Well That was Awkward!!

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows.”

Well, May 21^st came and went. The clock struck 6:00pm all over the world and an amazing thing happened. Jesus didn’t return as Harold Camping predicted. You see nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus is coming back on May 21, 2011 at 6:00pm. So what exactly does it say? In light of all the attention on this topic this week I want to pause from our study of Revelation to look at the verses in the New Testament that have to do with the end times (ironic because our entire study of Revelations has to do with earth’s final days and the judgment that is to befall upon it).

Matthew 24:4-44

This is probably the biggest discourse in the New Testament besides the book of Revelation on what is to transpire coinciding with the return of Jesus. When the disciples asked Jesus for a sign of His second coming the first words out of His mouth were, “Don’t let anyone mislead you”! He then spoke of intense persecution and false prophets springing up all over the place deceiving many of His followers. Then He goes on to say that the Gospel must be preached throughout the whole world before He allows the world to end. So if you and I are eagerly awaiting the rapture and being brought up to heaven by Jesus then I guess we better get busy preaching the Gospel!! Jesus then closes out His dialogue by telling us to be prepared and to remain watchful for no one knows when the end is going to come.....no one that is except God Himself.

Mark 13:5-33

For the most part this account parallels what Matthew tells us. The part I love the most is in verse 26 and 27. “Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world-from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”

Luke 17:20-37

Jesus warns us that we will be partying and living lives of excess right up until the time that He returns. And when He does return He will come as a flash of lightening that lights up the sky from one end to the other (V. 24). This doesn’t say that first Jesus will appear in one time zone, then He will move steadily from East to West and at exactly 6:00pm He will hit the next time zone.......

I think that when He returns everyone will see Him at exactly the same time, just as a flash of lightening is seen by all. When I heard of Mr. Camping’s prediction that Jesus would return at 6:00pm in each subsequent time zone I thought he was making Jesus awfully small.

Luke 21:8-36

Here again the Gospels are in harmony with one another. Just about everything in these verses can be found in the other two Gospel accounts. Jesus tells about great persecution happening and family members turning on one another. He also promises that when we are standing trial and undergoing persecutions because we follow Him that the Holy Spirit will give us the words that we need. This is the perfect opportunity to tell others about Jesus! In verse 19 Jesus says, “By standing firm, you will win your souls.”

1 Thessalonians 4:14-5:3

I found a 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life that said that most American religious believers, including most Christians, say eternal life is not exclusively for those that accept Christ as their savior. In chapter 4, verse 14 Paul says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.” I don’t know about you but this sounds pretty exclusive. I’m sorry if this offends anyone but I believe that if you don’t believe that Jesus is God, and that He died to pay the penalty for your sins, and He was raised to life and is now seated in Heaven you are not going to participate in eternal life with Him. This may sound pretty narrow minded to some of you and to you I say.....you bet it is. That’s what the Bible says and that’s what I believe! So instead of lashing out in defiance at us “narrow minded” Christians you have another choice. Let the Holy Spirit in to soften your heart and open your eyes to the truth. Your life will never be the same! Questions about this...contact me (jc85050@yahoo.com).

2 Thessalonians 1:6-2:12

Here Paul is encouraging us to stand firm under persecution. God will take care of those He calls His own. Paul goes on to warn us just as Jesus did because there will be more than just one Harold Camping out there to try and trip us up. Instead, Paul tells us to live a life worthy of the call that Jesus has placed on us.

2 Peter 3:3-12

Are you tired of waiting for Jesus to return? Are you starting to doubt that He is ever going to come back? It’s been two thousand years after all! What’s He waiting for? We know that our God is loving, holy, and just and that He does not want anyone to perish. He is waiting for His Word to reach every tribe, every nation, and every tongue so that all will have an opportunity to choose Him. Peter reminds us that God exists outside of the realm of time and space. To God a day is the same as a thousand years and a thousand years is just like a day. God isn’t slow. He is patient.

You see, it is good that we don’t know exactly when Jesus is coming back. Imagine if we did what chaos would ensue. We would probably do what many of Harold Camping’s followers did. I read about one family that racked up credit card debt by going on a lavish trip to Disneyworld thinking that they wouldn’t have to pay it back. How’d that work out for ya?? Others quit there jobs and spent their remaining days sitting around waiting. If we knew the exact time we too might be tempted to become lazy in our service to Christ. Some of us might plan on a massive sin binge only to repent right before the end came. This and many other reasons that only God knows are why He has not revealed the exact day and time of His return.

Heaven is not our only goal. We have work to do here as followers of Jesus. The only time for rest is upon death or the unmistakable, and it will be unmistakable, return of our Savior.

Next week we will pick up our study of the book of Revelation in chapter 8 looking at the first four trumpet judgments. Until then may God bless you and grant you grace and peace.