Summary4 min read

Defenders Podcast: Doctrine of the Last Things (Part 9)

Episode Theme: The Time of the Second Coming
Host: Dr. William Lane Craig
Date: May 19, 2021

Overview

In this episode, Dr. William Lane Craig delves into the complex and often controversial topic of the timing of Christ’s Second Coming. He examines scriptural passages, highlighting apparent tensions between texts suggesting a distant return and other passages that seem to imply an imminent event occurring within the lifetimes of Jesus' original listeners. Dr. Craig raises the central question: How should Christians interpret the New Testament teachings on the timing of the Second Coming?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Olivet Discourse: Signs of the Second Coming

(00:12 – 04:24)

Dr. Craig opens by summarizing Jesus' Olivet Discourse (Mark 13), noting Jesus describes several events that must occur before the Second Coming.
- Religious apostasy: “Many will come in my name saying I am he, and they will lead many astray.” (00:46)
- Persecution and global witness: “They will deliver you up to councils, you will be beaten in synagogues…the gospel must first be preached to all nations.” (01:21)
- “He who endures to the end will be saved.” (01:58)
- Tribulation and distress unprecedented in history.
- Wars, conflicts, natural disasters: “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed…there will be earthquakes…famines: this is but the beginning of birth pangs.” (02:45)

Insight:
Dr. Craig stresses that these descriptions make Christ’s return appear distant—not imminent—with various historical, religious, and natural upheavals serving as precursors.

2. Paul’s Letters: Preconditions Before the Second Coming

(04:25 – 07:34)

Paul’s teaching (2 Thessalonians 2:1–10) aligns with the idea of a delayed return:
- Christians in Thessalonica feared “the day of the Lord has already come.” Paul refutes this, saying:
  
  “That day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed…who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (05:26)
- Paul anticipates a future turning of ethnic Israel to Christ, following a “period of spiritual harvest among the Gentiles.” (06:20)
  - “A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:25–26) (06:45)
Summary: Paul appears to assert that significant events—apostasy, the rise of the “man of lawlessness” (Antichrist), and worldwide evangelization—must precede Christ’s return.

3. The Tension: Imminence in Jesus’ Sayings

(07:35 – 10:57)

Dr. Craig draws attention to biblical passages that suggest a soon or even immediate Second Coming:
- Jesus, in Mark 13:30:
  
  “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place.” (08:40)
- Mark 9:1:
  
  “There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” (09:17)
- Matthew 16:28 sharpens the statement:
  
  “There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (09:58)
Insight: These passages suggest that Jesus predicted his return would occur within the lifetime of his original audience. Dr. Craig finds this particularly puzzling:

“So how do you deal with these sayings? On the one hand, we have abundant evidence from Jesus as well as Paul, that the second coming of Christ was not something that was going to happen soon...And yet here you have these very puzzling sayings of Jesus that seem to suggest that he was predicting his return within the lifetime of his hearers.” (10:23)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Apparent Delay:

“It looks as though Jesus is saying, this is a long way off. A lot has to go down first before I come again.” (04:10)
On Paul’s Perspective:

“Paul is saying that a lot of things must happen first before the day of the Lord comes, particularly the appearance of this Antichrist figure who will seat himself in the temple and proclaim himself to be God.” (05:55)
On the Paradox:

“It seems to me that the impression is that Christ’s return is a long way off ... And yet here you have these very puzzling sayings of Jesus that seem to suggest that he was predicting his return within the lifetime of his hearers. How do we deal with this? Well, that is the question that will preoccupy us next week.” (10:24)

Important Timestamps

00:12 — Introduction to the timing question: When will Christ return?
00:46 — Predictions of religious apostasy and false Christs
01:21 — Persecution and global proclamation of the gospel
02:45 — Wars, natural disasters as preludes
04:25 — Paul’s teaching: things that must precede the Second Coming
06:45 — Turning of ethnic Israel after Gentile inclusion
08:40 — Jesus’ saying on “this generation” not passing away
09:17 — “Some standing here will not taste death…” statements
10:23 — Dr. Craig summarizes the interpretive challenge
10:57 — Teaser for next week’s discussion

Conclusion

In this rich and thought-provoking session, Dr. Craig presents the scriptural basis for expecting both a delayed and an imminent Second Coming, setting up the interpretive puzzle that will be addressed in the following episode. He invites listeners to wrestle with the question of how to reconcile these seemingly conflicting teachings—“the question that will preoccupy us next week.”

Loading summary

Transcript2 lines

[00:01]
A
Welcome to Defenders, the teaching class of Dr. William Lane Craig. For more information and resources from Dr. Craig, go to reasonablefaith.org We've been talking
[00:13]
B
about the second coming of Christ, and today we come to one of the most interesting and controversial questions, the question of the time of the second Coming. When is Christ going to return to raise the dead, judge the world and gather the church? On the one hand, as you read Jesus Olivet discourse about the signs of his coming, it would seem that this event is a long way off. This is not something that is imminent. Look at Mark 13 again, the Olivet discourse that we've been talking about for the last few lessons. Notice the elements of Jesus predictions In answer to the disciples question when will this be and what will be the sign when these things are to be accomplished? In Mark 13:5 6, Jesus predicts that there will be a period of religious apostasy. And Jesus began to say to them, take heed that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying I am he, and they will lead many astray. So there will be many false Christs who will lead people away from the truth. Jesus also predicts persecution and a worldwide witness of the church. And in Mark 13, verses 9 to 11 and 13 19, Jesus says, but take heed to yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear testimony before them. And the gospel must first be preached to to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been seen from the beginning of the creation which God created until now and never will be here. Jesus predicts the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. He says it's going to be preached to all nations. There will be persecution, there will be tribulation and distress. It looks like there is a lot that is going to happen before Jesus comes again. He predicts that there will be wars and conflicts, Mark 13:7 8 and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place. But the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines this is but the beginning of birth pangs. Here Jesus predicts one war after another, unrest and turbulence. Notice that he also predicts natural disturbances, famines and earthquakes. Earthquakes. Then in Mark 13, verses 24 to 25, he says, but in those days after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. So this doesn't look like anything imminent to me. It looks as though Jesus is saying, this is a long way off. A lot has to go down first before I come again. When you look at the writings of the apostle Paul, this same impression is, I think, underlined in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 1 to 10. Paul is dealing with the concern of certain persons in Thessalonica who for some reason or another, seem to think that the day of the Lord has already come. Paul calms them by saying, no, no, no, a lot has to happen before the coming of the Lord. He says in verse one. Now, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, and either by spirit or by word or by letter, purporting to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way, for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the Son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power, and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. So Paul is saying that a lot of things must happen first before the day of the Lord comes, particularly the appearance of this Antichrist figure who will seat himself in the temple and proclaim himself to be God. Moreover, we know that Paul anticipated that after a period of spiritual harvest among the Gentiles, during which the mass of the Gentiles would come into the kingdom of God, then ethnic Israel would also experience a turning to God and be saved. He mentions this in Romans 11:25, 26. He says, Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brethren. A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, and he will banish ungodliness from Jacob. So in Paul's thinking during this interim period, there is a kind of spiritual dullness or hardness that has come upon ethnic Israel whereby they refuse the gospel and reject Christ. But Paul says that this will not persist after the full number of Gentiles come into the kingdom. Then he says, israel will also be saved, and there will be a turning to Christ. Among ethnic Jews. You'll remember Jesus saying that the gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations of the world. This would be this harvest among the Gentiles that Paul speaks of as the gospel goes out to the whole world to bring them in before finally Israel will turn to Christ. So, as I say, when you put all this together, it seems to me that the impression is that Christ's return is a long way off. There's going to be wars, rumors of wars, persecution and apostasy, worldwide preaching of the gospel, a tremendous harvest among the Gentiles, a turning of ethnic Israel to Christ, and then finally Christ will come again. Therefore it is so surprising to find Jesus saying things at the end of the Olivet discourse in Mark 13 and in certain other passages that suggest that in fact he thought that the return of the Son of Man was going to happen within the lifetime of his hearers. In Mark 13:30, Jesus says, Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place. This verse unexpectedly seems to suggest that Jesus thought that his return was going to happen within the lifetime of his listeners. And this is not the only verse like this. Look also at Mark 8:38. To Mark 9:1, Jesus says, For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him, will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels? And he said to them, truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. Here again, it seems in this verse that Jesus is saying that there are people listening to him who will experience the coming of the Son of Man in glory and power. Compare this Marken passage with the parallel passage in Matthew, Matthew 16:28. In Matthew's version, the verse is sharpened. It becomes even more obvious. Jesus says in Matthew 16:28 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. Notice the difference in wording between Mark and Matthew. In Mark, Jesus says, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. Matthew says, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. So how do you deal with these sayings? On the one hand, we have abundant evidence from Jesus as well as Paul, that the second coming of Christ was not something that was going to happen soon. It looked like a lot had to happen first. It was a long way off. And yet here you have these very puzzling sayings of Jesus that seem to suggest that he was predicting his return within the lifetime of his hearers. How do we deal with with this? Well, that is the question that will preoccupy us next week. Until then, may God bless you.