Torch, Spring 1985

I, ~I that.day knew when Jerusalem would be destroyed . The ·Romans were in absolute control of the land when Christ announced His return. Danger to the city was just as imminent as His coming. In his second Thessalonian epistle, Paul had to cope with an eschatological problem: "Now we beseech you , brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled , neither by spirit , nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ ['day of the Lord' in best manuscripts] is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first , and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (2Thess. 2:1-3). By prophetic utterance, sermon or by a forged Pauline letter, the Thessalonians were told that the tribulations or persecutions they were enduring were those of the great tribulation period . This confused them because Paul taught them earlier that they could not go into the Day of the Lord (I Thess. 5:1-10). Had they missed out on the rapture for some reason? Those who argue against imminency and pretribulation state that Paul should have simply pointed out that the rapture had not occurred , if that were the case. However, Paul did mention the rapture (2 Thess . 2:1). He also described what must take place in the Day of the Lord - the apostasy and the manifestation of the Antichrist. Since these were not evident , the Day of the Lord had not started ; therefore, their tribulations should not be equated with those of the Great Tribulation . They had not missed out on the rapture. They were right in believing that Christ could come at any moment and deliver them from the pending wrath of the Great Tribulation . What they had been told (2 Thess . 2:2) was in error. They should not be alarmed. Now let us look at some positive scriptural reasons for accepting the position that Christ could come at any moment. During the Upper Room Discourse given by Jesus to His disciples the night before He was crucified , He said: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God , believe also in me. In my Father' s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you . And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again , and receive you unto myself; that where I am , there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3). The verb "I will come," according to English grammar, is in the future tense; but in the original Greek text, it is in the present tense. Its transliterated form is erchomai . Greek grammarians call it the futuristic usage of the present tense . According to them, it points out an event or action which has not yet taken place, but which is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be regarded as already coming to pass. The verb is also in the indicative mood, the mood of reality rather than of possibility or probability. This is why Christ chose to use the present tense "I am coming" in a prophetic situation. He wanted His disciples not to look for Him in the future but rather in the present. It was an imminent possibility. Have you ever heard a parent call to his son or daughter , "Will you please come down to breakfast?" Then, the sleepy, half-dressed teenager replies, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold your horses! " At that moment, he is using the present tense in a futuristic way. He may not get to the kitchen for ten more minutes, but he has given the impression that he is practically out of the bedroom and sliding down the banister. This is the impression that Jesus wanted to leave with His disciples. Imminency means that they could expect Him at any moment, not that He would come in their lifetime. During his third missionary journey, Paul tried to provoke the Roman church out of their lethargy with these words : "And that , knowing the time, that now .. .is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light" (Rom. 13: I I, 12). Salvation is threefold (past, present, future), so to what aspect did he refer? It could not refer to the initial deliverance from the penalty of sin because that was past. Paul had already believed in Christ as his personal Savior. It could not refer to progressive salvation or sanctification because this had been and was now taking place in Paul ' s life. Although physical death in a certain sense delivers a believer from the presence of sin, yet Paul was not anticipating natural death or martyrdom at this time (A.D. 56,57). This passage must then refer to that final act of salvation, the redemption of the body. Paul had mentioned this truth earlier in the letter: "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit , the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23). The body will be redeemed either by resurrection or translation when it is changed into an immortal , incorruptible body, conformed to that glorified, resurrected body of Jesus Christ. This bodily redemption or salvation will occur when Jesus returns. To Paul, this event was imminent or near. Since time was short, these Roman Christians should get busy for the Lord. Paul certainly did not project this event into the distant future . In the classic Biblical chapter on the resurrection, Paul expressed this hope: "Behold, I shew you a . 7