Six Reasons Why All Christians Should Desire
the Soon Return of Jesus
Are you yearning or yawning?
by
Dr. David R. Reagan
As every new year dawns, I find myself
earnestly yearning that it will be the year that will initiate the end time
events that will lead to the Lord's return to this earth.
The first of those events will be the Rapture of the Church. That will
be followed by the Great Tribulation of seven years, a period of unparalleled
horror that will culminate in the return of Jesus to reign over all the world.
The writings of the early Church Fathers (100 to 300 A.D.) reveal that
one of the earliest prayers of the Church was "Maranatha!"
(1 Corinthians 16:22). That word is actually an Aramaic phrase that means
"Our Lord come!"
This prayer expresses a fact that is confirmed by many other scriptures;
namely, that the
A Waning of the Zeal
The
Christendom at large is caught up in apathy regarding the return of
Jesus. And that is sad, for the Word says that the return of the Lord is our
"Blessed Hope" (Titus 2:13).
Also, we are constantly admonished in Scripture to watch for the Lord's
coming and to be ready. Jesus Himself said, "Be dressed in readiness, and
keep your lamps alight . . . for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you
do not expect" (Luke 12:35,40). Paul exhorted Titus to live "looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
savior, Christ Jesus" (Titus 2:13). And as Paul faced death in prison, he
wrote:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I
have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. — 2 Timothy 4:7-8
Think of it, Paul says that a special reward — "a crown of
righteousness," will be given to any person who lives his or her life
loving the appearing of the Lord.
Are you a candidate for this reward? Do you have a zealous yearning in
your heart for the Lord's soon return? Do you pray daily, "Maranatha!"?
Looking for Jesus
There are at least six reasons why every Christian should earnestly
desire the soon return of Jesus:
1) Jesus: When Jesus returns He will get what He deserves —
honor, glory and power.
When He came the first time, He was repudiated by the Jews, rejected by
His home town, and spurned by his family. He was persecuted by the religious
leaders, betrayed by a friend, denied by another friend, deserted by His
disciples, and mocked by the masses. He had no place to lay His head. His only
possession was a robe.
He was born in a stable, raised in poverty, nailed to a tree, and buried
in a borrowed tomb. Today, people scoff at Him and ridicule Him. His name is
used as a curse word.
That is not what He deserves!
It is going to be different when He returns. The first time He came as a
gentle and helpless baby. He is going to return as a mighty warrior. He came
the first time as a suffering lamb to die for the sins of the world, but He
will return as a conquering lion who will pour out the wrath of God on those
who have rejected the love, mercy and grace of God. His first coming was marked
by compassion, humility, and a willingness to be judged and to die. He will
return in triumph and in wrath to judge and make war against the enemies of
God. He came the first time as a Servant; He is returning as a Monarch.
Jesus was humiliated in history. I want to see Him vindicated and
glorified in history. And He will be because His Father has promised Him that
He will reign over all the earth (Psalm 2:7-9). He has
also been promised that He will manifest His glory before His saints (Isaiah
24:21-23) and before the nations of the earth (Isaiah 66:18 & Psalm
22:27-31). Paul says He is returning "to be glorified in His saints . . .
and to be marveled at among all who have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
2) Satan: When Jesus returns, Satan will receive what he
deserves — defeat, dishonor and humiliation.
I'm sick of Satan. I'm tired of his plots and schemes and lies and
deceptions. I'm fed up with his sicknesses and temptations. I'm weary of his
physical, emotional and spiritual pollution. I'm disgusted with his wrecking of
marriages and homes. I loath his wars and terrorism. I
despise His ceaseless attacks on the Church.
I often feel like the martyrs portrayed in Revelation who cry out day
and night before the throne of God, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will
You refrain from judging and avenging our blood?"
(Revelation 6:10) Like Isaiah, I want to cry out to God, "Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah
64:1).
The fate of Satan was sealed by the Cross, but his nefarious activities
will not cease until the Lord returns. At that time, the Word says that God
will deal with Satan decisively. Luke 18:7 says that God will vindicate His
elect who cry out to Him day and night by providing them justice. Romans 16:20
says that Satan will be "crushed." The book of Revelation says he
will then be thrown into the lake of fire where he "will be tormented day
and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10 — see also, Isaiah
14:12-17).
But Satan doesn't want to go to Hell alone. He's working overtime to
take as many people with him as he can. And I want that work stopped! I want
Satan to get what he deserves.
3) The Creation: When Jesus returns, the creation will
receive what it has been promised — restoration.
The material universe was originally created in beauty and perfection.
There were no poisonous plants or animals, nor were there any meat eating
animals. There were no natural cataclysms like earthquakes and tornados.
Mankind lived in perfect harmony with nature.
But when Man rebelled against God, one of the consequences of his sin
was that God placed a curse on the creation. Poisonous plants and animals
suddenly appeared. The animal kingdom turned against itself and Man as some of
the animals became meat eaters. And the natural cataclysms began to take their
toll. Man now had to strive against nature to survive.
But the moment God placed the curse on the creation, He promised that
one day it would be lifted through "the seed of woman" (Genesis
3:15). That promise is repeated throughout the Scriptures. For example, in
Isaiah 11, the prophet says that when the Messiah comes to reign, "the
wolf will dwell with the lamb" and "the lion will eat straw like the
ox." He further states that "the nursing child will play by the hole
of the cobra" because the snake will no longer be poisonous.
Paul reaffirms this promise in the New Testament in the eighth chapter
of Romans. He pictures the whole creation as being like a pregnant woman
gripped by birth pains, crying out for the moment of delivery. He says that
moment will come when "the sons of God are revealed." In other words,
it will occur at the resurrection when the Lord returns (Romans 8:18-23).
On the day the Lord returns, the earth will be renovated by earthquakes
and supernatural phenomena in the heavens (Revelation 6:12-17). The result will
be a refreshed and beautified earth. The destructive forces of nature will be
curtailed. Deserts will bloom. The plant and animal kingdoms will be redeemed.
Poisonous plants and animals will cease to be poisonous. The carnivorous
animals will become herbivorous. All of nature will cease to strive against
itself. Instead, it will work together harmoniously to the benefit of
4) The Nations: When Jesus returns, the nations will receive
what they have been promised — peace, righteousness and justice.
Mankind has dreamed of world peace throughout history. Disarmament
treaties have been negotiated, peace treaties have been signed, international
organizations have been created, but true peace has remained elusive.
The Bible says that permanent world peace will never be achieved until
the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, returns. Both Isaiah and Micah prophesied
that when the Lord returns, the nations "will hammer their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" and that "nation will
not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war"
(Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3).
The hope of the world for peace will never be realized in summit
conferences between heads of state. The only hope is the return of Jesus who
will rule the world with "a rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation
2:26-27).
5) The Jews: When Jesus returns, the Jews will receive what
they have been promised — salvation and primacy.
God has made many wonderful promises to His chosen people, the nation of
Zechariah says this remnant will "look upon Him whom they have
pierced and will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son" (Zechariah
12:10). The prophet also says that on that day of repentance, "a fountain
of salvation will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of
This believing remnant will then be regathered
to the
In effect, the world will be turned upside down regarding its
relationship to the Jews. Today the Jewish people are despised and persecuted.
They are the butt of jokes and ridicule. But a day is coming when all that will
cease. Zechariah says that during the Lord's millennial reign the Jewish people
will be so honored that when a Jew walks by, ten Gentiles will grab his
clothing and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with
you" (Zechariah 8:23).
6) The Saints: Some of the promises to the Saints — to those
who are member's of the Lord's Church — will be fulfilled at the time of the
Rapture. The Rapture is an event that could occur any moment. It will precede
the Second Coming.
At the Rapture, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and the living
will be translated to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). It is at
this time that both the living and dead in Christ will receive their glorified
bodies. These will be immortal, perfected bodies — like the body that Jesus had
after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:42-53 and Philippians 3:21).
When Jesus returns to this earth, the Saints will come with Him and will
witness His glorious victory over the Antichrist and his forces (Revelation
19:11-21). The Saints will then receive what they have been promised — a
redeemed earth and ruling power over the nations (Matthew 5:5 and Revelation
2:26-27).
Jesus will reign from
These six reasons make it clear that every Christian should be earnestly desiring the return of the Lord. Yet apathy
prevails. Why?
Yawning about Jesus
I have found four reasons for the apathy and indifference that
characterize the Christian community concerning the return of Jesus: unbelief,
ignorance, fear, and carnality.
Unbelief — Regarding unbelief, many professing Christians simply do
not believe that Jesus will ever return. Most of these are people with a
liberal view of Scripture. They have spiritualized away the meaning of the
Second Coming, just as they have spiritualized the virgin birth and the
miracles. To them, the Second Coming is nothing more than a fairy tale. In 2
Peter 3:3-4 we are told that the end times will be characterized by scoffers
who will mock the Lord's promise to return. The tragedy is that many of these
are people who profess to be Christians.
Ignorance — I think most of the Christians who are apathetic about the
Lord's return are just ignorant about what will happen when He comes back. As a
result, they cannot get excited about an event they know nothing about. I was
in this category for thirty years. Although I attended church faithfully, my
church ignored the teaching and preaching of God's Prophetic Word. I didn't
have the foggiest idea about what would happen when the Lord came back, and the
result was apathy about His return. But when I began studying Bible prophecy
and learned what is in store for believers when the Lord returns, I started
jumping pews and shouting "Maranatha!" I
have never been apathetic since that time.
Fear — The apathy of some Christians is due to the fact that they fear the
Lord's return. Because of that fear, they try to repress the thought that He
might break from the Heavens at any moment. They fear He might return on one of
their "bad" days or when they have an "unconfessed
sin" on their conscience. These people are caught up in works salvation.
They do not understand that they are saved by grace and that "there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
Carnality — Finally, there are many carnal Christians who cannot get
excited about the coming of the Lord because they are in love with the world.
They are walking with one foot in the church and one foot in the country club.
They want the Lord to come, but they want Him to come when they are 80 years
old and have experienced all that this world has to offer. In other words, they
want Him to come, but they don't want Him to mess up their lives.
A Seventh Reason
Let me conclude with a personal note. There is another reason I want
Jesus to return. It has to do with the fact that when you love someone, you
want to be with them. I love to fellowship with Jesus in worship, in prayer,
and in His Word. But these forms of fellowship are no substitute for being with
Him. I love Him, and therefore . . .
I
want to be with Him.
I want to bask in the presence of His love and
holiness.
I want to see the glory of God in His face.
I want to kiss His nail-scarred hands and say,
"Thank you!"
Thank you for . . .
dying for me,
forgiving me,
changing me,
guiding me,
comforting me,
and for giving my life meaning and purpose.
And I want to join the Saints and the Heavenly
Host in singing, "Worthy is the Lamb!"
Maranatha!