While recent prophecies of doomsday have failed, the
majority of the world continues to be fascinated by the idea of judgment day. To these people, we simply use Jesus’ own
words, when He said, “but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36 NKJV) What
does all this mean? What is the true believer in Christ to make of all of it? I
would not pretend to be a scholar on the apocalyptic literature of the Bible.
In fact if anything I would tend to remain silent on most of it, having
realized that most of the theories of Christ’s return have such inaccuracies
that even our best and brightest have no clue what Jesus has prepared. I would
much rather, look forward in anticipation, eagerly awaiting Him, however he
chooses to make his appearance. The circumstances surrounding His return are in
fact dealt with in Scripture, therefore we cannot ignore them.
Jesus himself
gives us the things to look forward to in the lead up to His ultimate return.
Many scholars believe that Jesus will rapture, or call His saints out prior to
what will be a great tribulation, while others have a different take on this.
Having done extensive study on all these theories, there is one thing I am sure
of. God has a lot of surprises in store for all of us. If I were to venture an
opinion on the matter it would be something like this. While the world is in
fact shaping up for the return of Christ, Things have not gotten bad enough
just yet. If you go outside, around three or four in the morning and get away
from all the lights, you will notice something amazing. The darkest part of the
night comes just before the dawn. From a Spiritual perspective, things will get
a lot darker. The one thing I am sure of is that if we keep our eyes on the
Middle East we can see things preparing. Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “…when
shall these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming…?” (Matthew24:3
NKJV) Jesus had sparked this question by His preaching not only on his second
coming, but His warnings of the upcoming destruction of Israel. Jesus talked
about many things: wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and other things. At
the end of the discourse He says that the end is not yet. In fact we as a
people of the earth have suffered these things since the beginning of time. The
one thing that we await is found in Matthew 24:15. He says specifically that we
shall see the abomination of desolation, which further study reveals is the destruction
of Jerusalem. We need only to listen to the news, and follow politics to
realize that this is ever heading toward becoming reality. When one follows
Jesus story in Matthew 24, it is after this event that Jesus return and the
ultimate climax of the world begins.
Regardless of the
school of thought we subscribe to, it will be a horrific day. Those who have
scoffed, laughed, and refused to believe, will face judgment. Those of us who
believe will surely be ushered in to eternal glory, but without many that we
love. Instead of stressing about dates and times, we should focus our efforts
on those who are unprepared to meet Him when He comes.
