Torch, Spring 1985

It Could Be Today! by Dr. Robert Gromacki This article is taken from Dr. Gromacki' s book, Are These the Last Days, and used with his permission . E veryone is interested in the future. The little boy wonders what he will be when he grows up - explorer, astronaut or pro football player. The teenager dreams about her Prince Charming - "What will he be like? How many children will I have?" The athlete is concerned whether he will make the football or basketball team. Parents hope that their children will be successful and not disappointments, falling short of their expectations. The nation listens to the economists who predict about the future of the dollar, inflation, depression, and the rise and fall of stocks . The sociologist warns about continued racial strife unless pockets of ghetto poverty are removed through urban renewal, housing integration , and improved educational facilities . The historian echoes the past as he points to the future - the rise and fall of nations plus the goal of history . What about tomorrow's weather? Everyone is interested in that! Will it be sunny? Rain? Snow? In all of these predictions and future hopes , there are doubts and disagreements. The future is too misty and shadowy to be dogmatic about it. Yet there is a definite word about the future, as sure as the present and as foundational as the past. It is found in God's Word, the Bible . COULD JESUS COME TODAY? What an exciting question! Not, could He come during this century? Nor, could He come in our lifetime? But, is it possible that Jesus Christ could come today - now - at any moment - even while you are reading? Is His coming the next prophetic event, or must other prophecies be fulfilled or other events transpire before He can come? Conservative Bible scholars and theologians are not united in their answers to this question. All are agreed that He is coming again, but they certainly do not agree about the time of the event. They can usually be grouped under three major headings: amillennial, post– millennial, and premillennial. The term millennial comes from the Latin, meaning "1000 years." This time period is Biblical because John mentioned it six times (Rev. 20:2-7). John saw that during the Millennium Satan would be bound, unable to deceive the nations; that Christ would reign on the earth over the world; that the righteous dead would live and reign with Him at that time; and that the unsaved dead would not be raised until after the Millennium. The amillennialist, therefore, does not believe in a literal, 1000-year reign of Christ on earth (a is a negative prefix) . He views the language of Revelation as symbolic or allegorical. Although he believes in the personal, visible return of Christ, he denies that Jesus is coming to establish the kingdom of God upon earth. Generally speaking, he also denies the imminency of His return, i.e., that Christ could come at any moment . He suggests that these events must precede His coming : the evangelization of the world, the conversion of an elect remnant within Israel, the great apostasy , and the appearance of signs and wonders. Postmillennialism was very popular at the turn of the century. It was believed that Christianity would overcome paganism, unbelief, and wickedness. Through the evangelistic and social outreach of the church, the world would become Christianized . Once this goal was achieved, then Christ would come and reign over His kingdom. "Bringing in the kingdom" was a catchy phrase in those days. However, two world wars, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the depression, the atrocities of the concentration camps, and the rapid rise of atheistic communism have smashed the dreams of this view . Premillennialism teaches that Christ will come to the earth before (pre) the establishment of the kingdom. However, not all within this group believe in the imminency of Christ's return. The reason for this difference is the relationship of His return to the great tribulation period, a seven-year age that occurs just before the Millennium. Some premillennialists are also posttribulationists. They believe that Christ will come after the tribulation but before the Millennium . They believe that the Church will go through the seven-year era and experience the wrath and persecution of the Antichrist . All of the predicted events of the tribulation must first take place before Christ can come. When Christ does come, the dead and the living saints will be caught up to meet Him in the air; then, together they will descend to the earth for the Kingdom Age. He can ' t come now; that event is at least seven years away . Others are midtribulationists. They teach that the Church, composed of true believers, will go through the first three and one-half years of tribulation and that Jesus will come in the midst of the period and catch them away into Heaven. Then God will pour out His wrath upon the wicked. At the end of the tribulation, Christ and His saints will return to the earth for His kingdom reign. This view also denies imminency because His coming is at least three and one-half-years away. The only view that can consistently embrace 5