Read Revelation 3:7-11 …
There was a practice at one time that some congregations would use a rubber stamp to ink the words “Do Not Sing” in red on certain songs in a songbook. It may have seemed a bit over-reactive, but this action was taken by congregations to avoid presenting or spreading what was perceived as an errant message. One song that was often marked in such a manner was “Jesus is Coming Soon.” Of the different reasons this song was so marked, one was that “You can’t say Jesus is coming soon because you don’t know WHEN He will return.” Well, one song leader, when confronted with that objection said, “If you can tell me with absolute certainty that Jesus WON’T return in 5 minutes, I’ll never sing that song again.” That song leader is still leading that song. Why? Because the message of the imminent return of Christ is a message found in the New Testament.
It’s difficult to date the writing of the epistle of James, but most scholars point to an earlier date rather than a later, putting the writing between the mid-40’s to the mid-60’s. Yet even though the date of the writing of James’s letter is debatable, what is without doubt is James’s teaching about the return of Christ. James describes “the coming of the Lord” as “at hand.” He continues to inform his readers that “the Judge is standing right at the door” (5:7-9). This passage in James represents a block of teaching that those early evangelists were including in their message – the return of Christ Jesus is imminent.
Peter makes a very definite statement that the “end of all things is at hand” (1 Pet. 4:7). The Hebrews writer also joins the chorus as he speaks about our “confidence, which has a great reward” and then immediately admonishes endurance because – quoting Habakkuk – “… in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay” (10:35-37). Again, the idea of an imminent return of Christ Jesus cannot be denied.
Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, makes the surety of the return of Christ a priority in both letters. In the 1st letter every chapter mentions something about the coming of the Lord: “and to wait for His Son from heaven” (1:10); “of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming” (2:19); “at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (3:13); “caught up together … to meet the Lord in the air” (4:17); “that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (5:10). Paul’s stress on the importance and imminence of the Christ’s return was apparently being taken by some to say that that return had already occurred and addressing this error was part of the purpose of the second letter (2 Thess. 2:1-2). Paul reminds the Thessalonians that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in fire and judgment (1:6-8), but this does not free them from being useful and busy in the world and in the Lord’s service (3:10-13).
Yet the idea of imminence, while related to the idea of nearness, does not have to be synonymous with the idea of immediacy. Peter makes this point when he writes that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). The presence of a delay in the second coming of the Christ is not something that should distress the Christian or force interpreters to discover a parousia in 1st century events such as the destruction of Jerusalem. If the Lord is postponing the second coming it is for the simple reason that He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Therefore, as the people of God, we wait.
Whether the Lord returns in 5 minutes or not for another 5 thousand years – we wait. We wait as those that are alert for an event to happen no matter when it happens (Matt. 24:42-43; 1 Thess. 5:2-6). We wait as those that are prepared for a blessed event to occur so that we may not be left behind (Matt. 25:6-10; 2 Pet. 3:17-18). We wait as faithful servants that have been given a trust and must give an account of ourselves on that day (Matt. 25:19-30; Rev. 20:11-15). We wait in joyful expectation for the return of Christ Jesus, bringing salvation and rescue from wrath (1 Thess. 1:10; Heb. 9:20; Titus 2:13).
the odd weekend preacher 