Discerning the Signs but Looking for the Lord
I do listen. As I get older, I forget more easily, but I do listen to people’s concerns. In the last several years, a number of devoted Christians have asked me some form of the following question: “Are we close to the return of Jesus Christ?” As with any Biblical teaching, we must be careful with this subject. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man.” Later, in Acts 1:7, He added, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons.” Paul wrote in I Thesssalonians 5:2 that “the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Thus, date-setting defies God’s Word and dishonors our Savior. However, in Matthew 16:3, Jesus pointedly asks, “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” We do not know and cannot know the exact time of Jesus’ Second Coming and the resulting period of the Tribulation, but we are told to seriously study the signs found in Scripture. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We are to carefully and thoughtfully discern the signs presented to us in Scripture, but we are to diligently look for the appearing of Jesus (Titus 2:13), knowing that He is coming to keep us out of the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10). Another Biblical reason to prepare for the imminent (and eminent) return of our Savior is the promised removal of God the Holy Spirit prior to the unfolding of the Tribulation. II Thessalonians 2:1-12 presents a sobering picture of the short reign of the Antichrist (v.3 “that man of sin” and v.8 “that wicked”). Crucial to the power of this evil ruler is the absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit to curtail his efforts. Verse 7 says, “Only He Who now letteth [restrains] will let [restrain], until He be taken out of the way.” We know that the Spirit cannot be taken from believers (I Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9). The only way, then, that He can “be taken out of the way” is if Christians are also taken out of the way. This passage states explicitly that this removal will take place before the time of Antichrist’s domination. With the Church and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit absent from this earth, Satan and his minions will run amok, and God’s righteous wrath will be poured out upon them. Of course, the Holy Spirit, Who is fully God and therefore omnipresent, will draw some to salvation even during the period of the Tribulation (Revelation 7:4, 9-14; 11:3). However, He will not be working on earth through the millions of Christians who have been taken to heaven in fulfillment of God’s specific promises. The plan of God is blessedly thorough. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).