Troublesome Topic: Key #2 Maintain a Balance Between Perseverance and Imminence

In our minds these two ideas are opposed to each other; they seem to pull against each other. If Christ is coming soon, we do not need to persevere; if we are told to persevere, He must not be returning soon. However, in the minds of people going through persecution it makes perfect sense.

In reality, this is another case of healthy tension found in Scripture. Just as a suspension bridge would fall down if the tension were removed, our eschatology becomes unbiblical if we ignore either side of this tension.

We do not like tension, so we usually try to resolve it. That is good in relationships, but not always good regarding truth. Those who promote a pre-tribulation rapture focus on the word “imminent,” while those who promote the post-tribulation rapture focus on the word “persevere.” Actually we need to focus on both of them at the same time. We need to accept the tension and embrace both ideas, even though in our finite minds they are juxtaposed.

There are other aspects of Scripture that include similar tensions and we have learned to live with them. Think, for instance, about the incarnation. Be honest with yourself; can you fully wrap your mind around the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time? If you say “Yes,” you are either much smarter than I am, or you are lying to yourself. Here are other examples of healthy tensions in the Bible, things that we struggle to wrap our minds around because they pull in opposite directions:

–  How can God be three and yet one?

– Salvation is free yet maintaining our relationship with God will cost us everything; God demands nothing for salvation, yet He demands everything from us in order to keep our salvation.

–  God is holy and He is also full of mercy and grace. We struggle to balance compassion with holiness. We are either too hard on people, or too soft with them. To us these two things seem to pull us in different directions, yet Jesus displayed the perfect balance between the two.

A friend of mine once said that if we could resolve all the areas of tension, we would be like God, and that’s not going to happen.

One example that the Bible often uses for the idea of imminence is that of a pregnant woman. A woman who is pregnant knows that she will go into labor at some point, but she does not know when. Then, when she does start having labor pains, she does not know how much longer it will be before the birthing process is over. The labor pains of a pregnant woman are a good example because they express both certitude and unpredictability, both of which are true of the fulfillment of the age.

I believe the “imminent” and “perseverance” issue is one of those healthy tensions, a situation in which we need to hold on to two things that seem to exclude each other.

The next lesson is: KEY # 3 Understand the Purpose of Apocalyptic Literature in Scripture