The Welcome Valley Reader
Ready
Christians seem fascinated with the Bible’s prophecies about the end of the earth. We greet new technology with speculation that the anti-Christ will use it to subdue the world. We watch events in Israel and the Middle-East and tell ourselves that each happening is a step toward the end. We map and remap the course to Armageddon with changing international trends. Christian novels with end-times themes become best sellers. Prophecy conferences draw large crowds. Every now and again someone even attracts widespread attention by predicting the date of Christ's return.
For all the study and thought, interpretation of prophetic Scriptures remains controversial. This particular set of biblical passages do not line themselves up in ways that are easy to understand. The debates sometimes get heated. Views change and change again. We even talk about the history of our interpretation of prophecy. We want so much to read our future in prophetic Scripture, but beyond the basics, we find a lot of room for questions and uncertainty. The text would suggest that God intended it that way.
But for all our fascination and confusion over details, Jesus did promise to come again. In light of that promise, His primary teaching is to be ready because He could come at any time. For instance, He said: “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). This isn't an isolated Scripture. The sudden, unexpected nature of our Lord's second coming appears multiple times in the New Testament. In light of this warning, we are called to watch and be ready.
How is it with you? Is His coming something you long for, or are there issues you’d like to clear up first? The word isn’t to watch the newspaper, but to watch the sky. There really isn't any good reason for carrying around spiritual baggage that would prove embarrassing should the trumpet sound tonight. It is far better to be watching, that is to live in such communion with our Lord that His appearing will be like a family member arriving home from a journey. Jesus is coming when we least expect Him. He’s coming, and He hopes you’ll be watching.
If you do not know if you are ready for Jesus' coming click here: How to Have a Relationship with God.
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How to Have a Relationship with God
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