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A couple weeks back, I asked a good friend why she stopped coming to my end-time study class, and her response was that it was all too negative .... all these things that are about to befall this planet ... it all seems so depressing. ... Sadly, many folks in today's world feel the same way ... just ignore it and it will all go away!
It is incredible how little this present generation knows about the return of Jesus Christ. ... I would venture to guess that it would be less than any previous generation. ... But then, when we realize how seldom Jesus' return is preached from today's pulpits, it all begins to add up.
Also in the equation is the factor that multitudes, ones like my previously mentioned friend ... who call themselves Christians ... don't want to hear about the subject. ..... Why? ..... Simply, life is good for most people, including Christians, and the focus is on how to keep the good times rolling on. ... So many of us are possessed by our possessions. ... We have become addicted to the things of this world, and in our minds, Jesus' return would be a complete interruption.
But Jesus warned us about these times concerning our focus and our faith. ... He said in Luke 18:8, ".... When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" .... He gives us a history in Scripture concerning our 'condition' in these last days ... "For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." ... Matthew 24:38-39 (NIV)
Jesus also mentions Lot's time ... "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed." ... Luke 17:28-30 (NIV)
It is interesting to note that Jesus didn't mention a single sin in these descriptions. ... We all know it's not a sin to eat or drink proper things, or to to get engaged or be married. ... Nor is it a sin to buy, sell, plant or build. There's nothing wrong with any of these things. ... In fact, the Lord has instructed us to tarry and occupy until He returns. ... So Jesus isn't condemning these activities. Rather, He is showing us that things will appear 'normal' when He does return. ... But what happened in Noah and Lot's time? ... Things appeared normal then also but what was really described was people who had determined to reject God's warnings of impending judgement.
Remember, Noah prophesied for 120 years, warning that total destruction was coming. ... But, as Scripture says, "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." ...Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NKJV) .... This is exactly what is taking place in our society today. There has been a frenzy of buying and selling, eating and drinking, planting and building. ... Multitudes are obsessed with personal gain, and they turn off any negative message that might hinder their pursuits. ... Even secular voices that warn of coming financial disaster are mostly ignored.
I recently read a story of an elderly Jewish woman who was a Holocaust survivor. ... What she said is sobering ... "What is happening in America today reminds me of what happened in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. All the warnings were ignored. Hitler's anti-semetic remarks were taken lightly. I was but a child, but I still remember the huge parties that continued into the night even after Hitler started jailing Jews and shipping them off to the gas chambers. ... I remember the older Jews saying, 'It can't happen here, not in an educated, civilized society like Germany.' They just danced the night away, the men in their tuxedos, and the women in their expensive cocktail dresses. Just a few weeks later, those same people were being pushed like cattle into rail cars headed for the concentration camps. They had thought the good times and prosperity would last forever. But soon they were shocked ., saying, 'Just a few weeks ago, we were dancing and drinking. What happened? How did this come upon us so suddenly?"
As some of you are aware, many in today's world, including Christians, mock the possibility of Jesus' soon return. ... They scoff at the idea he could come back soon. ... In fact, one of the dominating theologies of today is that He will not return for many years yet, with the idea that the Church will be given all this remaining time to evangelize the world and set up a new order before Christ comes back to reign as King.
The Apostle Peter addresses these things , saying ... "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' "
.... 2 Peter 3:3-4( NIV)
Peter speaks a very direct word to all such willfully ignorant people ... "The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." ... 2 Peter 3:10 (NIV)
For those of us who follow Bible prophecy, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is coming at any moment! ... The warning cry has once again gone out to the Lord's Church ... "Jesus is Coming! ... The Bridegroom is on His way! ... Prepare yourself and be ready to meet Him! ... Look up, for your redemption is drawing near!" ... Yet, even with all these signs and exhortations, Jesus warns that people will ignore the call. ... It will be like Noah's and Lot's day, with people going about their business,giving no thought to His coming, ignoring all the prophetic signs. ...... And that is the very sign He is coming! ... Sadly, we will see a premeditated apathy throughout the land......
As dramatic as this great event will be, Jesus points out that it will happen on an ordinary day. ... It will be like those past days of judgement, in Noah's and Lot's societies. ... Men and women will be at their jobs, going about their day as usual. ... Then everything will happen suddenly, in a mere moment. ... Paul says
"Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NKJV)
It will be a day like any other. All of humankind will be unaware, but then, in a single moment, Christ will gather His bride. ...................... "Watch therefore ....." ... Matthew 24:42 (NIV)
Until next time,
Red