Doctrine of the Last Things (Part 14): Practical Application of the Second Coming of Christ

Practical Application of the Second Coming of Christ

We come now at last to the end of our discussion of the Second Coming of Christ, and today I want to say what application this doctrine has to our lives. What should be our response to what we’ve learned about the Second Coming of Christ? I think that this doctrine has considerable practical application in our lives.

1. It is a call to moral living; a call to holiness. This contrasts with what we saw last time about the imminent potential apocalypse predicted by physical eschatology. There you will remember Adams and Laughlin said that preparation is as impossible as it is futile. There is nothing you can do to prepare for this imminent apocalypse, and it wouldn’t do any good if you could. By contrast, the coming of Christ is something you can prepare for. His return is an incentive to moral and holy living, so that we will be ready to meet the Savior whenever he should return. 2 Peter 3:11-14 – this is right after the passage that we read last time about the coming of the Day of the Lord and the destruction of the present heavens and Earth. Peter says,

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be kindled and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire! But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

So the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ ought to be an incentive for us to live lives that are holy and blameless and to be at peace with ourselves and with others.

Paul draws a similar application in Romans 13:11-14. Paul writes,

Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

So Paul also emphasizes that as the coming of Christ approaches we have all the more incentive to put off these sinful works of darkness and to live lives that are honoring to Christ.

Finally, the apostle John says the same thing in 1 John 3:2-3. John says,

Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

This is very much in contrast to the apocalypse that may be predicted in physical eschatology. The end of the world that we await is one for which considerable preparation is possible and far from futile. We want to be found living lives that are honoring to Christ when he returns.

2. The return of Christ is an incentive to be engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission. Jesus gave to his disciples the command to go throughout the world and evangelize and disciple the nations. This is known as his Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus says,

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.

Here Jesus talks about his Second Coming. He will be with us until the close of the age – the end of the world – when he returns again. Meantime, we are to be preoccupied with fulfilling this Great Commission of making disciples of all the nations. This is the work that is given to us to do until Christ returns – not just to live life enjoying ourselves or fulfilling other obligations, but first and foremost to be engaged in the work of the Great Commission.

Jesus himself said something like this in John 9:4. Jesus said, “We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.” Whether either our own death comes or when Christ returns and brings about the end of the world, it will then be too late to be doing the work that the Father has given us to do. We still have time to be engaged in fruitful ministry, fruitful labor, for Christ until he returns. So we ought to be involved in fulfilling this Great Commission that he has given to his church.

3. Finally, the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ is the basis of our hope. Christ’s return is the church’s blessed hope toward which we press. Titus 2:13 refers to “awaiting our blessed hope,” – and what is that? – “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” So this is the church’s hope, our blessed hope – the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. So we ought not to think about the end of the world or the return of Christ with fear or anxiety or trepidation. On the contrary, this is what we hope for; this is what we long for – the return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Look also at Romans 8:22-25. Paul says,

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Here Paul talks about how the whole creation and we ourselves groan and yearn. For what? For the redemption of our bodies; that is, the eschatological resurrection. We have the first fruits of the Spirit – our spirits are born anew – but as Paul says elsewhere, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. That regenerate spirit resides in an earthly, mortal body that is still affected by sin and corruption and death. We groan as we await the redemption of our bodies – the ultimate resurrection which, as we saw, Paul believed would come on that day when Christ would return and the dead would be raised.

Look at 1 Corinthians 16:22 as well. This is a wonderful verse. In the second part of verse 22 we see the early church at prayer. Paul says, “Our Lord, come!” In the Greek this is the word maranatha. It is a transliteration of Aramaic – marana tha – which means “Our Lord, come.” This isn’t the language that the people spoke in Corinth in Greece. It is the original language of the mother church in Jerusalem. Paul is passing on here the words of the earliest Christians in Jerusalem. What were they praying for? They were praying for the return of Christ – our Lord, come!

This same prayer is to be found in Revelation 22:20. “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’” John’s response is, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” So just as in 1 Corinthians 16:22 we have that early prayer, “Our Lord, come!” This is our hope and our prayer. This is the hope that should give our lives an optimism and buoyancy because of our confidence in the future.

So I think that the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ has tremendous practical application. It is an incentive to moral living. It is a call to be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, and it is a hope for deliverance from the shortcomings and the finitude of human existence.

You’ll notice that thus far I’ve said nothing about the subject of the millennium. That’s because this has not been an area of intense study for me. Nevertheless, when we meet together next week I will share with you a few brief thoughts on the subject of the millennium.^[1]