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 have referenced the three longest passages that pertain to the Rapture of the Church, the coming of Christ in the clouds for His own; John 14:1-3, I Corinthians 15:51-58, and I Thessalonians 4:13-18 all provide specific detail about Jesus’ return for Christians. It is instructive to consider the strong note of reassurance in each of these sections. John 14:1 begins, “Let not your heart be troubled.” Every time I preach from this pericope, I pause after this sentence to marvel at Jesus’ tenderness. Remember, He was going to suffer physical and spiritual death in less than twenty-four hours. Yet, His concern was for His disciples, who would soon be bereft and bewildered. I Corinthians 15:58 ends with stirring encouragement: “Ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:18 provides powerful consolation: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” Jesus knows how hard our lives can be at times; He thus provides His hope, including His “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), to lift us up now just as He will one day lift us up to meet Him in the clouds. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).