Watching for Jesus

There is evidence in the Book of Revelation, 16:15 to be exact, that the current theory of "imminence" may be a little out of order. In the midst of the worst of the Tribulation days, sores, blood, scorching, darkness, Jesus speaks to His own,(who really are still there!) : I am coming as a thief! Watch! stay righteous before Me. Don't give up now! Here is a context just before Jesus' final return, all will agree. But the

"thief" message is still being given! The warning to "watch" is still there, even though it is clear He will now come at any minute, and very soon.

Let the doctrine of imminence be believed in the light Jesus has given us. No matter how much we know or don't know, we are told to watch! "Watching" and knowing when He is coming do not cancel each other. We are not watching with fear and ignorance, but watching with knowledge and expectation.

Upon our return from a recent trip to Mexico, we were told that within a couple of weeks our Mexican friends who actually live in the States, citizens, would be coming back to America also. Since we love them dearly and enjoy their fellowship, we started "watching" for their coming. We weren't told the exact day of their arrival, for they did not know when it would be. But we knew that some day soon they would arrive. We knew some things had to happen first. They had to purchase bus tickets. They had to go to the bus station. They had to make the long trip. But we were anticipating their arrival, living with it mentally every day.

That's how it works. Antichrist rises, and we know that within a few years Jesus will come. Are we watching any less? Oh my no! The anticipation and excitement grows as we see prophecy so dramatically fulfilled. Those who say that such specific knowledge of the time of His coming would cause us to stop watching are speaking only of wicked servants, spoken of by the Master in Matthew 24:48ff:

" But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants..."

No brothers, we are not in such darkness as this. We will know when He is coming, and we will be rejoicing until the end, knowing that His return is what our life is about.

One final line of thinking about "imminence": Both Peter and Paul knew that the Lord could not come at "just any moment." How? Jesus told Peter he would live to be an old man and die to glorify God, in John 21:18-19. Later Jesus told Peter that soon he was about to die, thus Jesus would not be coming at least until after that death (II Peter 1:14). Paul knew he was a chosen vessel who would stand before Gentiles and kings (Acts 9:15). It is not likely that they wore lapel pins announcing "perhaps today" , but their hope in His return was rock solid nonetheless, and a source of constant comfort and joy.

Bottom line, we look forward to seeing Jesus at any moment, for we know not when He will call us home. Beyond that we search the Scriptures daily to discern the times we are in, and see if we are close or not close. Whatever we find, we keep our eyes toward Heaven, knowing it is the meeting, and not the time, that matters. But to glibly make statements that Jesus never asked us to make and to believe things He never asked us to believe can only be detrimental to us and those who hear us. Let's get our revelations from the Word, and not from popular books and movies!

http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!

And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.

Personal Development