Good morning,
Jesus is coming again
No sooner than Jesus had died and risen again then the apostles kept asking Jesus about when he would was going to set up his kingdom on earth. I think that he might have sighed and told them again, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know”.(Acts 1:7) When Jesus was talking about what God was going to do in the future just weeks before and they wanted to know about God’s time line he told them, “no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows”.(Matt.24:36) And we, who are living about 2,000 years later, are still wanting to know what to expect so that we can feel the safety of a reliable time line to give us comfort and preparation time before Jesus shows up. We, like them, have forgotten what Jesus just told them, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”(John 14:1) Jesus promised that he was going to prepare a place for us to live and that, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”(v.3) Has Jesus been having a hard time getting things built or has he been calling people home who have finished their time on earth? Another thing we seem to forget is what the Apostle Paul kept telling the early church, that God had changed the target of ministry from just the Jewish people and now was targeting the world. Paul points out that, “Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.” (Rom.11;25) Where would we Gentiles be over the last 2,000 years if that were not true? And by the way, if Jesus came back 2,000 years ago, would we have had a chance to be a part of God’s family?
Another thing that Jesus did for us was to tell us in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 what we should expect when his coming back was getting much closer. For instance, he tells us to expect all kinds of false teachers who will claim to be the Messiah . The world will be full of wars, famines and earthquakes and genuine children of God will be arrested, persecuted and killed by hate filled people all over the world. Pretend Christians will turn away from Jesus and will betray and hate genuine believers around them. There will be all sorts of false prophets and “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.”(Matt.24:4-12) It won’t take long for false followers of Jesus to run away from God when the cost of their life is at stake. There is good news as well when we are told, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”(v.13) The other good news is that Jesus tells us, “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come”(v.14) What our Savior longs for is for us to focus on learning to know and love and obey our Savior and to rely on God’s Holy Spirit for the direction and effectiveness of our life and service for our long awaited Lord. Jesus promises us that “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away”(Matt.25:29) Our Lord wants us to focus on loving and serving our Savior and not on how long we have to wait until he comes back again. He also reminded us that, You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected.(Matt.24:44)
Matthew 24:44 You also must be ready all the time. For the Son of Man will come when least expected.
Roy Wisner
