squirrelyguy
Well-known member
I've been giving more thought lately to this question: why don't we Christians earnestly, sincerely pray every day that Christ would come back today? They did in the early church. Why don't we?
As for myself, I think I can probably speak for everyone else when I say that, in the back of my mind, there is the thought that if I pray for Christ to return today and He does, it will end all hope of salvation for most of those on earth right now including many people that I love.
Is this true of you as well? Do you hesitate to pray for Christ's immediate return because you are afraid it would end any hope of salvation for your loved ones?
What does this say about our theological assumptions regarding the return of Christ?
As you think on that, let me offer a framework that I've worked out which, if true, would offer a more encouraging view of Christ's return, and which would possibly even incentivize praying for His immediate return.
1. Let's suppose that almost* no one's eternal destiny is settled prior to the final judgment, which (per Revelation 20) happens after Christ has returned to earth for a thousand years.
2. Let's also suppose that part of the purpose of the millennial reign is to give everyone who has ever lived (or at least, many who have ever lived) and who did not repent during their initial lifetime a chance to repent and get right with God prior to the final judgment.
3. The first two points, if true, would paint a picture of an eschaton in which conditions on earth are more favorable than they have ever been for people to accept Christ and to be forgiven. In fact, it may be the overall purpose of the eschaton to offer a final chance for humanity to resolve themselves for or against the Lord's Christ.
Obviously there would be a lot of Scripture that needed hashing out in order to make this scheme plausible; I've done some work on this and I think I have a somewhat biblical case for what I've just described, but it is beyond the scope of this post to go into that kind of detail here (I know I've made other posts on CARM about those passages before). But I'll stop here and give everyone a chance to think on my original question and offer thoughts.
* My reason for saying "almost" no one is that the book of Revelation speaks of at least two individuals being condemned to the lake of fire at the beginning of the eschaton, and they are still there when the rest of condemned humanity is cast therein at the beginning of the eternal state. Also I think there are verses that hint there will be other such individuals cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the eschaton. I call this group the "pre-damned", because whereas most of humanity does not have its final destination determined until the end of the eschaton, these individuals are damned prior to the eschaton. This group includes (according to my thinking) all unregenerate kings and rulers who have ever lived and who have ruled wickedly. I have Scriptural support for this, but I don't want to overwhelm this post by going into too much depth here.
As for myself, I think I can probably speak for everyone else when I say that, in the back of my mind, there is the thought that if I pray for Christ to return today and He does, it will end all hope of salvation for most of those on earth right now including many people that I love.
Is this true of you as well? Do you hesitate to pray for Christ's immediate return because you are afraid it would end any hope of salvation for your loved ones?
What does this say about our theological assumptions regarding the return of Christ?
As you think on that, let me offer a framework that I've worked out which, if true, would offer a more encouraging view of Christ's return, and which would possibly even incentivize praying for His immediate return.
1. Let's suppose that almost* no one's eternal destiny is settled prior to the final judgment, which (per Revelation 20) happens after Christ has returned to earth for a thousand years.
2. Let's also suppose that part of the purpose of the millennial reign is to give everyone who has ever lived (or at least, many who have ever lived) and who did not repent during their initial lifetime a chance to repent and get right with God prior to the final judgment.
3. The first two points, if true, would paint a picture of an eschaton in which conditions on earth are more favorable than they have ever been for people to accept Christ and to be forgiven. In fact, it may be the overall purpose of the eschaton to offer a final chance for humanity to resolve themselves for or against the Lord's Christ.
Obviously there would be a lot of Scripture that needed hashing out in order to make this scheme plausible; I've done some work on this and I think I have a somewhat biblical case for what I've just described, but it is beyond the scope of this post to go into that kind of detail here (I know I've made other posts on CARM about those passages before). But I'll stop here and give everyone a chance to think on my original question and offer thoughts.
* My reason for saying "almost" no one is that the book of Revelation speaks of at least two individuals being condemned to the lake of fire at the beginning of the eschaton, and they are still there when the rest of condemned humanity is cast therein at the beginning of the eternal state. Also I think there are verses that hint there will be other such individuals cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the eschaton. I call this group the "pre-damned", because whereas most of humanity does not have its final destination determined until the end of the eschaton, these individuals are damned prior to the eschaton. This group includes (according to my thinking) all unregenerate kings and rulers who have ever lived and who have ruled wickedly. I have Scriptural support for this, but I don't want to overwhelm this post by going into too much depth here.