The Track Record



Should we believe these people? On a probability basis the answer must

be resoundingly negative. Christian have been assailed for two thousand

centuries by people who claimed that the end is imminent. They were all

wrong! Even so outstanding a disciple as Paul of Tarsus was wrong.

Look at (probably) the very first letter he wrote (or at least, the first

letter of his of which we have a copy, the First Letter to the Thessalonians,

commonly dated to AD 50). This reflects his current view that the Second

Coming would probably happen before tea-time!But it did not.

Clearly someone, somewhere, sometime is going to be right. Eventually.

But in the meantime...?

Which begs the question as to how long the meantime will be, and that

simply puts the original question in a different form.

So what grounds are there for believing that

people today know better that Paul did in his day - Paul who was so very,

very near to God? Does someone, anyone have the answer?

Who Has The Answer?

Well, Jesus told us who has the answer. Not himself, in his humanity,

walking the earth:

"No-one knows that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor

the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36)

If Jesus himself did not know, and if he has told us quite clearly that no

one else knows either, why do we become so preoccupied in trying to

predict the Second Coming? In trying to do something which he has

implied is both impossible for us and is not our concern? If it was our

concern the Father would not have hidden it and kept it from us

Our Legitimate Preoccupations

Are we so preoccupied with this question because the version of

Christianity which we have is so insufficiently exciting that we need

to contunually embellish it? hype it up (because we do live in an age

and culture of hype)? give it a bit more spin (because we seem to have

more spin in our culture than we have simple truth)?

Some may quote Jesus that we should know the signs of the time:

"You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot

interpret the signs of the times." (Matthew 16. 3). But Matthew 24. 36

clearly over-rides this. Indeed, Jesus immediately went on to warn that

"A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but

none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." And, it says, Jesus then

left them and went away. When we become preoccupied with looking for,

trying to discern, expecting the end times in our day, are we not putting

ourselves in the same category? ThePharisees and Sadducees wanted

a sign because what they had before them was not enough. But in fact,

had they been able to discern it, what they had was considereably more

than enough.

Paul's case was different. He simply mistook the situation. We cannot

claim that. We have his mistake and 2000 years of history as a basis

for knowing differently. To know the date the Father has determined is

simply not in our portfolio to be concerned with. In a sense, it does not,

or at least should not, matter to us whether the Second Coming comes at

tea time today or in another 2000 years.

In either case, there will be primarily one judgement for each of us.

Surely, our concern is to be ready for that - whenever it comes. How

and when and where it comes is of no consequence, if only we are ready

for it.