II Thessalonians 1-3;
Acts 18:12-19:22
While Paul is in Corinth, he writes a second letter to the followers of Christ in Thessalonica, encouraging them to stand firm in their faith in the face of persecutions and afflictions. Key to that faith is the expectation of Christ’s return, when God will set all things right, bringing to judgment their tormentors and giving relief to the believers.
Do we truly believe in the Second Coming? Do we look expectantly for Christ’s return? Oh, sure, we say we do. After all, it is a well-known doctrine of the Church, and we profess it when we recite the Creeds: “…He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead…” But do we really believe it? Or, after 2,000 years of waiting, have we adopted a more “pragmatic” or more “realistic” view, in which we live in effective denial of this doctrine altogether? Has the Second Coming become blasé?
During this Advent season, as we remember and rejoice in the humble birth of the Christ Child, meek and mild, may we also look expectantly forward to that Day when Christ will come again in glory as King, revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire… (II Th. 1:7b-8a) In whose camp do you want to be on that Day? Are you ready?
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