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As a mountain biking coach, my goal is to help riders reach higher levels of proficiency on their bike. Each comes knowing how to ride a bike, but few know how to truly flow on the trail. The learning process requires they deconstruct childhood biking habits, and reconstruct the foundation for real skill. Similarly, we each have a “childhood eschatology” (assumption about how things will end) and if yours is derived from modern evangelicalism and christian fiction, then the biblical eschatology offered today will feel like relearning how to ride.

I’m concluding this series with Jesus’ final “I AM” statement: “I AM coming soon.” This phrase is found in the book of Revelation in four places: at Revelation’s beginning in the letter to the church in Philadelphia, then three times in the last chapter of the Bible.

1. “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (3:11)
2. “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (22:7)
3. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” (22:12)
4. “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20)

Dispensationalism convinced christian modernity that Jesus’ claim to come back was a cryptic message which had nothing to do with the intended audience, but instead was written for an audience two-thousand years later. Sit with the absurdity of this claim. I’ve addressed this subject at length in my series entitles: the Bible’s Eschatology , I hope you’ll educate yourself with this content.

Each “I am coming soon” is nestled within a unique context which is vital to understanding, and for the sake of time, I won’t unpack them now. It’s important to understand, that each time Jesus says: “I AM coming soon”, it’s within the “revelation” or “vision” portion of the text. The historical timeframe of Revelation is around AD 65-69, where John documents his vision, and this vision resides within a larger context of Revelation 1:1 and 22:6 which function as quotation marks for everything said in the book.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” (1:1)

“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” (22:6)

Textually speaking, Revelation is an historical book which is supported by a tremendous amount of historical, archaeological, biblical and extra biblical documents. When it speaks of the future, most of it is the near future of AD 70. Evangelicalism has instead embraced a “Harry Potter” level of fantastical assumption, along with its unbiblical and unbelievable theological conclusions instead of the obvious textual and historical facts.

We must ask ourselves why 80% of Christian believers still prefer interpreting Revelation based on current events…TikToker’s are this generation’s Hal Lindsey, or Jack Van Impe. I’m convinced that these “I AM” statements are misunderstood. Over 100 years ago, dispensationalism latched onto the narrative of Jesus coming back again… in the flesh (more on this)…but this time bringing a giant can of “Whoop Ass”. Fictional authors and Hollywood cashed in on these storylines in the 70’s and 80’s and now our biblically illiterate generation cannot “un-see” Jesus’ immanent return from the news.

Here are three problems when “I AM coming soon” is forced into our near future instead of experiencing Christ here & now.

1. Insisting Jesus hasn’t come back yet.

The Bible is clear in the book of Acts that Jesus does in fact come back…and he came back soon. The disciples each spoke to him, touched him and ate with him after his resurrection. When his body ascended in the cloud (Acts 1:9) two angels spoke to the disciples saying:

“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)

The discourse reveals the Holy Spirit of God comes at the (hèxos–loud sound, trumpet or gong) like rushing wind. This “noise from heaven” is the announcement of the arrival of the king. Paul later latches on to this experience of the disciples and writes about Christ coming to us with the “sound of a trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16). My conclusion is that scripture has left us with plenty of evidence that the spirit of Christ has returned.

2. Insisting that Jesus’ coming back “in Spirit” is insufficient to a physical bodily return.

Here again the scripture tells us otherwise. Namely, that the physical body of Christ is his church.

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,…” (Ephesians 4:11-12)

3. Conflating Jesus’ bodily return with a future Kingdom heresy.

Churchianity is a $1.2 Trillion earth evacuation business. If each community were to accept their responsibility to live and act as Jesus’ physical body, then they would be forced to agree with Jesus that the Kingdom of God has come. By deferring the kingdom’s arrival, religion can hate and pit itself against the culture instead of redeeming it. FOMO and threat are what motivates cults, not the true Church. The reason the Kingdom of God is invisible today has everything to do with religion insisting we aren’t in it.

Each and every person who shares even a tiny bit of faith in Christ is a necessary contributor and participant in His physical body. In that sense, we are each the second coming of Christ, as the Spirit dwells within us and we serve one another with the gifts given by His Spirit. This means Christ returns (the veil of the kingdom is removed) in and as each of us, as we surrender our lives to Christ.

Fortunately, we can test this. If Christ has returned in the bodily form as Spirit enabled servants of humanity, then (since a tree is known by its fruit) we need only look for those occasions where true healing and transformation exist and then look close enough to see precisely how Christ was physically existence in and through the lives of others. Widen your view beyond “church” or “christian” and instead look for these things: helping of the helpless, stories of finding true freedom, liberation from addiction or harmful thinking, and the comforting of the broken hearted.

What you’ll find is exactly what I found. Jesus who said: “I AM coming soon” has indeed come, and continues to come in and as his people who follow Him. Some follow him via a traditional faith and understanding, others follow him via a faith that has very little consciousness of Christ but shares his love for all others.

“…when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'” (Matthew 25:39)

This means that “I AM coming soon” has an immediate potential within each person within each moment, and that is how we get to the deeper understanding. Christ waits to “come soon”, to appear today, in and as us, through our life. It’s as simple as saying: “What is the most loving thing I can do right now?” and then doing it.

Paul understood the second coming, but religion cannot profit off of it, so we ignore this powerful truth.

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)