Rounding out the collage were antifa and anarchist symbols. At one point, while denouncing critical race theory, he posted an ominous slide showing logos for The New York Times’s 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter framed around a Soviet hammer and sickle. He slammed gun restrictions and progressive income taxes, government health care and state-run education curriculum. Inside this house of worship, Barton spent an hour and fifteen minutes exalting a curious version of the Christian ideal. Barton assured us that America’s misdeeds were relatively minor - “All races, all people, all nations, have had slavery and been slaves at some point themselves,” he said nonchalantly - and that secular progressives were deliberately amplifying them to diminish that goodness and godliness of America. Inconvenient episodes such as slavery were relegated to a footnote. In a baggy dark suit and bright orange tie, clicker in hand, Barton droned through a slide show that patched together quotes and dates and bygone events to make his case that America is a good nation because it was founded as a godly nation. This is what the “American Restoration Tour” was all about: restoring a version of America that never existed. Barton and his ilk are invested less in advancing individual policies than they are in reconceiving our system of self-government in its totality, claiming a historical mandate to rule society with biblical dogma just as the founders supposedly intended. He is an avowed Christian nationalist who favors theocratic rule moreover, he is a so-called Dominionist, someone who believes Christians should control not only the government but also the media, the education system, and other cultural institutions. “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13).Throughout his decades of public life - working for the Republican Party, becoming a darling of Fox News, advising politicians such as new House Speaker Mike Johnson, launching a small propaganda empire, carving out a niche as the American right’s chosen peddler of nostalgic alternative facts - Barton had never been shy about his ultimate aims. Like the five wise virgins in Jesus’ parable (Matthew 25:1-13), we must be ready. Jesus could return for His own at any moment, and that event will set in motion the series of events detailed in Revelation 6-18. Our salvation is “ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). The rapture could occur at any moment (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 1 Corinthians 15:50-54) and can rightly be called “imminent.” However, according to the pre-tribulational view, the rapture will take place before the tribulation. Therefore, the second coming is not imminent. The second coming of Christ, when He defeats His enemies and sets up His kingdom, will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place, including the tribulation (Matthew 24:15-30 Revelation chapters 6–18). If the disciples and the early church were to expect the coming of the Lord at any time, how much more should we be waiting in keen expectation?Īt this point, it is good to distinguish between the second coming of Christ, proper, and the rapture of the church. Throughout the New Testament, the church is told to be ready (Philippians 3:20 Titus 2:13 1 Thessalonians 5:6). The command to “be ready” implies imminence. “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Luke 12:40). Jesus taught His disciples to watch for His return. Revelation 1:3 and 22:10 also say that “the time is near.” James encourages us to “be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:8). However, the Bible says that Jesus’ return is near, and we are to wait eagerly for it (Romans 8:19-25 1 Corinthians 1:7 Philippians 4:5 Jude 21). It is important to remember in any discussion of eschatology that God does not intend for us to fully understand the timing of His plans. Take heed, keep on the alert for you do not know when the appointed time will come” (verses 32-33). Jesus responded, “Of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. One of their questions was, “When will these things happen?” (Mark 13:4). Jesus spoke of His return repeatedly during His ministry, which naturally prompted questions from His disciples. The imminence of Christ’s return is generally taught among evangelicals, with some disagreement according to one’s view of dispensationalism and whether one holds a pre-, mid-, or post-tribulational view of the rapture. There is nothing more in biblical prophecy that needs to happen before Jesus comes again. The word imminent means “likely to happen at any moment impending.” When we speak of the imminence of Christ’s return, we mean that He could come back at any moment.
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