I believe that Jesus is SOON to return...His return has been iminent for centuries...yet the fact that He has not yet returned makes it all the more possible that He could return today!
What I do not like about these movies is that it puts people in a panic...people are not excited to see Jesus return, they are afraid that the world is going to end...they are afraid of being left behind...they are afraid of the tribulation...they MIGHT be afraid of hell (if they believe it exists...don't get me started...but yes, I do believe it exists).
For believers, the end times should not be a point of panic...it should be our greatest, most blessed HOPE!!! After all Jesus promised He would come...and we would be WITH HIM...eternally! But if He chooses to wait until after we have passed on into eternity to return to earth, we will BE WITH HIM...for eternity :-)!
For non-believers, i.e. people who do not consider Jesus to be Lord, who discount His existence, people who have never heard of Him, people who have known Him and yet intentionally rejected Him...those people have no hope in Christ's return! This saddens me deeply... But let's be honest, even if the world does not end in our life time, these people will DIE...WITHOUT HOPE! They will be eternally separated from our Father...from Jesus, Our Great Redeemer! As long as they live, and we live...and we walk together on this earth...we have the opportunity to offer the HOPE THAT WE HAVE IN JESUS!!!
If you have been paying attention to current events, you may feel a tinge of panic. If you are American, you may need to question yourself, "why am I panicking?" Your reaction to events certainly triggers a slow yet impending doom to everything we've ever known in our comfortable American society...unfortunately a large percentage of our population is clueless to what is going on. The impact that these flippant and impulsive decisions that our American leadership is making does not seem to weigh in with many people who are more caught up with Hollywood, FB & Twitter, etc. than they are the bigger picture. Here's the reality, if you're paying attention to these events in light of Scripture...there is an even bigger impulse to panic... anyone laying the newspaper side by side with the Word of God can see that we are in mid-labor...
I have been wrestling with panic...My Bible is becoming accustomed to being open to Matthew 24, Ezekiel 38 & 39, and Revelation...
The other day, I sat, reading and praying...talking to the Lord about the situations in our world...asking Him, what do I do? I felt so led to look at Matthew 24, where Jesus listed wars and rumors of war, earthquakes, famines and pestilences of many kinds as signs of the end times (and His return)... but He said, these are NOT THE END...
Matthew 24:4-8
Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.
What I find most interesting is that in Matthew 25, the VERY next chapter, Jesus shares 3 parables.
The first parable is of the 10 virgins (5 foolish & 5 wise). This parable has always SEEMED to be about Christians vs. Non-Christians...but what I've realized in recent years, all the virgins here represent Christians (at least in my humble opinion)...they are ALL waiting for the arrival of Bridegroom (Jesus). Non-believers are not waiting for Jesus to return (NEWS FLASH)... So, since they're all Christians, I found myself asking...what makes some wise vs. foolish...IT WAS THE OIL! Now, I'm not a famous theologian, but I know that oil is often used to symbolize the Holy Spirit... Some of the virgins ran out of oil before the Bridegroom arrived and it says that they wasted their oil running around doing foolish things and not savoring it... hm, now what I see is that the Holy Spirit...intimacy with the Holy Spirit...is pretty valuable...and must be maintained so that our LIGHT does not go out...
The next parable in Matthew 25...one of our FAVORITE parables...the story of a master who is going away and gives 3 servants varying amounts of money to manage for him while he is away... you know the one I'm talking about, you've probably heard as many sermons about it as I have... Long story short, master comes back and the two servants that he gave the most money to had invested it and doubled it...
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
Then to the third, who had done nothing with his money except to burry it (out of fear), the Master says,
"You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 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. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
So moral of the story, Master (Jesus) has given his servants (that's us, Christians) treasure to manage while He is away, to grow and cultivate and develop and invest.. what is that treasure? Is it our gifts? OR is it the gospel...the GOOD NEWS!!! I say the later...the treasure represents the gospel...the Kingdom of God...the good news that ALL OF HUMAN KIND can come to know our Creator...can be sons and daughters of a LIVING GOD...through JESUS! What kind of response will we get when Christ returns? Will He call us faithful? Or will He send us away?
The final parable is that about the Sheep & the Goats. Keith Green wrote a great synopsis of this parable...check it out. Basically, Jesus compared the Final Judgement to a shepherd separating his flock, the sheep enter into the Kingdom and the goats...not so much! The only difference between the two...one group was religious and did not care for the broken and lost members of the world...the other group was not so religious but did care for the broken and the lost....
So at the end of my studying, I'm left an impression
...Jesus' return is imminent
...He is coming back for a people who fit the following description...
1. They have maintained a rich intimacy with Him through the Holy Spirit
2. They have been faithful to establish HIS Kingdom (not their own) and to share the GOOD GOOD News that Jesus loves the ENTIRE WORLD...and that they can know Him too...
3. They have lived their lives loving & serving the broken & lost
What do I do with this? Well, first, I am choosing not to panic...the world will end someday, I may be priviledged to see Jesus return, if not I will be with Him. I must be faithful to maintain intimacy with Him and draw others to Him...every day... in everything I do.
My resolution...
1. Quit politics (honor & pray for my leaders, obey as long as I'm not disobeying Jesus)
2. Pray often, without ceasing...stay close to the Spirit...
3. Invest in everyone and every opportunity that He brings my way...so that all will SEE JESUS...on that day!!
BE READY, LIVE FAITHFUL!!
