Suddenly

The Bible has many more prophecies about the second coming of Jesus than it does about His first coming. Too often we focus solely on the first coming of Jesus and ignore all that the Bible tells us about the second coming. If so much text is devoted to Jesus’s second coming, it must be important, so what does the Bible say?

One of the things that is reiterated is that His second coming will be sudden. Those who have rejected Jesus and His gift will be caught by surprise when their judgment comes. This judgment comes in two parts: the seven year Tribulation and eternal damnation. This post will focus on the sudden coming of the Tribulation. By the end of the Tribulation, those still alive will know what to expect at the end. They will either be looking forward to eternity in Heaven with Jesus or eternal judgment alone in Hell.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,
Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
Who points with his fingers;
Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,
Who spreads strife.
Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;
Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. (Proverbs 6:12-15) {emphasis mine}

Those who intentionally choose evil usually think they will continue to get away with their misdeeds because they have gotten away with them so far. They don’t understand that “calamity will come suddenly.” This calamity could be as simple as a crook getting caught and winding up in jail, but ultimately this calamity includes eternal judgment by a holy, omnipotent God.

For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those who are given to change,
For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?(Proverbs 24:20-22) {emphasis mine}

Those, who have repented of their sins, believed in Jesus, and submitted to His authority, have a future with Jesus in heaven to look forward to. On the other hand, those who have rejected their Savior and have chosen to live lives of evil have no future other than eternal judgment, alone, in darkness, in pain, and with no hope. They have no idea when the judgment will come, but it will come and come suddenly. Although there will be signs that the time is near for those who know God’s word and are watching, judgment will sneak up on those who ignore God and the judgment will seem to appear suddenly, taking them by surprise.

You felt secure in your wickedness and said,
‘No one sees me,
’Your wisdom and your knowledge,
they have deluded you;
For you have said in your heart,
I am, and there is no one besides me.
’But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.(Isaiah 47:10-11) {emphasis mine}

Sinners not only deny God, they also act as if judgment is not coming. They will be surprised when it comes upon them suddenly, including earthly judgment, death, and eternal torment in Hell.

As believers, we should feel the urgent call to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those around us because we do not know when their time will suddenly be up and they will no longer have the opportunity to repent.

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:3-7) {emphasis mine}

Because of God’s mercy, people have been able to continue sinning seemingly without judgement. This has made many bold in their sin because they think they control their own fate and they can continue without punishment, but just as God destroyed the world with water in the days of Noah due to continual sin, so also will God destroy the world by fire at the final judgment.

In a similar way, many Christians live their live like life will go on in the same way forever. They talk about heaven after they die, but they live life like life on earth will always be the same. They don’t have an urgency to live lives honoring to Jesus because He could return any moment. They don’t have an urgency to share the gospel, so their friends and family can also go to heaven instead of hell. Many Christians are also guilty of thinking “all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Jesus specifically compared the end times and coming judgment to the judgment of the world in the days of Noah.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (Matthew 24:37-39) {emphasis mine}

Noah preached repentance to the people around him because he knew judgment was coming. Do we do the same? Do we feel an urgent calling to preach repentance to those around them in order to save them from the coming destruction? Maybe many of us are also living our lives like the people described in 2 Peter 3, who said, “all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” Maybe we are living our lives like the people described in Matthew 24 who “did not understand until the flood came and took them all away.”

Do you know God’s word? Do you know the signs of the times? Are you searching for the signs and feeling an urgency to share the gospel while you still have the chance? If you haven’t trusted Jesus as Savior, I hope you will repent and trust Jesus. If you are a believer, I hope you will prioritize serving your risen Savior and share Him with those around you. I hope you will put being like Jesus above being like the crowd.

But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away. (Matthew 16:2-4) {emphasis mine}

Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for knowing how to interpret the weather signs, but, despite their great knowledge, being unable to interpret the signs of His coming. Will He rebuke us for missing the signs of His second coming? Will we be chastised for ignoring the signs and living ordinary lives instead of being a light to those around us? Shouldn’t we be like Paul who said:

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) {emphasis mine}

Are you willing to “become all things to all men, so that I [you] may by all means save some”?

When asked, Jesus told His disciples what the signs of the end times and His second coming would entail and most of these signs are present right now. Many others mentioned in other end times prophecy like in Daniel and Revelation are also present.

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:3-14) {emphasis mine}

Jesus tells us to recognize these signs because they mean He is “right at the door.” Don’t miss the opportunities you still have to bring others with you to heaven.

So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:33-35) {emphasis mine}

This verse says “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Many have taken “this generation” to mean the people Jesus was speaking to at that moment and therefore that all of the end times and second coming prophecies took place in the events surrounding AD 70. This cannot be the case. The events in AD 70 don’t match most of the prophecies of the end times judgment and the second coming of Jesus. Most of the things predicted did not happen then. The prophecies of Jesus’s first coming were fulfilled exactly. We should expect the same of the end times and second coming prophecies.

If that is true, then to whom does “this generation” refer? It refers to the people who see the signs He just described. (Read the whole of Matthew 24 and this makes sense in context.) If we are beginning to see these signs, we are almost certainly the generation to whom He is referring.

If we are soon to be raptured and people are soon to be experiencing the torment of the Tribulation, then we should feel an overwhelming urge to share the Gospel with everyone. We need to prioritize ministry, discipleship, and witnessing. We should live lives honoring to God that draw people to Him.

May God lead us to be lights in the world that draw everyone around us to Jesus, so they also can be blessed by repentance to and salvation by our merciful God. May He give us courage and wisdom to share the good news of what He did for us with all of those around us. May we get to see some of the fruit of these efforts before we are taken to be with Him forever. May God be glorified by all!

Trust Jesus