JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN!!
"This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11, NKJV)
Devotion #6 of 15
               
GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION
     God brings order, not confusion. This was revealed in the initial creation, when the Lord brought precision out of chaos (Gen 1:1ff). It was again revealed when Jesus came, clarifying the nature of man and revealing the Person of God. Everything about revelation is illuminating; it would not be
revelation if this were not so. To a chaotic religious environment, the Spirit says, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" (1 Cor 14:33). 

     There are few doctrines that have been as corrupted as that of the coming of the Lord. Major divisions exist among believers on this very matter, which the Spirit reveals to be the "blessed hope" of God's people (Tit 2:11-13). Basically, all corrupted views of the Lord's return have this in common: THEY CENTER IN THIS WORLD. That is what alerts us to their deficiency!

     The four major positions (and each of them has a multiplicity of divergent views) are as follows. This is not intended to be an exhaustive defintion of the views, but only to show their general direction.

POST-MILLENNIALISM
     This position states that Jesus will come at the conclusion of "the
millennium," a thousand-year period during which righteousness will dominate the world. There are several texts which speak of  a time of universal knowledge of God, when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14). Nevertheless, the return of the Lord is not the real point of this dogma. It is the millennium, and what will occur BEFORE Christ's return, that is the point.

PRE-MILLENNIALISM
     This position states that Jesus will secretly return BEFORE the professed millennial reign. At that return, He will take the church out of the world in an undetected manner--believers will simply disappear. According to this view, before returning and establishing an earthly kingdom, a tribulation will break out upon the earth. We are told the church will be delivered from this awesome ordeal. However, the point of this position is NOT the return of Christ, but the great tribulation and the future political reign of Jesus on the earth, over men still in the flesh. Some who have embraced this view are more afraid of the great tribulation than of being cast into the lake of fire.

A-MILLENNIALISM
     The a-millennial position states that we are presently in the millennial reign of Christ. Having been among a group of people that espouse this position, I feel I am qualified to make an observation about it. Almost without exception, the return of Jesus is not dominating among those embracing this view. Very few messages are preached on the subject of Christ's return, and a fundamental ignorance of the subject exists among their constituents. Many people who sit under these ministers acknowledge that they can scarcely remember the last time they heard a sermon on the coming of the Lord. A position with such fruitage needs to be abandoned, quickly and forthrightly! 

     While there are some aspects of this view that are true, the return of Christ is NOT its emphasis. In this position, the benefits of THIS time and THIS world are the primary outworking of divine purpose.

PRETERIST
     This view is gaining widespread acceptance among professed conservative believers. It declares that Jesus has already come. The resurrection has already occurred, and the apex of the kingdom has already been reached. With fanciful explanations, the proponents of this view affirm that we already have
everything God has prepared for them that love Him. The imminent return of the Lord is not the focus of this view. Rather, it is the "here and the NOW." This position centers around 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed, affirming it to be the hub upon which the key prophecies are suspended. Hope is NOT dominant among those embracing position, even though God affirms "we are saved by hope" (Rom 8:24-25).

CONCLUSION ABOUT "POSITIONS"
     Whatever may be said of each of these positions (and each one of them has elements of truth), CHRIST HIMSELF IS NOT THE CENTER OF ANY OF THEM!. None of them promote and sustain a fervent anticipation for the personal appearing of Christ. They are, at best, human ideas about a divine revelation. As such, they all are woefully inadequate to nourish a soul in quest of heaven.

     Each of these positions has generated a phenomenal amount of confusion. A dark cloud of puzzlement hangs over the church because of their  propagation. Such things have not come from God, Who is "not the Author of confusion."

     Positions may have a place in the kingdom, but it is not the primary one. Concerning the coming of the Lord, you are to possess the "hope," not the position! It is the "hope" that is blessed, not the position! Hope sustains the soul.  A position does not. If this seems harsh, it is not meant to be. I do intend
to awaken hearts to inferior citadels of thought that have not been spiritually productive. For that, I make no apology.

PRAYER POINT: Father, give me grace to see the coming of Christ as Your do. May it dominate my thinking and my affection. In Jesus' name, deliver me from teachings and views that distort the truth His return.

--TOMORROW: DOES YOUR VIEW MAKE A DIFFERENCE? --