Till He Comes

I moved to Bismarck about 16 years ago. One of my first experiences was to receive the Lord’s Table officiated by Pastor Terry. Over all those years, I have learned to appreciate the somberness of this celebration. Terry always makes the service special and today was no different at TFL. Today I was struck by 1 Cor 11:23-26. It says,

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

We participate in the Communion Service to remember Jesus—the Christ. We remember that His body was broken for us and presented us with a new covenant in His blood. Paul closes this statement by reminding us that when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim His death—TILL HE COMES.

The second coming of Christ was a common theme of the New Testament authors. Paul mentions it nearly all of his writings—in fact, each chapter of 1 Thessalonians ends with a reference to the second coming.

Similarly, Peter covered this topic in his final address. Let’s look at what he had to say.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2 Pet 3:10–18)

Day of the Lord

Peter tells us the day of the Lord will come quickly and catastrophically. He says this day will come like a thief and that the heavens will pass away with a great noise and intense heat. The works of humanity will be burned up. So, what is the day of the Lord?

The day of Lord describes end-time events that begin after the Rapture of the Church and culminate with the commencement of eternity. The Day of the Lord is a period of time characterized by the reign of Christ over Israel and the world. Jesus will take His place on David’s throne in Jerusalem. We from the Church Age (who died in Christ or were raptured) will reign with Christ during His Millennial Kingdom.

Before the Millennial Kingdom begins, the world must go through the great Tribulation. The In the middle of the 70th week of Daniel the Antichrist will turn against the people of God in full fury (Dan. 9:24–27; see comments on 1 Thes. 5:2; 2 Thes. 2:2–12). These will be by far the worst 7-years in the history of mankind.

Peter tells that these events are inevitable and that they should impact the way we live our lives now.

Anticipating the return of Christ

Because Christ will return; because He will set up His kingdom; because we will reign with Him; because He will be the judge of all… we should live holy and godly lives. We should live this way as we look forward to His soon return. Each day could be the day He comes for His Church. We must be ready for Him as He comes for His Bride. We should look for His return with great anticipation.

This passage also tells us that we can hastening the coming of the day of God. How can we hasten the plan of God? Our prayer lives, our testimony before others, our teaching of the Word of God all work together to force people to make a choice between serving God or serving the world. When the time is appropriate, God will bring about the end. The day of God will be the ushering in of the New Heaven and New Earth at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.

Our new behavior

Our behavior as believers should be linked to our expectation of His return. We are to make every effort to live in peace—especially within the church but also within the world. We are also to pure (spotless) and without moral defect (blameless).

The day of Lord seems slow in coming because Jesus is demonstrating great patience because He wants more people to come to the faith in Him. Now is the time for salvation. The expectation Jesus has for us is that we share our faith with others. Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Rom 1:16). Our attitude should be the same. We should boldly speak of Christ to all so that some can respond to His saving message.

Be Steadfast in Him

Peter reminds us that Paul provide a thorough explanation of the Christian doctrine. Therefore, his readers knew beforehand all that he was teaching. Thus, he was reminding them to watch the way they live. It was conceivable that they could fall from their steadfastness. That is, they could stop look forward to the return of Christ, stop living the life He expected, and live like those in the world. They would not be pure and blameless; rather, they could be lead away by false teachers.

We certainly see this form of apostasy in our world today. Many false teachers are filling the pulpits of Christian churches and taking people on a journey that does not include the teaching of the Word of God. I am thankful that our aim at TFL is simply to teach the truth of the Bible. We do not skip over tough passages or neglect to teach the second coming of Christ. We remember Him!

Now we can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We can now understand the purpose of man…To Him be the glory both now and forever.

Do you remember Christ every day? Do you go to the Lord’s Supper to give Him glory and to remember Him?