Objection:
One of the best proofs that no one can tell whether Christ will come tomorrow or a thousand years from now is the fact that the apostles thought He would come in their day. But they were all mistaken. So you are wrong too to claim His coming is near.
Answer:
It is true that the apostles set before the believers as the one important event of the future, the Second Advent of Christ. He was the center and circumference of their preaching. Looking back, they saw Christ crucified and then raised from the dead. Looking upward, they saw Christ ministering as the great High Priest for men. Looking forward, they saw Christ coming in the clouds of heaven. Earthly events did not enter into their reckoning. All was in terms of the relation of Christ to them—what He had done for them, what He was doing for them, and how He would finally come to receive them unto Himself. The very fact that they fixed their thoughts entirely on this one future event might easily cause the superficial reader of the Bible to conclude that the apostles all believed and taught that Christ would return in their day. But this would be unwarranted.
There are a few specific statements that considered alone might lead to that conclusion. Let us take the most typical one as an example.
In his first epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul speaks of the dead who are raised and of those who “are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15. Not only do objectors today conclude from this that the apostles expected the coming of the Lord in their day, but apparently, some of the Thessalonians thought that Paul intended for them to understand that the day of Christ was right upon them. But such an interpretation of Paul’s words is unwarranted.
In his second epistle to them, he took occasion to correct such an impression, declaring, “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 is at hand.” 2 Thessalonians 2:2. Then he proceeds to assure them that that day would not come until after a particular prophecy was fulfilled and that this prophecy could not be fulfilled “except there come a falling away first.” Verse 3. Paul told the elders of Ephesus that this falling away would come after his “departing,” that is, after his death (See Acts 20:28-31).
To his spiritual son, Timothy, he wrote from his death cell at Rome: “The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2. How evident it is that Paul looked forward to events quite beyond the span of his life.
Always remember that the inspired writings of the Bible were not simply for those who first read them but also for us. In that case, Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, and similar statements by other apostles, will not prove perplexing.
To some of the apostles, God may not have seen fit to give so explicit an understanding of the events that must precede the Second Advent as He did to Paul. In which case, they might most properly urge the believers to be always in a state of readiness for Christ’s return.
In Old Testament times, the prophets frequently did not understand the prophecies they uttered. It was left for those who lived near the time of their fulfillment to understand them. Thus Peter explained to the New Testament church (See 1 Peter 1:9-12). And he reminded them, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19.
The apostle John himself may have understood little of the prophecies contained in the Revelation, yet by inspiration, he declared, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3.
As already stated, we freely agree that God may not have given all the apostles knowledge of the future. But this admission does not require us to conclude that nothing can be known about the Second Advent. Looking back to the first century of the Christian Era, we wonder why all the Jews were not ready to receive Christ, so plain were the prophecies concerning the manner and time of His advent. A few back then did study the prophecies, and when the time drew near, God graciously revealed more fully their meaning to these searchers for truth. If we today are in an attitude of searching the prophecies rather than of scoffing at them, is it not possible that God may open their meaning to us more fully? And thus, we may learn something very definite regarding the Second Advent.
We agree no man “can tell whether Christ will come tomorrow or a thousand years from now.” But prophecy can and does. We would ask the objector: Have you studied these inspired writings? Have you obeyed the injunction of Christ Himself to read and to understand the prophecies of Daniel (See Matthew 24:15)? Have you studied Christ’s prophecy of His return (See Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21)? Are you one of those who can claim the blessing because you have read, prayerfully and diligently, the book of Revelation (See Revelation 1:3)? Until then, why declare that nothing can be known about the Second Advent? The Bible reveals plainly that God had always told men when significant events were near at hand in all past ages. “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Are you ready to contend that God has changed His plan toward men and will not give us any knowledge of the coming of an event that surpasses in grandeur all events that have ever occurred?
The Bible contains whole books devoted to a prophetic discussion of the Second Advent of Christ concerning great prophetic periods and historical incidents. Shall we ignore these portions of Holy Writ? Shall we say they are meaningless? If not, should we not study them, and will they not give us light on this great subject of the nearness of the Second Advent?
