Why are we so confused?
The first coming of the Messiah was hard to accept while Jesus still walked the Earth. The people of Israel were anticipating a conquering King, and that expectation was shared by Jesus’ twelve disciples as well. Although these people were alive on the Earth alongside Jesus and were eyewitnesses to His mighty ministry, they were confused. The religious leaders were confused. People were confused. Even Jesus’ disciples were confused.
Think about this for a moment: Jesus' own apostles still could not conceive that His first coming was to die for the sins of the world and not to reign as a visible king. How could they ever understand the 2,000-year gap between His first and second comings?
The stumbling block
This misunderstanding by His own disciples becomes a stumbling block for believers today. We fall prey to the following logic: “Even Jesus’ own disciples thought that He would return in their lifetimes. Why should we expect to be better informed than they were?”
Time plus cultural and political change equals confusion, doubt, and false expectations.
Certainly, over time, believers have come to better understand the purpose of Jesus’ first coming. This gospel of reconciliation to God is truly great news. Nonetheless, believers over time have started asking questions such as the following:
“What about the conquering king?”
“When do we get to see the Messiah?”
Then centuries and millennia passed, and believers started thinking and wondering:
“Will He ever come?”
“Maybe we totally misunderstood the prophecies in the first place.”
“Were all those promises about a second coming symbolic?”
“Could it be that Jesus did all of His conquering in the form by overcoming sin, death and the grave?”
“Perhaps Jesus has already returned by living in us.”
“Maybe Jesus will come secretly in the night like a thief, and no one will even know what happened.”
Where did the confusion begin?
When and where did the confusion start? Obviously, the first apostles and disciples had no idea of the enormity of preaching to the "ends of the Earth". Then they all started to die off, and not due to natural causes but rather to martyrdom.
Within thirty-five to forty years after the resurrection of Jesus, eleven of the original twelve apostles were dead. Judas hung himself, but all the rest except John were put to death for their testimony about Jesus.
In 70 AD the Jewish temple was destroyed. Not only was there no temple in Jerusalem, the nation of Israel ceased to exist.
These facts, together with the continued growth of the Roman persecution, began to sow doubt into the believers’ minds about how, when, or even if Jesus would return.
Fresh hope
To give fresh hope, around 95 AD God gave the “Revelation of Jesus Christ”, which is the final book of the Bible.
Since the book of Revelation includes abundant Old Testament symbolism, it has become easy to brush off the return of Christ with the following comments:
“It’s all symbolic.”
“It’s too confusing.”
“It will all work out.”
In fact, it's safe to say that the book of Revelation has always been something of an enigma to the church.
Time, cultural, and political change
Around 325 AD the Roman Emperor, Constantine, had an open vision of the cross and was converted to Christianity. Next, he did something amazing—He made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire!
Over time and in spite of great resistance from the Roman church, there were challenges to the Roman Catholic authority and eventual break-offs. This resistance produced the Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Methodist churches as well as many smaller, lesser-known groups. Having the right answers about the second coming mattered little because with no Jewish temple or nation of Israel, almost no one believed that Jesus would return any time soon.
With these changes and the passage of time, the return of the Lord took a back seat to other priorities like developing and interpreting theology, reformation, politics, wars, epidemics, famines, and disasters.
There is change coming
Therefore, if we find ourselves surrounded by Philistines, oppressed by our own government, during severe persecution or even economic collapse, it will not matter because we carry within our hearts the very door into the Most Holy Place.
It has been 2,000 years since the Jewish people and their leaders were confused about the first coming of Christ. They expected a conquering King to come and overthrow Rome. Instead they got the suffering servant, the Lamb of God.
What are you expecting? What is your church or denomination expecting? Consider the following Scriptural signs which indicate that the return of Jesus is near:
Israel has been restored as a nation (making possible the rebuilding of the Temple)
The technological explosion with its intricate global networking has made it possible for people everywhere to be spied on and tracked
The gospel is being preached to the “ends of the Earth”
Remember, from 70 AD until 1948 Israel did not exist as a sovereign nation. What’s more, the Jewish temple was destroyed and lay under centuries of ruin. Quite simply, the prophecies regarding Jesus’ return could not be fulfilled. Now, however, pieces are falling into place, and events continue to unfold in a way which indicates that the return of Jesus truly is near.
The clarity of the end-times
Every single writer in the New Testament spoke of the end-times and the literal return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. Nonetheless, due to issues mentioned earlier, over time it became very easy to second-guess the simple truths taught in the Bible about Jesus’ return.
Let’s not be confused by time, our culture, or the politics of the earth. Rather, let’s be found watching, waiting, praying—ready for the sure, certain, soon return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(excerpted from Chapter 2, Reign of Fire, by Tom Grossman Sr.)
