The Fullness of Time

This will be the last post on the attribute of God’s perfect timing. I hadn’t planned to make it a series, but it’s been fun to think about. And we bring it to a close with the fullness of time.

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. – Revelation 22:12

The apostle John recorded these words of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago. “Behold, I am coming quickly?” What’s His definition of “quickly?”

The Greek word can also be translated “without delay.” Could he mean that, when He does get around to coming, He won’t be searching for His car keys and herding kids into the car – He’ll do it without delay? That’s one way of explaining how 2,000 years could be considered quick. On the other hand, we’re 2,000 years closer to His coming, and it’s closer than it’s ever been. And when Jesus speaks, He does so with purpose. We are to live ready, in expectation of His return.

In addition, He gave us signs, and they all point to a soon return.

The Bible has many Messianic prophecies about Jesus’s first coming; we looked at many of them in last year’s series. But there are eight times as many verses that refer to His second coming.

Prophecy occupies one fifth of Scripture. And of that one fifth, one third of that focuses on the second coming. There are over 650 general prophesies in Scripture, of which half of them concern Christ. And out of the 330 or so that concern Christ, 225 of those point to His second coming. Of the forty-six Old Testament prophets, less than ten speak of His first coming. Thirty-six speak of His second coming. There are over 1,500 passages of the Scripture that refer to the second coming, one out of every twenty-five verses in the Bible. For each time the Bible mentions the first coming of the Messiah, it mentions His second coming eight times. For each time the Bible mentions the atonement, it mentions His second coming two times. Jesus referred to His return twenty-one times and over fifty times in the New Testament we are told to be ready for His return. – John MacArthur, from his sermon “Worshipping the Worthy Lamb (from WithAllWisdom.org)

His return is not a topic we should fear or shy away from. On the contrary. If Jesus Himself spoke of His return more than 20 times, telling His followers to be ready, I think he wants us to be ready.

What does it mean to be ready? I think Jesus’s instructions and sermons and parables give us a good idea of what He wants from us.

• We are to be faithful in all things, even the little ones. – Luke 16:1-10
• We are to be mindful of the hope we have, and we are to share the good news with others. – Matthew 28:19-20
• We are to look for His appearing. – 2 Timothy 4:8 (There’s a reward tied to this one!)

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!