Get Ready

Pre-, post-, or amillennial ... when it comes to the end of days, what we don't know -- or at least what we don't agree on -- could probably fill more books than the entire Left Behind series. Including spin-offs.

But, and this is important, I don't think God requires that we all agree on exactly how He's going to accomplish his Ultimate Will. He's going to do what He's going to do, regardless of how you, I, or anyone thinks it's going to happen. More vital is that we are now and always ready for Him to move, however He's going to do it.

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 

“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:1-13)

Are you ready? Are you loving as He has loved? Are you going into the world and teaching His gospel, telling everyone of His great love and mercy? Are you prayerfully going about your day, in communication with the Father? Are you living your life in such a way that God is, even now, pleased with what you do with what He has given you? 

Get ready. Get right. And then, get to work. When He returns, however He does so, whenever He does so, it will be a glory the likes of which you and I have never even imagined. So be watchful, and be ready. You won't want to miss it!

We Pause In Our Celebration of Christ's Birth To Witness The End of the World

Well, it would seem we're all still here. Again. Doing some quick digging, it seems the end of the world has been predicted over 240 times since Jesus walked the earth. That's 240 dates for the end of all things. Apparently, there's even another one coming up in 2016, since the whole Mayan calendar thing didn't work out.

And, since we're at it, we might as well predict exactly how the world will end. Nuclear war was a big one for a few decades. I guess it's still under consideration, but not quite as prevalent since the Cold War. Acid Rain? We don't hear a whole lot about that either, anymore. Not that it isn't still there... I guess it's just not as "in" right now. Global Warming. Or at least, some kind of climate change. Warnings, all. Change your ways, people. The end is nigh.

It's weird how even secular apocalypses take on something of a religious quality, isn't it? In the case of the 2012 Mayan apocalypse, there's even that thread of mysticism.

This fascination we have with our own mortality may have something to do with how temporary we really are. I begin to wonder if this constant warning of impending doom isn't more spiritual than it first appears. A realization, perhaps, that we are not meant to live on this world forever. A longing for our true home.

As the New Testament often reminds us, we are strangers to this world. As people who belong to Christ, we Christians are ambassadors to this world. It is not our home. So, we do long for the day when Christ returns to reign again over this Earth, to welcome His children to His side.

Is it so strange, then, that even the nonbelieving world would have this ingrained, instinctive desire? That even unbelievers would see and know that something isn't right with the world they know, and long for some catastrophic event to change the very face of what they know -- and to, perhaps, forge something better from the wreckage?

It's not that we're a planet full of nihilists. It's that we're eternal beings, with an instinctive longing for Eternity.

So it's proper, I think, in the season when we remember the coming of Christ as a small child, to look forward, as well, to His returning as triumphant King.

Heaven and Nature Sing

The lyrics to a favorite Christmas Hymn is actually a song about the return of Jesus. "Joy to the World" was written by Isaac Watts as a hymn to the Triumphant Return of Christ, foretold in the book of Revelation.

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

The thing is, it really works well as both. After all, His triumphant Returning wouldn't even be possible without His first coming to Earth. This cultural juxtaposition of beginning (Christ's birth) and end (His return) also serves as a reminder to us:  be ready.

In Luke 5, Jesus is challenged by Pharisees because His disciples don't fast like John's disciples do.

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”

And then, as we see in Matthew 25, after he is gone, we must wait for His return, and be prepared for it. 

¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

So, in celebrating His birth -- His arrival here on Earth -- we remember to live as though He could return at any time.  


He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,