The Church's Hope

The truth central to all eschatology is the second coming of Jesus Christ itself, what the Greek of the New Testament promises as the parousia, literally the presence (of Jesus Christ). All the other aspects of the biblical doctrine of the coming of Jesus are subordinate to this coming, either as leading to it, accompanying it, or proceeding from it. Therefore, the proper subtitle of this second volume of The Church's Hope: The Reformed Doctrine of the End is The Coming of Christ. The coming of Christ Jesus, with all that is related to it, will be the "end." Such is Jesus' own description of his coming in Matthew 24:14: "And then shall the end come;" which might be paraphrased: "And then shall the goal be reached." The coming of Christ, with all that precedes and follows, is the goal of God, not only with the events of the last days but also of all history. All the events belonging strictly to the last things, all the history of the New Testament church, all the history of the world beginning with its creation, and all the doctrines of the Christian faith have the coming, or presence, of Jesus Christ as their goal. This is the importance of the content of this volume. This is why the outstanding promise of the gospel is that uttered by Jesus himself, "I come quickly" (Rev. 22:12). This is why the fundamental prayer of the church is, in response, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20).