Is Jesus coming again? The Bible speaks about his return, but there are so many theories, so much confusion in what people teach.

I have heard so many sermons on the second coming. I was sermon–logged, wringing wet with words about the parousia and the rapture and the tribulation and the White throne.

When I was in my teens was that the next great historic event would be when Russia and China, together with “the Arabs”, attacked Israel, bringing on the battle of Armageddon.

Then, just before my 21st birthday, Egypt attacked Israel. At the end of six days, Israel was stronger than ever, and a key prophecy — about the return of Jerusalem to Israeli control before Jesus returns — was fulfilled. So much for our theories.

It’s so hard to work out a really helpful scheme to explain how it all might go.

If someone gave you the TV guide cut into pieces, would you waste the evening trying to guess where all the pieces fit, or would you see what might happen, and then just watch and enjoy? The Bible promises that the Lord will return, and many people waste their lives pasting down the pieces into a single theory, and squabbling over their different ideas. Why don’t they read the Bible, watch what is happening, and, as each event occurs, work out more clearly what might happen next?

Am I sounding too negative? The most important thing is not to know what the Brethren believe or what the Presbyterians preach, but to know what the Bible says, to know it and to understand it.

I Thessalonians is a key passage on the topic. We can look at five main ideas:

• Hope for all

• Trading places

• Don’t miss out

• Be alert

• Take courage