Are times ripe for the Messiah's Second Coming?
What I like about Christianity is that it is grounded. Those offered to read the opening verses of St Matthew’s Gospel usually make excuses not to! The passage contains the complete genealogy of Jesus - from Abraham - 42 generations! Did Matthew really need to do this? Yes simply because the birth of Messiah was so ungrounded - so incredible – so unbelievable – yet it happened
Everything about the extraordinary birth of the Messiah had to be announced and prophesied multiple times throughout Jewish history. The Jews needed to be expecting the advent of the Messiah.
These prophesies began with Genesis 3:15 written around 1400 BC probably by Moses. Around 500 years later came Isaiah’s great prophesies text of one which we have just read.
The sequence of key accurate prophesies included:
The location of the Messiah’s birthplace in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
The fact that the Messiah is to be born of a virgin. (Another Isaiah 7:14;)
That he would be proceeded by a forerunner – John Baptist (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1).
That he was to make a triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
That he would be betrayal by a friend for silver – Judas - 30 silver coins (Psalm 41:9).
Details of his crucifixion “his Hands and feet pierced but no bones broken” (Psalm 22).
That he would rise from the dead after three days (Psalm 16:10).
In fact, when John the Baptist’s sent some disciples to Jesus for confirmation that he was the Messiah, Jesus, himself quoted Isaiah 35:6 "Go back and tell John what you see and hear: ‘The blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor."
Now here’s is a thing. Should we be waiting / expecting a second coming – just as the Jews had been waiting for their Messiah 2000 years ago.
Our Lord himself made several completely accurate prophesies - one of which the second coming. Sadly He did not provide a date but He did indicate that there would be certain portents or events which would herald this coming. These included:
"Nation will rise against nation" (Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, and Luke 21:10) Over the last 100 years or so we have had two Global World Wars.
There would be famines. Today more than 300 million people suffer crisis levels of hunger or actual starvation
There would be pestilences and diseases – tens of millions of people died in the 19th Century Flue Pandemic and a further seven million in the recent Covid global pandemic
There would be evil and moral decay (Matthew 24, Revelation, etc.) We have been suffered the rampant materialism - the industrialisation of warfare – the Third Reich – the Holocaust.
Surely the time for the second coming is ripe. Not only have all the portents been fulfilled but technology would now provide a Messiah with an unprecedented live global audience
• At no time in world history would a Messiah be able preach to every person on earth
• At no time previous time would their teaching be accurately recorded - verbatim
• At no time in recorded history would they have been able to travel to every corner of the world and speak to billions of people – live and in their own language
Surely the time is ripe, the signs are ripe, technology ripe. Surely therefore our time should also a time of expectation – like that of people of first century AD
I urge you to see the series on Netflix called the Messiah – it considers what they might look like, how they might be received or not received. (Perhaps is could be the subject of a future Lent course.)
All we have to do is not miss the Messiah. As Jesus said “keep watch, because you do not know on what day or the hour your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:42
Surely the portents are right and our times are right to expect a second the coming of the Our Lord
Two things are certain. Firstly, that the Messiah will return as He prophesied (All their prophesises proved to be accurate) Secondly their advent will be a truly momentous world changing event – just as it was last time when Jesus was born a in a little stable in Bethlehem
Amen
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