A Coming Still to Come

 

 

 

Every eye shall see him

And also they that pierced him,

Though it sounds very like it

Could this be the second coming?

 

The Bible speaks of two advents

The first was the virgin birth,

Angels proclaimed to shepherd folk

The Saviour had come to earth.

 

Jesus is that Saviour

That the Father had promised to man,

To redeem man from the curse of sin

Was the Father’s salvation plan.

 

Adam and Eve had sold us out

But Jesus came to buy us back,

Hence, the purpose of the first advent:

His death is a historical fact

 

His death was only temporary

For up from the grave he rose,

The evidence of this was an empty tomb

And the grave clothes he disposed.

 

 

There were many who testified

They had seen the risen Christ,

Some days later he ascended on high

Having paid sin’s ultimate price.

 

The culmination of his first advent

Was at his glorious ascension

But he will appear in the second advent

Amidst tremendous exultation.

 

At this time, the Bible says,

All that are in the grave will hear:

Some will come forth to eternal life,

The others to everlasting despair.

 

Turn to Revelation 1 verse 7

For the words in verse number 1,

Is this prophecy yet to be fulfilled

Or, has it already gone?

 

For some it is already gone

For others it is yet to come,

But all are agreed on the central one

Which is Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

 

 

Some believe this visitation

Is the judgement promised on Jerusalem,

Others see it much differently

And with this have a problem.

 

It all depends on how we see

Words like “near” and “at hand”,

 Whether they are explicit or implicit

Regarding the timing of God’s plan.

 

It must be understood my friend

That neither position is salvific

But what is important to you and me

Is that an advent is still futuristic.

 

I could go on and argue some more

On either side of the dispute,

But there is something far more critical

That none of us should refute.

 

We may never come to a conclusion

Concerning our respective positions

But far more critical than that resolve

Is Christ’s Divine commission.

 

 

Go ye into all the world

And preach the glorious gospel,

Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit

And of them make disciples.

 

There is a coming still to come

For the children of the kingdom,

Meanwhile we tell of God’s great salvation

Through Jesus Christ, His Son.

 

Our eschatology might be different

Leading up to the second advent

But far more important than our positions

Is the teaching to repent.

  

John the Baptist preached repentance

Jesus taught it too

And while we wait for him to appear

This we must also pursue.

 

We’ve a story to tell to the Nations

The story of man’s redemption:

How Jesus came and is coming again,

The culmination of man’s salvation.

 

Stewart Russell © November 2019

 

Two Eschatological Views

 

 

The historicist and Idealist

The preterist and futurist,

Four eschatological positions

Comprise our last days list.

 

Feverish arguments

Concerning which one is right,

Each of the proponents

Claiming to have the light.

 

Like Armenians and Calvinists

Splitting Christendom in half

And people knowing no better

Sometimes having a laugh.

 

Mud-ites and non-Mud-ites

Arguing incessantly:

Concerning the healing of the blind

They disagree vehemently.

 

Four eschatological positions

Agreeing to disagree

And not necessarily agreeably

Or citing commonalities.

 

They have more in common

Than all that divide

But their focus on differences

Causes them to collide.

 

Two are particularly prominent

And two relatively mute,

I will focus attention on the two

At the centre of the dispute.

 

 

 

Preterist and Futurist:

These are the dominant two

The former adopts a past position

The latter: a future view.

 

Preterist indicates the past

Futurist is self-defining,

In terms of last days prophecies

Which, if either, is binding?

 

“Opinions” is not the truth

Though at times they converge

So, when arriving at a conclusion,

Hold to the Bible, I urge.

 

Neither position is salvific

Nor is a barrier to salvation

But both cannot be equally right

Is my humble submission.

 

Concerning last day prophecies

Most are already fulfilled,

The Futurist believe otherwise

They remain to be fulfilled still.

 

Concerning the Revelation

This book is about our future,

Preterist look at the 1^st century

And advance a different picture.

 

 

Preterist focus on stated time clues

And the audience relevance

While Futurist make light of these

And argue for a far distance.

 

Futurist prophetic stance

Is based on a modern-day Israel

Who from Old Testament times

Was God’s chosen people.

 

God broke off with the Jews

That Gentiles could be ushered in

And some spectacular event will occur

To bring most of the Jews to Him.

 

First: the rapture of the Church

Then a time of great trouble

For all those that are left-behind:

In particular the nation of Israel.

 

In this seven-year tribulation

The Jewish nation will turn to God

And in a single day

All Israel will answer God’s call.

  

Next will be the millennium

During which Christ will reign:

This will be an exact thousand years

Is what the Futurist claim.

 

The final judgment will follow

And the consummation of all things

And Jesus will hand over to God:

The Father and eternal King.

 

 

Conversely Preterist believe

In an inexact thousand years:

Of a period beginning at Pentecost

Till the second advent appears.

 

The time of the final judgment

When Satan is cast in the lake of fire

With all that rejected Jesus Christ

And were in Satan’s hire.

 

Futurist interpret prophecy

Via current events

The matter of signs and wonders

Is their intent.

 

Thus, they’ve erred many times

As to when the world will end,

Regarding world event after event

They often see a trend.

 

They use modern day tabloids

To make sense of the Word

As it especially relates to Israel

As we have already heard.

 

Conversely, for the Preterist

Revelation is an almost done deal

A record of 1^st century events

As they back then unreeled.

 

John’s generation back then

Not a 21^st century generation

Thus, the proof of Biblical prophecy

And the book of Revelation.

 

Some Preterist believe

No prophecy is left to be fulfilled

But their eschatological explanation 

Leaves me baffled still.

 

 

For Futurist Israel is the key

And it always has been,

God made a promise to Abraham

That all Israel will be redeemed.

 

The question, however arises:

Which Israel does the Bible mean?

“Since not all Israel is Israel”

This from Romans we glean.

 

Preterist believe Jesus is the key

As shown in Matthew 24

And all he said to his audience then

In Revelation he develops more.

 

It was urgent for them:

They would see Revelation unfold,

They were not left in the dark

By John they were told.

 

Let Scripture interpret Scripture

As you finally decide

But understand that on neither view

Does our salvation ride.

 

Salvation solely rests

On our acceptance of Christ

And the only offering that suffices

Is Christ’s expiatory sacrifice.

 

That’s soteriology not eschatology

Accept Christ today!

What think ye of Christ?

He is the only.

 

Stewart Russell © June 5, 2021