Arnald Schwarzenegger once said in his movie The Terminator: “I’ll be Back!” General Douglas MacArthur said, as he retreated from the Philippians during World War II: “I shall return!” Jesus told his disciples on the night before he died, “I will come again…” (John 14:3). Many folks were entertained with Arnald’s statement in the movie, impressed with the determination of General MacArthur’s statement, but are mixed in their understanding of Jesus’ promise to his disciples. In his book, Simply Jesus, Biblical scholar, N.T. Wright, mentions four modern opinions about Jesus being King of Heaven and of Earth, listing them under the names: Andy, Billy, Chris and Davie. In my previous study we discussed Jesus’ authority from Andy’s perspective. Presently, I hope to offer a faithful version of Billy’s worldview, which is that Jesus is, indeed, King of Heaven, but not of Earth. Nevertheless, he promised to return, and, when he does, he will take upon himself the role of King over all the Earth.
Billy’s perspective of Jesus’ Messianic role seems to encapsulate the understanding of most Evangelical Christians, today. Some, of whom, as I mentioned in an earlier study, believe Jesus intends to save the world by first destroying our entire universe, and building a second, wherein dwells righteousness (viz. 2Peter 3:12-13), which would take the place of the first universe, now destroyed.
At one time in my walk with Jesus, I held Billy’s worldview, but for a number of years, now, I have laid this perspective aside. It has become tiring to have witnessed so many failed predictions of Jesus’ return in my lifetime. I say, tiring, because I wanted to believe the prophesies, but became disappointed in their failures. I also became aware of the destruction they caused in terms of what it cost some believers, who gave up their savings and a few who gave all their worldly positions in an effort to get the word out to an unconcerned world. False prophets aren’t just wrong, their works are evil, and tiring, because, on the one hand we tend to want to defend the prophecy prior to its failure, and, on the other hand, we work afterward to salvage what is left of the integrity of our Christian witness in a world of skeptics.
Billy is correct, in that Jesus did claim he would return (John 14:3), but he is wrong to conclude Jesus’ future return goes beyond the first century AD. Jesus told his disciples that he would come in the glory of the Father with the angels of heaven and reward everyone according to his works, whether good or evil. Not only would he keep this promise, but he would do it before some of those who heard him speak those words would die, vis-à-vis it would be done before that present generation in the first century AD died out (Matthew 16:27-28). Jesus also warned the Jewish authorities that he intended to send them prophets, wise men and scribes in an effort to get them to repent of their evil deeds. Nevertheless, they would persecute from city to city some of whom he sends; they would scourge others, and some they would even kill and crucify (Matthew 23:34), and all this would be done before that present evil and wicked generation died out (Matthew 23:36).
There have been hundreds of predictions, concerning when Jesus would return throughout Christian history. What they all have in common is that they all failed, exposing those who preached such things were the very false prophets Jesus claimed would arise (Matthew 24:11). Only the disciples of Christ who claimed he would return in the lifetime of their hearers, vis-à-vis the first century AD listeners of the Gospel, turned out to be correct. Jesus returned in the person of Titus, the Roman general and later Emperor, who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (Daniel 9:26). Thus, all these failed prophecies prove the future return of Christ is the most disastrous and disproved doctrine still held by many Christians today.
So, if Billy is correct in believing Jesus would return, but is incorrect that Jesus Second Coming is yet future, then the only logical conclusion is to say, the Apostles, and first century believers were correct in preaching Jesus would return in their expected lifetimes. Some, indeed, would die or be slain, but before that generation died out completely, Jesus would come (Matthew 16:27-28), just as he promised to do (John 14:3).
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