How Soon is Soon? Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn't late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn't want anyone lost. He's giving everyone space and time to change.
But when the Day of God's Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day; but we'll hardly notice. We'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.
2 Peter 3:8-13, The Message.
I think God must be very old and very tired. Maybe He used to look splendid and fine in His general's uniform, but no more. He's been on the march a long time, you know. And look at His rag-tag little army! All He has for soldiers are you and me. Dumb little army.
Listen! The drum beat isn't even regular. Everyone is out of step. And there! You see? God keeps stopping along the way to pick up one of His tinier soldiers who decided to wander off and play with a frog, or run in a field, or whose foot got tangled in the underbrush. He'll never get anywhere that way. And yet, the march goes on.
If God were more sensible He'd take His little army and shape them up. Why, whoever heard of a soldier stopping to romp in a field? It's ridiculous. But even more absurd is a general who will stop the march of eternity to go and bring him back.
But that's God for you. His is no endless, empty marching. He is going somewhere. His steps are deliberate and purposeful. He may be old, and He may be tired. But He knows where He's going. And He means to take every last one of his tiny soldiers with Him.
Only there aren't going to be any forced marches. And after all, there are frogs and flowers, and thorns and underbrush along the way. And even though our foreheads have been signed with the sign of the cross, we are only human. And most of us are afraid and lonely and would like to hold hands or cry or run away. And we don't know where we are going, and we can't seem to trust God; especially when it's dark out and we can't see Him! And He won't go on without us. And that's why it's taking so long.
Listen! The drum beat isn't even regular. Everyone is out of step. And there! You see? God keeps stopping along the way to pick up one of His tinier soldiers who decided to wander off and play with a frog, or run in a field, or whose foot got tangled in the underbrush. He'll never get anywhere that way!
And yet, the march goes on.
Jesus repeated the exact words:
Matthew 4:17 "From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near'."
Matthew 24:3-8, 14 "As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. 'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?' 4 Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.' 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
And Jesus had commissioned his disciples to go and share the good news.
Matthew 10:7 "As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near'."
They must have believed that they could complete the task their Lord assigned them. Indeed He had said,
Matthew 10:23 "I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
At the time of Jesus' death, the disciples forgot most of what He had taught them. But after His resurrection they remembered.
Acts 1:6-8 "So when they met together, they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' 7 He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'"
Meanwhile they were not to be merely dreaming about some "far off divine event." They were to be ready now.
Matthew 24:44 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
Later the book of Hebrews would indicate that when Jesus came, and died, it was just about the end of time.
Hebrews 9:26 "Now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."
Jesus had warned his disciples, that however they attempted to calculate the time of His return, the coming would be a surprise.
Luke 12:35, 38, 40 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if He comes in the second or third watch of the night. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
But how would we know when the gospel of the kingdom has in fact been preached to all the world? Paul believed that had been already accomplished in his day.
Colossians 1:23 "This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."
Despite that, he recognized that in his day, the day of Christ was not yet at hand.
Colossians 2:1, 2 "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come."
As a sign of the end, the gospel to all the world has always been an elastic sign. Paul thought it was already fulfilled in his day. Adventist editor Uriah Smith believed it was also fulfilled in his time. His reasoning was fascinating:
Is it not true that people from the whole world have emigrated to America? And is it not true that the gospel message is proclaimed throughout America? Thus in the providence of God, the gospel is already proclaimed throughout the world.
Who remembers the motto: "The gospel to all the world in this generation?" But this thought was not invented by a missionary society in the nineteenth century.
It has always been the hope and inspiration of Christians, from the first generation.
And properly so!
But while Christ is clear, that we are to prepare and plan for His soon return, we are not encouraged to calculate the exact time.
Did Jesus tell us about the gospel being preached to all the world, so we could keep track of the gospel progress, and thus predict the end?
Or is His purpose rather to emphasize that He will wait for the completion of that event?
Years ago there was a wine commercial featuring the deep and solemn voice of Orson Wells. It was so solemn that a comedian found it irresistible. The result was something like this:
"Gallo will sell no wine, before its time."
(glancing at his watch) "It's time!"
It was a pun of course. In English we use the word "time" to mean at least two different things. And it was the same in the Greek.
We may speak of clock time [chronos], and event time [kairos].
Examples of event time [kairos]:
Galatians 6:10 "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
Romans 5:6 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
"It is time to harvest the wheat." "The time is 3:00 p.m." Could both statements be true? Would they have any necessary relationship?
Could we say, "We'll start up the combine because it is 3:00 p.m.?" Or "I can tell by the clock when the wheat is ripe?" Or "Maybe if I start the combine, the wheat will ripen sooner?"
Could it be, that God will begin His reaping when the harvest is ready? What happens to the crop if you cut it too soon? What if you wait too long?
In one of His parables, Jesus said,
Mark 4:29 "As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
During the last 2,000 years there have been many Christians who looked earnestly for Jesus to return in their generation. I remember that was true of my grandfather, and of my father. And so far, all Christian generations have died without seeing their hopes fulfilled.
Could it be that we tend to concentrate too much on the clock time‹maybe not the day or the hour, but certainly the month and the year? Maybe we should pay more attention to event time trusting the Lord of the harvest to know when the harvest is ripe. Can we willingly offer our services, both for sowing and for reaping?
2 Peter 3:11, 12 "Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon." [GNB].
Could it be that the God who created the universe, who has done everything divinely possible to save us, is waiting, for us?
Seventh-day Adventists have historically been both inspired and sobered by these words:
"When the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.
"It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [2 Peter 3:12, margin]. Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain."
COL 69
Long ago God called a man named Jonah, to give a message of warning. The message included clock time:
Jonah 3:4 "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."
But there was more to the message, and the king of Nineveh recognized the implications of event time:
Jonah 3:8, 9 "Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish."
And the king of Nineveh was right. That's exactly what happened.
Jonah 3:10 "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
And Jonah? As a missionary was he a success or a failure?
Jonah 4:1-3 "But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, 'O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.'"
Jonah knew God might not come at the time announced. Jonah knew God was more interested in saving people. Jonah knew God, but he didnąt like Him. Jonah was embarrassed. He was more interested in preserving his reputation as a predictor of the future, than as ambassador of a merciful God.
Adventists have long been students of biblical prophecy. We are fascinated by future events. We are enthusiastic in our interpretations. We have shared our predictions with confidence, a confidence sometimes bordering on arrogance. But so far every prediction based upon clock time has failed.
Do any of you remember sermons about the fall of the Ottoman empire, World War I and Armageddon? How about the Soviet Union in prophecy? In more recent times, do you recall calculations of the end based upon the 120 years that Noah spent building the ark, or upon Daniel's 1335 days, or upon the Gulf War, or on the Jubilee cycle, or on the year 2,000?
150 years ago was the Great Disappointment. But there have since been many disappointments. While our church has never officially set any such dates, many of our members have. Each such non-event has been preceded by excitement, and followed by embarrassment.
Can we give up the mathematics and the time-setting? Can we now freely admit that the second coming of Jesus has already been long delayed? When, like Jonah, we discover that God is more patient and merciful than we are, will we be embarrassed or delighted?
Did we really suppose that God had written off the whole nation of Russia? Isn't it clear that many Russians have not permanently rejected God? They just have not had a very good chance to know Him.
While according to Romans 1, even the heathen have had opportunities, for which they are held responsible, God wants to give maximum opportunities. God is not looking for an excuse to keep people out of heaven. He is looking for every opportunity to get people in.
With every further delay, we may rightly be embarrassed about our mathematics and ourselves, but proud of our God.
"We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by
beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory."
RH March 9, 1905 (7BC 970)
Seventh-day Adventists are known for many things: for their health statistics and their healing institutions; for their pursuit of education and upward social mobility; for certain peculiarities of diet and of religious practice and more besides.
But could we some day be known primarily for our admiration of Jesus Christ and the Father He came to reveal? What if most of us could truthfully say that our favorite hero was God?
Suppose God became our favorite study and the basic law of our minds were allowed to play: "By beholding we become changed." Suppose we came to know God so well, that Satan's misrepresentations of Him should find no acceptance in us.
Suppose we allowed God's Holy Spirit of truth to guide us into all truth, so that we experienced "a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually," so we could not be moved; With what joy and courage could we then represent God, to the billions of His children He would like to heal, before the end is allowed to come!
Let us look forward with joyful anticipation, and at the same time do consistently the work God has assigned to us.
Do you remember what happened in New England May 19, 1780? Yes, we call it "The Dark Day," and list it among the heavenly signs of Christ's soon return.
Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky, that the dreadful face of Christ Might look from the rent clouds, not as he looked A loving guest at Bethany, but stern As Justice and inexorable Law.
Meanwhile in the old State House, dim as ghosts,
Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut,
Trembling beneath their legislative robes.
"It is the Lordąs Great Day! Let us adjourn,"
Some said; and then, as if with one accord,
All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport.
He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice
The intolerable hush. "This well may be
The Day of Judgment which the world awaits;
But be it so or not, I only know
My present duty, and my Lord's command
To occupy till He come. So at the post
Where He hath set me in His providence,
I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face.
No faithless servant frightened from my task,
But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;
And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,
ŚLet God do His work, we will see to ours.
Bring in the candles.'"
"Listen! The drum beat isn't even regular. Everyone is out of step. And there! You see? God keeps stopping along the way to pick up one of His tinier soldiers who decided to wander off and play with a frog, or run in a field, or whose foot got tangled in the underbrush. He'll never get anywhere that was!"
"And yet, the march goes on!"
Unless otherwise credited, Bible texts quoted are from the New International Version.
© R. Wresch M.D., 1994.
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