January 26
"...Jesus...shall come again..."
Are you anticipating the soon return of Jesus? Yes, we all know that at any minute He could tap us on the shoulder individually and tell us that it’s our time to bid this world farewell. A dear sweet saint of God related the story of her experience when, at the birth of her first child, she was near death.
She had a vision of Christ and He asked her if she’d like to come with Him. She said she would, but wanted to wait until her baby was grown up. He allowed her to live until her baby was nineteen years old. She did not fear death. She embraced it, for she had seen Him and understood that He’d extended her life according to her request.
Although there may be some ‘wiggle room’ for individuals when it comes to their time of demise (see II Kings, chapter 20) we know the veracity of the verse that says, “It is appointed to a man once to die and after that the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27. We may alter appointments to suit our schedules, but the one we have with death is usually set in stone. Yet there is another appointment that we don’t think of very often and that is the one when believers shall, “meet Jesus in the air,” I Thessalonians 4:17.
His promise is, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown,” Revelation 3:11. “A thousand years is as a day and a day, as a thousand years to God” II Peter 3:8. Though His coming seems to be delayed because our perception of time is finite, the Word of God is true. “What He has spoken, He is able to perform,” (Romans 4:21). Be assured, Jesus will keep His appointment to return.
Those who believe that Jesus shall indeed come back to earth subscribe to one of three theories regarding His return: 1. pre-trib; 2. mid-trib; 3. post-trib.
ReplyDeleteIf His return is before the Tribulation, believers will experience no part of that event which is foretold in some detail in II Thessalonians 2:3-12. If His return is mid-trib, they shall escape the worst of the outpouring of the enemy's wrath upon the earth. If Jesus comes back after the Tribulation, believers will have endured its entirety and will also witness the overthrow of the antichrist.
A careful study of related scriptures can leave the person of faith without a clear choice--perhaps because God has veiled the matter from our understanding until such time as HE wants us to fully grasp the timetable regarding the Tribulation and Christ's return.
May we effectively use the information we have to embrace Jesus fully to our hearts and to share our faith in Him with others.