⁷The end of all things is near . . .

Make no mistake about it, the NT writers portray the end times as being near. Yet they wrote almost two millennia ago, and the Lord has not yet returned. What gives? We can’t deny that the end times are nearer today than they were yesterday or two thousand years ago (see Romans 13:11). Skeptics might see this as putting the proverbial carrot before the mule, so it is always moving forward yet never attaining the carrot. Is the teaching about the end times being near just a theological carrot? Will it really come, and when?

The question of Christ’s return and the consummation of history has been foremost in believers’ minds since the beginning. After His resurrection and just before His ascension back to heaven, this issue pressed on the disciples’ minds:

“Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power . . . and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:6–8)

We do know He is coming back, even though we don’t know when. While the question entices us, the end has not come because we have a task to fulfill, and that is to preach the gospel. And we do know why His return is delayed, as Peter addresses this in his next letter:

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

His delay is due to His patience and desire for more to be saved. That knowledge helps us endure our difficult times. And that fits with the overall purpose of suffering, to live for God’s will. So in a sense, we redeem our suffering by aligning with God’s objectives for us.

Since suffering is, in fact, suffering, this is not always easy. The teaching of Christ’s soon return is not a carrot on a stick, but it is our hope. This provides us the rationale for being patient, just as He is patient. Our suffering has a purpose, in God’s will, to reach our world with His glory. We need the immediate anticipation of our Lord’s return to help us through our trials of life. The hope of His soon return fosters in us the supernatural patience and endurance to continue carrying on for today. Hope transcends our experience of time, and from an eternal perspective, His return is most definitely near!

Lord, I am awaiting Your return, for it could be today!