That’s understandable. God has placed eternity in our hearts. As men and women created in God’s image, we sense that there’s more to reality than what we detect with our senses.
By God’s grace, the light of His revelation has blazed upon us. And by grace, through faith, having embraced Jesus as Savior, Lord and King, we long to see Him face to face and expectantly look for His promised coming.
In the seventeenth century, our church fathers gathered in the Jerusalem Room of Westminster Abbey to write our Westminster Confession of Faith. The final two chapters of our Confession attempt to clarify for us what Scripture teaches about the second coming of Christ.
I want to remind you of what they wrote. For the sake of clarity (I hope) I’ll try to put into more modern English what they wrote.
(32.1) "The bodies of men, after death, return to dust and see corruption. But their souls, which neither die nor sleep . . . return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens . . . behold the face of God . . . and await the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, awaiting the judgment of the great day."
(32.2) "At the last day, those still alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised bodily . . . and be united again to their souls forever."
(32.3) "The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor. The bodies of the just, by his Spirit, shall be raised to honor and be made conformable to his own glorious body."
(33.1) "God has appointed a day when he will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given by the Father. On that day, the apostate angels and all persons who have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds. They will receive good or evil according to what they have done."
(32.2) "The goal of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect, and the manifestation of his justice in the damnation of the reprobate who are wicked and disobedient. At that time, the righteous shall go into everlasting life, and receive fullness of joy and refreshing that comes from the presence of the Lord. But on that day the wicked who do not know God, and do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power."
(32.3) "Christ wants us to know with certainty that there will be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity. Likewise he wants that day unknown to men, so they may shake off all fleshly security, and be always watchful, because they do not know at what hour the Lord will come, and will therefore be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly, Amen."
There is wisdom to be found in noting what they were willing to say and the issues upon which they were not willing to comment.
Bottom line: We are to live our lives knowing that Jesus is coming again to judge the heavens and the earth.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
Pastor Caines