What If the End Really Is Near?
Imagine Jesus suddenly appearing to you, seemingly out of nowhere, to tell you that he was going to call his church home this year. He won’t tell you the day or the hour, but he tells you that it will be this year at some time. Would this encounter change how you behave or interact with others?
End time events, including the “rapture”, or calling of true believers, are topics widely debated in various churches. Most churches, sadly, won’t even touch the topic for fear of being too controversial or just plain “out there”. The article for today is based on the song “How”, and it talks about the last days. In this article, you will find stunning evidence that points to a literal “rapture” of the church, a literal 7-years of earthly upheaval called the tribulation, and a literal 1,000-year period of peace where Christ literally reigns on the earth. You will also find a great deal of evidence that these events could easily take place in our life-time, including some very interesting math from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel that adds up to events that occurred in the last several decades.
The Bible gives us clues about the last days, but God purposely withheld the specific timing.
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation[j] will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Matthew 24:32-39 (NLT)
“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.
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.”
There are many passages where we are commanded to be watchful and look for the signs, so that we would not be caught off guard like those in the days of Noah. So why did God do this? In a previous article, we saw how the people in Jesus’ day could have predicted his entry into Jerusalem on a donkey based on the prophecies of Daniel. Why didn’t God give us something more specific about the end?
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:42 (NLT)
Let’s go back to our original question. What would you do if Jesus told you that the Rapture would happen this year? The Bible talks extensively on the 2nd coming of Christ and the events that would precede it. Many of those events are, in fact, occurring today, so in a way, Jesus is telling us now that these events will be happening sooner rather than later. But God wants us to be in a constant state of readiness! He wants us to grieve for the unsaved. He wants us to live in a manner that is glorifying to God. He wants us to be watching for his return. He wants us to live as though the rapture of the church could happen tomorrow!
Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NLT)
But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
How then should we live our lives?
Songs of Victory
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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