Monday, November 06, 2006

Don Fry On Jesus' Coming

Several years ago I asked my Pastor about Revelation 22:20 which says, "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

How can Jesus be coming quickly after 2000 years? He responded by saying, “It sure is a stretch of the language.” I agreed. It is troubling that several passages of the New Testament seem to imply that Jesus’ Coming should have already happened.

Yet what is being assumed by my former Pastor and myself is that this "Coming" is physical. To deny the physical Coming of Christ would most certainly be heretical and to be more like Jehovah’s Witnesses or even Full (or Hyper) Preterism. Yet could there be more meanings to "Coming" than just what we have always assumed and unable to entertain due to being cast out of the local orthodox church?

Consider a passage that has bugged me for many years now:

Mat 26:64 Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."

Here, Jesus is responding to the High Priest during His trial. Yet surely the High Priest is not alive today awaiting the physical Coming of Christ. I have wondered for years now if Daniel’s language is being incorporated into the New Testament and Daniel’s meaning may be more than just the physical Coming of Christ. Is not the Book of Revelation about the authority of Christ to bring not only salvation to His people now, but also to bring forms of judgment now, since Jesus now rules all the kingdoms of men?

For years I have kept this understanding of these texts to myself. Today, however, I heard a sermon by Pastor Don Fry of Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. He preached on Revelation 1:7 and went into many of these troubling texts on the Coming of Christ. It is worth the listen. He more than demonstrates that Christ is King of Kings now and is able to rule the world now, even though His future physical Coming will bring total fulfillment of his Kingdom.

Listen to the Real Audio version here or if you have an MP3 player, here. Enjoy, and be challenged!

BTW: Go Vote! :-)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good thoughts. You've shed a new light on a difficult topic.