James 5:8 affirms that Christ’s coming is at hand or near. But, after nearly two thousand years, how are we to understand this promise? Jesus described the coming kingdom (Matt. 4:17, Matt. 10:7, Matt. 24:33) by means of parables to teach the unfamiliar heavenly things in terms that are understandable. A close study of these parables reveals that the kingdom has two aspects: a present, spiritual reality and a glorious reality still to come. All the apostles fixed their hope in the imminent coming of Jesus (Rom. 13:11, Heb. 10:25, James 5:9), but they never identify exactly when that would be. Like us, they wanted to know when, but Jesus explained that this information was not best for them to know (Acts 1:6-7). After all, how zealous would they be in sharing the gospel with the world had they known that the work would not be finished for almost 2,000 years-and counting? What does James mean when he says establish your hearts (James 5:8, NKJV) and why do you think the awaited fruit is called precious (timios; vs. 7)? (See 1 Thess. 3:13, 2 Thess. 3:3, 1 Pet. 1:19, 1 Cor. 3:12.)
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 19:30:00 +0000
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