Is Christ's Coming Imminent?

The biblical language about the coming of Christ, how does the Bible speak about the coming of Christ?! It often speaks of it as being near, as being at hand, as being soon.

And such language in the New Testament has been handled differently within the church and has led to some rather different conclusions within the church.

We're going to look at three different ways that that idea of the Lord's nearness, His coming being near, have been handled. The first is the view of preterists, or preterism is the term.

The preterist view believes that most of the prophecies concerning the coming of Christ have already taken place, that they've already been fulfilled in the coming of Christ in 70 A.D.

when He came and judged the Jewish nation for their rejection of Him as Messiah. that when He came in judgment upon the Jews, that He fulfilled most of the prophecies about His coming.

And so they would hold that the further we get in history from 70 A.D., the further we get from the events recorded in Revelation, the book of Revelation.

Because they hold that those things in the book of Revelation refer to that coming of Christ in 70 A.D.

Now, what drives them to such a principle of interpretation? Well, it's passages that speak of the Lord's coming as being near, at hand, soon. Revelation 1.1, I'm telling you, that which must soon take place.

Revelation 1.3, the time is near. Revelation 20.10, James 5.8.9, I am coming soon. Revelation 22.20, I come quickly.

2.10, Hebrews 10.37, in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and not delay. And yet, as they look at what has happened, they say, Well, 2,000 years has transpired.

Christ has not come. Now, that coming of Christ is in no way near to those Christians of the first century who heard these words and had them written to them.

So, therefore, the coming spoken of in these passages was not the second return of Christ, but the coming spoken of was His return or His coming to judge the Jews in 70 A.D., which is indeed what happened, that He came in judgment upon the Jews.

Their temple was destroyed. Their city was destroyed. They were dispersed among the nations. Now, what do we say to such? Well, we must agree with their principle in many, many points, that indeed many things prophesied did refer to the Lord's coming in judgment upon the Jews in 70 A.D.

And you have in the Olivet Discourse, in Luke 21 and Matthew 24, both the destruction of Jerusalem referred to and also the return of Christ at the end of the age.

And that whole chapter and that whole discourse goes back and forth, sometimes speaking of the judgment that was to fall upon the Jews in 70 A.D. and sometimes speaking about Christ's return at the end of the age.

But many prophecies indeed had their fulfillment in 70 A.D. So we would agree with that basic principle. But I do think that they go a bit too far.

And I say they. You can apply the preterist principle to your liking and only see it fulfilling certain texts and not others. But by and large, I do think that this view goes too far, applying too many texts to this 70 A.D. coming and not enough of the text to his future second return at the end of the age.

And I just say that as a general impression I have, and that by no means puts all preterists in that camp. Again, I would acknowledge many of the prophecies were fulfilled in 70 A.D.

But to use the argument that none of the prophecies about Christ's coming being near or at hand or soon could refer to his second coming because it has been 2,000 years and that is not near at all sounds an awful lot like what Peter warned about, that in the last days scoffers would come and say, where is this coming that he promised?

And what's Peter's answer to that reality? Ever since the beginning of time, things go on as they always have.

Where is this coming? It hasn't arrived yet. I mean, if that's what's prophesied about the last days, that men will be complaining about this, this coming not happening, what's Peter's response?

Well, he says things haven't gone on as usual from the beginning of time. God has interrupted history with calamitous judgment at the flood and he's going to do so at the end of the age. But how does he answer this idea that, hey, we've been waiting and waiting.

This is nothing near. Remember what he says? But do not forget this one thing, dear friends. With the Lord, a day is like what? A thousand years.

And a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He's patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come. So from the divine standpoint, it is very near. What have we waited for his coming? Just two days. A very small time.

It's soon. It has not been long. From the divine standpoint, the next grand event on the scale of the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension of Christ, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the next event is the return of Christ.

In these great events of redemption. And so it is near. It is at hand. These previous events have happened. Now this event is at hand, is soon.

And so I do believe that there are many passages that refer to the coming of Christ as being soon that are not referring to his coming in 70 AD, but are referring to his return whenever it happens.

It's already been 2,000 years. Hebrews 10.37 is just one of many texts that could be cited. In just a little while, he who is coming will come.

And there the context is clearly his second coming at the end of the age. Well, the nearness of the Lord's coming then is compatible with 2,000 years passing. It doesn't take away nearness.

It doesn't destroy the New Testament meaning of nearness, though it may destroy our interpretation of nearness. And if so, then we need to get our interpretation in line with God's.

Our greater disagreement is with the hyper-preterists. Those who go the full, all the way with this principle.

And they believe that all the prophecies in the New Testament were completely fulfilled in 70 AD when Christ came in judgment. The only coming of Christ that the Bible talks about is his coming in judgment upon the Jews in 70 AD.

Period. That's all you'll find in your New Testament. Any reference to his coming. It only has to do with 70 AD. Now, you can see with just a few minutes of the mind spinning what a dangerous error that is.

And how it completely turns the Scriptures up on end. And how it totally changes... What of the resurrection then? It's spiritualized the way...

There is no hope of the resurrection. It's spiritual. What of final judgment? Well, there is no such final day. What about a making of the new heavens and new...

No, everything has been fulfilled. That has been talked about in the New Testament. It's all done. You see how it destroys the blessed hope of the Christian. The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior.

It destroys the idea that history is moving to an end. And that end is the return of Jesus Christ. And he will restore the whole created order.

And he will bring to fruition that which was ordained in the beginning. This is a dangerous error indeed. And all because the Bible in the first century spoke about the coming of Christ as near.

As soon. As happening in just a little while. Now, that shows us just how far a person may go if they're willing to sacrifice the clear teachings of the New Testament on the altar of a few unclear passages.

The preterist view. That's one way that people have dealt with this idea of Jesus' nearness. Now, a second thing that we want to look at.

And that's date setters. Date setters. Church history is littered with forecasters telling their generation that Christ would return in their lifetime. And they all have in common this one fact.

That their date has come and gone without Christ coming. That's just the facts of the case. The Montanus of 200 A.D. fixed a date.

At the approach of the year 1000 A.D. Well, there was a lot of hype then about the end of the age and Christ's return. Again, they threw away their treasures and abandoned their estates as worthless.

The idea of date setting has been especially prevalent among the cults. Jehovah Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists. And again, when the date has come and gone, they've always had to backpedal and reinterpret and re-explain what happened or didn't happen and why.

The Jehovah Witnesses, or as they were known then as the Russellites, the followers of Russell, set a date. At 1875, Christ is going to return.

And when he didn't come, they said that Christ came invisibly in the upper air. And then it was 1918. And when he didn't return, they said Christ returned to his temple, the Jehovah Witnesses, the church.

Living in them invisibly. And then the Seventh-day Adventists, the followers of Miller. Not any of our Millers. But the followers of Miller.

Miller calculated that Christ would come back in 1843. He had it all figured out from the prophecies of Daniel and everything. It would happen in 1843. That date came and went.

And he modified it into 1844. And he finally gave up the whole scheme when the Lord didn't return in 1844. But Seventh-day Adventists, to this day, claim in their doctrine that Christ indeed did come in 1844.

But not to earth, but rather to the heavenly holy of holies. To purify it and to begin an investigative judgment. Of searching the hearts to see who really are the children of God.

I remember coming to the building one day in 1988. And going to the mailbox. And there was a free book. Well, you know, pastors get excited about getting free books.

And I looked at the cover. 88 Reasons Why the Lord Will Return in 88. Well, you lived through that one, didn't you? And he didn't come.

And so there was a sequel. 89 Reasons Why the Lord Will Return in 89. And he had had a miscalculation.

And he was correcting it in that book. And again, we're thankful there was no sequel in 1990. Harold Camping, reformed in many of his views.

Wrote a book. 1994 was the name of the book. He predicted that the Lord would return the last half of September of 1994. Now, Jesus' words in Matthew 24, 36 should forever silence the date setters.

No one, Jesus says, no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven. Nor the Son. But only the Father.

Only the Father. It was not even revealed to the human nature of Christ. When he was to come.

And if the timing of the Lord's return is not known to him. Then it's impossible for any Bible scholar to figure it out himself.

Jesus was quite a scholar on the Bible himself. And if he doesn't know, there's nobody. You see, the question is, is there information in the Bible, which if we could just find the key, it would tell us when Jesus is coming back.

The impression of many is yes. And so they're searching and they're adding and subtracting and doing all their arithmetic. But we need to get it through our heads once and for all that that is something that has not been revealed.

It's one of the secrets of Deuteronomy 29, 29. The secret things belong to the Lord, our God. The things revealed belong to us and our children. This is one of the secret.

It's not in there, folks. Jesus says so. No one knows. The day or the hour. Camping responds by saying, as many of them do, that though we don't know the day or the hour, we can calculate the week, the month, and the year.

Well, is that the intention of Jesus words? Is that what he means when he says nobody knows the day or out, but you can figure out the month? No, his coming will be marked by uncertainty until it comes, until it happens.

That's the. Testimony of the New Testament. Testimony of the New Testament. Testimony of the New Testament. Jesus words in Mark 13, 33. You do not know when that time will come. That's a much broader.

Phrase is not. Not day or hour. You don't know that time. And the first Thessalonians five, one through four. Paul says to the Thessalonians, you don't need for me to write you about the times and seasons.

That's a larger categorization of time than just day or hour. Why don't you need me to write about times and seasons? Because you know that the Lord's coming is like a thief in the night. It's it's unexpected.

It's not known. So. Date setters. Are condemned. As far as their practice goes.

By the word of God. But they love to stir up excitement. And it promotes an unhealthy interest. And speculation. About. Current events.

God's news behind the news. A preoccupation with wrong things. An event news. Consciousness. Rather than. Christ consciousness.

And holiness consciousness. And. Obedience to the commandments. Consciousness. And service of Christ. And neighbor consciousness. It's a wrong. Preoccupation.

So we need to not be moved by these fears and. Be unsettled by these date setters. Never give up your present duties.

Because of somebody saying the Lord's coming. Is near. Never give up your normal occupation. That's what was happening in Thessalonica. Paul says that's a. That's a sin. That the church ought to discipline.

Have nothing to do. You put that man away. And you stay away from him. He's quit his job. He's quit his job. He won't work. Don't feed him then. But the whole context.

Why was he quitting his job? Because. He had heard that the day of the Lord is at hand. The Lord's coming is very near. Well why go to work then? Well why. Why make money? I don't get paid for two weeks anyway.

He'll already be here. Well. Never give up normal activity. Because. Of the nearness. Of the Lord's.

Return. I think it points up a wrong idea. About what it means to be ready for the Lord's coming. And indeed. Our Lord. Over and over. Stirs us up to be watchful.

To always be prepared. To be looking. To be. To be waiting. With eagerness. But. Watching. Does not mean.

Watching the news. And. And the end time charts. That's not what watching means. Watching means. Being busy about what the king gave you to do. While he's away. To be found doing.

When he comes. Well. What are you to be doing. When he. When he comes. Well. You're to be. Mechanicking. You're to be selling. You're to be. Work. Whatever it is. He's given you to do. Studying.

That's what you're to. You're to be occupying. Until he comes. Doing what he's given you to do. Standing at your post. Carrying out your duties. That's to be found ready.

To be. Spiritually ready. To have my heart in such a frame. That. Should he come today. I'm ready to meet him. And should he come. A hundred years. A thousand years from now.

I'm still going to be planning. For the future. As if. If he would come a thousand years. Never. Cut off. Long range plans. In your life. Because his coming. Is said to be near.

You see. Again. If that fellow. In second. Thess three. Had known. That it would be three thousand. At least two thousand years. Before the Lord. He wanted to quit his job. Well.

We don't know either. But that it might be another two thousand. We don't know. That's the point. So. We don't. Interrupt. Our normal activity. Because of the nearness.

Of the Lord. In his return. As one writer says. Watching. Is working. Watching. Is working. Work at what the master's given you.

To do today. We found doing that. When he comes. Early in the life. Of our country. One of the state legislators. Was meeting out east. When a solar eclipse happened.

Right in the middle of the day. Things went dark. People started crying. The end of the age. Christ is returning. End of the world. And the moderator. Called for lights.

That they might carry on. Their ordinary business. And be found at their post. Should he be coming. And that is saying. Biblical. Interpretation. That's.

What we need to be doing. Watching your life. Closely. Watching for his. Being ready to meet him. Should he come. So that's.

A second response. That has been made. To the nearness. Of Christ's return. That language. In the Bible. The date setters. And the. Excitement. That goes along with it.

And then thirdly. Comes the. Teaching of. Eminence. The imminent return. Of Jesus Christ. By imminent.

And this is. As defined by. Pre-tribulation. As. By. The imminent return. Of Jesus Christ. They mean. That there are no. Predicted events. In the Bible. That must happen.

Before Jesus. Returns. No predicted events. In the Bible. That must happen. Before Jesus. Returns. That has to be so. If his coming. Is imminent. It's.

It's that. Any moment. Yes. That he could come. At any moment. And indeed. As one of them says. If he's not. Possibly coming. Today. Then his coming. Is not imminent.

Well. It's that whole. Imminence. That we want to look at. Remember. When we looked at the. The secret. Rapture. And we went to our Bibles. To find. Where in the Bible. Does the.

Does it teach. About a secret. Rapture. The church. Seven years before. The return of Christ. We said. Well. There aren't any text. It's not something. That people believe. Because of. Of all the verses.

That explicitly. Teach it. It's rather something. That people believe. Because of a deduction. That they make. From other things. That they believe. Last week. We saw. They believe. That the church. Won't have to go. Through the tribulation.

And because they think. That they're saved. From the coming. Wrath. Means saved. From going. Through the tribulation. Obviously. When Jesus comes. At the end. Of the tribulation. And that's clear.

In scripture. He must have to come. For his church. Before the tribulation. In some secret. Rapture. And that's how. They reasoned to it. From the church. Not going. Through the tribulation. We saw that. Last week. A second way.

That they reasoned to the secret. Rapture. Is right here. They believe. That Jesus. And the New Testament. Teaches. That the coming of Christ. Is imminent. Any moment. No prophecies.

To be. Fulfilled. Before he comes. Of necessity. To be fulfilled. So here's how they come. To a rapture.

Of the church. The Bible teaches. They say. That Christ's coming. Is imminent. At any moment. And since we know. That. For Christ's.

Glorious. Coming. To happen. There must first. Be. According to. Second Thessalonians. Chapter two. There must first. Be a great apostasy. And a revealing.

Of the man. Of lawlessness. And because. That must happen. First. Then that coming. Is not imminent. That can't happen. At any moment. No. No. The coming.

Of the lawless man. A lawless one. Must happen first. So that coming. Is not imminent. So there must be. A previous coming. Then. Because there is.

A coming. In the New Testament. Spoken of. That's imminent. That's any moment. You see. How they reason to it. Again. It's not. Taught. But deduced. There must be.

A coming. That could happen. At any moment. According to their. View. Well I'd like to challenge. That first premise. That Christ coming. Is imminent. In the sense. Of any moment.

Without anything. That must be fulfilled. Before it happens. Now they support. This view. With passages. That teach. That we are to be. Expecting the Lord's return. That we're to be. Watchful. For the Lord's return.

And that the Lord's coming. Is near. But none of those. Ideas in themselves. Prove. Or imply. Any moment. You can remain. Expectant.

And ready. And watchful. For an event. In the future. That you know. Can't happen. Until something else happens. You can be. Ready. And expectant.

For. A date. And an appointment. That you have made. At the end of next week. And you're ready. And you've done your homework. And you've got a test. And you're ready for it.

And you're expecting it. And you're looking forward to it. But you know. That there's going to be. Some days. That must happen. Before you actually. Get to that test. So. These words.

In and of themselves. And these verses. In and of themselves. Do not teach. Any momentness. That Christ's coming. Was said to be near. And at hand.

To first century Christians. Does not mean. That they were to expect. It is possibly happening. In the very next moment. Now let me. Tell you. Why I say that. I say that. Because the New Testament.

Makes. Several prophecies. That must. Be fulfilled. Before the coming of Christ. And they indicate.

That therefore. A period of delay. Must happen. At least from the time. That the prophecy was made. Until Christ. Comes. Indeed. The parables. That Jesus tells.

Of him going away. In a far land. And the. The servants. Were given jobs to do. But. The whole temptation. To not stick at your post.

And do your duty. But to. Slough off. And just live a self-indulgent life. Was because the Lord's coming. Was delayed. Because he was so. Long. In coming.

Matthew 12. 45. My master is taking. A long time. In coming. And that's what. Temps people. To no longer. Watch and wait. So. There is this. Expectancy. Of a period of delay.

That becomes a point of temptation. To watch. To not watch anymore. And then there was the great commission. Jesus said that this. Gospel must be preached.

To all the nations. And then the end will come. Matthew 24. 13 and 14. That's going to take some time. Isn't it?

From the time Jesus said that. This gospel. Must be preached. Among all the nations. And then the end. Well you know that. The Lord's not going to be coming. In the next week.

Not when you've got. Twelve disciples. In a world. And no TV. And no. Fast trance. It takes you longer than that. To get to all the places. In the world. Much less to preach.

In all the nations. So the great commission itself. The promise. That there will be those. From every tribe. And language. And nation. That's going to take some time.

There's some delay. Built in. Before the Lord comes. And then how about the passage. In John 21. Last week. That we saw. Jesus promised Peter. That he will die.

In old age. A martyr's death. He wasn't a young. He wasn't an old man. When Jesus spoke that to him. And in. John 21.

There would be some period of delay. Before the Lord would come back. Because Peter. Must suffer a martyr's death. Before. Well. If the Lord comes back.

There's no more martyrs. The martyrs are resurrected to. Eternal. Heaven. So. The very fact that Peter. Would not.

Live out a normal life. But in old age. Would. Suffer martyrdom. Says. Well. At least we know. The Lord's not coming. Until. Peter suffers martyrdom. So. With. The destruction of Jerusalem.

There are many prophecies. In the New Testament. From Jesus lips. That. That Jerusalem. Was to be destroyed. And. To carry the Jews. Captive.

Into all the nations. Until the times of the Gentiles. Are fulfilled. Well. That must happen. Before Christ returns. There's some time. Delay. Needed.

For these things. To happen. And yet. These very same passages. Go on. To exhort. Disciples. In the strongest. Language. To be watchful. For the Lord's return.

To be expectant. To be looking for it. To be waiting. With eagerness. Since they don't know. The time of his coming. So you have those two things. Put together. He tells them.

Certain things. That must happen. And then. He tells them. To always be ready. Always be in a state. Of readiness. All throughout. Matthew 24. And 25. You see.

Just because they knew. That. Some things. Must happen. First. Before Christ. Comes. Didn't mean. That they could not. Watch. That they could not. Be ready. For his coming.

And. If it was possible. For them. To know. Certain things. Must happen. First. Before he comes. And yet. Be watchful. And ready. Then. It's also possible. For us. Living today.

Since most of the New Testament. Was written. Before the destruction. Of Jerusalem. In 70 AD. Those passages. Can never be used. To teach believers. In any moment.

Expectation. Of the Lord's return. Because the original. Recipients of them. Would have been looking. For this. Destruction. Of Jerusalem. In the temple. To happen first. Before.

The end of the age. Well. The most clear. Prediction. Is that in 2nd. Thess 2. That we looked at.

Last week. 2nd. Thess 2. 1 through 11. That. Before. Christ. Comes. And. Gathers his saints. To himself. Something. Must happen.

There must be. The apostasy. The rebellion. And the revealing. Of the man of sin. The man of. Lawlessness. That has to happen. It's clear. It hadn't happened yet.

When Paul wrote. And so again. Looking for Christ coming. Being in a state of readiness. Does not require. That we believe.

That it could happen. In the very next moment. It doesn't require that. You have a hard time. With the New Testament. If you're going to say. That readiness.

Means. Imminence. Well. Some of these things. That I made mention of. Obviously. Peter's martyrdom. Some of these things.

Have already happened. The 70 AD. That's. Already behind us. But there are still. Some outstanding predictions. And that. Last one. Is especially. The most. Clear. 2nd.

Thess 2. 1 through 12. The apostasy. The revealing. Of the man. Of lawlessness. Must happen. Before the coming. Of Christ. We are. Had not yet. Seen. That.

We've not yet. Seen. Evidently. All the nations. Evangelized. To the point. In which. Those prophecies. Can be fulfilled. That every. Tribe. And nation. The last elect.

From all the world. Will be gathered in. And then Christ. Will come. Let me sum up. With Augustine's. Statement. He disagreed.

With those. In his own day. Who expected. Christ. To return. Right then. And he said this. That day. Lies hid. That every day. We may. Be on the watch.

He who loves. The coming. Of the Lord. Is not he. Who affirms. That it is a far off. Nor is it he. Who says. It is near. But rather he.

Whether it be. Far off. Or near. Awaits it. With sincere. Faith. Steadfast. Hope. And fervent. Love. So.

We can be watchful. And wait. Waiting. For the Lord's return. We can be ready. We can live in a state. Of readiness. Even though we know. That.

The man of lawlessness. Must first. Be revealed. And all those things. Can happen. In a very brief moment. They don't take eons. For the remaining prophecies.

To be fulfilled. Some would also throw in there. That there must be. A conversion. Of a large number. Of Israel. Of a large number. Of Jews. I'm not going to deal with that.

But some would also say. That's a prophecy. Yet waiting. To be fulfilled. Before Christ comes. Well I want to end. On a practical. Rather than a polemical note. And that is.

With our attitude. Toward the return of Christ. Turn to Titus. Chapter 2. Because. More often than not. The. Writers of our Bible.

In the New Testament. Are writing. From a very practical note. And not a polemical note. They're not arguing. For a certain view. Of the end times. There was only one view.

The right view. So they didn't have to. Argue with it. Although. At times. Paul had to straighten out. Problems. Didn't he? Some of you have heard. That Christ has come. It's not true. The man of wantlessness.

Has to come first. So you know. He hasn't come. So there were errors. Even. Current then. But. More than not. It was a practical. Admonition. That was being given.

And here in Titus. 2. And verse 13. We read. While we wait. He's talking about.

In this present age. You see that. In verse 12. The grace of God. Has brought salvation. Has appeared to all men. Verse 12. It teaches us to say. No to ungodliness. And worldly passions.

To live self-controlled. Upright. And godly lives. In this present age. While we wait. For the blessed hope. The glorious appearing.

Of our great God. And Savior. Jesus Christ. And so we're taught. That is the blessed hope. The blessed. Happy hope. That the Christian has. And that his eyes.

Are focused on. Is not a golden era. Of a thousand years. That's to happen on this earth. In this present age. Not at all. The blessed hope. Of the Christian.

Is not some period. Of revival. As much as we pray. And labor. For revival. The blessed. Happy hope. Of the Christian. Is the glorious. Appearing. Of Jesus Christ. God. And what effect.

Does that have on him. Right now. In this present age. He says no. To ungodliness. He lives self-controlled. Godly lives. As John says.

He who has this hope. What hope. The blessed hope. The hope of seeing Jesus. Face to face. And being made like him. Whoever has this hope in him. Purifies himself. Even as he is pure.

So. There's the. The goad. There's the reason. This. Talk of the return of Christ. Is going on. The focus. Is to look for Christ coming.

And to live in a holy life. In the light of it. So here we see. The Christian. Is. Described.

As one. Who is looking. Hoping. What's hope. The confident. Expectation. Of some future good. And the. The confident. Expectation.

The future good. That we look for. Is the coming of Christ. Philippians 3. 20. Another. Description. Of the heart.

Of a Christian. What we're seeing. Is that our attitude. Toward the return of Christ. Reveals much. About the condition. Of our heart. Our attitude. Towards Christ's return.

Reveals a lot. About us. Philippians 3. 20. But our citizenship. Having spoken. Of those. Whose minds. Are on earthly things.

But our citizenship. Is in heaven. And we. Eagerly. Await. A savior. From there. The Lord. Jesus. Christ. Who. By the power.

That enabled him. To bring. Enables him. To bring everything. Under his control. Will transform. Our lowly. Bodies. So that they will be like. His glorious body. That's what will happen. When he comes. Do you notice.

The attitude. Of the Christian. Eager. Anticipation. Now you know what that is. Because you all take vacations. From time to time.

You all have. Certain events. In your life. That you're looking forward to. You know what. Eager. Anticipation. Is. You all. Many of you have been married. You know what eager anticipation is.

That's. The heart attitude. Of the Christian. We eagerly await a savior from there. We're looking for this glorious.

Grand event. Second Timothy. Chapter four. And verse eight. We can't wait. Second Timothy four.

Eight. Paul writing. Now there is in store for me. He's just on the threshold. Of being beheaded. By the Roman government. And he.

He's just about to be poured out. Like a drink offering. He says in six. And verse eight. Now there is in store for me. The crown of righteousness. Which the Lord. The righteous judge.

Will award to me. On that day. And not only to me. But also to all. Who have longed. For his appearing. You see the attitude.

Word there. What is the heart attitude? It's longing. Yearning. The word is from the word. Agapao. Love. They love his returning.

They long for his returning. Such a longing. That it causes. Groanings. And prayers. That's the kind of longing. Romans 8.

22. Speaks of those. Groanings. For the return of Christ. And the glorious renovation. That's to take place. In the redemption of our bodies.

We know that the whole creation. Has been groaning. As in the pains of childbirth. Right up to the present time. Not only so. But we ourselves. Who have the first fruits of the spirit. Groan.

Inwardly. As we wait. Eagerly. For our adoption as sons. The redemption of our bodies. And you find that this is pointing to the return of Christ. They're groaning for it.

So real are those yearnings. And then. First Corinthians. 16. 22. We have Paul's prayer. Maranatha. Come.

Lord Jesus. Indeed. The whole. New Testament. Ends. With Jesus saying. In Revelation. 22. 20. I am coming soon.

And the church responds. Amen. Come. Lord Jesus. So the longings of the church. For the return of Christ. Are expressed in groanings.

That even words can't. Be uttered. And. Also in prayers. For his coming. John. Trapp. Points out.

How that the mark of an Old Testament saint. Was that they looked for the consolation of Israel. They looked for the redemption of Israel. And that's what you see about Simeon in the temple. When Jesus was. He was looking.

He was waiting for the coming of Messiah. Anna. That older lady in the temple. The widow. She was. Looking. Eagerly waiting for the coming of Messiah.

And John Trapp says. That. Is now pinned as a badge. On the sleeve. Of every true believer. He looks for. He longs. For the Lord's.

Second coming. So I. Close this. Topic. With the question. What does your heart say. About the Lord's return. Would you be a happy man. A happiest woman alive.

If Jesus Christ. Would come today. Would that. Would that be. What thrills you. Is the coming of Christ. The event. That you're looking to. What does it say.

About the condition. Of our heart. This event. Is. To have. A powerful. Effect. Upon our lives. It's to make us active. Not sleeping.

And inactive. It's made to keep us working. It's made us. It's meant to keep us earnest. That great day is coming. I'm going to give an account. That ought to sober me. This.

Life is not a joke. This is serious business. That event. Ought to make us patient. Don't give up. Christ is coming. Relief is coming. Ought to make us joyful.

Lift up your heads. Your redemption. Is drawing nigh. It's a blessed. Happy hope. Christ is coming. It's meant to make us joyful. And it's meant to make us holy. As we saw. What should we do.

In the light. Of Christ's return. Well we ought to live holy. In godly lives. Peter says. Well may the Lord. Bring our hearts then. Into line. With this blessed hope.

That is set before us. The glorious. Return of Jesus Christ.