Dr Paul Allen

Confused about this topic? In general, I do think we should do the best for the church about the second coming when we don’t focus on distortions and misconceptions but instead on the truth and the beauty of what it really is in the Bible. And yet, it’s right, now and then, to make our people understand there are misconceptions and errors. Five Misconceptions Frankly, I’m really happy that my book is viewed as mainly proactive and positive rather than critical. But of course, even that positive view can be overstated. Suppose we never focus on what’s wrong and show how harmful it is. In that case, we won’t really be biblical because the biblical witness itself describes errors and their harmfulness — like Jesus did with the scribes and Pharisees or like Paul in exposing errors of false teaching in Colossians and other places. So yes, I will point out some misconceptions about the second coming. Let’s just take them one at a time, and I’ll try to explain why I think they’re a problem. 1

What does eschatology mean? The word “eschatology” comes from a combination of Greek words meaning “the study of last things,” or the study of the end times. 1 In the article “Eschatology” in the  Lexham Bible Dictionary  (LBD) Page Brooks writes that  eschatology includes death, the intermediate state, the afterlife, judgment, the millennium, heaven, and hell, but it also refers to the time of Jesus’ second coming . Keep reading to do a deeper dive into what eschatology is, where eschatological themes are in the Bible, why Christians should study eschatology, and more. You can start at the beginning and read to the end or jump to the topics that interest you. Eschatology in the Old Testament Eschatology in the New Testament What are the 4 views of the end times? Why study eschatology? Why is there so much disagreement about end times prophecy? Do the creeds agree on the end times? Where is the concept of eschatology in the Bible? According to Brooks, eschatological ideas develop progr

  CHRIST’S SOLEMN ADMONITION (13:32–37) For believers in the present, the revelation in Scripture of the end times is hopeful truth; but for the people alive when these future events occur, this prophecy takes on extreme urgency. As He declared four times in the final verses of Mark 13, people in that generation should stay on the alert (vv. 33, 34, 35, 37). When they see the signs that Jesus described, they should recognize that His return is nearly upon them. Though it will be preceded by visible signs, the exact moment of the second coming will not be revealed to anyone.   As Jesus explained, But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  Although its timing is fixed in the Father’s plan (Acts 1:7), the Lord’s categorical statement excluded the possibility that anyone could accurately predict His return. The definitive and exhaustive nature of Jesus’ statement indicates that all who would presumptuously set a date for the sec

We’ve heard it taught for years. Jesus is coming like a thief in the night, so be ready. He could come at any moment, without any warning, so stay alert. You don’t want to be left behind! The signs were all there. The prophecies were being fulfilled in front of our eyes. You could feel it in the air. Jesus was about to rapture His church — to catch us away — at any moment. Hal Lindsey’s mega-bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth laid it all out, and the countdown had clearly begun. We’ll be out of here any second now. But that was a long time ago, almost 50 years now. And still, Jesus hasn’t returned. Have our expectations been wrong? Of course, from 1995-2007, there was the mega-bestselling series of Left Behind novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and they fascinated and inspired a new generation of readers. Have our expectations been wrong? Are we following a popular, relatively modern teaching rather than the Scriptures? But still, with all the talk of Jesus

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son , but the Father.” ( Mark 13:32 ) This verse has always been difficult to understand. If Jesus was God , how could He be ignorant of the time of His second coming? Indeed He was, and is, God, but He also was, and is, man. This is a part of the mystery of the divine/human nature of Christ . In the gospel record, we see frequent evidences of His humanity (He grew weary, for example, and suffered pain), but also many evidences of deity (His virgin birth, His resurrection and ascension, as well as His perfect words and deeds). He had been in glory with the Father from eternity ( John 17:24 ), but when He became man, “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren” ( Hebrews 2:17 ), except for sin. As a child, He “increased in wisdom and stature” like any other human ( Luke 2:52 ). Through diligent study (as a man), He acquired great wisdom in the Scriptures and t

The “blood moon tetrad” is the latest prophecy to make the rounds on social media. This prediction is elastically derived from the prophet Joel’s words that reoccur on Peter’s lips in his Pentecost sermon of Acts 2:20 “the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.” Obviously that verse must be referring to the blood moon tetrad. What’s that, you ask? It’s only the most rare event in the history of history. Kinda. A blood moon tetrad is when four consecutive lunar eclipses, with six full moons in between, but no partial lunar eclipses interfering, happen to coincide with Jewish feasts. Got that? The first in the series was during last year’s Passover: April 15, 2014 (a possible portent of death and taxes?) and sported a deep red coloration. The crimson imbuement is caused by Rayleigh scattering and is not at all uncommon with eclipses, but still. Red. Like blood. Very cool. The other eclipses presented

While Jesus, the two men in white robes (angels), and Paul leave no doubt that Jesus’ return will be a “literal” (physical) event that will take place in time and space, they do not clarify how that “space” should be understood. In our present experience, only a limited number of people can witness a physical event such as the appearance of a person, satellite television notwithstanding. What people see on the television screen is an image of a physical event, but not the physical event itself (apart from the fact that such an interpretation is anachronistic and thus irrelevant for understanding the biblical text written in the first century). Jesus’ first coming was full of surprises: only shepherds were present, not the powerful chief priests of Jerusalem nor the learned scribes or the pious Pharisees. And when he was crucified even his followers gave up, sad and disillusioned, only to be surprised on Easter morning by Jesus’ resurrection. The Old Testament Scriptures had not prop

When Jesus ascended to the Father, “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). The passive voice of the first verb (“he was lifted up”) describes divine action: it was God who took Jesus back into heaven, to sit at his right hand (2:33).  The cloud is not the “vehicle” that transported Jesus into heaven because God’s dwelling place is not “up there.” The cloud signals to the apostles that Jesus has just left them permanently—not as he left them during the last forty days, only to appear again for further instruction and fellowship. The reference to the cloud, which was real enough, provides a clear demarcation between earth and heaven.  It emphasizes that Jesus is in heaven, the place where God dwells, sovereign and independent of the control of human beings.1 Jesus’ departure for heaven must not be misunderstood in terms of Jesus now being absent from earth. Luke’s narrative in the book of Acts demonstrates that the heavenly Jesus Christ continues

The answer to the question, why will Jesus return? reveals something about the level of our commitment to the Christian faith. If we believe that the early Christians’ prayer Marana tha (Aramaic phrase for “Lord Come!” 1 Cor. 16:22) still has relevance for today, we should be able to explain why Jesus will return. Jesus Will Return Because the Bible Says So One reason Jesus will return is because the Bible says so. This answer is formally correct. The Bible indeed says that Jesus will return. When Jesus tells his disciples that one day the nations will see “ ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30), he speaks about himself, announcing his return. At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus charges his disciples to follow him “until I return” (John 21:22–23 NIV).  When the angels tell the disciples, “this Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11), they annou