Thoughts

I’m Coming Soon!

What does it mean when God repeats Himself in Scripture? It means that God wants us to pay attention…that this is important.

Three times in chapter 22, Jesus says, “I’m coming soon!”

Soon. What does soon mean to you? To me it means, not much time will go by before it happens. If I have an appointment at 3 o’clock, and it’s 2:45, my appointment is soon. If my birthday is on June 20th and today is June 18th, my birthday is soon. By the way, my birthday is not June 20th.

So was Jesus wrong when He told John to write these things? He said soon, right? It’s been over 2000 years. It doesn’t seem like “soon” means to Jesus what it means to me.

But wait. Let’s think a little deeper.

Perspective

A couple weeks ago I was having a conversation with a young man. I’m guessing he was between 20 and 25 years old. As we were talking, he told me that he had a young child. If I remember right, it was a toddler. As a father of three sons and grandpa to four of the cutest kids you ever saw, I told this young man to cherish every moment with his youngster, because before he knows it, that child will be grown and gone. “I remember when my first son was born almost forty years ago”, I told him. “I was there at his birth. I actually delivered him! I was the first to hold him. The first to shampoo him. I laid him on his mother’s chest. And I remember it like it was yesterday,” I told him. It seems like almost no time has passed since my boys were small enough to sit on my lap, hold hands as we walked down the street, or kissed me goodnight. They were born, and too soon, they were grown up men.

So “soon” is a matter of perspective, sometimes.

Suddenly!

But I looked up the word in the original language. It’s the Greek word “tachu”. Guess what it means. It means “quickly, speedily, without delay, soon, or suddenly”. Suddenly.

Maybe “soon” is not the best translation.

In Matthew 24, Jesus’ disciples said to him, ““Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Then Jesus went on to tell them the signs to look for. And then He said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Only the Father knows the day and hour. So Jesus doesn’t know when. If He doesn’t know when His return is, then why would He say He was coming soon?

Perhaps the better translation is this: “I’m coming suddenly!” Perhaps Jesus doesn’t know the when, but He does know that once the Father says, “Now!”, things will happen very quickly, or suddenly.

Other Instances

That interpretation meshes nicely with what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ,”51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

Also in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, “1Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

And there are other scriptures that talk about events that will happen suddenly when Jesus returns, or the Day of the Lord, as some call it.

Only One Knows When

The point is, only the Father knows the exact time. Jesus told us the signs to look for, and I believe He told us that once the Father gives the word, there will be no delay.

Get Ready!

So what are we to do with this information? I think we need to be in a constant state of readiness. We need to be ready for His return at any moment. What does that look like?

First, we should not assume that we will have time to “get right with God”. Some people think that they will have some sort of warning before they draw their last breath, and they’ll accept Jesus just before they die. That’s not a bet that I would take. Death can come suddenly to any of us. Get right with God now.

Second, we should do as Jesus commanded just before He ascended into Heaven. These were His last words to the disciples, after spending three years with them, preparing them for this moment. He knew He would be leaving them. Don’t you think He was very purposeful about the thought He would be leaving with them? What did He say? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is what our top priority should be as we wait for His return. It is the reason we are on this planet. To bring as many people as we can to Heaven with us.

The Liar

Think about it. What is satan’s greatest desire? To keep as many people from God as he can. All the lies he tells, all the destruction he brings, all the pain he causes is to keep people from having a relationship with God. The liar of all liars perverts everything he touches. He is against everything God is for. So if keeping people from God is his number one priority, that should tell you that God’s number one priority is to bring as many people to Himself as will come.

Get Busy

So our job, if we are to be in alignment with God, is to do as Jesus commanded the disciples.

We have a short list. 1) Accept the salvation that Jesus offers, and 2) share the Gospel.

Three times in the final chapter of Revelation, Jesus said, “I am coming suddenly!”

Are you ready?

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 18-20 NLV, Ch. 21-22 CEB

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