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Description: Imagine a promise that echoes through time, a divine assurance of return. Now, picture this promise not as an abstract spiritual concept, but as something as tangible as your job, your livelihood.
Your boss, whom you trust implicitly, announces an unprecedented bonus. It’s not just any reward – it’s life-changing, company-altering. The date is set, circled in red on every employee’s calendar. The anticipation builds, plans are made, dreams start to take shape.
But the day comes and goes. Silence. No bonus, no explanation, no call, no show.
Days turn to weeks, weeks to months, months to years. Would you still be checking your inbox, refreshing your bank account? How long before doubt creeps in, before the whispers start? “Was it all a misunderstanding? Did we get the date wrong? Maybe it was metaphorical?”
In “No Call, No Show,” we confront Christians with this unsettling parallel. Jesus, the ultimate authority, promised a return within a generation. It was specific, it was soon, it was certain. Yet two millennia have passed.
How do you reconcile the steadfast belief in an unfulfilled promise? If your employer failed to deliver on such a massive scale, would you shrug it off, saying, “It’s the boss’s time, they can fulfill it whenever they want”? Or would trust erode; faith in the company’s future waver?
This essay challenges believers to grapple with the cognitive dissonance. What happens when we read Jesus’ repeated promises to come at a set time, within a measurable generation’s lifetime, and contrast it with 2,000 years of waiting? How does this apparent failure to show align with the trust placed in divine words?
“No Call, No Show” invites Christians to examine their acceptance of this eternal delay. It asks them to consider how such a prolonged absence would affect their faith in any other realm of life. Does it truly increase confidence in the leader? Does it strengthen trust or slowly corrode it? Does it make the long-term prospects of faith look rosy or doubtful?
In confronting these questions, believers are challenged to reconcile their everyday understanding of promises, trust, and reliability with the cornerstone of their faith. This essay seeks to bridge the gap between spiritual acceptance and practical expectation, asking: Why do we assume Jesus didn’t fulfill His promise when there’s compelling evidence He did return as promised, over the arc of time from Passover 63 CE to early 136 CE?
“No Call, No Show” invites Christians to critically examine the conventional interpretation that Jesus has not yet returned. It encourages believers to consider the historical evidence for Christ’s return during the first and early second centuries, aligning with the timeframe He promised. The essay prompts readers to question why they might readily accept a 2000-year delay when a more immediate, historically-grounded fulfillment exists.
This approach challenges Christians to reevaluate their understanding of Biblical prophecy, the nature of Christ’s return, and the implications for their faith today. It asks: If Jesus did fulfill His promise as the Atavist interpretation suggests, how could this change our view of God’s faithfulness and the reliability of His word?