On May 20th, one of my adult children asked me what I thought about news-making Christians who thought they’d be the next day ”raptured” … which is to say they’d be “swept up and away and into the clouds of heaven, caught up in the air with Jesus.”
I told him I thought nothing of it since Jesus himself had said, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” Matthew 24:35-37 .
I wondered how people could be fooled about it when the Scriptures plainly tell us we cannot know the day or hour Jesus is coming again. I began to reflect, however, that Jesus admonished us to know when the season for His coming is upon us and that we must be ”be ready” for that Day.
Matthew 24 is chucked full of information Jesus left us about the things to expect regarding the Last Days. God has amply spoken to us about these things through the prophets and His apostles. He continues to speak to His own even today in a myriad of ways. If we only realized His voice more!
For those who are listening … and I count myself in that number, we stake our lives on the fact that He wants us to believe in Him as the foremost reason for all prophecy and know His heart, and know why He’s warned us of the times to come. Prophecy is the revelation of God — of His words — of His existence and of His heart. What I have learned is that God loves us and has a plan of redemption. He knows the future as well as the past and present. We can tap into that wisdom, that merciful love of His, at any time. All we need to do is listen to Him, know Him as revealed in Scripture and by His Holy Spirit moment by moment. When we are in the last of the Last Days, we will know it. Everybody I know agrees — we are on the brink of God’s climactic Story on earth. Even non-believers sense it.
People who don’t know our Lord as merciful and slow to anger, filled with lovingkindness and patience, don’t know Him very much. Even as God Himself told Moses, these are His character qualities. And, His desire is not that anyone suffer in the end of days or that anyone perish. He gave Himself fully to us in the form of His Son, the “express image” of God (taking off His glory that we might see Him and get to know Him). He then gave us more of Himself… pouring out His Spirit to live within us. The Lord’s people are those who have faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and know His voice, not only in the written word, but in everyday life.
That makes us the prophets of today. False prophets set dates, real prophets simply stay ready.
God never stopped speaking to us or to the world. I think the devil’s greatest weapon against us is to distract us from what is of vital importance. To be ready, we need to stay “aware of God’s continued presence” with us every day, every night, day in and day out. We must resolve ourselves to keep awake, eyes focused on spiritual things, on Heaven itself, attentive to the Spirit’s voice, and to the Lord Jesus’ profound and intimate love that surrounds each one of us. His love is not like Man’s — it is sure, not fickle, and protective–and it will never fail us nor will it forsake us.
People who know God concur that we are nearing the end of days on this planet. These people do not fear this time that is fast approaching; no, we are a people, a family, who longs for Jesus’ coming.
We will know Him as He knows us. We will experience nothing but LOVE AND JOY AND WELLBEING. We will see God. We will be like the angels … only, I believe, we will love Jesus more because we will realize what He’s done for us when we see Him. Right now we can’t imagine what He gave up for us… or what He really suffered for our sakes. We will know and enjoy Him as the Bridegroom of our souls! And we will be with Him forever.
Until then, those who are His own, who have the hope of Heaven in their hearts, look forward to the coming of Jesus. We long to see the fulfillnent of “His Kingdom Come.” What a blessed Day that will be.
If anyone is not of God, not of this Kingdom, that person cannot help but fear that Day. So, why not take God at His word? Our deepest conscience recognizes the Truth when we hear it, when we seek God with all of our hearts. The God of Israel revealed Himself first to the Hebrew nation, then to the rest of the world. Prophecy tells the entire story — from Genesis’ Creation to the final Revelation of Jesus Christ.
God’s own Kingdom dawned upon our earth the moment Jesus was born and it burned brightly on the Day of Pentecost; in the final days, the heavens will brighten up like lightning at the coming glory of His Kingdom and Jesus’ presence with us will change the laws of nature — for the sun will no longer need to shine on the days He spends with us. Oh, if we knew God even a little, we’d know the time is near – even, as Jesus said, “at the Door.”
As I’ve been writing this, I’ve felt inspired by God’s truth and I want to be dressed and ready to go with Him the moment He arrives. I have to be honest, I’ve been distracted by a lot of nonsense lately. I want to be ready and live expectantly. When we feel dull towards God, we’re acting the part in Jesus’ story (which takes place right before His coming) of the five virgins who fell asleep with empty oil lamps. When the Bridegroom came, He left them behind. In fact, He claimed He didn’t even know them.
That’s the key to being ready — to do whatever it takes to KNOW Him–and to pray always, which is to be aware of His constant presence. Then we will be aware of the times we live in. We will live “awake” to Him. And, we will not be distracted or tangled up by things that matter little to nothing to Him. That is my prayer, to stay awake and be filled with the oil of His presence. Every single day.