul said the Gospel had already been made available to the Roman world (Col. 1:23). Certainly, not every person had heard about Christ, but it had generally been spread, even more so today.
Some are waiting for the Antichrist to appear. But John never referred to this figure as a particular person, but as various people, & more so as a “spirit” (1 John 2:18). This figure often gets conflated with the “man of lawlessness” & “the beast,” but these aren’t necessarily all the same thing. Perhaps there is yet a final antichrist to appear, but maybe the final one has already appeared.
Some are looking for natural disasters to increase. We certainly hear of more disasters, but is that because they’re increasing, or because of global news reporting & alarmism? There’s no solid evidence that we’re actually experiencing more or more intense disasters. More damage is done & more people are affected, but that’s due to population growth. Actually, technological advances have mitigated such disastrous effects. Even in the first century, Christians heard of such disasters. For example, we see the remains of the swift & terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii & Herculaneum in A.D. 79. Still, the ominous rumblings of our world today point to the Great Day of the Lord.
We should be united in our “one hope” of Christ’s return on that Great Day (Eph. 4:3-4). But when people try to figure out the events related to the Lord’s return in specific ways, confusion reigns. Jesus said: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). He will return at just the right time. “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay…” (Heb. 10:37).
If we’re to take this seriously like the early Christians, then while we have the time, let’s share the Good News & the warning with as many as we can!