Do we know when Jesus is coming? And can I do something about it, or am I just a passive player watching and waiting until He comes?
Many Christians live as if the Second Coming is entirely outside of their influence — something that will happen to them, not something they participate in bringing about. But the Bible teaches otherwise. We can know the signs of His coming, and more than that, we can hasten it.
No Man Knows the Day or Hour
- But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
No one knows the exact day or hour. But Jesus never intended us to be ignorant of the times and seasons. He taught us to read the signs:
- Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
- So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
The Kingdom is Like a Seed That Ripens
Jesus gave a remarkable parable about the nature of the kingdom and how it reaches its culmination:
- And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
- And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
- For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
- But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
This is the kingdom. There is a ripening process happening in the world. The seed grows — blade, ear, full corn — and immediately when the fruit is ripe, the harvest comes. Jesus does not delay beyond the moment the harvest is ready.
What is the harvest?
That’s you and me! When we get ready, He will come.
We Can Hasten His Return
- Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
- Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Peter tells us we are not only waiting for, but hastening the coming of the day of God. It is within our power to speed His return.
What is the Ripening?
What then is this ripening that must be completed before Christ returns?
- And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
The gospel must be preached to all the world. But the ripening is not merely about the proclamation of the gospel — it is about the effectiveness of the gospel. The harvest is ripe when the character of Christ is fully reproduced in His people by the power of the gospel.
I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully. EW 71.1
Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. COL 69.1
The Lord is Not Slack — He Waits for Us
- The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The Lord is not delaying without reason. He waits because He is longsuffering toward us — waiting for our characters to be transformed, waiting for us to come to full repentance and reflect His image. He waits because He loves us too much to come before we are ready.
The Work We Must Not Postpone
The full display of the character of Christ reproduced by the power of the gospel — this is the prerequisite for Jesus to come. This means:
- Preach the gospel — proclaim the good news to the world as a witness to all nations
- Live the gospel — allow the transforming power of Christ to change our hearts into His likeness
- Do not postpone sanctification — the work of character transformation is the work that must be completed before Christ can come
There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation. 1SM 124.2
Conclusion
We are not passive spectators in the unfolding of prophecy. The harvest waits for the fruit to be ripe. The fruit is the character of Christ fully developed in His people. Every day we delay our sanctification, we delay His coming. Every surrender to Christ hastens that glorious day. The question is not merely when is Jesus coming — it is what am I doing to hasten His return?