When is the Second Coming of Jesus ever mentioned when we share the Gospel? Rarely. Yet the Gospel that Jesus preached and that the Apostles preached is full of references to His Coming.

Jesus uses it as the main topic of many of his parables like the parable of the wise manager, the parable of the 10 virgins, the parable of the talents and the parable of the sheep and goats. All of these can be found in Mt 24-25, that great teaching section organised together by Mt.

In 1 and 2 Thessalonians we see that it was key to the Apostolic Gospel. Paul says, “Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?”

Yet today we preach a much simpler Gospel, enough to come to faith. But is it sufficient to be a disciple, which is what Jesus charged us with in Mt 28?

So why is it so fundamental to the Gospel?

Firstly, it forms the basis of our need to repent now

Paul, when preaching to the Athenians, urges them to repent in the light of the Day of Judgement “by the man he has appointed”. We are to get ready for this Day.

Secondly, it forms the basis of our need to go on repenting

Many times believers repent when they first receive Jesus but after this they are satisfied they now have eternal life and don’t go on repenting to see yet further transformation.

Thirdly, it is fundamental to perseverance

It is this hope in Jesus’ return that is the principal reason we should persevere in our Christian faith. Without it we could easily fall into the trap of believing we don’t need to do anymore after receiving Jesus.

Fourthly, it is the key to discipleship

Jesus’ emphasis is on getting ready. This means preparing ourselves for the most important event in history. This should be massive motivation to live the fullness of the Christian life now.

So and we should mention it whenever we are preaching the Gospel.