”...which in its own appointed time He will show, the [One] blessed and only Sovereign, the [One] King of kings and Lord of lords...”
-Jesus Christ is Lord, yes, and He is coming back. He said so Himself, repeatedly (Matthew 24.27, 24.46, 25.31; Mark 8.38; Luke 12.43, 18.8; John 14.3, 14.18, 14.28)! Paul talked about it a ton (cf 2Timothy 1.10, 4.1, 8; Titus 2.13). He is coming back! There are myriad ways this return is understood, so many interpretations of the various Scriptures, prophecies, mentions of our Savior coming back for His church - His bride - not to mention to inaugurate and consummate His righteous rule, the kingdom of God, on earth. So many questions - questions of when, questions of how, what will it look like, what will be the events leading up to His return (if any). And with all these questions, there are suggestions. Positions staked out. Differing interpretations and conjectures about all these things - sincere Christ-followers who disagree and even divide from one another over all these questions. And at the end of the day, not one of these questions (or answers) are necessary in order for a person to be saved, to make it to heaven. They are not salvific in the least. They do not change the message of the Gospel one bit. Jesus Christ died for your sins - make sure you are trusting in Him. Oh, and He rose from the dead, and He is coming back. Some day soon. Soon-ish. That’s what we know for sure. This much is fairly clear. Not much disagreement on these points, not among true evangelical Christ-followers. He IS coming back! To the praise of His glory!
-When is He coming back? When will He appear? That is the question. That’s what we all want to know. This is precisely what the disciples were asking at the Ascension? Lord, when are You coming back? When are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel? And Jesus’ answer to them was pretty much the same thing that Paul says here: It is not for you to know (Acts 1.6-8). In fact, no one knows (Matthew 24.36)! Not even Jesus, apparently. The timing is all up to the One Who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King eternal, King of kings and Lord of Lords. He's the One and only One Who is in charge of ALL this stuff. He is the One Who has determined all these times. And this is a kairos time as opposed to a chronos time, so we are dealing not really with a clock time but rather a divinely appointed time of opportunity. Which means we are really talking about two times here - the proper time, and the meantime. Jesus will return at the Proper Time, THE appointed time, just in time and on time, just the right time - a time which the almighty all-knowing Sovereign Father Himself has determined, which you DO NOT know, and with which you do not need to excessively concern yourselves. But in the Meantime - concern yourselves with this. In the meantime, be My witnesses. My Holy-Spirit empowered martyrs! In the meantime, keep the commandment. Love the Lord. Run the race, with your eyes fixed on Jesus, and the finish line will get here soon enough... All in good time, my pretties, all in good time. God’s good time, the proper time... And His timing is perfect!
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