Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. Proverbs 13:12-13
Today, I will begin a subject on, Why Christ Must Return; I will take it in sequels as God leads us but try to lay the foundation today. We know that it has been quite a while since the return of Christ has been promised, and as the Bible says in Proverbs 13, that hope deferred makes the heart sick. When hope is stretched beyond necessary, it can lead to doubt. I would like you to know that doubt is not a sin, although it is not the best place to be –it is part of the human condition. Think of Thomas who exhibited doubt yet a disciple –in fact an apostle of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ helped to dissolve his doubt. Jesus at some point told Peter who received the key to the kingdom that Satan wanted to sift him away as wheat, meaning Satan was going to make him doubt. Jesus however prayed for him that his faith would not fail.
Doubt vs Unbelief
Doubt is mostly human nature caused by lack of knowledge of the truth, and what God does for anyone in doubt is to dissolve his doubt by shedding more light (understanding) on his path –we see him do that for Thomas and Peter. He waited for the time Thomas would be in fellowship, and appeared to convince him with the truth –dissolving in his doubt.
While God dissolves the doubt of His Children, He judges unbelief. Unbelief is the real sin. The Pharisees were in this category, who in spite of all Jesus did to convince them of the truth, would not believe –they choose not to believe. And because we are judged on the basis of our choice, Jesus told them that, “I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins” John 8:24. Therefore, with respect to the topic before us, we would first comb through scriptures hoping to dissolve the doubt of those who do not yet understand fully, because it is becoming very difficult for people, even believers, to continue to hold unto the hope of our calling –the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we go back in time, the way people held onto the coming of Jesus Christ is not the same as today.
The Importance of Having an Unshakable Resolve in the Coming of Our Lord
According to the promise of the Bible, Jesus Christ someday would return physically to the earth and take over the governance of this earth. If you do not firmly believe that, your walk with God would not be enjoyed. Asides this, it will reflect in everything you do including the way you live your life.
His return is not supposed to be a spiritual return as some are now proclaiming which I believe is another level of doubt about His coming. The biggest way that doubt is spread is by words, and there are two reasons why people doubt the coming of Christ
1. Misconstrued Scriptures: let’s consider few of those scriptures that have been misconstrued
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:32-35
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Matthew 16:28
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 2Thess. 2:1-8
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. Daniel 11:1-4
There are many more scriptures, but let us stay with these four for now. It will interest you to know that some doubters have decided to give their interpretation of what those scriptures mean especially for the book of Daniel that we read last. They argue that the scripture must have been written after the occurrence of those events, because of how precise and accurate they are. However, we know better that the book of Daniel is a prophetic book, and it was speaking to what would happen when Daniel gave the prophecy. The book of Daniel is actually one of the most argued books in the Bible today, also considering that the major prophecies are fulfilled already. We would go into them much later.
2. Delay: When there is a long expectation, people also begin to doubt. But, I want us to know that there is nothing in this Bible that indicates that Christ wasn’t going to delay His coming. If you consider carefully, all of the parables that Jesus gave (of course we know that those are not just parables, but prophecies) –all of them talked about a delay, a prolonged time of waiting for the coming of the Lord. Let us read some of them.
And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Luke 12:42-46
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. Matthew 25:5
There is no time component to that tarrying spoken of here in Matthew 25, but we know that He tarried so long that those who were waiting for Him slept. There are a lot more scriptures, but showed us these few to tell us that the Bible already told us that His return would be delayed.
Why Christ Must Return
In the face of this increasing level of doubt, I want to tell us that Christ must return and why He must return. I am not into predictions of the date when Christ would return, it is certain that all predictions would fail because Christ must be true to His words that says, no man knows the time or hour when the son of man shall come. So, when you hear a prediction, just know, that is another time we are sure He is not going to return.
The first reason why Christ must return is because God promised it. The promise of Christ in scripture started even from the beginning and by that, I mean Genesis down to Malachi.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Malachi 4:2
Christ is the Sun of Righteousness that will rise with healing in His wings for all men to see. He is not rising now because not all men can see Him as the light. When the sun rises, everybody sees it. Right now, we are in the face of time when the Moon hides the Sun –the moon is reflecting the light of the sun to the world, and we know that the Moon is the Church. But we know that a time is coming when the morning would break and the sun would rise.
Between Genesis and Malachi, there are many promises made concerning the coming of Christ, both His first coming and His coming. Hear this, if the coming of His first coming fulfilled literally to the letter, be rest assured His second coming would fulfill literally to the letter. Let us consider His first coming –the virgin birth. We would read the promise, and where the promise was fulfilled.
Bible Prophecies and their Fulfillment on His First coming
God did not just promise that Christ would come, but He gave an impossible promise that a virgin would conceive. We may not appreciate it now because it has been fulfilled, but there are many people who would have placed their interpretation on that prophecy just so it could make sense and be more believable. My advice to you is that you should let the fulfillment of prophecy interpret the prophecy; do not place your personal interpretation on it. Now, we are going to be contrasting the prophecies of the Old Testament years before Christ came to the fulfillment in the New Testament, and we can see how God fulfilled His word to the letter.
| Event | Prophecy | Fulfillment |
| His Virgin Birth | Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 | And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. Luke 1:26-31 |
| His Place of Birth | But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2 | Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:1 |
| His Call out of Egypt | When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1 | And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Matthew 2:13 |
| His tribe | And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isaiah 11:1 | And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; Matthew 1:6 |
| His Triumphant Entering | Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zach. 9:9 | And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. Luke 19:35-38 |
| His Betrayal | Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. Psalm 41:9 | And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? Luke 22:47-48 |
| His Arrest | Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones Zach.13:7 | And they all forsook him, and fled. Mark 14:50 |
| His betrayed price | And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Zach. 11:12-13 | And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Matthew 27:5-7 |
| His crucifixion | Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Isaiah 52:12-15Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:12 | Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. Matthew 27:38-42 |
| His Garment parting | They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Psalms 22:18 | And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. Matthew 27:35 |
| His unbroken bones | He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Psalms 34:20 | The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. John 19:31-36 |
| His Resurrection | For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Psalms 16:10 | And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:5-6 |
Seeing all these scriptures fulfilled exactly as prophesied about His first coming, the prophecies about His second coming would fulfill as well, because God promised it. Aside from the virgin birth, another impossible prophecy in the Bible is the coming back of Israel in Ezekiel 37. They were dry bones meaning they were dead and there was no hope of reviving them to live. When the angel asked Ezekiel if the dry bones could live, he responded that only God knows that. It has never been recorded in history that a nation ceased to exist for 2000 years and would revive again. But for the people of Israel, that prophecy was fulfilled in our time. We can use that to speak to doubt in our mind.
The second reason why Christ must return the second time is because, Christ Himself when He was here on earth promised that He would come back, and His credibility is at stake here –not just His credibility but His Father’s credibility. This simply means that if Christ does not return, then God is a liar. And the Bible tells us that, let every man be a liar but God be true. So, you are at a crossroad, especially the youth where you need to make a decision on who to believe –whether the word of God or the Devil who is the father of lies.
The devil will not come in a way that would be easy for you to detect him and shut him up. He is the father of lies, meaning he knows exactly how to get you. The devil knows your weakness and how to get you in a customized way –he pretty much fashions weapons for every one peculiar to their weakness. The Bible says, no weapon fashioned –meaning weapons are fashioned. He knows how to tailor his design to fit into your conditioning, he will not just pick any weapon and throw it at you; he will study you well enough to know what you could fall for easily. Being the father of lies, he has experience with lies –over 6000 years of experience from Adam, he will come in a way that makes sense to you. If your weakness is your phone, the devil will come through that phone. So, you need to pay particular attention to that area of weakness, because that is where the devil wants to deal with you and you will begin to fall gradually from your faith.
Let’s see where Christ made a promise of His return in Luke 21
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
The prophet told us and we can prove from the Old Testament that the fig tree is the land of Israel. The question before us as we read this passage is, “all these things” –which? Is it the return of Christ or all the events prophesied in the preceding verses talking about the things that must happen before His coming? In addition, what do we have to say about the points of the scoffers and those doubting? We would continue that in the next episode.