How should we respond to the delay of Jesus’ second coming?
The second coming of Christ is an anxiously awaited event. Tens of thousands; or hopefully tens of millions of people around the world look forward to the soon return of Jesus. But the last few decades have seen many of those anxious Christians disappointed in false hopes and fake rapture events. What happened and what is being missed in the prophecies about Christ’s return?
The second coming of Jesus has been delayed. That should be obvious to most people but it’s not. It is a hotly contested issue among many eschatology students. The study of the biblical last days is referred to by scholars as eschatology. But, the second coming has been delayed. We are still waiting for the promise of a victorious and conquering Jesus returning through the clouds to bring peace to a very divided world.
During Jesus’ ministry, many of the disciples expected him to start the kingdom during their day. See the following verses to get a feel for the anticipation that many were feeling.
The Ascension Acts 1:5-7
5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority…
Luke 19:11
While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently.
Matthew 16:28
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
That last verse, in particular, would have set off alarm bells of excitement. They must have thought that Jesus was blatantly telling them that the kingdom was at most a few years away. But that was not to the be case. The second coming of Jesus has been delayed for nearly two thousand years. It should be clear to everyone, that was the Lord’s plan all along. The second coming of Christ was always going to be delayed but most people missed that point.
Around 200 to 300 AD, as the return was further delayed, many scholars began to form variant views of eschatology. It was during that time that the allegorical views of Bible prophecy came to be accepted by many. And for centuries after it grew in popularity. And it sadly has given rise to the antisemitic views that many people hold today.
The second coming is delayed.
I recently listened to a podcast produced by Alan Kurschner. On his Eschatos Ministries website, he argues that James, Peter, and the early disciples understood that Jesus taught them the second coming would be delayed. We see that they were anxious for his soon return. That was very clear in the moments before he ascended up to heaven. But as they began to settle into their ministry efforts in building the early Church, their understanding began to take shape.
Of course, they wanted him to return immediately but in their writings, we see evidence that they understand it would be longer than they had hoped.
Peter himself, was told by Jesus, that he would be martyred. His ministry would continue until Jesus’ words to that effect came true. James served an important role in encouraging the Apostle Paul to continue his ministry to the Gentiles. Soon after that, James was martyred. Their ministries and writings reflected the understanding that Jesus wasn’t going to come back at any moment. And, as I’ve written before, many of them were heavily influenced by the belief that 6,000 years of human history was necessary and then the Millennial reign of Christ would begin.
So what are we to do with this delay? Many are anxiously hanging on to the words of their favorite YouTube prophets as they predict Christ will return at any moment. But other Christians are busy with the work of building the Church, That’s the example the early Christians set for us.
Let’s get building.
Let me know what you think.