LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF HIS COMING
I Thess. 5:1-11 "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
Jesus is coming again! Just as surely as the members of that first church saw the resurrected Christ ascend into the heavens in the company of two heavenly escorts, we can have confidence in the validity of His promise to return. The surety of His coming was confirmed by the proclamation of His heavenly escort and messenger, "Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." One of His last precious and infallible promises given to reassure His followers on the night preceding His crucifixion was, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I WILL COME AGAIN, to receive unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." His very last Words on the subject are found in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible. The fact of His Second Coming and the need to affirm it seems so important that He repeated his promise three times. "Behold I come quickly: blessed is he that keepth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." (Rev. 22:7) "Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Verse 12) "He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Verse 20)
Is Jesus coming again? I believe so. People are thinking about the end of the world today more than ever before. Many books are being written about matters of the end time. Popular secular movies focus on apocalyptic events. New Age gurus with Messiah complexes mix a little fact with a lot of fancy to manipulate followers to participate in terrible, tragic and futile acts. Every earthquake, natural disaster, shocking crime, political or military disaster, mass famine, threat of world-wide disease or plague; reminds us of the signs of the end times so clearly outlined by our Saviour. Every news report of the increase and continuation of conflict, violence and terrorism in our world, especially in the Middle East,; seems to herald the soon coming of our Savior.
I believe His return is imminent. The prophetic clock of God’s eternal time table is ticking. No angel or demon can hinder or stop it’s progress. Man has a date with destiny. God’s eternal purpose will be consummated. No mortal man, priest or potentate, rich or poor, popular or powerful, can stop the ticking of God’s prophetic clock. Every grain of sand trickling through the hour glass of time brings us closer to the climatic events predicted in the Word of God. We cannot stop time, but we can put it to good use. We can do as the prophet said, "Prepare to meet our God.." We can follow the advice of the wise man and, "..redeem the time." Or as one poet has said, "In time, take time, while time does last. For time is not time, when time is past." In order to wisely live in these times we are commanded to be watchful. In order to be watchful we need to be informed about future events of the Second Coming. We need to know some scriptural answers to some simple questions. But more than this, we need to know how we should respond to the fact of His imminent return. We not only need to know, but we should be LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF HIS COMING!
1. We Should Live in the Light of the Surety of His Coming.
2. We Should Live in the Light of the Suddenness of His Coming.
3. We Should Live in the Light of the Soberness of His Coming.
4. We Should Live in the Light of the Salvation of His Coming.
WE SHOULD BE LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF THE SURETY OF HIS COMING. How do we know for certain He is coming again? The surety of His coming was prophetic and scriptural fact long before our Saviour promised it or His angelic messengers proclaimed it. In fact, true believers are aware that true Biblical prophecy is merely history written in advance by God. The Old Testament prophets said He would come back.
"Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee [to] the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee." (Zech. 14-:3-5) The prophet Isaiah had much to say of His coming to set up His everlasting kingdom in the latter days. (See Isaiah 9:6-7, 11, 22) Daniel not only gave us the exact date of His first coming, but prophesied many events related to His second coming. (Daniel 9:24-27)
In addition to Paul and the writers of the four gospels, all the other writers of the New Testament confirm that Jesus is coming again. In fact, the surety of His coming is overwhelming established by the fact that teachings related to the doctrine dominate much of the New Testament.
WE SHOULD LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SUDDENNESS OF HIS COMING. (See verses 1-5) In order to understand the Second Coming and Paul’s teaching about the imminent return of Christ, we need to understand some of the terms Paul used. The phrase, "Times and Seasons" is found three times in the Bible. (I Thess. 5:1, Dan. 2:21, Acts 1:7) It is clear that Daniel and Jesus used it relative to God’s plan for Israel in the end time. It is safe to assume that this is its primary usage in the scriptures. But God has not only ordained the times and season of history for Israel, but for all the nations of the world as well. After all, it is as Dr. A. T. Pierson once said, "History is His story."
God’s dealing with Israel and nations in His times and seasons of history will culminate in "The Day of the Lord." Although the word day in the Bible usually refers to a twenty-four hour period, it is often used to describe a time period during which certain events occur. In the Book of Genesis day is used to define the whole week of creation. The prophets Isaiah, Jerimiah, Joel, Amos and Zepaniah all used the term, "Day of the Lord" or the term, "The Time Of Jacob’s Trouble," to describe the time God will judge the world and punish the nations and prepare Israel for the establishment of Christ’s righteous Kingdom.
The third term is, "Thief in the Night." Even though His coming again is a clearly established fact of prophetic history, it seems His coming will surprise the world. Jesus said that no man knows the time of His coming. He will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. He said, "At an hour when you think not, even so, shall the Son of Man shall come." In this there is a great contrast between God’s people and the people of our present world. Those of us who are truly saved and understand the promise of His coming will be saying, "Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus." We will be watching, waiting and warning our friends and neighbours, "Jesus is coming! Judgment is coming! Prepare to meet God!" We will have the heart of Paul when he said, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; ..’ (II Cor. 5:11)
But they (the world) will say, " ... "Peace and safety.... where is the sign of His coming?" The world will be caught napping. They will not be listening to and responding to the Word of God. Our Saviour said the situation will be as it was in the days of Noah. "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:26-27)
There is no denying the culture in the days of Noah was so depraved and perverted that God was moved to destroy it. Can we say the culture of the world today is any better? But more than this, Jesus seems to be saying that things will be going along routinely and normally in the culture. The world will be ignoring its date with destiny and the judgment of God. In this, He is surely saying that in times like these He will suddenly return as a thief in the night. Peter also reminds us of this. "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (I Peter 3:20)
The need for LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF THE SUDDENNESS OF HIS COMING might be illustrated by this excerpt from my book, "Gleanings From The Gospel,"
"Living In The Light Of His Coming - Our lookout turned and waved his hands frantically. He had heard the thud of our teacher’s feet echoing down the school hallway. Students involved in hassling and horseplay began to scramble back to their desks, desperately trying to pickup all the paper missiles that had been fired around the room in the teacher’s absence. Those engaged in loud and boisterous talk suddenly quieted down as the classroom quickly adopted a facade of studious innocence. Those few students who had conscientiously followed the teacher’s instruction to work quietly while he was out of the room, breathed a sigh of relief, having been spared the possible ordeal of mass class punishment.
Our research group was expecting a visit from the top executives of our large corporation. The word came down from our chief chemist to make ready. In addition to all the effort required to tidy up our work benches and pilot project areas and place the very best facade upon all our operations, we were told that even though much of our work at the moment only required routine monitoring and observation, we were to make sure we always appeared to be active and busy. The company research appropriation for the next year was hanging in the balance. Since the time of the visit had not been specifically given, our constant state of readiness extended over a number of days.
Our Air Force base commander received word that the commanding general would possibly visit our station in the next few days. You can imagine the rest.
It’s easy to see the parallels in these personal experiences. The spiritual parallel is also quite obvious. Our Saviour has said no man knows the specific time of His return to resurrect and rapture true believers and to judge planet earth and its inhabitants. He emphasized that believers in every age should view the time of His return as not only indefinite, but also immediate. He illustrated the idea with an analogy of a burglar’s normal methodology. He simply said, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, even so the Son of man cometh."
Just as the behavior and activities of those mentioned in the incidents cited above were positively affected by the certainty of an imminent accountability, so should we respond to the certainty of His imminent return."
WE SHOULD LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SOBERNESS OF HIS COMING. (See verses 6-8) There can be no doubt that Paul was urging believers to view the Second Coming with sober consideration. He compares the coming judgment that will be poured out at His coming to the "travail of a woman with child." The seriousness and soberness of the matter needs no explanation to those mothers who gone through such travail nor to those husbands who have shared at least some of the trauma of the moment with them. Jesus also described first part of this day as, "the beginning of sorrows." (Matt. 24:8) The word that is translated sorrows can also be translated, "birth pangs." It would seem that all such references inform of the time leading up to the birth of the Kingdom of God on earth. A very serious and sobering time indeed.
In light of this God’s people should live seriously and soberly in this present world. We are the sons and daughters of light, not darkness. As Warren Weirsbe said, "We should live expectantly. This does not mean putting on a white sheet and sitting atop a mountain. That is the very attitude God condemned. (Acts 1:10-11) But it does mean living in the light of His return, realizing that our works will be judged and that our opportunities for service on earth will end. It means to live ’with eternity’s values in view.’ There is a difference in being ready to go to heaven and being meet the Lord. Anyone who has sincerely trusted Christ for salvation is ready to go to heaven. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has taken care of that. But to be ready to meet the Lord at the Judgment Seat is quite another matter. Scripture indicates that some believers will not be happy to see Jesus Christ! "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." (I John 2:28)
The following story from my childhood and excerpt from my book, "Gleanings In The Gospels," speaks to the need to LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SOBERNESS OF HIS COMING.
"As Dad stood in the hot sun and surveyed the field of young corn, my brother and I knew the inevitable verdict. Yes, the young plants needed thinning and the grass and weeds
removed. We heard with sinking hearts his oral confirmation as we envisioned a hot, sticky and exhausting day of hoeing the field.
"But Dad," we both said, more or less in unison, "It’s Saturday and everybody’s going swimming in the swimming hole down at the creek! No response was necessary, his stern and withering glance choked off further protest. As so often was the case, our wills melted into his. He shoved his big, rough and gnarled hands into the pockets of his overalls. Walking away, he quipped over his shoulder, "If you work hard and do a good job you’ll be through by late lunch time. Then you can go swimming."
A bit later when Dad and Mom came down our country lane in our old Ford Model A on their long monthly drive to town to do the family shopping, we just knew they wouldn’t be back ’til sundown.
The day was a real scorcher. The sun burned down mercilessly, relentlessly sucking up great clouds of humidity from an earth still damp with recent rains and soaking our bodies in a sea of "sweat." We heard the boys coming down the lane, running and yelling, breathing out great boastings and bravado about who would be first in, swing the highest on the wild grapevine swing or jump from the highest spot on the cliffs overlooking the old swimming hole. Visions of splashing, playing and frolicking in those icy cold depths in a cool shady forest were just too much for our heat-fevered brows and bodies to withstand. After-all, couldn’t we perform our tiresome task more efficiently and quickly in the refreshing shady cool of the late afternoon?
I might spare myself the painful remembrance and recounting of the rest of this tale of woe, but for the lesson learned that day that might be well for us all to heed today. Of course, we deliberately dallied longer in those delicious and delightful depths than intended. And for some reason, still a deep, dark mystery to both my brother and me, Dad came home early that day. We certainly didn’t know the "hour of his coming." We had not "occupied" until he came. We were as those foolish servants. And one could say for sure he came at an hour when we, "thought not." The thought of his coming was to us a most unhappy hope.
I’ll mercifully spare all of us the gory details of the loving correction consistently applied by our Dad on that day long ago. But, needless to say, the memory still smarts in my mind today. And I cannot read I John 2:27-28 without remembering the shame I felt on that, "Judgment Day!"
As sons and daughters of light, we should not stagger around as drunken men in the darkness of this world as we see the day approaching. But we should let our lights so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father Who is in heaven. We should light the corners where we are. It is far better for the Christian to strike a match of witness in these last days than to curse the darkness of sin and sadness around him. Such sober and serious living requires the mind-set of Christ. The Christian cannot afford to be overwhelmed with the flood-tide of evil in our world nor be apathetic of complacent. He must maintain a serious, sane and sober world-view. The doctrine of the Second Coming is an optimistic philosophy of life. The sober and expectant Christian will keep on keeping on. He has placed his hand to the plough of faithfulness and will not look back. His hope is anchored beyond the veil and he stands solidly upon the Rock of Ages and the trials and tribulations will not shake or shatter him.
So we should live daily in the light of His coming. Amos said to the people of God in his day, "Prepare to meet thy God." In other places Paul reminded Christians of the imminent return of Christ when with words such as this, "..that knowing the time ... let us walk honestly ... putting on the Lord Jesus Christ." Someone has said, "No man lives carelessly whose last thoughts before retiring in the evening or first thoughts upon arising in the morning focus on the Second Coming."
There’s and old piece of verse entitled, "If Jesus came to your house to spend a day or two." In it the author proposes that even our everyday routines and activities would change drastically as we prepared for the visit of our heavenly guest. We would clean up our act in too many ways to mention here. Let us so live.
WE SHOULD LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF OUR SALVATION. (Verses 9-11) The fullness of salvation should serve the believer well as the end time approaches. True believers do not need to fear the vials of the wrath of judgment God will pour out upon the earth during the great tribulation. Even though sincere brothers may disagree with me, it is my personal conviction that those who hold His blessed hope in their heart are not destined to taste the terrible cup of wrath and judgment reserved for the godless world during this great period of pain and tribulation. I believe that our hope of salvation not only refers to eternal salvation from sin and its wages, but includes salvation from this judgment that will come upon the world as well.
It does my heart good to review from time to time what the Word of God teaches about the three tenses of salvation. As I take my stand upon the sin scorched and blood soaked earth around Calvary, I can truly say that there in eternity past I was saved from the PENALTY of sin. As I walk through this present weary and sin-cursed world and yield myself to the power of the Holy Spirit, I can say I am being saved from the POWER of sin in my life. As I look forward to His Coming and the setting up of His Kingdom and the new heaven and the new earth, I can say I will then be saved from the very PRESENCE of sin!
Let us live our lives in the light of our salvation and His Coming! But let us also live our lives in the light of the surety of His coming. Let us never forget that we should live daily our lives in the light of the suddenness of His coming. We should also live our lives with the alertness, gravity and soberness of those who are anchored in Him and are focusing upon that blessed hope!
