Looking for the Return of Jesus

Continuing with thoughts on the resurrection and its significance to me….

Frankly, I think that no matter how much evidence is presented as to truth of the biblical account, multitudes will choose to ignore it or deny it. The same is true regarding the obvious evidence that our existence is the result of the miraculous work of a Creator. How one thinks about the most important issues in life basically boils down to a matter of choosing to believe God in faith or not.

As for me—I choose to place my faith in God through Jesus Christ His Son as presented in scripture. As I celebrate the resurrection of my Savior, I can’t help but look forward to my own resurrection to eternal life. Frankly, I’m not expecting to die; in light of a normal lifespan I am expecting to be changed as foretold by the Apostle Paul in his letters to the Corinthians and Thessalonians.

1Corinthians 15:51-57 “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1Thessalonians 4:15-18 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

I believe that this change is going to happen at least 7 years prior to Jesus returning to earth as King of kings to establish His kingdom on earth. As many of the articles on this blog evidence, I believe that we are living at the time in history in which the “signs of the times” as prophesied in scripture are too obvious to ignore. I also believe that the Lord expects us to recognize these signs, just as He expected the Pharisees to recognize Him as the Messiah.

John 5:39-40 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

Matthew 16:1-3 “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. ’Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”

At one point in the time preceding His arrest some of the disciples of Jesus came to ask Him concerning the signs that would herald His second coming. The fact that He chose to answer them in significant detail testifies to how important He felt it was for them (and us) to understand the answer to that question.

Matthew 24:3-4 “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you….” (And His answer continues on through chapter 25.)

Many will argue that there is no reason to think we are any different than any other generation in history that was looking for His coming. But that attitude was also prophesied by Peter to be a sign of the times.

2Peter 3:1-4 “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

Peter even goes on to tell us why God has waited so long (from our perspective).

2Peter 3:8-9 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

This whole blog was started as an attempt to share my understanding of future things as foretold in scripture. It was meant to encourage other “regular” people like me to explore the scripture on their own. I think so often we get dependent upon others to tell us what to believe partly because we feel so inadequate to dig into the scripture on our own with the help of the Holy Spirit. We are certainly blessed with many wonderful study aids available to us today (many for free on the internet) to reference as we seek the truth. These resources are very useful as a reference in trying to clarify our own understanding; but that is all they should be—reference points. I’ve found I sometimes have ideas that differ quite a bit from these scholars, and that is OK; other times I find their research useful and gain better understanding in considering their thoughts on a specific area of scripture as I come to my own conclusion through the leading of the Spirit. The key is that God is going to hold each one of us accountable as to how we respond to His truth. The more dependent we are upon others, the more likely we are to fall into deception.