--------------------------Audio Transcript------------------------ Did Jesus Already Come Back?! This is a question many people out there have. We'll be diving deep into this topic on Episode Two of The Word in the World. This episode was requested by @_FlatEarthBeliever_, let's get into it. You know, sometimes, in our little corners of the internet or even just in conversations with people, you hear things that make you kind of stop and scratch your head. One of those things, which has really been out there lately, especially in some corners of social media and in person, is this idea that Jesus already came back. Did Jesus already return? Now, for most of us who grew up in the church, or who have read the New Testament, our immediate gut reaction is, "No, of course not. The signs aren't there." But for some, this isn't just a hypothetical question. It's a genuine belief. They're convinced that the second coming already happened, and we missed it. Or that it was a spiritual event, not a physical one. This is a theological position that has a name. It's called "Preterism." And there are different levels of it. Preterism teaches that all biblical prophecies, including the second coming of Christ, were fulfilled in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem. Now, why does this matter? Well, it matters because it completely upends our understanding of what it means to be a Christian. It changes our hope. It changes our mission. It changes everything we're told to look forward to. And for those of us who believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, it’s crucial to know what the Bible actually says about this. So, let’s dig into this today. Did Jesus already come back? And what does the Bible say about how we’ll know when he does? Okay, let’s start with the basics. What does the Bible say about Jesus's second coming? When we’re talking about the second coming, what we’re talking about is the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior. We’re talking about the culmination of history, the final judgment, and the establishment of his eternal kingdom on earth. First, let's look at the signs. Jesus himself, in Matthew 24, gives us a very clear picture of what the world will look like leading up to his return. He talks about wars and rumors of wars. He talks about famines and earthquakes. He talks about false prophets and the persecution of believers. Now, a lot of people will say, "Well, we have all of that! So, it must have already happened, or we're in the final stages!" And yes, we have had wars and rumors of wars for two thousand years. We’ve had famines and earthquakes. But Jesus says, "All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." He's saying, "Look, these are just the initial signs. Don't be fooled into thinking this is it." And then, he says something absolutely crucial. In Matthew 24:27, he says, "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." Think about that for a second. Lightning. When lightning strikes, everyone sees it. It’s not a secret. It’s not something that you have to be in a special spiritual club to know about. You don't have to be on a special mountain or have a special vision. It’s a worldwide, undeniable, visible event. This is the exact opposite of a secret, spiritual, or quiet return. This is not something that could have happened in 70 A.D., or in 1948, or even yesterday, without the entire world knowing about it. And then, he gets even more specific. In Matthew 24:30, it says, "Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." "They will see." Not just some people. "All the tribes of the earth." This is a global, visual, physical event. And this isn't just a Matthew thing. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4, gives us a similar picture. He says, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord."
-------------------Audio Transcript Continued----------------- ...Does that sound like a secret event in 70 A.D. to you? A trumpet blast? The voice of an archangel? The dead rising? That’s not a quiet, spiritual return. That’s a loud, physical, Earth-shattering event. And finally, we have the account of Jesus’s ascension in Acts 1. After Jesus had been resurrected and was with his disciples, he was lifted up into a cloud and taken out of their sight. And what did the two men in white robes say to them? "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." "In the same way." He went up physically, in a cloud, in front of them. He will come back physically, in a cloud, in front of everyone. So, when someone says, "Jesus already came back," you have to ask them, "Where was the trumpet? Where was the global mourning? Where were the dead rising from their graves?" And the answer, of course, is that none of those things happened. Now, a Full Preterist would say that all of this language is symbolic. They’d say "coming on the clouds" doesn't mean literal clouds, but rather a spiritual manifestation of God's power. They would argue that "the dead rising" refers to spiritual regeneration, not a physical resurrection. But here’s the problem with that kind of interpretation: it undermines the very nature of biblical prophecy. It forces us to interpret the plain meaning of the text as something else entirely. If we can just say that "coming on the clouds" is a metaphor, then what else is? What about the resurrection of Christ himself? Was that just a spiritual event? The Bible is very clear about the physical resurrection of Christ. To say that the resurrection is not physical is to undermine the entire Christian faith, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." So, you see, this isn't just some fringe theological debate. This is at the heart of our Christian hope. Our hope is not in some secret, spiritual return that we have to be enlightened to know about. Our hope is in the promised, glorious, visible, and undeniable return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who will come back to set all things right. When people start to get lost in these kinds of ideas, it's often because they're looking for a secret key or a special knowledge. But the gospel isn't a secret. It's a public proclamation. And the coming of our King will be the most public proclamation of all. So, rest assured, you guys. Don't worry. You didn't miss it. He’s not here yet. While we wait for the Lord to return, let's keep doing everything for his glory and his glory alone. That’s all for today's episode. Thank you so much for tuning in and thank you to @_FlathEarthBeliever_ once again for requesting this episode. I'll see y'all next time on the next episode of The Word in the World. @_FlatEarthBeliever_ for requesting the episode. Episode Length 6 minutes and 42 seconds. #Jesus #popular #trending #God #christian #theWordintheWorld
