The Church is being Taught to Sleep
Orientation
The Church is being systematically taught not to watch for Christ's return, leading to spiritual sleep rather than the vigilance Scripture commands.
- Scoffing at prophecy undermines our anticipation.
- Teaching that the Lord delays His coming removes urgency.
- This loss of watchfulness leads to spiritual decline and moral decay.
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:3-4)
— 2 Peter 3:3-4
Clarification
Several doctrinal errors confuse the biblical distinction between Christ's secret coming for His saints and His open coming with them in judgment.
- Preterism claims prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD, negating future hope.
- Dominionism focuses the Church on earthly conquest, postponing Christ's return.
- Denial of the rapture conflates two distinct events, removing the comfort of imminency.
But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:48-51)
— Matthew 24:48-51
Structure
The New Testament presents a two-stage return of Christ: a secret coming for His Church and a subsequent open coming in judgment, with imminency as the key motivator for holy living.
- The secret coming (rapture) is for the comfort and salvation of watching saints.
- The open coming brings woe and judgment to the world.
- This biblical logic is designed to produce watchfulness and separation.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
— 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Weight-Bearing Prose
The expectation of Christ’s imminent return is not a peripheral doctrine but the engine of New Testament sanctification. God reveals through Scripture the imminent, two-stage return of Christ to motivate holy living. This is a Pauline category of hope. To deny this imminency—whether through Preterism, Dominionism, or rapture denial—is to dismantle the primary incentive for vigilance and separation from the world. These teachings cause the Church to become spiritually asleep. The Lord warned that presuming delay leads to spiritual abuse and worldly indulgence. In contrast, embracing the secret coming of Christ for His saints provides rejoicing, comfort, and is our salvation. The Church, as a distinct heavenly entity, is called to watch for this event, which is separate from Israel’s prophetic program and Christ’s subsequent open coming to establish His earthly kingdom.
Integration
Your assurance and standing before God are secure in Christ, not contingent on your level of watchfulness. The call to watch is a grace, a means of enjoying the comfort of our hope, not a test to pass. Christ Himself is your righteousness and your reward. The promise of His coming is a stabilizing truth, an anchor for the soul. There is no pressure here, only the good news that He is returning for His own. Rest in this certainty. Let the hope of seeing Him shape your days, not as a burden of vigilance you must earn, but as the natural orientation of a heart that knows it is loved and awaited. He is coming. That is enough.