When God created, he completed this creation calling it “Good.” Sin broke the goodness of the creation and separated the creation from the God who created it. God does not give up on his creation. The trajectory of Scripture is that God is relentless in bringing restoration to the place where he chose to live in relationship with the pinnacle of his creation, humanity.
God chose humanity in the garden to be gardeners with him, to bring life and growth, and to take care of the creation. In his relentless pursuit to redeem creation, he continued to work with the people in his creation, though they were part of the problem. Throughout the First Testament, God worked through flawed and messed up people to bring about the redemption he desired. The Scriptures are peppered with images of God’s restored creation, where his presence has returned to the temple, and life flows from his throne (Ezekiel 47, Isaiah 11, 65-66). God’s people, Israel, were supposed to live as an example of what it looked like to have the presence of God. They were called to be an example to the nations of the Goodness of God’s creation. But they continued to want to be like the nations.
When the Gospel writers write about the life and ministry of Jesus, they use imagery of Moses and Israel to show how Jesus fulfills what Israel failed to live up to. Jesus proclaims the Kingdom coming near and brings restoration to broken people. This restoration is both physical and spiritual. The New Testament writers continue the message of Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven with depictions of restoration and new creation (1 Cor 15, 2 Cor 5, Rev 21-22, 2 Peter 3). The Church then has become the people who have received the hope of God’s Kingdom come but not fully. We carry the message of hope to a world in disorder. What is that message of hope?
Like Israel, we are called to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6; Matt 5:14-16), a Royal Priesthood and Holy Nation (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). We are to live as witnesses to the restoration of God’s Good Creation. When the world looks at the church, they should see a signpost pointing to what is to come. When I come upon a passage that is difficult to interpret or could have different meanings, this is the lens through which I examine the passage. That will be a study for another time.
This week, we are looking at the hope we have in the second coming of Jesus. Consider everything I’ve written up to this point and all we have covered in this series so far while you read these passages about the Second Coming.
Acts 1:4-11
What are the major focuses of this passage? Holy Spirit, Kingdom Coming, and Jesus’s Return. This opening scene sets the stage for all that will happen in Acts. How do each of these elements play into the mission of the Church?
“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Does this passage tell us where we will go from there?
Matthew 24:36-41
This passage is one of the major foundations for “Rapture Theology” where good people will be taken from the earth to go away with Jesus to heaven. Take a moment to get the full context of the “days of Noah” and reread the “that is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Noah and Co. enter the ark. Who does v. 39 say is taken away? Therefore, who is left behind?
Throughout the history of Israel, has being “taken” ever been a good thing?
1 Thess 4:13-18
After Jesus comes down and we meet him in the air, does this passage say which direction we will go from there?
In the ancient world when a king would return to his kingdom after being away for a time, the watchman would sound the trumpet signaling the king’s return. The king’s people would then parade out of the city, meeting him on the road, to welcome the king back to his kingdom. How does this context shape how this passage might be read?