The Second Coming Of Jesus

Luke 21: 25-28

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Jesus told His disciples what to look for when the He was ready to return to set up His kingdom on earth.  One of the things that He spoke of was the signs in the moons and stars.  The following news release caught my attention.

There is a rare and special celestial occurrence that will be happening just after sunset on June 30, 2015.  On June 30th, 2015, the same conjunction that happened when Jesus was born, known as the “star of Bethlehem” will happen AGAIN in the night sky. The two planets, Venus and Jupiter will spend eight evenings within 2° of each other from June 27th through July 4th.  Astronomers refer to a close celestial pair-up like this as a conjunction.  This rare conjunction/pairing of Jupiter and Venus coming this close to each other so that they appear to be on top of one another has not happened like this since the birth of Jesus.

This is an extremely rare occurrence that should not be overlooked.  This event alone surely does not mean that the return of Jesus is imminent, but it certainly does come in line with the many other prophetic signs that are falling into place.

Here are six areas of activity that are considered to be signs of the coming of the end of the age of the church and the beginning of the reign of Jesus Christ on earth.

The Signs of Nature

Jesus spoke of the birth pangs in the earth that will increase in frequency and intensity as His return approaches.  A quick study of the historic records and a little attention to the evening news will reveal the increase in frequency and intensity of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions across the globe.  In fact, there has been an increasing intensity in all of our natural calamities.  Not to be overlooked is the return of diseases thought to be eradicated and the widespread evidence of growing famine across the globe.  Its as if God is shaking the earth to alert us to the coming of His Son.

The Signs of Society

Jesus said that when He returned the nature of society would be like the times of Noah.  We do not know a great deal about the times of Noah, but what we do know is that it was a time of such great immorality and violence that God sent a flood to cover the earth.  All it takes to confirm how far our society has fallen is to watch some of the old TV shows and then compare them to the immorality and violence passed off in every episode of today's television programming.

The Spiritual Signs

Jesus taught of the falling away of the church and rise of false teachers in the end times.  It is sad to watch mainstream religious denominations abandon biblical principles and the salvation message in order to proclaim what tickles the ears of their audience.  All kinds of myths, heresies and gross apostasy are running rampant.  On top of this, we see the dramatic rise in Satanism and a fascination with the occult. 

On the other hand, there are positive spiritual signs.  The Gospel is being brought to all corners of the world in thousands of languages.  The number of new Christians in the Middle East, India and China is staggering.  Evidence of a global outpouring of the Spirit that Jesus foretold about the end of the church age is reaching across the world.

The Signs of Technology

In Daniel chapter 12, we are taught that the end times will be marked by an explosion in knowledge and transportation.  Both have increased exponentially this century.  According to several sources, human knowledge is currently doubling every 12 months, but that will accelerate to every 12 hours once the full potential of the internet is built out.  We entered this century on horse back.  Today you can buy yourself a ride on a spaceship. 

The Signs of World Politics

End time prophecy foretells the coming of a one world government and a one world currency.  It is easy to see that we are only a couple of world-wide calamities from that scenario unfolding.

The Signs of Israel

The final category for signs of the return of Jesus concerns Israel.  The signs concerning Israel are more important than all the rest.  While the other categories provide strong indications of the second coming of Jesus Christ, there is ample room for speculation.  When it comes to Israel there is no room for speculation.  What is prophesied has come to fruition in our lifetime.  Here are seven key fulfillments of prophesy:

1. The regathering of the Jews in their land - began in the early 1900's.
2. The re-establishment of the state of Israel - May 14, 1948.
3. The reclamation of the land - a wasteland has become land of milk and honey once again.
4. The revival of the Hebrew language - abandoned through ages, Hebrew is now the official language of Israel.
5. The resurgence of the military - Israel's military force dominates the Middle East.  Israel is one of the top military forces in the world.
6. The world comes together against Israel - with the U.S. moving away from Israel, Israel stands alone.
7. The re-occupation of Jerusalem - June 7, 1967

The signs of nature, the signs of society, the spiritual signs, the signs of technology, the signs of world politics and the signs of Israel all point to the soon return of Jesus Christ.   God is shouting, "My Son is coming soon."  Are you ready?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy.  We thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.  We thank You for preparing our hearts to receive the Blessed Hope that is Your Son.  We thank You for providing the signs of the return of Your Son to rule and reign on this earth.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit leads us into surrender to our coming King.  We ask all these things in the name of the Great King Over All the Earth, Jesus Christ.

The Inerrant Word of God

Deuteronomy 4:2

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.

Throughout the ages, God's Word has always been challenged to some degree.  But in today's world, God's Word is being challenged in totality.  It was gradual at first, but now God's detractors are bold and aggressive.  Their messages are widespread and unforgiving.  If you do not fall in line with the untruths that they sell, you are a bigot and a danger to society.

We are being told over and over again that the world's values are changing and that we all need to change with it.  In other words, God's Word is not meant to be everlasting.  It was only good for a different time and place.  

When given the opportunity to share the Good News, we may find ourselves trying to massage the message so that it is more palatable to the listener.  How dare we presume that our words are more pleasing to the lost than the Word of God?  When we are sharing God's Word with the others, we should speak the truth as it is written.  We are doing the lost a great disservice if we give them anything other than the full truth.  Our words are powerless when they are not grounded in the Word of God.  Yet when we speak under the authority of the Word of God, our words  hold the same truths and promises as the Word of God.  Our words offer hope and assurance for those who are in need.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your inerrant Word so that we may have knowledge of who You are, so that we may know how much You love us, so that we may know that You have created us in Your image and that we may know that You have a perfect plan for our lives here on earth and in Your eternal kingdom.  We exalt You for all the promises that You extend to us in Your Holy Word.  Lord, we pray that You open our minds to receive the truths in Your Word.  We pray that You equip us to share the perfect truth in Your Word with those that You have placed in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ.  

Going Beyond the Law

Philemon 1:21

Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Paul wrote to Philemon asking him to forgive his slave, Onesimus, who had run away.  Paul also asked Philemon to accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ.  The law gave Philemon the right to deal with his runaway slave harshly.  Paul was asking Philemon to go beyond the law and respond with an act of brotherly love.

God's call on each of our lives is unique.  While He gives all of us the Ten Commandments to follow, He sets aside specific directives for each of us to follow.  He places these callings on our heart.  He wants to see our obedience to Him.  It is for His glory.  It is for the gain of His kingdom here on earth and in heaven.  When we follow God's calling, it is certain that our obedience will provide favor in our lives beyond anything that we see or imagine.

But we should strive to go beyond the things that we are called to.  We should open our hearts and our minds to find ways to give joy to one another.  Many around us are looking over their shoulders expecting trouble from the world that surrounds them.  Let us find ways to comfort one another and bring joy to one another.  We should exhaust every measure to bring hope to others.  But if in no other way, we should abound in prayer for everyone.  If obedience to the law brings us unimagined favor, what will we receive for going beyond the law?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to serve You.  We know that You will provide Your favor and protection when we follow your Commandments and the callings that You place on our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity.  Gracious Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit reveal to us the areas where You are calling us in obedience to serve you.  We ask for an overflowing of the love of Our Savior in our lives so that we will be founts of comfort, joy and hope to those that are in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Worthy Lamb, Jesus Christ.

With the Boldness and Confidence of the Prophets

Jeremiah 1:8

"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you", declares the LORD.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah to give him confidence.  He assured Jeremiah that he would not be asked to do anything for which the Lord had not equipped him.  The Lord also confirmed with Jeremiah that He would be protected from anything or anyone that tried to come against him.  This was all necessary to boost up Jeremiah.  Jeremiah was being asked to deliver messages that were not pleasant to the ears of his audience.  Jeremiah, one of God's greatest prophets, needed the divine inspiration of God to be able to carry out His assignment.

Our heavenly Father knows that often we fear what others will think about us.  God knows that we are weak and have a sense of inadequacy about carrying out the work that He calls us to do.  In His Word, He gives us the story of Jeremiah to strengthen and encourage us.  He wants us in a place where we fear no man.    

Surely, getting to this place where we fear no man is one of the most difficult lessons that we as believers ever learn.  It requires that we learn to trust completely in the Lord in all matters concerning our lives.  Even though the Lord has promised His perfect provision and protection in our lives, we still struggle to live in the fullness of what He has declared.  Sadly, it is a lesson that is probably not fully internalized even up to our death beds.  How much more joy would we have in life if we just simply put our complete trust in Him?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the protection and provision that You promise us.  We rejoice in Your unbreakable commitment to Your Word.  We praise You for allowing us to live in Your grace.  We pray, Lord, that You give us the courage to see past our circumstances and the wisdom to know that Your hand will be sufficient for all that we need.  We ask, Father, that Your Holy Spirit build us up and strengthen us so that we fear no man.  May we carry out the work that You give to us with the boldness and confidence of Your prophets.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Strength of Our Lives.

Commanded to Be of Good Cheer

Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Rejoice.  Endure.  Pray.  Now that is a winning combination.  Each of these disciplines undergirds the other.  The cumulative power gained by exercising these disciplines is even more valuable to followers of Jesus Christ when considering when they will be applied - during the times of trial and tribulation.

So how do these things work together.  First of all, Jesus taught that in the world we will have tribulation.  This is a given.  There is no getting around it and it is becoming obvious in these days that tribulation for Christians is being ramped up in the form of persecution unlike anything that we have ever seen in our lifetime.  But knowing this, we can rejoice as we have the hope given to us by the Son of God who has overcome the world.  This is so certain that Jesus commands us to be of good cheer.  And finally, because of the weakness of our flesh, the Lord God Almighty has provided access to His throne.  When we are in the middle of the battle, losing strength and clearly not of good cheer, Our Heavenly Father invites us into His presence to receive an overflowing of His grace which will strengthen us, encourage us and lift us up into the joyful expectancy that belongs to us as children of the living God. 

May we rejoice in our hope.  May we persevere in our trials.  May we receive the fresh supplies of grace that we need to indeed be of good cheer at all times and under all circumstances.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the constant flow of Your grace into our lives.  Teach us, Father, to come to You throughout the day, not just at certain assigned times.  Show us how to come into Your presence without ceasing.  May we learn to humble ourselves before You endlessly as we come to You in prayer, bringing You the love, the honor and the praise that You alone deserve.  We pray that we will endure all things as we rely on the Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.  We rest on His promises.  We ask all these things in His precious, holy and mighty name.

The Blood of the Lamb Conquers All

Romans 8:37

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

There is nothing on this earth that can conquer us.  What are these things that we struggle with?  Shall our troubles overcome us?  Shall our worries distress us?  Shall our hunger stop us?  Shall our worn clothing deter us?  Shall our enemies harm us?  Shall evil make us fear?  Shall those who persecute us take away our faith?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us.  For He that prepared a crown and a kingdom for us will provide all that we need to overcome.

Although we may see some measure of defeat from an earthly perspective, no one can separate us from the love of Christ.  His love is so powerful that all the things of the earth become insignificant to us as our faith and our joy increase through our new lives in Christ.  There are no reproaches, afflictions or persecutions that we cannot bear.  Through Jesus we are enabled to go forward cheerfully and with great courage. 

His victory over all evil is so complete that we share in His conquest.  Satan and his emissaries are doomed to weariness and defeat for the Blood of the Lamb conquers all.  The victory is ours.  His grace is always sufficient and no one can take His treasures from us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to dwell in Your shadow where we are protected from all that might come against us.  We thank You for providing Your angels to guard us.  We praise the name of Jesus for securing complete victory over all evil when He died on the Cross and was resurrected.  We pray that the Holy Spirit comfort us in our trials and teach us how to claim victory over our flesh and the attacks of the evil one.  We pray for the wisdom to trust in the promises of Our Risen Savior.  We rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the Overcoming Lamb.

Transferred Into the Kingdom

Colossians 1:13

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Sin is our nature.  It never leaves our flesh.  It keeps us in darkness from which there is no escape.  Without Jesus Christ in our lives, we are easy prey for Satan who stands ready to exploit the power of sin in our lives at a moment's notice.

But our merciful Heavenly Father made it part of His plan to give us the light and the power that we need to escape the darkness.  He provided a way for us to be bond servants to His Son and not to be slaves to Satan.  Through our relationship with His Crucified Son, we are rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God.  We receive true spiritual light as Christ is revealed to us, causing the prince of darkness to flee from us and the scales of darkness and blindness to fall from our eyes.

Our only refuge from sin is Jesus Christ.  By faith in Our Savior we are redeemed at the expense of His shed blood.  We are forgiven of our sins so that we may become objects of the Father's love and delight, just as His Son is.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing a way for us to be freed from our sinful natures.  We thank You, Jesus, for giving us victory over sin through Your shed blood and death on the Cross.  We thank You, Holy Spirit, for standing with us and strengthening us to overcome the sin in our lives.  We pray that we will come to the humble place where we recognize that we are incapable of victory over sin without the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  We rejoice in knowing that one day we will stand in the light for all eternity and darkness will never again touch us.  All praise and glory be Yours, Father.  We ask all these things in the name of the Great Light, Jesus Christ.

See Others As God Sees Them

Matthew 7:2

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

The opportunity for judging others is so readily available.  After all, we are all so flawed yet the desire to proclaim judgement seems to be part of our human nature.  As a society, we have become very good at speaking out against things that we consider offensive.  Unfortunately, in speaking out we often focus on the individual and not on the offense.

Jesus knew that we would struggle in this area.  Thus He provided us with a stern warning about judging others.  He wanted us to recognize that we are not qualified to judge, only He is.  Even more so, He wanted us to understand that in judging others we put ourselves in a position to pay an enormous price.

In addition to the potential of ruining other people's lives because of our judgmental nature, we also risk the following for ourselves:

• If we practice a critical spirit, we are likely to steal our own joy and peace.
• If we assume God's authority to judge, we place ourselves under greater scrutiny.
• If we include malice in our judgement, we pollute our own hearts.
• If we plant seeds of unforgiveness and condemnation, we become vulnerable to hatred.

Almighty God, through the sacrifice of His Son, chose to see us all as holy and blameless.  He gives us the freedom to choose to see others as He sees them.  He calls us to:

• Forgive others as we let Christ's peace rule in our hearts.
• Comfort others as we manifest the mercy of the Father.
• Honor others above ourselves as we imitate the humility of Our Savior.
• Encourage others as we share in the treasures of Jesus Christ.
• Love others as we let the perfect love of God flow through us.

Let us choose to live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ and not in the spirit of the world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that our sins have been forgiven and washed away by the sacrificial blood of Your Son.  We praise You for the mercy that You have extended to us through Your Son.  We pray that You will shield us from the desire to judge others when You have kept judgment for Yourself.  May we not seek to find sin in the lives of others, but only seek to help others find the forgiveness that is in the name of Jesus.  May we all live our lives as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We ask all these things in the name of the Judge of the Living and the Dead, Jesus Christ.