Don’t let ‘date-setters’ make you cynical about Christ’s soon return. When the founder of a major church denomination predicted in print the date of Christ’s second coming, his successors faced the embarrassment of having to publicly acknowledge that they were wrong. Do you remember the alarmists of Y2K? Declaring to a scientific certainty that the year 2000 would bring the end of the world and the return of Christ, they caused people to leave their jobs, sell their homes, stock up on food, and head for the hills. And because of such embarrassments, many preachers today have silenced or toned down the truth of Christ’s second coming. Yes, when some people hear the message, they roll their eyes and say, ‘Not again!’ But doubt about Christ’s return is one of the signs that guarantees it will happen. The Bible says: ‘In the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth…They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”…The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief…the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment…so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight’ (vv. 3-4, 9-10, 14 NLT).
