Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“Then, if any man shall say to you, ‘Lo! Here is Christ!’ or ‘There!’, believe it not. For there shall arise false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert’, go not forth; ‘Behold, he is in the secret chambers’, believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Matthew 24:23-27
“But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word eats like a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and they overthrow the faith of some.”
2Timothy 2:16-18
There are people who teach that when a person receives the Spirit of God, Jesus has returned and “the resurrection is past”. According to them, Jesus’ return to earth is a doctrine that has to be taught. But according to Jesus, when he comes out of heaven to reign on the earth a thousand years, nobody will have to be told that he is here. His power will speak for itself. John wrote of the second coming of Jesus, “Watch! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, including those who pierced him, and the nations of earth shall mourn bitterly because of him” (Rev. 1:7). Knowing that Jesus’ coming will not be a secret thing makes it easier for God’s children to identify false teachers when they come, teaching that “the resurrection is past.” The truth lets us know that when the resurrection happens, it will be an experience, not a doctrine.
And this, too, we can know. As long as men are teaching that Jesus has already come, we can rest assured that he has not. When he comes, that event itself will reveal to the whole world that those teachers were false. But thanks be to God, we don’t have to wait until then to discern them.