The Coming of Christ

The Coming of Christ

When the bible talks about the return of Christ it uses the words apokalupsis, epiphaneia and parausia. These three words capture the paradoxical insight of the “already/not yet” tension within the Kingdom of God.

 Perhaps a better way to understand the coming of Christ is to grasp the power, significance and influence of the fact that the King and His Kingdom has already come in all His fullness in Christ and as a result of what has already happened thru His work and person, He has not stop coming to all His creation ever since. 

He is still showing His glory in revelation-- apokalupsis. He is still manifesting Himself to the worshipper--epiphania and His royal procession keeps arriving thru out all of His territory within creation in great visitation and demonstration of His presence and power--parausia. There will be one last final push in all of this birthing process that will like none other in the resurrection of the dead, the transformation of the cosmos, and the destruction of evil.

 But perhaps we have focused so much in this final moment that we have isolated and narrowed Christ’s coming into one single event, disconnected from all that He has already done and is still trying to do throughout all the earth through us. 

What if this last final scatological birthing push is in reality the accumulation of all previous divine interventions, reaching a climax thru our Kingdom participation in the fulfillment of our responsibility and vocation in the great commission? Is this too optimistic? Is this just not realistic enough for us? If this view is the real case scenario, then we have to get off our lazy couch and go to work because we still have a big job to do in this world!! Let us discovered the true meaning of that old first century short prayer Maranatha!! Our Lord cometh!! Even so, come Lord Jesus!!