Saturday, May 21 @ 6:00 p.m. came and went and like you, I am still here. So much for the 2012 doomsday prophecy. Whew...we made it through another one. When added to the end of the world predictions of people like The Jehovah's Witnesses (who by the way have been wrong so many times they have officially stopped predicting the second coming), Branch Davidians, Seventh Day Adventists and various other crackpot prophecies, we are none the worse for wear. As far as I know we are safe for the next year.
But let's stop for a moment and reflect on what we do believe, because just because Jesus didn't come back doesn't mean he isn't coming back. The point is that the Bible says that no one knows the day or the time that Christ will return, but there are two things to keep in mind that the Bible does tell us about Christ's return:
1. We should be prepared so as it doesn't matter when Jesus comes back. Whenever the time comes, and it will probably not be in our lifetime, we should always have our spiritual house in order. There are several parables or stories in the Bible about being spiritually prepared.
My favorite is the parable of the ten bridesmaids in Matthew 25: 1-13. The parable tells the story of of ten bridesmaids who went with the bride to meet the bridegroom. They all took their lamps, but only five took oil to burn to light the lamp. The groom was awhile and they fell asleep waiting. At midnight they were told that the groom was on his way, and all the bridesmaids went to light their lamps, but only five had oil to do so. The foolish ones who brought no oil begged the ones that did to spare them some oil, but they refused. There wasn't enough oil to go around. So the five foolish ones decided to go and buy some oil so they left the others and went to the village. While they were gone the groom came and the five who were prepared entered the wedding banquet and the door was shut and locked. Later, the five foolish bridesmaids arrived and begged the groom to let them in. The groom replied, "I don't know you." Jesus ends the story by saying, "Therefore keep watch for you do not know the day or the hour."
The point is that we need to have oil for our spiritual lamp because no one else can give it to us. We need to have a saving relationship with God that involves confession, repentance and a committment that Jesus in the Lord of our lives. We can't earn it or ride on the coat tails of others. We simply need to believe and receive the gift of faith. That does not mean we have to be perfect. We are not given eternal life for our deeds, but because of our faith and trust in God. We are prepared for whatever happens when we surrender our lives to Christ. It won't matter when Jesus comes back because we will be prepared for eternity.
2. There will be a rapture. Jesus makes it clear that before the world enters into the pain and difficulty of the end times, the believers will be taken up to heaven before Jesus comes to engage in the final battle against the antichrist. We will be spared the plagues, strruggle and pain that the Bible tells us will happen in the end of days. In Matthew 24, Jesus says, "No one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only The Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left behind. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left (vs. 36-41)."
The rapture is not a doctrine of judgement against those who don't Jesus and will be left behind. It is a doctrine of comfort and assurance that God will care for those he knows and will receive them into eternity whether they are dead or alive at the second coming. Many people misunderstand this doctrine and think it makes the idea of salvation more complicated. But it helps us to see that the second coming of Christ is not an event to fear, but one through which believers will be safely delivered. If you want to no more about this view of the end times read the "Left Behind" series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. Although the books are works of fiction that lay out the Biblical story about the end times as taught in Biblical prophecy and in the book of Revelations.
More to come on the end times in the next post.
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