by Garrett Glende

This article begins the final section in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. We’ve come a long way thus far and it’s fitting that the end of the book deals with eschatology, or the study of last things. Just as spiritual gifts are a highly debated issue, eschatology fosters a fair amount of conversation as well. There are many evangelicals who disagree on certain issues that fall under this umbrella, but it remains to be an issue of secondary nature. Provided, there are some who stray too far away from Biblical truth, some of whom we will address later, but the majority of believers do attempt to derive their beliefs from Scripture. In the coming weeks we’ll deal with a variety of topics relating to the end times. Many will brush them off as confusing or non-consequential, but we should take heed of Jesus’ own warnings about these things and seek to understand them in a manner that changes our hearts and minds.

The first issue that Grudem writes on is the return of Christ. Specifically, how and when Christ will come back to earth. The first major point under this section is that Christ will return in physical, bodily form for all to see. There are those who advocate that Christ will not come back or that He will return in a spiritual sense, but these teachings are misguided. Revelation 1:7 says that “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him.” Acts 1:11 states, “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” There is little debate in mainstream Christianity regarding the physical return of Christ. The exact timing of His return however, is much more contested (mostly in regards to the millennial kingdom, which will be discussed next week).

What we can say about the timing of Christ’s return is that no one knows the exact day or hour. There is a heavy amount of Scripture attesting to the mystery of the second coming. Jesus says to “watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13). It will come as a surprise to many, “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). We see in many places that only the Father knows the timing of this event, yet we also are urged to be ready for it because it is near. Jesus himself says that he is coming soon multiple times in the book of Revelation (Rev. 22:7, 22:12, 22:20) and Peter also attests that “the end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7). The evidence from the New Testament authors illustrates that perhaps they expected Christ to return within their own lifetimes or shortly thereafter, yet it is obvious that this has not happened even 2000 years later. So were they wrong in saying that his return would be soon? To answer this, we must understand that the nature of prophecy in the Bible as one that often does not account for large gaps in time. I’ve heard it illustrated as a mountain range where you see many summits from the distance and they all look equally far away, but when you reach the peak you discover that the others are really much further away. This happens a lot in Old Testament prophecy, as we see both the first and second advents of Christ.

The challenge from Scripture regarding Christ’s return addresses the desires of our hearts. Since we have been saved by the grace of God, we are to “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12-13). But do we really wait eagerly for Christ’s return or are we more concerned with our lives here on earth? We want to accomplish things here before we get to heaven. I even see this attitude come up in my own heart as I am soon to be married. Would I rather have Christ come back and be with Him or would I rather be married? I must admit that it’s a struggle in my heart. I think we all have certain things that our hearts are drawn to in this world – even good things. But we should not value them more than Jesus. The unexpectedness of his return should draw us more to the lost, where we must preach the gospel unashamedly. Since no one knows the day or hour, we must proclaim Christ in every corner of the earth. Selfishly, we entertain ourselves with other things and we lose sight of the immanency of Jesus Christ. Together, let’s put aside our worldly desires and focus on loving Christ and desiring to be with Him.