Jesus Christ said, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matt 24:37), but one thing we can be sure of…He is coming again. No one can know the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, so we must be ready at all times. The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. If you know the Master’s coming, you’re more likely to be a “good little boy or girl,” right? If you have the hope of Jesus’ return, and expect it could be any moment, then that will tend to make you strive to avoid sin. This may be why John wrote that “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). He says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2), so knowing we’ll also have a glorified body at His return (not nearly as much as His glory, of course), you would think we’d be making every effort to live a more obedient life. Knowing that Jesus could come back before you finish reading this should drive us to live a more holy life, and that’s the subject of which the Apostle John writes. Realizing that Jesus can come back at any second (and He can), we tend to live a holier life. That wasn’t written for unbelievers, but for Christ followers! We must be ready…always! An Eye to the Sky That’s why we “must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40). When Jesus was telling His disciples that they must be ready at all times (Luke 12:36), He told them, “that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into” (Luke 12:39). No one expected the flood of God’s judgment to come, and neither will the world expect Jesus’ coming to judge them (Rev 20:12-15). Speaking in the context of His return, Jesus said, “as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:38), but what did Jesus’ mean, just as in Noah’s day? People will be eating and drinking and marrying, and living as if nothing will ever change, so “they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:39). Everyone will be doing business as usual, saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess 5:3). The Apostle Paul wrote about the unexpected return of Jesus, writing, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2). This, despite the fact Jesus said only the Father in heaven knows the time, and I seriously doubt that these false prophets have been given private information by God that the rest of us didn’t get. The church is expecting Jesus to come again, but many a manmade prophecy has come and gone, and each one has failed when attempting to name the date of Jesus’ coming. And no one expects Jesus to come back again, at least outside of the church, and for many it will be too late. No one in Sodom expected that “the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Gen 19:24), until it was too late. Even though Noah tried to warn them, no one expected a flood, but it came. They will argue that Christians have been talking about this for a long time, and still, no Jesus, but that’s exactly what Jesus said it will be like. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet 3:3-4). Peter writes that “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. The Apostle Peter said that in the last days, people will begin to doubt and ridicule those of us who believe in Jesus’ second coming. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |