Apocalypse Now?

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

—James 5:7–12

“Be patient . . . until the coming of the Lord.” With these words James directed our attention to the last days. There are a lot of prophets of doom around today who try to fit every world event into some type of prophetic Scripture. If we listened to these voices, we’d live in panic and fear, and our garages and storage units would be filled to the top with freeze-dried foods as we awaited Armageddon. Yet, into the world’s chaos James said, “Be patient . . . until the coming of the Lord.”

As I typed these words, my mind flashed back to my grandmother’s lap and an old worn-out book about a critter named Chicken Little. Aptly named, Chicken Little was minding his own business, scratching in the dirt under a tree, when an acorn fell and hit him. He began to shout, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling! I am going to rush to tell the king.” Along the way, he met a hen and shared his story. The hen decided to accompany Chicken Little on his journey.

On the way, they met a rooster. The hen told the rooster, “The sky is falling!” When the rooster asked how she knew this, she said she’d heard it from Chicken Little, who then chimed in, “Yes, I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and a piece of it hit me when it fell.” So the rooster joined the entourage, and soon they came upon a duck, then a goose, and, later, a turkey—and all joined in the march to the king.

When the group met up with a fox, Chicken Little went through his whole story. Then the sly fox said, “Let’s go into my den, and I will tell the king.” And the last line of that little book was cemented in my mind: “So they all ran into Foxy Loxy’s den, and the king was never told that the sky was falling.”

Today, every major world crisis prompts someone else to say, “The sky is falling! Armageddon is on the way!” Sadly, these cries divert our attention from appropriating all the blessings of Christ’s first coming. We become focused on His Second Coming thanks to those who keep shouting, “The sky is falling!”

The beautiful good news is that our Lord will, indeed, make another visit to planet Earth. His Second Coming will be the greatest event in all of human history, and it could happen before you finish reading this chapter. The Jesus who came the first time as a Suffering Servant will come again as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Let’s learn more about this moment.

WHAT is the Lord’s coming? It is the fulfillment of His promise to “come again and receive you to Myself ” (John 14:3). Jesus Christ is coming again to planet Earth in bodily form. His presence will be with us. He will invade this world, conquer evil, and usher in an age of peace.

WHOSE coming is it? It is the Lord’s coming. Two thousand years ago, as He ascended from the Mount of Olives back to the Father, the angelic messenger said, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The last promise in the Bible comes from the lips of our Lord: “Surely I am coming quickly” (Revelation 22:20). And it is immediately followed by the last prayer in the Bible: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (v. 20)!

WHY is Jesus coming back? As prophesied in Isaiah 53, His first coming was as the Suffering Servant who died on the cross for your sins and mine. Jesus will return as victor over sin and death to execute judgment. He will separate the wheat from the chaff and the sheep from the goats, and He will usher in a time of peace on earth and an eternity in His presence. As James said, “The Judge is standing at the door!”

WHERE is He coming? He will come first “in the air.” Paul said, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). First, Jesus will come for us; then He will come with us. When He comes back to the earth, “in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two” (Zechariah 14:4).

A final important question is WHEN is He coming? Some of Jesus’ followers say His return is imminent. Perhaps it will be very soon—but perhaps not. No one knows. One time, when asked about the when, Jesus replied, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). We should live each day as if Christ could return at any moment. It would surely make a difference in what we do, what we say, and where we go, wouldn’t it?

We should look expectantly toward this great day of our Lord’s coming without running after every so-called prophet who cries, “The sky is falling.” Our forefathers in the first generations of the church lived daily with the hope of His return. They greeted each other saying, “Maranatha!” (“The Lord is coming”). They got up each morning to live the day as if it were their last opportunity to live for Christ before He returned.

We should live as if Christ died yesterday and the cross is still standing tall atop Golgotha. We should also live as if Christ rose this morning and we can still see His grave clothes, folded neatly, inside the empty tomb. And we should live as if He is coming back tomorrow. And, always, “[being] patient . . . until the Lord’s coming.”