Question 13:Why, when the Creeds say so little about Christ’s Return, do you make so much of it?

First of all, let us remind ourselves that the Creeds are not inspired Holy Scripture; the earliest ones in common use date from the 4th Century. The problem is not so much what the Creeds say as what they don’t say. It is easy to make assumptions about what has been left out. Actually much of their teaching has been developed positively, but large segments of the Bible’s predictive prophecy concerning the End Times has be ignoredby those who have built on the other basic statements of the Creeds. Consider the following statement in the Apostles’ Creed: “He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” In some churches the words of one of the Creeds are recited at least weekly, with the result that they may be more familiar than almost any passage of Scripture, except perhaps the ‘Lord’s Prayer’.

These words more or less describe the sum total of the futurist theology of those whom we call Amillennialists. Their movement was consolidated in the 4th Century by Augustine of Hippo, who also did much to reinforce monasticism and the centralised authority of Rome. Some major denominations, who differ greatly in other respects, are remarkably united in their apathy towards the study of God’s promises for the future. The impression which many derive from those words in the Creeds, is that Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven long ago to be seated at His Father’s side (this I would certainly not dispute), and that his next non-heavenly activity is that He will return to earth to conduct a single judgment of all the living and all the deadin a single event at the end of the world.

Not so long ago I heard an earnest and sincere retired minister preaching on how Christ rules in the present world through the Church. He was doing His very best.Sadly his start point was the section of the Apostles’ Creed quoted above, rather than a passage of Scripture. Thereafter he proceeded to support this statement with copious Bible quotes; but the result was quite unconvincing, even though it was clear that he placed a high value on the inspiration of Scripture. I warmed to him, because he clearly loved his Lord and was trying to build up the faith of his listeners.

But the development of his sermon was strangled by the fact that tacitly he was trying to roll the following distinct prophecies into the single event suggested by the Creed:-

(a)The Judgment Seat of Christ or Bema, which is to be in Heaven for believers only, following the Rapture of the Church.

(b)The series of end-time judgments or punishments which will end with the Battle of Armageddon.

(c)The final Jewish holocaust or ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble’, when living Jews will be sifted as wheat and refined as silver and gold.

(d)The Judgment of the Nations or Gentiles (‘Sheep and Goats’), which will occur on earth after Christ returns, to decide who will and who will not enter the glorious Millennial Kingdom and reign of righteousness upon earth.

(e)The Great White Throne, clearly stated to be a thousand years later, when all unbelievers will stand before God.

He seemed to be blissfully unaware of the fact that these are not ‘different pictures of the same thing’,an all too common approach which devalues the Bible’s extensive end-time prophecy, confusing the sincere seeker after God’s promises for the future, and sometimes even leading people to turn to the ‘stars’ and other occult devices to satisfy not only idle curiosity, but sometimes the heartfelt longing to know more

I felt that this preacher was uncomfortable with the case he was making. After all, he must have been aware that there are a host of unconditional Bible prophecies, which:-

a)Were still future when the New Testament was completed.

b)Must therefore be fulfilled sometime.

c)Cannot reasonably be allegorised or ‘spiritualised’.

I have said ‘unconditional’; but there may be one proviso. Many, like the following, do have a single condition – that of timing. Until something specific happens first, they have to be ‘put on hold’. That something may be the Rapture of the Church, or the future Great Tribulation, or Christ’s Coming in Power.

  • “Until Shiloh comes…” (Gen 49:10).
  • “Until the cities are laid waste…” (Isa 6:9).
  • “Until the Spirit is poured upon us…” (Isa 32:15).
  • “Until her righteousness goes forth…” (Isa 62:1).
  • “Till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth…” (Isa 62:7).
  • “Until He comes whose right it is…” (Ezek 21:27).
  • “Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth” (Mic 5:3).
  • “Until you say ‘blessed is He…” (Matt 23:39).
  • “Until I make Your enemies Your footstool…” (Matt 22:44).
  • “Till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'" (Matt 23:39).
  • “Until that day in My Father’s Kingdom…” (Matt 26:29).
  • “Until the times of restoration” (Acts 3:21).
  • “Until the fullness of the Gentiles…” (Rom 11:25).

All the above are from the NKJV Bible.

There is quite a detailed end-time programme to found in the Bible. After all, four Gospels are devoted largely to a period of between three and three and a half years at the First Coming of Jesus Christ, so we should not be surprise that much space is devoted to around seven years about the time of His Second Coming and the thousand years which are to follow it.

To return to the original question, the reason why we in Bible Prophecy Foundation make so much of these matters is because the Bible does! Moreover, current world events are making an awareness ever more urgent.

DCBC