Christ's Return

About this episode

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the misconceptions about Paul's views on the timing of Christ's return in his sermon on Romans 13:11–14.

Many have charged that Paul gradually changed his view on when he thought the Lord would return. Is this the case? Critics use this to demonstrate that Scripture is not divinely inspired, using passages they think supposedly contradict each other. In this sermon on Romans 13:11–14 titled “Christ’s Return,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones guides the listener through this crucial contention, clearly showing that this is a false charge. He begins by demonstrating Jesus’s own view— that a gap of time would exist between His life and His second coming. What about Paul? He in fact warned people not to listen to those who said that the coming of the Lord was right around the corner. Elsewhere, he preaches that there are still things that need to happen before Christ would return. Additionally, he wrote about his own coming death. All of these points taken together demonstrate that Paul saw Christ’s return as something far off. But what is the solution to the problem? As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, Paul was writing in a style called “prophetic time,” a mode of writing that takes the future and shortens it down. Ultimately for the Christian, the day of the Lord is right around the corner because…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Topics covered

• Christ's return
• Paul's teachings
• prophetic time
• Scripture inspiration
• Christian eschatology

Keywords

• Christ's return
• Paul
• Jesus
• prophetic time
• Scripture
• eschatology
• Romans

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Christ's Return, Romans 13:11–14

More episodes of Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

• Sabbath and Special Days · June 13, 2026
• Saved for Eternity · June 12, 2026
• God Has Received Him · June 11, 2026
• Food and Drink · June 10, 2026
• Weak in the Faith, Part 2 · June 9, 2026
• Weak in the Faith, Part 1 · June 8, 2026