Adventists have been preaching the nearness of the Second Coming of Christ for over a century and a half. Many Advent believers, in particular of earlier generations, expected Christ to come in their lifetime. The "signs of the times" were clear enough: time could only last a few more years, but certainly not much longer.

Today many Adventists are not so sure. Yes, they see the signs. But they increasingly wonder: Have earthquakes, wars, and famines not always filled the annals of mankind? Maybe the two world wars of the twentieth century, the droughts in sub-Sahara Africa, and the HIV-AIDS epidemic were of a scale that was not seen before. But the Black Death and the Thirty Years War possessed as much of a signlike character as do the bloody conflicts and disasters that have plagued our planet the last few decennia.

Adventists must continue to emphasize the reality of the return of Christ. They must point people to the clear signals that history is moving toward its finale. But they must also understand that pointing to a specific time, and even saying that the Second Coming cannot be more than a few years or even a generation or so away, does not belong to the essence of the proclamation of the Advent.

Theories about the final phase of earth’s history abound. It is surprising how, for instance, the idea of the secret rapture has been popularized, not only in religious books and popular commentaries, but also through apocalyptic fiction. In Europe, until quite recently the idea of a secret rapture was hardly known, even in Evangelical circles, but today most general bookstores carry a range of popular apocalyptic writings in which some version of the time of trouble and the secret rapture form one of the standard ingredients.

So Adventist still have their work cut out. They must continue to emphasize the biblical view of the Second Coming, which will be far from secret. In fact, when reading 1 Thessalonians 4:16 one would be tempted to refer to the Second Coming as one of the most public and noisiest features of the apocalyptic scenario. Yet, important though the questions regarding the when and how of Jesus’ return remain, they are not the most crucial aspects that need to be considered.

John Brunt in his book Now and Not Yet (1987) emphasized how many Adventists have very firm ideas regarding the "when" and "how," but they are not so sure about the "Who" of the Second Coming. As a result, often they are not looking forward with keen anticipation, but rather with a sense of uncertainty or fear.

This week’s study emphasizes the supreme lordship of the One who is to come. Read Revelation 19 and other portions of Scripture that are highlighted. Christ returns as Kings of Kings and Lord of Lords. These and other passages underscore the absolute sovereignty of the coming Christ over everything—:the cosmos, this planet, mankind, the church, you, and me?

The lessons of the past twelve weeks have dealt with various aspects of Christ’s lordship. It must by now have dawned on most who have diligently studied their weekly lesson that Christ’s lordship includes every facet of our lives. If he is my lord, there is no hour of my life over which he has no say. If he is my lord, there is no purchase I make that I would want to keep a secret from him. If he is my lord, there is no book in my bookcase that I would not want him to seem and no place I frequent where I would not want to take him with me.

Humanly speaking, full acknowledgment of Christ’s lordship is beyond me. Of course, I might try to repeat it to myself, as a pious mantra, "Christ is my lord" and keep on doing this so long that I may begin to believe that I have reached the point where he is, indeed, my lord. But Jesus himself said that it takes more than words. "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

It requires help from above to really make Christ the lord of my life in every respect. This is what the apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers: "No one can say, ’Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3).

The one who is to come at the end of time is the Lord. The good news, we are told, is that he is not just the lord of a group of people who have included a reference to his coming in the name of the denomination to which they belong. He is Lord of All (Acts 10:36). Yet salvation is eventually limited to those who confess he is lord, those who have internalized the conviction that Christ is their Lord.

In the end, the dividing line is not between members of a church who call themselves believers in the Advent and those who have not arranged for their names to be on the records of that denomination. The dividing line is between those who have truly made Christ their lord by fully submitting to him and those who may be talking about him and may refer to him as their lord, but without realizing what his lordship actually implies.

Adventists have an important message. They will continue to preach about the "when" and "how" of the returning Christ. But the focus in their communications will, in particular, be on the "Who" of the Second Coming—on the One who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

When history is over, every knee will bow and all the redeemed will confess Christ as Lord of Lords. But confessing his lordship in that glorious moment is contingent upon recognizing him as our lord in our present existence. For that reason, the Adventist message remains what it has always been: focused on the future while being firmly rooted in the here and now.

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