Bible Stories

The New Testament teaching about the future is not that we look forward to what we do not have at the moment. For the Christian, the present and the future are closely tied together. So before we look at how Christians should prepare for the future, we need to look at the way the present and the future affect each other.

The Jewish hope

When God’s people in the Old Testament were attacked by other nations and taken away into exile, they looked forward to the time when they believed God would return them to their land and make them a great nation again. However, this hope was frustrated so many times that it began to take on a new form.

By the time of Jesus the Jews believed that God would send his Messiah to interrupt history and set up the kingdom of God. All Israel’s enemies and overlords would be judged, and God’s people would live with him for ever.

The New Testament hope

When Jesus came, his teaching about the future was not quite so simple. On one hand, he seemed to be saying that the kingdom of God was already here:

Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.’

On the other hand, he seemed to say that the kingdom of God would be in the future. At the Last Supper he said, I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Jesus wanted to show that the kingdom of God would not suddenly arrive as a complete package, as the Jews were expecting. Rather, he had come to start the work of the kingdom of God, but it would only come fully when he returned. The period of time between his ascension and his return would be an in-between period which the Jews had not foreseen. During that time, God’s kingdom would work in the middle of an evil world.

Now, but not yet

So the kingdom of God is here now (partially), but in another sense it is not yet here (fully). So the church lives in a time when the kingdom of God is only partially at work. People respond to the good news, people are healed, and the Holy Spirit gives God’s gifts to the church - all this shows that the kingdom is at work. But Christians also hope for the future coming of the kingdom, when we will live with God.

So Christians do not merely look forward to something they do not have at the moment. There is a real sense in which we already enjoy something of the future now. Our hope for the future means that we can work to bring some of the future qualities of the kingdom into our world now. We may work for a more just society, forgive those who wrong us, speak out on behalf of those who are disadvantaged. The kingdom of God is not merely in the future - it also invades the present.

Signs of the times

This whole period between Jesus‘ resurrection and his return is called ‘the last days‘ in the New Testament. We should not think of ‘the last days‘ as only the last few years before the return of Jesus. Many Christians think that the Bible is full of clues showing that there is a whole timetable of events leading up to his return. It looks as if all we have to do is tick the events off as they occur in history, and we will be able to pinpoint fairly accurately when Jesus should return.

But Jesus never meant his teaching to be used in this way. When he taught about his return, he was not merely giving information about the future. He meant his words to make his followers prepare for his coming by living properly in the present. The signs that he talked about - wars, famines, disasters and so on - were meant to characterize the whole period of the last days, and not only the last few years of that period. Because Jesus stressed the need to be ready for his coming, his parables on the subject are very practical and down to earth.

Being ready

Jesus once talked about a master who leaves his servant to go on a long journey. He gives his servant the responsibility of looking after his household. When he returns from the journey unexpectedly, the master will want to find that his servant has looked after the house and has treated his fellow servants well. In the same way, Jesus will judge us according to the way we have obeyed him in facing our responsibilities in this life.

Jesus said that we should be prepared for his coming, because it would come at an unexpected time, like the visit of a thief at the dead of night. To be prepared does not mean gazing upwards, forgetting our earthly responsibilities. Instead it means to fulfil those responsibilities.

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