Tag Archives: Second Coming

Christian Living

DISAPPOINTMENT OR REST? — BOB PRICHARD

A popular old hymn stresses our longing for our heavenly rest, but also our commitment to keep working until Jesus comes. It begins, “O land of rest, for thee I sigh! When will the moment come, When I shall lay my armor by, And dwell in peace at home?” The refrain repeats “We’ll work till Jesus comes, We’ll work till Jesus comes, We’ll work till Jesus comes, And we’ll be gathered home.” The words, by Elizabeth K. Mills, who died at 24 or 25, were first published in 1837. The tune, attributed to William Miller, was added in 1859.

I have been unable to verify if this is the same William Miller who twice set a date for the return of the Lord, but if it is the same man, it is ironic. William Miller (1742-1849), was a Baptist preacher who through his study of the book of Daniel determined that the return of the Lord was very near, and he traveled throughout the United States preaching a message of the need to be prepared for the Lord’s return. As his followers, known as Millerites, pressed him for a date, he announced in January 1843, that the date would be March 21, 1844. When that date passed, he and his followers recalculated, and set the date for October 22, 1844.

Despite the words of the hymn, many of Miller’s followers did not “work till Jesus comes.” They left farms untended, debts unpaid and took it easy. When the second date failed, these people were very upset with Miller, and he died disillusioned and forgotten in 1849, still thinking the Lord would return in his lifetime. Some of his followers pressed on, organizing the Seventh Day Adventist church. In their history they refer to the Miller failure as the “Great Disappointment.”

The hymn is consistent with the warnings of the Lord. He likened the kingdom of heaven to ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to come. Five were wise, but five were foolish, and “took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” All were in the same situation waiting for the bridegroom, but the foolish were not ready to serve when the cry came, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” They all arose, but the foolish were unprepared, and missed their chance. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:1-13).

Disappointment awaits those who are not working until Jesus comes. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

Bible questions

ARE WE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS? — BOB PRICHARD

Leave a comment

Yes, we are living in the “last days.” It should not be a cause for alarm, however, because we have been living in the last days for almost two thousand years! The ‘last days’ refer to the last great period of history, the Christian Age. There have been three great dispensations or ages of God dealing with mankind. The first was the Patriarchal Age, when God dealt directly with the heads of families (from Adam to Moses). This period ended with the beginning of the Mosaic Age, when God gave the Law of Moses to Israel. The Mosaic Age (the age under which Jesus lived) ended with the advent of the Christian Age, ushered in by the preaching of the Gospel and the establishment of the first century church.

On the Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ, Peter rose up with the rest of the apostles to speak and said, concerning the things that were happening, ‘This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams’ (Acts 2:16-17). Peter said that the events of that day were the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy concerning what would happen ‘in these last days.’

Succeeding verses describe dramatic events: ‘…wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come’ (Acts 2:19-20). This ‘apocalyptic’ language describes cataclysmic events that man could hardly imagine. Some have suggested that these events refer to the crucifixion of Christ or the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies.

The Spirit was poured out on ‘all flesh,’ as the Gospel message was to go from Jerusalem to all the nations of the world, a message of salvation: ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Acts 2:21). To the Jews it was almost unbelievable that the Gospel could be for the whole world, including Gentiles, but Peter promised such: ‘For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call’ (Acts 2:39). He called all present to respond: ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins’ (Acts 2:38).

Later Peter wrote that Christ ‘was manifest in these last times’ (1 Peter 1:20). Time may be drawing to an end.  Today may be the last day. Or, the Lord may delay His coming for a thousand years so more can ‘come to repentance’ (1 Peter 3:9). Look for no special ‘last days’ signs in present events. Do not listen to false teachers who set dates for the second coming or the end of the world. Do not be lulled into thinking you have plenty of time to make your life right with God, either. We should prepare to meet Christ-the angel may be getting his trumpet ready (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Now is the time to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 6:2). – Bob Prichard