Life of Christ 161
It is Tuesday afternoon.
Jesus will die tomorrow afternoon. He and His Apostles are sitting on the Mount
of Olives discussing the end of the world. Literally. From this story (Matthew
24 and 25) known as the Olivet Discourse I offer you three brief observations.
First, the best thing to
do with the Tribulation period is to skip it.
Mat 24. 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22
And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Several years ago I
studied the book of Revelation extensively. The majority of it covers the
events of that awful seven year period. A quick survey reveals John discussing
the following list of events during this time: -the four horseman of the
apocalypse (the antichrist, war, famine, death), together they kill ¼ of
humanity; -millions will get saved after the Rapture and millions will then be
martyred; -God will show His face to earth (earthquakes, a blackened sun, a
reddened moon, and falling stars will follow); -one third of everything green
will be burned up; -one third of the sea will turn to blood; -one third of fish
will die; -one third of ships will be destroyed; -one third of fresh water will
be poisoned; -a demonic scorpion swarm will be released from hell, it will
target a different city for 150 nights; -an army of 200 million demons will
slaughter humanity by the billions for exactly 391 days and one hour; -open war
breaks out on Earth between Satan and God; -all must worship the antichrist and
receive the mark of the beast; -this mark must be accepted in order to buy or
sell anything; -sores fall on those who receive the mark; -the rest of the
oceans turn to blood; -the rest of the flowing fresh water becomes undrinkable;
-the sun becomes exponentially hotter; -an unnatural darkness covers the
beast's capitol city; -the biggest earthquake in world history occurs; -the
great city Babylon is smashed to bits; -…and then comes the enormous slaughter
known as Armageddon.
I say again, the best
thing to do with the Tribulation period is to skip it. You do not want to be on
Earth. How do you skip it? By casting yourself in faith at the feet of Jesus
and pleading for mercy now. Do not wait. Make sure you are saved now.
Second, we ought to
always be looking for the Second Coming.
Matthew 24.42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour
your Lord doth come.
43
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch
the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up.
44
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son
of man cometh.
…
Matthew 25. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day
nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
For us, as the Church,
this all begins with the Rapture prior to the Tribulation period. And there is
no warning. It is imminent. We are to think of it and look for it constantly.
God designed it this way specifically so that in so doing we will adjust our
lives accordingly in holiness.
Third, let us make good
use while we can of the talents God has given us. Scripture shows us that
rewards come for those using their talents in His service (Matthew 25.19-21)
and judgment comes on those who do not. Every person reading this has God-given
talents. You also have a God-given choice – serve yourself and your own agenda
or serve Him. By all means, do not put off this decision. He could literally
come at any moment.
He is coming back. This is just as sure of a fact as
that He came the first time. It will be much better to be coming back with Him
than to be on Earth. And it will be much better to have served Him than to have
served yourself.
Beloved, let us live in
the light of the Second Coming. Let us serve God while time remains. Let us
trust that He is coming no matter how badly things may look at the moment.
No comments:
Post a Comment