The return of Jesus Christ is imminent always, impossible never. For that reason, the Church of Christ must labor all the more diligently to go out into the “fields” of this world and reap that which is “already white for the harvesting”.

You may ask, however, “Does eschatology really matter? Is it really all that impactful to believe, one way or another, when Jesus is going to return?” The answer is that, of course, it matters a great deal. Consider the following sentences and see if they sound familiar: “Do you see how bad things are? I mean, really, they can’t get much worse than this, or God is going to need to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. We’re definitely in the last days. It’s a good thing Jesus will be coming back soon to get us out of here. I’m so glad I won’t have to go through tribulation.”

I’ve heard sentiments like those in the above paragraph for about as long as I can remember. Growing up in churches that had basically incorporated the eschatology of The Left Behind book-series from the late 90s and early 2000s, the eager expectation that most churchgoers I knew held to was one in which the best we could hope for as Christians was a quick escape from this world. The expectation I was taught to share in was that, eventually, Jesus would Rapture the Church (which, by this point, would be a dismal lot, indeed) out of this world and then, after having done so, send seven years of Great Tribulation. At the end, Jesus would return and judge His enemies.

Such an eschatological view should, theoretically, result in a great deal of missions-minded saints, working towards the spreading of the gospel. Those who believe that the world is soon to end, and that Jesus is going to “rapture” the church quickly, should be those who are at the forefront of the missions movements. But my experience was quite different. This eschatological view did not enliven us to missions, but instead encouraged hunkering down. Rather than taking the gospel to the world—or even our neighbors—we cloistered closer together. Rather than go out, we shrank in. The result was that we saw missions work as the sort of thing that only a select few were called to do. Our calling, on the other hand, basically amounted to staring at the clouds, reading newspapers, watching dreadful news reports, and singing “Kumbaya” as we awaited the return of Jesus.

Historical Eschatology and the Development of Missions

While all orthodox Christians agree that Christ will return, orthodox Christians do disagree on the finer points of eschatology. While my task in this article is not to convince the reader of one eschatological view over another, it is my task to stir you onward to missions-mindedness, and thus I think it essential to encourage you, the reader, toward an eschatology of hope, regardless of where you fall on the millennium scale. Consider some of the following historical truths.

Following the Reformation and the rise of Puritanism, the Church of the eighteenth century experienced a golden age of missions. Men, like William Carey, argued for the need to take the gospel to the heathen nations of the world, while the Puritans who settled the New World brought the gospel and a Christian influence with them where they settled. This “golden age of missions” lasted quite a while and the optimism of these missionaries was contagious. They trusted the promises of God, believed that Jesus was going to return soon, and saw it as their mission to see the world Christianized so that when Jesus did return, He would return to a world welcoming Him with worshipful arms.

Some major differences today are not only an eschatological shift from Amillennialism and Postmillennial to Dispensational beliefs, but a shift from unmitigated trust in the promises of God’s Word to a biblical and prophetic interpretation that is based upon what our eyes can see, rather than pure faith. Though we are commanded to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), many have allowed their understanding of Christ’s imminent return to be clouded by newspaper headlines and the negative musings regularly delivered to them in 280 characters or less.

A large driving factor of earlier missions movements was the belief that God was going to save His elect, establish His Kingdom, usher in a period of prosperity, and then return after the nations had been Christianized. Today, the emphasis seems to be on seeing souls saved so that as many as possible are saved from the Great Tribulation. In the past, mission movements were about saving people for something (to glorify God, participate in Christ, become citizens of His Kingdom), whereas the emphasis today is saving people from something (from the penalty of sin, death, and hell). Neither is wrong and both have their dangers, but the optimism of the former is desperately needed by the Church today. It is not merely that Christ’s return is imminent and so sinners must be saved from the wrath to come, but that sinners must be saved before He returns so they can eternally worship Him.

The hopeful optimism of the old missionaries is connected to the way in which the “Great Century of Missions” kicked off with the First Great Awakening and a true feeling of hopefulness for the world. It is understandable why some of this optimism was lost. The last century of missions has been dominated by wars and rumors of wars, and a certain sense of hopelessness for the world. Can anyone be blamed for being less than optimistic about the future? However, a balance between the hopeful optimism of the past and the realistic view of the present needs to be struck. Because Christ’s return is imminent always, Christians must see the truth that sinners need to be saved from sin for the glory of God.

A prime example of the 18^th and 19^th century missions philosophy comes from Henry Martyn, “[Who] said upon his arrival [in India], ‘Now let me burn out for God.’”[i] We must view our lives as flames in the hand of God that are being used to light the path of sinners. Likewise, William Carey’s excellent manuscript, titled, An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, cuts to the heart of both the need for missions and the optimism experienced by many during this period that the Great Commission would be successful. We must believe that missions will be successful even today, because God has promised it would be so.

Admittedly, this does not mean that the modern missions movement is devoid of hope regarding God’s success in converting sinners, but it does mean that a variety of problems have plagued the modern era, including (but not limited to): wars like World War II, the Vietnam, Korean, and Gulf wars; communism and Marxism; the collapse of the West; and racial tension. Consider the difference between the sermon content of Carey’s An Enquiry, wherein he called for Christians to take the gospel to the heathens, and Wimpy Harper’s speech at the Texas Baptist Convention in 1958, when he decried the racial animosity of whites toward blacks. While the mission of proclaiming the gospel has not changed, there have been plenty of distractions to focus the attention of Christians and their mission agencies elsewhere.

Because the return of Christ is imminent, we need to get our attention focused back upon the mission. Christians must be realistic about the world in which we live in order to know the enemy and how to best engage in combat. At the same time, because the return of Christ is imminent, the need for Christian optimism and unwavering trust in God’s promises has never been more needed.

Healthy Eschatology and Healthy Missions

The imminent return of Christ is assured because, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, the Apostles who watched Him ascend were promised by angels, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). And Jesus later promised, in Revelation 16:15, “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” It is not that we are just now approaching the last days; we have been living in the last days ever since the advent of Jesus! We “are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). For this reason, we are those running through the streets of a burning city at night, crying for the people inside their homes to awake and flee to salvation, for “if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into” (Matthew 24:43).

We must not lose sight of the fact that our mission has been made by Christ Himself. The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 holds the following truths: “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Jesus, who possesses all authority and has promised to always be with us, now commands us to go forth and make disciples. How? Through the gospel. By calling sinners to repent and believe in Jesus, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). And we can do so with great hope, because Jesus has promised that He will build His Church and the gates of Hell will never prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18).

Likewise, Jesus has called us to look to a harvest of lost sinners that is white for the harvest. This is a harvest that is so rich, so grand, so large, that we are actually called to pray for even more laborers to go forth into it (Matthew 9:38). He has promised to gather His elect (John 6:37) and, like bricks, will place each one of us in His Church exactly where we are supposed to be placed, for He is the Builder of the House (Ephesians 2:20-22). Though His return is always imminent, He will remain at the Father’s right hand until the final brick is laid and the whole world is made a footstool beneath His feet (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Hebrews 10:13). His return will be to an earth that has been conquered for His glory and of which dominion has been taken (Genesis 1:28).

Understanding these truths simply cannot produce a pessimistic outlook, but must create a hopeful optimism in the hearts of Christians that sinners will, in fact, be saved through the gospel and that “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the seas” (Habakkuk 2:14).

When the illustration of the white harvest is coupled with these promises, the missions approach we undertake changes dramatically. Rather than cutting ourselves off from society, we must labor all the more diligently to go forth and, as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, proclaim the gospel, making disciples, and seeing Christ’s Church built.

Our mission, then, exists for two reasons: (1) because Christ’s return is imminent, we long to see sinners saved from the wrath of God that Jesus will bring with Him upon His remaining enemies; and (2) because Christ’s return is imminent, we long to see Him return to a world that has, by and large, turned to Him as Lord and Savior and is now waiting to welcome back her King with worshipful arms of praise. The imminent return of Christ necessitates missions.

References:

[i] Robin Hadaway, A Survey of World Missions (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2020), 79.