Is Jesus Coming Soon? Not Likely.
If Jesus were to return soon, He would return as a loser. Jesus is not a loser! Jesus is King. He is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Why is He sitting at His Father’s right hand? Psalm 2 tells us why. The nations and their governments are in rebellion against God (vv. 1-3). What is God’s response to this? First, He laughs (v. 4). Then, He enthrones a King (v. 6). This King is His Son (v. 7). God’s Son is going to be given the nations as an inheritance (v. 8). Therefore, the nations and their governments are told to honor and obey the Son or suffer the consequences (vv. 10-12).
Do you see the picture being given here? There is a king (God the Father) whose subjects are in rebellion to Him. So in response, the king gives his son the authority of the kingdom for the purpose of subduing the rebels. The son’s task is quell the rebellion, to subdue the nations.
Psalm 2 is not referring to some event in our future. It was fulfilled in the first century, when Jesus came to earth the first time (in the day that He was “begotten”, v. 7). Jesus is not waiting to be given the authority to subdue the nations. He has already been given that authority, and we have been given a role to play in the subduing of nations as well.
After the resurrection, and before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said to His disciples that “All authority” had been given to Him, “in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). Remember that He was given that authority by His Father for the purpose of subduing the nations. He then told the disciples that they too were part of this subduing of the nations. They were to go into all nations and “preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). As they went, they were to disciple the nations by teaching them to obey everything that God had commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). Jesus, the King, promised to be with them as they went (Matt. 28:20).
The church’s task is to turn the nations (Gentiles) “from darkness to light”, from the “power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17-18). If the church were left to herself to accomplish this task, there would be little hope of the nations being discipled. But, we are not left alone. Jesus has promised to be with us (Matt. 28:20). The Father gave the Son the task of subduing the nations, and the Son has commissioned His church to accompany Him in that task. The Son will not fail, and because He is with her, His church won’t fail either. As God blesses and empowers the preaching and teaching of His word, the nations will cease their rebellion, and gladly worship their King.
This, of course, doesn’t happen all at once. But gradually, the kingdom of God will grow until it outgrows all others (Matt. 13:31-32). When it is grown, Jesus will give the kingdom back to His Father (1 Cor. 15:24). How come? Because His task is done. In Psalm 2, the Son was given the kingship (kingdom) in order to subdue rebel nations and their rulers. At the time of “the end”, Jesus can return the kingdom to the Father because He has “put an end” to all the rebellious rulers of the nations (1 Cor. 15:24). Until then, Jesus “must reign” until His enemies are put “under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:25).
The idea of the Son (Jesus) sitting at the right hand of His Father, ruling until His enemies are subdued, is also found in Psalm 110, verse 1. Of all of the Old Testament verses that are quoted in New Testament, Psalm 110:1 is quoted more than any other. The writers of the New Testament obviously thought that this verse was very important. Psalm 110:1 says “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool’ ”.
The New Testament tells us clearly what this phrase means. When Jesus died upon the cross, He made “one sacrifice for sins forever”. He then ascended into heaven and “sat down at the right hand of God”. There He sits, “waiting until His enemies are made His footstool” (Heb. 10:12-13).
Look around you, does it look like the nations have been discipled? Are the nations submitting to Christ? If they are not, then we have no reason to believe that Christ will return soon. Jesus will not leave the Father’s right hand to return to earth until He finishes the task that was given to Him by the Father.
The view that I have advocated in this article may be new to you, but it is not a new idea. In fact, this view has been the most common view in America throughout its history. From John Cotton (b.1584 – d.1652, one of best known preachers in the early Colonies), to the Great Awakening preachers Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) and George Whitefield (1714 – 1770), to the great preachers of the 1800s, like Robert L. Dabney (Presbyterian, 1820 – 1898) and John L. Dagg (Southern Baptist, 1794 – 1884), the majority of American Christians believed that the nations would be converted before Christ’s return.
I know that when you watch the nightly news, it is hard to believe that Christianity will prevail around the globe. But we must walk by faith, and not by sight. God will bless the preaching of His word. The Christ-empowered church will fulfill her commission.