Cortez: Preparedness is the key
“CHRIST has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” So is the mystery of faith professed in many Christian churches every day, especially on Sundays. “He (in reference to Christ) will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” So goes a line in the Nicene Creed.
No doubt, therefore, we Christians believe that Jesus, who first came to the world in human form as a baby on that first Christmas, who suffered death under Pontius Pilate, who was buried, who rose again on the third day, and who ascended into heaven, will come again on the end of time. This “coming again” is what the Sunday gospel, as recorded in Mark 13:24-32, tells us. In faith, we believe that he will surely come, so that the question many are left asking is, “When will this second coming of Jesus be?”
Down the centuries, many preachers, theologians, intellectuals, scientists, and ordinary people – some, well-meaning, and others, not – have proposed specific dates or time periods as to when this grandest of all events will happen. The proposed dates have passed, and many of those who predicted them, including their followers, have already died, but Christ is yet to come. Not a few are suggesting more dates in the future.
The truth of the matter is that all of these people who thought that they were wise enough to foretell the exact date of the second coming of Christ, have cast their predictions in vain. Jesus himself has warned us so. In the gospel he said that no one knows the day or the hour, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; only the Father knows.
Does this mean that we are clueless as to its occurrence? No, because in various parts of the Scriptures, Jesus taught us the many signs that will precede his second coming. In this Sunday’s gospel, for instance, he said, “In those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.” Elsewhere, we are also told that there will be wars and rumors of wars, calamities, rise in evil and lawlessness, the rise of the antichrist, and the preaching of the gospel in all the world.
All of these should give us an idea that Christ is coming soon, in the same way that when we see the fig tree’s branch becoming tender and its leaves sprouting, we know that summer is near. Nevertheless, for anyone to claim that he knows with point-certainty that Jesus is coming on a particular date and hour, is either lying, deceived, or misled, and is definitely mistaken.
What we Christians should rather do is to be vigilant – to be watchful – and at the same time to be faithful to the Lord, that no matter when he finally comes, we will be ready to meet him, and be with him for all eternity.
Finally, there is also the realization that just like all the generations that came before us, our own death may precede Christ’s second coming. Life on earth is short. It is appointed to all men to die, and after that, be judged (Hebrews 9:27). Whichever happens first, preparedness that is founded and anchored in Christ is the key. Only Jesus our Savior can bring us to our eternal home.