Christ’s Return: Discomposed or Indifferent?

Second Thessalonians 2.1-12 is a fascinating passage that raises a number of questions about the Lord’s return. For example, who is this “man of lawlessness” that must be revealed before Christ can return? What does Paul mean by the “temple of God” in which the man of lawlessness will sit? Who or what is the “restrainer” who holds him back until the restrainer is removed? How soon after the removal of the “restrainer” will Jesus return? Some of these questions can never be answered with certainty. I certainly will not attempt to tackle them here. Rather, I would like us to simply notice that the Thessalonians were shaken from their composure, thinking that the Lord’s arrival had either already occurred (and maybe they somehow missed it) or that his coming was so imminent as to be upon them (vs.2). Either way, they were shaken up, and Paul writes to them in order to calm them down about the Lord’s coming.

The Bible frequently admonishes us to be anxious about the coming of our Lord, to eagerly wait for him, even hastening his return (Phil 3.20; 1 Thes 1.10; 2 Pet 3.12). Still, the Thessalonians had apparently gone to an extreme, their anxiousness turning to anxiety. That happens occasionally. We’ve all seen the comical image of the bearded guy on the city street, a sign draped over his shoulders that reads “The end of the world is at hand!” Then there are the various religious groups that have attempted to predict the actual timing of Christ’s return: 1914, 1988, Y2K. As those times approached, there were many adherents who had lost their composure, becoming disturbed and stirred up over the prospect of Jesus’ immediate return.

For every extreme, however, there is usually an equal but opposite extreme. Peter deals with the opposite extreme in 2 Pet 3.3-9, where he speaks of mockers who argue that since nothing has changed since the beginning of creation, nothing ever will change. They maintain that since Christ has not yet returned, he probably never will. Rather than being discomposed and shaken up over the immediate return of Christ, they are indifferent and disinterested, living as though he will never return.

There is a fine line between being overly disturbed and worried about Christ’s return and being indifferent. Which side of this line we are on determines how we live our lives. The overly-disturbed and discomposed cannot live in peace and tranquility; the indifferent will not live so as to be prepared. I suspect that most Christians are more like the indifferent than the discomposed. As we go through our daily lives, how often do we think about Christ’s return? Are we eagerly watching and hastening the coming of the Lord? Or are we so distracted with earthly activities or so contented with earthly pleasure that we seldom think of Christ’s return? Have passages like 2 Thessalonians become of little interest to us because we are not focused on Christ’s return? If so, perhaps we have become a little too calm. Maybe we need to be shaken up a bit. A little discomposure might do us some good.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            © Randy Hohf