(II Thessaolonians 2:1-12) "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by sword, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
Anyone who pays attention to current events in the world knows that we're living in a world of turmoil. Just take a look at the tragic events that have occurred since January 1st. On January 8th, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot and wounded along with several other people that Saturday in the Tucson Massacre. In late January there were major riotings that took place in Egypt which eventually forced the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There have also been riots in Tunisia and Libya. As of this moment, U.S. forces are in a military campaign striking missiles on Moammar Gadhafi's compound. There's major unrest in the Middle East. There are also other problems in the world as well such as the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The last couple of years have produced several major earthquakes around the world. There is political unrest in our own country. Last month there were protests in Madison, Wisconsin over Governor Scott Walker's plan to ask Wisconsin federal workers to contribute more to their pensions and healthcare costs dues to a budget shortfall. This world is full of problems. In America, the total national debt is greater than the overall U.S. economy. There are a few states that are on the verge of bankruptcy such as California, Illinois, and New York. Many countries in Europe are almost bankrupt such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain. This world is in turmoil.
In Matthew 24, Jesus told his disciples what would be the signs of His coming. Jesus said there would be many that would claim to be Christ and deceive many. He also said there would be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, nations rising against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms (Matthew 24:1-7). Jesus said there would be those that would hate God's people and persecute them. He said iniquity would abound and the love of many shall wax cold. Jesus said in verse 11 false prophets would arise and deceive many. We find many false prophets in our land today proclaiming a false gospel. Jesus said the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. We are witnessing these signs today. Christ's coming is imminent. The online definition of imminent means about to occur, pending. One thing you can mark down on your calendar: Jesus is coming! He could come before this evening is over with. Just as the sun rises every morning and the sun sets in the evening, Jesus is coming and its imminent. There's no escaping this appointment. The whole world will know when he comes. There will be the sound of a trumpet which will proclaim that he's come back. He will set up his kingdom in the Mount of Olives and rule and reign for a thousand years in the dispensation of the Millennial Reign.
I want to briefly point out that when I make mention of the Lord's coming, I'm making reference to his Second Coming. Since I believe in the doctrine of the pretributional rapture, I believe God's going to rapture out his children from this world before seven years of Great Tribulation takes place (I Thessalonians 4:15-18). Following the rapture of the church, there will be seven years of Great Tribulation where the antichrist shall be in charge of this world for those seven years (II Thessalonians 2:7-9). Following the seven years of the tribulation period, Christ will return to this world for the second time to establish His kingdom during the Millennial Reign.
There have been many predictions over the centuries trying to pinpoint when Christ will return. I have some news for you: Matthew 24:36 says no man knoweth the day nor hour when the son of man appeareth. Back in 1988 someone wrote a book entitled, "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Come in 88". This man had predicted Jesus would come in September of 1988. As of yet Christ hasn't returned. One thing I can guarantee you is anytime someone makes a prediction of a certain date of Christ's appearing, you can be assured Christ won't come on that date. Jesus said only the Father in Heaven knows the exact date of his appearing. We must get ready for that special day. We should always be ready for Christ's appearing. Christ may come at any moment. Even though we can't predict the day nor hour when Christ shall come, we can know the season. When we take a look at the events that are taking place around the world, such as the unrest taking place in the Middle East, Christ's appearing is at hand. Every time we read the newspaper, we read about the nation of Israel. Israel is always in danger of being attacked by her enemies, such as Gaza. As I speak, rockets fired from Gaza hit deep inside Israel. There was a bus bombed and an ancient Jewish cemetery desecrated. Israel is usually blamed by the United Nations for any violence that takes place in the Palestinian territories or whenever Israel tries to build settlements. The U.N. always condemns Israel when they build settlements. The U.N. and the U.S. is always trying to handcuff Israel from defending itself against the Arab World. The modern nation of Israel was reborn in May 1948. Israel is almost 63 years old in the modern era. Eschatological events revolve around Israel. God's about ready to pour out His judgment upon this world.
We live in an hour where there are all sorts of false gospels being preached. We have false teachers that teach false doctrines concerning the subject of salvation. Some teach that you can be saved by being dunked in a pool of water, others such as the Catholic Church teach that a man can be saved by performing good works. There are some in the fundmental ranks that teach a person can be saved without repentance. All they have to do is to repeat a prayer and just believe with your mind that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. As a result of the multiplicity of false doctrines being propagated into our land, there is mass confusion concerning spiritual things. Many people are deceived concerning the truths of God's word. The truth of the matter is there's only one way to salvation and that's through faith and repentance in the shed blood of Jesus Christ upon Calvary's cross. The Bible declares in Matthew 24 that false teachers would arise and there are a multitude of false teachers in this world. I venture to say there's many more false teachers than true men of God that preach the unadulterated gospel of the Word of God. Let no man deceive you. Jesus is coming. His coming is imminent. It's sure to occur as the sun rises and sets every day in certain parts of our world. As far as I'm concerned, there's no prophecy yet to be fulfilled prior to the rapture of the church. There is scripture yet to be fulfilled when it comes to the Great Tribulation. However, I don't know of any scripture that needs to be fulfilled prior to the rapture of the church. Isaiah 66:7-8, which speaks of the rebirth of Israel, took place in 1948. Nevertheless, all the signs regarding the condition of the last days is already taking place.
Jesus is coming back. He's coming back very soon. There are critics who will say "I've heard that Jesus is coming back all my life and he still hasn't returned." That may be true, but Christ's coming is closer today than it was when the Apostle Paul was living. If you read the New Testament or read church history, every generation of God's people was expecting Jesus to come back in their lifetime. Paul and the early apostles were looking for the appearing of Jesus during the early church. Great men of God such as Charles Haddon Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Dr. Percy Ray, Dr. Oliver B. Greene, and Dr. Harold B. Sightler were looking for the Lord to return before they died. All the men of God that are presently living are looking for Jesus' return in their lifetime. All those who are saved are looking for Jesus appearing in their lifetime. I do believe according to what I've read in the book of Daniel concerning knowledge being greatly increased in the last days that we're closer to Christ's coming today than ever before (Daniel 12:4). Even though we don't know the day nor hour, we must understand that Christ is coming back. Luke 12:40 says that we're to be ready for the Son of Man will return in an hour when least expected. We're to always be ready for his appearing. What does it mean to be ready? It means that our relationship is to be current with the Lord and we are busy serving him. We are to live exemplary lives before the world. We ought to live in such a manner when Christ comes that we won't be ashamed of his coming. We should live holy lives unto Christ. Those that truly belive in their heart that Christ could come today will live a life that's pleasing to him. Those that don't believe Christ will come back anytime soon will live carnal lives. The fact that many of God's people live such carnal lives bears witness to the fact that we don't believe Christ is coming soon. If we truly believe Jesus is coming soon, then we'll walk in truth and follow Him.
Jesus is coming back! There's no question about it. Christ's coming is as certain as the sun rises and sets. You can't escape or ignore this momentous event. The question is are we ready for HIS coming?
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