COMING: READY OR NOT

Book excerpt: Eschatology is only a part of the total program of God. We need to gain the perspective of God’s plan from everlasting to everlasting. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega—the Beginning and the End. The study of the Second Coming forces the enquirer to reflect on the whole picture of the comprehensive plan of God for the redemption of the world, with a very clear sense of direction from the Creation of the world, through the events of the Cross, through to the Coming of Christ to reign on the earth. To trivialise the Second Coming, is to demean the whole program of God, and to thereby debase my existence and purpose as a Christian. Further, it demeans the whole of God’s revelation through His word the Bible. Unashamedly the Word of God is quoted extensively throughout this book. It is the only authority for the whole scenario of God’s plan. This book is comprehensive in its coverage of the whole spectrum of the Kingdom of God, from the creation to the consummation of the kingdom into the Eternal State. A failure to appreciate God’s original purpose for the creation, emasculates any understanding of the direction and purpose of God’s program. God’s Kingdom is expressed in the Old Testament through His chosen people Israel, and they figure significantly in the whole eschatological program. Jesus’ first Coming to inaugurate His Kingdom gives important perspective to His Second Coming to consummate His Kingdom. The creation of the church as a manifestation of His body, is essential to the understanding of the events of the Rapture and the Bema Judgment in particular.