Question 3 - Flesh

Are You Sure?

There is no doubt that a number of verses are used to teach that Jesus will come again in a visible display that all the world will see. Various views are held as to where, when and how that will all come about, but most Christians profess this type of coming. Your challenge is to find passages which actually say that.

This topic falls into that troublesome category I call the "Yeah, but what abouts". It is beyond my purpose at this point to deal with all of those. So, let me deal with just this one.

When was the last time you heard another Christian talking about Jesus being here? This is such a common phrase that I suspect it hasn't been long. If He is here, how is He here, how did He get here, and most importantly, when did He come?

Notice that in Matthew 24 and parallel passages, Jesus doesn't describe His coming, but the signs of His coming. The signs were the visible indicators of the nearness of His coming judgment on Old Covenant Judaism, and the coming of His kingdom in glory. The signs Christ prophesied were witnessed in the first century in the events associated with the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. It is a matter of record, not speculation! The demise of the old meant the affirmation of the arrival of the new! "When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear." (Hebrews 8:13) If the old covenant was ready to disappear when Hebrews was written (A.D. 65-67), we can make at least two observations from this passage in context.

First, at least some vestige of the Old Covenant remained which was about to be destroyed (aphanismos). Although of no effect since Christ's atonement, the old system continued and was a source of opposition to the gospel. It had to be removed - you can't have two testaments (wills) effective at the same time! Second, the true sons of the new covenant were to be revealed shortly when that destruction came.

The Old Covenant was a type. It was visible, earthly, temporal, etc. The New Covenant is the anti-type. It is invisible, heavenly, spiritual, etc. Those who insist on a visible kingdom overlook Christ's teaching about the nature of the kingdom and repeat the error of the Pharisees who wanted Him as an earthly king.

We'll deal with that in more depth as time goes by, but for now realize that the coming of Christ, resurrection, judgment, and the kingdom are all bound in the same time frame (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Since the scripture tells us when that would happen, we must confess that it happened.

Given the timing, we are forced to admit that Christ didn't set up an earthly kingdom. Therefore, we are forced to understand the nature of the kingdom as invisible. Not unreal, but invisible!

With Paul, we should exult, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." (1Timothy 1:17)

We invite you to join us at the Eschatology 101 Main Page where we will be addressing these issues more fully as the site develops.

Thank you for taking the time to challenge your thinking. We welcome your comments and questions.

Updated 07/02/03