Much is being said these days about End Times. Are we living in the days when we will see Christ return? What are some guidelines to follow? This question was asked by the Pharisees in the verses below, “when is the kingdom of God coming?”
We are essentially asking the same question when we wonder about the End of the World. Here are some thoughts to ponder based on the verses below.
1. Silent
That time will not be visible with a dramatic announcement. It will happen while people are living life with business as usual. For over 2,000 years, these verses warned every generation to be prepared. When nothing happened, it tempted some to think that Christ’s words were empty threats. Others, of course, think the entire Bible is irrelevant. But, God’s Word may be silent or prophetic in the present but it will be fulfilled in the future. Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away (Luke 21:33).
You can bet your life literally on the fact that though there are no visible signs that Christ is coming back, we who live by faith in the invisible world of God will see Christ return. Yes, many people are living as if God’s Word did not exist. They see only the visible and they hear only silence. Many think that anything beyond what can be seen, touched or felt is the only reality. Many think the only reasonable truth is scientific. God is not on their radar. God does not exist in their world. God is silent to them.
But, Lot’s wife learned the hard way that she needed to be saved from Sodom not treating God’s Word as if it was not true. What do you think? Is God’s Word worthy of your trust?
2. Sudden
Living out our daily lives, planning our careers, seeking goals that can only be met in this world can pre-occupy our thinking. But, there is a world that is out of this world. This world is passing away. We would be wise to be ready for Christ’s return by taking these Words to heart. God has given us free will to choose to believe Him or not believe. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ will be ready to be taken. Twice below, Christ says that it will happen instantly. We will not have time to change our minds to accept Christ if we are not believers when lightning strikes. Have you ever experienced the bolt of lightning near you? It comes out of nowhere and can hit anywhere. If it hits you, you likely won’t make it. Lightning is not silent as we described silence above. Loud, overpowering, shocking, that is the scenario.
We have time now by the grace of God to set our hearts right with God. Otherwise, we will not be ready and it will be too late. When Sodom was judged with fire and sulfur, Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Although she was warned, her heart was not with God in order to receive salvation from judgment. She is a warning to us today. If you are given the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ today, do not harden your heart, it may turn into salt if you do.
3. Surprising
Christians and non-Christians alike will be surprised. Jesus said that we would not know the hour of His coming. He said that He would come like a thief in the night. Try to imagine the verses below actually happening. Some people are left, others are taken. We cannot grasp the enormity of this great separation. We are going to leave everything behind whether we like it or not. It may happen at our personal death if that occurs before Christ returns. Don’t try to make this world your only concern. Don’t let the thief find your heart unprepared. Hold on to everything with loose hands. All the material is going up in smoke just like Sodom did. This world is headed for destruction. Don’t be shocked when it happens. Lot’s wife had her heart in Sodom not in God. She looked back and that was a fatal mistake. She had a love for Sodom and no faith in what she was told. She was holding on to her former life, not willing to release Sodom.
What Next?
In spite of the fact that we have been clearly warned, how many will treat Christ’s warning with contempt? A warning is a gift. We know that as sure as the sun rises and sets, the Son of Man will also arrive and bring an end to this world as we know it.
Are you spiritually packed? Are the doors of your heart open for His return? Are you looking forward and not backward like Lot’s wife? Do you hold everything with loose hands, losing your life in faith believing you will be preserved and saved?
Please consider Next Steps to make things right with God. Give serious consideration to watching the Forgiven Forever video on that page. God wants everyone to be saved but we must respond to His warning in order to be taken at the end.
Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
