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.)
A thirteenth signal of the coming conclusion is an increase in angry articulation and aggressive, adversarial actions. II Timothy 3:1-5 says that people “in the last days” will be “trucebreakers, false accusers… traitors.” Trucebreakers are people who refuse any reconciliation with God or man; they are so entrenched in their ways that they reject even obvious truths. Traitors are like Judas Iscariot (the same Greek word is used in Luke 6:16 to describe him); if men turn away from God, they cannot be neutral but will actively oppose Him. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with me is against me.” False accusers are slanderers; the Greek word is diaboloi, which when used as a noun refers to the devil. Taken together, these three traits certainly characterize much of modern media, especially social media. Much of journalism today is no better than propaganda, and social media platforms regularly suppress facts that contradict their political and cultural agendas. Moreover, the loudest, most wrathful voices are the ones who are held up as “influencers,” people who have the greatest presence on-line and who hold inordinate sway over younger people, especially. Remember, the assault on truth is always foremost an attack on Jesus, Who called Himself “the Truth” (John 14:6). As the spit-spewing shouts grow ever more raucous and virulent violence vomits all over our streets and screens, we can be assured that “in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).