By Rajmund Dabrowski … “Christ will come. It will happen,” writes Reinder Bruinsma, expressing a conviction in his latest and well-presented book, He comes.
Among the topics dear to all Seventh-day Adventists, the Second Coming of Christ stands out above others. When a few days ago, I received Bruinsma’s latest book, He comes (Autumn House Publications (Europe) Ltd., 2021), the very fact took my memory to a 1976 book I wrote, At the world’s end.
It was a delight to receive such a fresh reminder as the topic is of vital daily importance, and even more so these days, as something worrisome is developing on Planet Earth. The book is well researched and inviting in its balanced presentation, as the author plainly states that “history is moving toward its end” (p. 88).
Though we do not question the essence of Christ’s promise to return, many Adventists are asking when He will return. The disciples asked that question and the question remains an occupation for many believers today. Many are experiencing sleepless nights. Defining the time of the end, though, “the Bible does not define ‘the time of the end’ … as the last few years, decades, or even a century or two before the Second Coming. In actual fact, biblically speaking, the time of the end covers a period between the first and the second advents of Christ,” writes Bruinsma (p. 57).
He comes offers clarity of understanding that the Second Coming offers the solution to all the problems of this world. There is no question, however, that being ready and living prepared to meet our Lord, is undergirded by the “blessed hope.”
Bruinsma’s well-researched and readable presentation reminds us of Ellen G. White’s comment that “We have many lessons to learn, and many to unlearn,” (Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 37).
Note: It is hoped that like many other Bruinsma books, He comes will soon be available in the Adventist Book Centers.
– Rajmund Dabrowski is RMC communication director
