according to those percentages, it would mean three out of every four you feel Jesus is not returning anytime soon, which sounds odd as you listen our reading from Mark 13:32-37:
[Jesus says:] “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, and yet, seventy-three percent of Christians apparently have pinpointed when Jesus will return. They have done what Jesus says no one can do. I know, that 73% of Christians did not determine the precise day and hour of his arrival. Yet, by feeling Jesus will not return until after [the year] 2050, three out of every four Christians have just claimed: “Jesus is not coming soon. There is still time.” Feeling there is still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ return may sound like you still have an opportunity to deal with spiritual matters at a more convenient time. Yet, feeling there still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ return can actually leave you unprepared to meet him. That’s why Jesus sounds the warning: Keep Watch for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert and Remain active. You have every reason to remain alert. Before Jesus enters heaven, he tells you what to expect before he returns to earth. He gives signs that point to the end of this world (Matthew 24:3). “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places… [Y]ou will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…” (24:6-12). You see those signs happening, don’t you? The media reports wars erupting in the Middle East. Civil wars break out in Libya, Syria, and Zimbabwe. You constantly hear rumors of war with North Korea. Famines rip through Africa. Earthquakes level cities in Mexico, Haiti, Indonesia, India— all over the world. Cold-hearted murderers show no love for life; they barge into churches, gun down concert-goers, and transform schools from a place of safety to a place of concern. False prophets still exist; pastors (that is, people who look and appear honest) stand up in church buildings (places that look like your church— with Bibles and songs and seats) and [they] openly announce that the Bible is full of errors. They share teachings on forgiveness, sexuality, or money that openly contradict what God so clearly says. Wickedness is increasing. What was once considered “wrong” is now praised as “right,” and what was once considered “right” is now condemned as “wrong.” Children disrespect parents, teachers, and authority-figures. Parents neglect children, argue with police officers and teachers, and refuse to care for those in need. Masses are not just leaving worship, but are leaving their faith in Jesus as Savior behind. Are you paying attention to these signs? These “signs of the end” are not just entertaining fun-facts meant to settle your curiosity; each individual sign powerfully preaches: Jesus is coming soon! (Luke 21:28) These signs are the reason why you Keep Watch for Your Savior’s Coming. You have the ability to remain alert because as you watch the signs unfold, you know Jesus will follow them! Or, does this all sound like something you have heard before? After all, these signs are nothing new, right? Wars and earthquakes and famines and persecution and hate and violence and unbelief have been going on ever since Jesus walked on the earth. (Maybe you can remember connecting these signs with other wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, acts of lovelessness, and people staying away from worship.) When you hear the same warning repeated so often, you begin doubting the seriousness of the warning. At first, you expect something significant to happen soon, but if nothing happens, then you start believing that the warning is not really all that serious. That’s why 73% of Christians do not feel Jesus will return anytime soon. Many watch these signs of the end, but do not see Jesus coming down from heaven. And if Jesus is not coming down from heaven, then his arrival must not be too serious. And if he is all too serious about returning, then you do not need to seriously consider how you stand before God. “There’s still time,” is the thought. And if there is still time between your life “now” and Jesus’ arrival, then it feels that you still have an opportunity to deal with spiritual matters at a more convenient time. The Master leaves and stays away for a while; the servants realize he’s not returning soon and so they ignore the command to work. (1) You feel there will always be a later time to turn from sin and so (2) the sins God hates no longer bother you. You fall into spiritual slumber. You start drifting from what you were taught: you cannot remember the Bible stories of creation, the Flood, or Jesus’ Passion; you have forgotten those accounts and are content to have a gap in knowledge. Yet, that gap does not stop there. Soon, you stop listening to the other parts of Scripture. You disrespect your God-appointed authorities; you argue with your parents (because you don’t get your way). You challenge your God-given Pastor/Shepherd because you do not want to hear God’s instructions expose your wrong behavior. The more you stay out of the Word, the more you focus on yourself; you live in ways that serve you, that make you feel happy, that will benefit you most. And so, your love grows cold. You gossip and cut down. You no longer offer to help others; instead you make excuses as to how other are taking advantage of you. You accuse and criticize. No longer do you check what your heart believes. Rather, you grow content behaving in whatever way makes you feel happy at the moment. You become perfectly content to let your heart fall into a deep spiritual sleep. My friends, If [Jesus] comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping-- because when Jesus arrives, it will be too late to wake up. That’s why Jesus sounds the warning. He wants you to prepare for his coming. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Who does not know when that time will come? You. You do not have the privilege to put off spiritual matters for another day because you do not know if you will have another day to deal with them. So, Keep Watching for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert because Jesus has given you the ability to remain alert. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, born for you (Galatians 4:4-5). For you— that is, Jesus lives constantly aware and alert that earth is not your forever-home. He lives constantly aware and alert of making heaven your eternal home. His alertness means that he keeps God’s Word central in his life. He worships. His words and actions fall in line with what God calls “right.” When the time had come, he allows himself to be betrayed, arrested, sentenced, and crucified. And on the cross, he makes heaven a reality. His life is used to open heaven. He leaves the tomb to show you that there is life after death. He enters heaven to prepare a place for you. Then he makes a final promise: I will come back for you (John 14:3). Keep Watch for Your Coming Savior! Remain alert because Jesus has done everything necessary to set up eternal life for you. Through his Word, he focuses your heart to see him reign as your forgiving King. Since you know what is coming, you can Remain active. If you live in Florida and hear reports of a hurricane barreling towards your house within the next three days, what would you do? Sleep?... Sit around?... Wait until day three to finally prepare your house for the hurricane? No! You breathe a sigh of relief that you still have three days to get everything done that you needs to get done. In the same way, God tells you want is coming so that you may remain active now and prepare for his arrival now! In verse 35 Jesus says: Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. You do not know when Jesus will return, but there is something you do know: Jesus will come back. Instead of using that knowledge as an excuse to grow spiritually lazy, use that knowledge to remain active. Put another way, instead of saying: “Great! Another day to not care about how I live my life!” Let your thinking be: “Great! Another day for me to let the love of God dwell in me and through me!” Remain active in your watching by making God’s Word a priority in your life. It will always feel like you do not have enough time to worship Sunday mornings or read your devotions at home or even pray. During the Christmas season, there’s parties, activities, friends, family, Christmas lights and presents—all good things that you get to enjoy during the season. Yet, remember that on Christmas Day, you get to say “Thank you” to God for giving the gift of eternal life through Jesus. What a reason to make God a priority during a busy season. When you set aside time and make sure nothing steals that time away, you will find that you do have opportunities to worship, have devotions, and pray. When you set aside ten minutes in the morning or before bed, you will discover that you suddenly have time to read a chapter of the Bible or a devotion from the Meditations booklet. When you keep Sunday worship times open in your schedule, you will discover that you have time to worship (and still have time for other family activities). Remain active in Watching for Your Coming Savior! Do not merely make hearing the Word a priority, but keep its teachings a priority in your life. As you hear the Word, consider what areas of your life to which it applies. Let the Word set your heart at rest as you trust God. Let the Word shape the words that come out of your mouth. Let the selfless love of Jesus transform your thoughts into selfless giving. Remain active in Watching for Your Coming Savior as you let the Word sink into your head and heart Because No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son. Since you do not know when Jesus will return, it means that today is the day to get your heart ready to meet him. Today is the day to remain spiritually alert and active! Today is the day to Keep Watch for the Savior’s Coming! Remain alert and Remain active.
This kind of art is called a “holusion.” To see the garden, you have to look behind the chaos, behind the swirling mess, behind all the confusion. Stop concentrating on each individual blob and color and pattern. Let your eyes un-focus. Concentrate (or stare) off into the distance (http://www.vision3d.com/sgphoto.html) and then you can see the real picture. Can you see the garden now?
It’s not easy, is it? It takes concentration. It takes patience. It takes discipline to focus on the “big-picture” instead of fixating on all these individual images. Maybe you find it just as difficult to always remain focused on the “big-picture” of your Christian life. It’s as though this holusion constantly hangs in front of your eyes. You watch a society sinking into a swirling mess of rejecting what is right and embracing what is wrong. You’re left without answers when streaks of tragedy rip into your life. Role models disappoint you; your best-laid plans fail, and you’re left frustrated to see God still remaining in control. That’s why God gives you these words from Ezekiel. He gives you a long-term focus on life by looking at life through his eyes. See The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who rescued you from gloom, who leads you to good pastures, and who will tend you forever. It can be difficult to see at first. Just consider Ezekiel’s audience: the nation of Judah. The Lord does not look much like a shepherd. There is no protection, no safety, no life filled with good-feeling blessings. Look around Judah and watch nothing but utter chaos unfold. Massive siege towers lean against city walls, their bridges unrolled and soldiers streaming out. Babylonian soldiers march through their beloved city streets, sword in hand, seizing Jewish politicians, shoving them into wagons and carts, and whisking them away and out of sight. Over there, troops unwrap the gold from inside God’s church; some pick away at the fine cedar paneling and others pull down the glistening white-stone walls with ropes. Dust blows down the empty streets in the once-bustling marketplace. Jerusalem has fallen— and there is nothing anyone can do to change it (Ezekiel 33:21). Life suddenly feels so dark; the future feels so uncertain, as if a thick cloud drops down and crushes out any remaining light of hope that God is still with believers. This is not the way life is meant to be; this is not the kind of life anyone wants. God creates a perfect Eden (Genesis 1:1-2:4). No tears, no sadness, not even a reason to be sad. No death, no mourning, no heart-wrenching sorrow that comes from losing loved ones. No pain, no hurt, no single ache from getting older. Life is filled with non-stop, constant happiness! Most of all, God himself is their God (Revelation 21:3-4). This is the “big-picture” behind the swirling mess of Babylonian captivity; God desires life lived with him and his commands! Yet, that “big-picture” shatters into pieces the minute God’s creation finds no happiness with him. Yes, God did not remove himself from the nation; it is the nation which chose to scatter from him! It is those in Jerusalem who ran to foreign kings for help instead of God their King! It is those in Jerusalem who favored prostitutes instead of God’s gift of marriage. It is those in Jerusalem who turned worship into nothing more than a empty-minded habit (Ezekiel 22). God is not the problem; the fault lies with the nation. They are the ones who made the “big-picture” into a blurry mess. They are the ones who scattered into the darkness. Darkness is not God’s intentions for his creation—and not just for those of long ago, but also you who live today.Even though about 2,500 years separate you from Ezekiel’s audience, God still created the Garden of Eden for you. God still desires that you find perfect joy in obeying his Word, praising him, and trusting him. Yet, relationships crumble when you find little contentment in God’s instructions for you as a wife … as a husband (Ephesians 5:21-27). Fear over health, worry about money, apprehension over the future flares up when you begin questioning God’s control over his world. That feeling of abandonment swells up when you run away from the Bible for comfort and instead search for answers in godless friends, family, and leaders. The reason the “big-picture” becomes blurry, unfocused, confusing, and frustrating comes, not because of God, but because we scatter from him—and we have scattered from him the very moment we are conceived. By nature, I am sinful (Psalm 51:5). By nature, I do not choose to do what is good. By nature, God would have every right to leave me in eternal darkness. Yet, God himself steps into this confusing picture, rolls up his sleeves, and makes something clear: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. Those lost in the uncertain darkness of sin, God finds. Yes, God himself. He does not demand that you find him (John 15:16). He does not hand you a new set of Ten Commandments to follow (John 14:6). God himself makes a promise to you: I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. The Lord, your Shepherd, kept his promise. Under Good Friday’s clouds and thick darkness, the Lord rescues you from gloom. On the cross, Jesus pries open the jaws of death to free you and he lets those jaws close around his own life. Thick darkness blacks out his life as he dies for your willful wandering. He dies to remove eternal darkness from you forever. On Easter Sunday, he rises from the dead. In fact, he is the first to rise and remain alive! He intends to lead you out of your grave as well (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). He enters heaven, sitting on his throne, getting ready to gather you around him forever! The Lord Is Your Shepherd and he rescued you from gloom. Now, you get to live in the light of the knowing peace with God! That means, the best is still yet to come because The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures. Yes, right now, in this life, as you live; the Lord presently, currently remains active! Six times he stresses what he will do. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. And God did! After seventy years of living in the nation of Babylon, God led the nation of Judah back to their old homeland. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. And they did! They farmed the land and led their cattle to rivers. Kings ruled the nation again. Homes dotted the countryside; businesses opened shop; an economy and government started again. Yet, this promise does not stop with Judah’s return from exile. God points ahead to the day when Jesus would be the Shepherd among many people. Jesus is born in that nation of Judah. He ministers to those living in the land of Judah. He enters heaven after his earthly ministry is over. And he still tends to you, his sheep. How? With the Word of God [the Bible]. Look to the Bible; see what he promises to do: I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. When you are crushed by guilt, when you feel that God cannot possibly love you, listen to Jesus say: “I have found you, healed you from sin, and brought you into my believing flock.” When life appears to be this blurry picture, listen to Jesus say: “I strengthen you with my promises.” When violence rips through society, trust that I send my angels to protect you (Psalm 91:10-11). When friends take advantage of you, do not take revenge because I will take revenge (Romans 12:19). When you feel sad or depressed, see that I am with you always as I bless you with friends and family, and I provide for you, as I lift you spirits by remaining in your life (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures of his Word, so that you may be fed, strengthened, and nourished. Not just that, The Lord Is Your Shepherd who leads you to good pastures as he defends you from your spiritual enemies. [B]ut the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice... God has not lost control of his world. With that same powerful Word he strikes down the devil. The devil has lost; you will not go to hell. With that same powerful Word God strikes down a godless society. No one can change the fact that you are heading towards the eternal pastures of heaven. No one can fluster the spread of God’s Word. In fact, the Word of God is spreading like wildfire in countries that still stand so opposed to its teachings. With that same powerful Word God will forever damn the devil, the evil angels, and those who rejected him. This is the “big-picture.” It may appear blurry at times, but soon it will become perfectly clear. The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who leads you to good pastures of his Word and who will tend you forever. Perhaps a better way of saying that is: The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who tends you forever, That means right now and he continue to do so. Through Ezekiel God promised: I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. When Ezekiel first says these words, King David has been dead for over 400 years. God is not promising to raise David from the dead. Rather, he draws your attention to that great descendant of David’s line: Jesus Christ. Ezekiel points ahead to what will happen (Jesus will come); you (and I) get to look back and see what has happened. God has already raised up his servant David. He has already sent his Son to the cross. He has already raised his Son from the grave. He has already taken his Son into heaven. He has already placed a crown on his Son’s head. He has already entrusted all authority to Jesus. What’s left? I the Lord will be their God…He is now, but soon you will see him face-to-face. [A]nd my servant David will be prince among them. He is now, but soon you will stand around the golden throne of the triumphant Lamb. Where God gets to be with his people and live among them. Just as the way God has made it to be. No one will get in his way. I the Lord have spoken. Can you see the “big-picture” now? Look behind the chaos, behind the mess, behind the confusion— and see what God is doing now. Look into the Bible and see what God has done behind the scenes of this life. The One born Christmas day has lived for you, died for you, rose again for you, and entered heaven to prepare your eternal home. God still rules all things so that you may lift your eyes up to him and trust his ever-present, guiding care. With his Word he makes one final guarantee: “Yes, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). Gain a long-term focus on life by looking at life through God’s eyes. See The Lord Is Your Shepherd, who rescued you from gloom, who leads you to good pastures, and who will tend you forever.
liftetime. So, you can live however you want and prepare for eternity later. You could fight with your kids and complain about your grandkids. You could stop helping others and blow your money on the lavish gifts you always wanted. You could live so self-centered because Jesus will not surprise you with a sudden return. Since you know the exact date, you could make things right with God on your deathbed. Or, if you determine that you do have enough years to reach 2042, then you can live any way you want now: stay out of worship, stop reading the Bible, do not help others out of love, stop being polite and kind, stop lending a hand to your parents or the elderly. Live in whatever way makes you feel good. Then, when [the year] 2041 comes around, well, then return to God. Say you’re sorry for your arrogance; worship, read your Bible, be kind and loving; straighten things out with God right before the end. Wouldn’t it just be great if Jesus told you when this world would end? You wouldn’t have to guess anymore; you may better prepared for Jesus’ arrival.
For reasons known only to God and for the reason to continue working all things for your eternal good, God the Father does not reveal the final date of this world’s existence. Even if you knew the exact day and precise hour of Jesus’ return, you are still not guaranteed to reach it. Old and young alike get sick and die. Old and young perish in accidents. Old and young both fall asleep in death. Knowing when this world will end does not prepare you to meet your God. And believing that your life will continue in the same way as it always has can leave you foolishly unprepared to for that Last Day. Gain real wisdom for your life by taking Jesus’ warning to heart. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom and to enter the wedding feast. Jesus makes the future abundantly clear: the Son of Man will come on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). All the nations will be gathered before him. He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (25:32). I’m not sure how much clearer Jesus needs to make it: He will return and bring this earthly life to an end. He provides crucial information so that you may know what to expect. He says in our parable: At that time… that is, on the final day of this world’s existence. If you want to know what will happen, then continue listening. The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The Jewish wedding tradition was for the groom to run off to his in-law’s house and get his bride. Then he would lead his wife back to their new house, and the feast would begin. These virgins? Well, their responsibility is to wait outside the groom’s house, with lamps burning bright, so that when the new couple arrives, they could light the way into the house. So, they wait, and they wait, and they wait. Hours tick by. Light becomes dark. Eyelids get heavy; they fall asleep. Suddenly, right at midnight, someone shouts: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ [A]ll the virgins woke up, grabbed their lamps, and hopped to their feet. After hours of waiting, those lamps are now running on empty. The bright flames had licked up much of the oil. They’re now nothing but faint little flickers of light. This is it! The groom is arriving! The feast is about to begin! And five of those young ladies whisk out extra oil and strengthen the flame. Yet, the other five had no choice but to race out to the markets, hoping to buy more oil. [W]hile 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. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they pleaded, ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ Jesus makes a pretty clear point: Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. The kingdom of heaven… that is, the day when you find yourself standing before God Almighty, the events of that majestic day will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five are prepared for that feast because they have the one thing necessary: the oil. Five are forever locked outside. What makes five virgins foolish is their actions. They had information that the groom was coming, but they chose not to react to it. They chose to disregard its significance. And it was not until the door was shut that they realized time had run out. It’s a very stern warning—that this kind of foolishness still exists in this world today. It happens when you think Jesus cannot possibly show up in your life. When you think there’s still more time to straighten yourself out with God later. That you have time to skip worship. That you can stop reading and better knowing your Bible. That you can embrace the God-less desires and pleasures of this life and give it all up when you’re old and near death. It’s foolish to think that you can run off to buy more oil later, that there will always be more time to prepare for eternity later. It’s foolish to point at some human achievement and to rely that for entering the feast. To point at your church membership and say, “Well, my name’s in the book. That’s good enough, right?” It’s foolish to point out at your baptism, marriage, and [intentions to] burial— and consider them as some sort of trophy of what you have done for God. It’s foolish to think that the “oil” God is looking for is not faith in him, but rather believing all God wants you to do is fulfill some sort of “religious-action-checklist.” It’s foolish to change Jesus’ warning into something less than a warning (as though Jesus is not really serious about locking the five virgins out of the feast). It’s foolish to say: “I already believe in God. I don’t need to be in church.” It’s foolish to be a Christian who declares an undying love for Jesus, but does not feel a compulsion to pour out that love in word and song. Jesus makes it so clear: he will return. If you feel there is more time to change your heart, to worship more frequently, to start reading devotions later, to chase out all selfish love, then be ready to hear the most awful sentence ever spoken: I do not know you. My friends, Jesus gives this warning, not to scare you, not to leave you terrified about standing before him; he gives this warning so that you may Be Ready with Hearts Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. Your Jesus, your Bridegroom, has already prepared this wedding feast. He has already marched off to the cross because he knows this world has an end. In fact, for that reason he marches to the cross for you. His heart remains perfectly wise each day for your Last Day. Never once does Jesus shrug off the command to worship God. Never does Jesus rest on his knowledge, claiming he knows the Bible “good enough.” Never once does he take his eyes off of his heavenly home. Instead, each step taken is another step taken to make you his bride. By his death on the cross he opens heaven’s doors. He leaves the grave and into heaven in order to prepare heaven’s great feast. I’m not sure how much clearer Jesus needs to make it: He will come again. He makes this abundantly clears so that you may Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith you will enter the wedding feast. With a heart trusting in the saving work of Jesus, this is what you get to live for: you get to live expecting to enter that heavenly feast. Through baptism he wrote your name on the party-list. Every single time you sin, he points you back to your baptism: “Remember how I washed away your sins? It means you’re forgiven.” In Holy Communion, Jesus lays a hand on your shoulder, saying: “My body and blood was shed for your eternal benefit. I have removed and lifted off what you have done. Do not worry that you will be locked out. You will enter through heaven’s door.” Remember God’s forgiveness attached to your baptism. Remember Jesus’ assurance of forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper. He sets your sights on entering the feast. Continue growing in the Word of God. Those wise virgins were not content to have enough oil; they brought more than enough so that no shortage would rip away their faith. Never be content to know “just enough” of the Bible; strengthen your understanding of the Bible’s teachings so that doubts, worries, fears, and unanswered questions do not rip away your faith. Learn God’s answers to challenges, to sickness, to modern-day lifestyles, to marriage. Make worship a priority and share what you hear in this place among your family and friends throughout the week. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to enter the wedding feast. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to enter the wedding feast as believers who lived before you have done. Your spouse. Your child. Your dear friend. Your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles— those who believed that Jesus came for them—are gathered in that wedding feast. Their faith continued burning bright as they heard again and again: Jesus removes guilt and has removed it all! They nestled in the arms of God, who through baptismal waters said, “I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Their faith continued burning bright as they looked forward to entering that great wedding feast. Finally, when their life drew to a close, they saw the door opened and followed their Bridegroom in. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom. For reasons known only to God and for reasons to continue working all things for your eternal good, God the Father does not reveal the final date of this world’s existence. Even if you knew the exact day and precise hour of Jesus’ return, you are still not guaranteed to reach it. You do not know how many years are given to you. You do not know how many more days this world has. What you do know is: (1) Jesus will come again. (2) All people will stand before him. (3) He will judge the living and the dead. Clinging to the saving work of Jesus makes you ready to enter the wedding feast. Gain real wisdom for your life by taking Jesus’ warning to heart. Be Ready with a Heart Full of Faith to meet the Bridegroom and to enter the wedding feast.
for any sign of her slim, smooth cellphone. She finds it. Grabs it. Looks down. No service. Head slowly twists over her right shoulder and catches a glimpse of her grey SUV. Her other hand clenches the key. One last breath. Go! Sprint! Hurry! Crashes into the car door. Opens it. Slams it shut. Key thrust into the ignition. Turns. Nothing. Turns again. *Click.* Nothing. Her eyes immediately lock onto the cabin. That’s her escape. Open the car door. Left foot out. Go! Hurry! Out of the car. Dashing towards the front door— when, suddenly, behind her, leaves rustle. He’s here! He’s moving faster. Faster. Faster— after you! She scrambles onto the porch. Kicks open the door. Turns. Slams it shut. Clicks the deadbolt. Leans against it. Silence. Nothing. Quiet. No, wait! The window! He’s at the window staring right at her!
A bell rings. The director shouts: “Cut!” The terrifying creep at the window relaxes. He pops out from behind the Hollywood set and high-fives the girl, who is now smiling at the door. It’s just a movie. That means, this terrifying scene of killer chasing girl is not real. That means, the girl is not really scared; she’s just pretending. That means, the creep is not really a murderer; he’s just acting. Have you ever considered that? You watch those previews of horror movies on television. Maybe they even frighten you (and you do not want to watch that movie). Yet, the terrifying figures are just actors. The villain wears makeup. He has a family, wife, and kids. At the end of his filming session, he will hop into a car, drive to the suburbs, enter his one-story ranch house, and sleep in a warm, cozy bed. He celebrates Christmas and hands out presents to his loved ones. He has friends, dinner parties, and plays games. Look behind the Hollywood sets and you see an entirely different life. You see what is real. But do you see what is real about this life? So often, it appears God has lost all control over his creation. Violence strips away safety. Natural disasters destroy life. Oppression and injustice stokes anger. Is this really what life is all about— forever sitting under the veil of misery? God pulls back the curtain so that you can Look Behind Life’s Scenes and see what’s really going on. See the Ancient of Days come. Watch the Ancient of Days judge. You get to Look Behind Life’s Scenes through the eyes of Daniel. Daniel, before he’s ever thrown in the lion’s den, lies on his bed one night, relaxing in his upstairs room— a room that is not his own. Not his own because he’s a captured man. The stronger, more powerful nation of Babylon had come and choked off his home nation’s food supply. Its army marched through the city walls and raided God’s temple, stealing the offerings of gold, the candle-stands, the furniture— everything. Then they turned on the people. Wise men, politicians, teachers, educators are arrested. Ropes bind their wrists, chains shackle their feet, and soldiers shove them towards a new land, with a new culture, with a new religion, with a new government, and into an entirely new way of life. Daniel has no other choice but to live under orders of another king. This Babylonian captivity feels real, as in: God cannot help Daniel now. This is the way life will be: a new king, new oppression, new persecution against his beliefs. What a future to look forward to! Yet, Daniel falls asleep and falls into a dream. Through that dream God pulls back the veil, showing Daniel what is going on behind the scenes. It is as though God pushes ‘PLAY’ on the movie of world history. Daniel watches oceans, enormous bodies of water churned up by powerful winds, massive waves slap into each other. Suddenly, four beasts rise up from the raging torrents, reaching into the heavens like skyscrapers. One beast, like a ferocious lion with four wings. Another, an enormous bear gnawing on three meaty ribs. Still another, a leopard dashing around the world with four wings and four heads. Terrifying unsettling images playing before him, but images that reveal what will soon happen. Ferocious nation after nation will rise in power. Mighty armies swiftly devour empire after empire. Multiple heads of state rise to power, governing, ruling. Harsh laws oppress innocent people. And just when it doesn’t seem like it could get any worse, a final beast rises up, a beast with iron teeth, ten horns, and a little horn with human eyes and a boastful mouth. That boastful horn tries to shout over God’s voice. That horn pretends to be a leader in God’s church, but shouts lies and leads many people into false teaching and false beliefs. What a sight Daniel sees! It looks like his world is spinning chaotically out of control—and God has no power to intervene. Like life now? You and I live in this world— a world you can see and touch. You and I live in this nation, with a government you can see and touch. You and I live with people— people you can see and touch. And maybe your world appears frightening, like a beast with iron teeth seeking to devour you. You see a world that praises sexual immorality, calling once-shameful-behaviors “normal,” “acceptable,” and “tolerable.” Some within your government consider your personal beliefs on sexuality and pro-life matters to be an infringement on the First Amendment. The nightly news replays a rented Home Depot truck plowing over streams of innocent people strolling through a park; it speaks of a maniac raining down bullets on tens of thousands of Las Vegas concert-goers. You hear reports of powerful people who violate people’s personal boundaries. False teachers stream out into your neighborhoods, sharing teachings that do not come from Scripture. You see real tragedy. You see violence spreading. You see anger and hatred march through city streets. How is God possibly in control? Or, do you not worry about that anymore? Has your conscience been lulled to sleep by the shouts: “Peace and safety!” (1 Thessalonians 5:3) After all, trouble has existed in this world ever since Adam and Eve brought sin into this world. After a while, tragedy, heartache, evil can just seem normal. People live together outside of marriage and so you shrug off God’s desire for marriage. Your friends get drunk, and it doesn’t really look too bad. Society grows increasingly God-less. They like God, but do not want to hear God’s guidance on life issues, and so you try to keep God in church and out of your home life. It may feel like that terrifying beast with iron teeth and God-less horn is not really that dangerous. It will not hurt you spiritually. But thrones were set in place. Yes, just when it that it appears life will continue on with heartache and sorrow, thrones were set in place. Just when it feels like God is not going to show up during your lifetime, thrones were set in place. God suddenly rips back the curtain before your eyes and shows you what is going on behind life’s scenes. God is still in control. God is still watching. He always has been because God is the Ancient of Days. “Ancient” because God the Father has been around before time began. “Days” because he will remain well after your final breath. The Ancient of Days will come. Understand this is not a wish, but rather God telling you what will happen. Thrones were set in place. The Ancient of Days took his seat. Past tense verbs. God speaks as though the world’s last day has already happened. Look Behind Life’s Scenes. See the Ancient of Days come and bring life to a sudden halt. And continue Looking Behind Life’s Scenes because the Ancient of Days will judge. Yes, judge. You confess every Sunday: Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. Everyone who has ever lived, those who live now, those who will live will be brought before his flaming throne of fire. You, who live now, will one day stand before the Ancient of Days. The Ancient One who kept record of the times you shrugged off your faith for the sake of convenience. He sees the times you, as a child, couldn’t wait to get out of this church and away from this [so-called] boring worship. He sees the times you, as a parent, turned a blind eye to your child in your house who willfully skip time with God. He sees the times you, as a spouse, threw a tantrum to get your way. He sees the times you, as a single person, acted as if God has no bearing in your life. The Ancient of Days has seen it all. He is perfectly pure— his white clothes and hair reveal that he is without fault. He holds the standard of his holy Ten Commands and measures your life against them. Fire rips out from his throne—a fire not to destroy you, but to devour every excuse you (and I) want to make for our actions. With every excuse burned away, there’s nothing left but to stand loaded with our guilt. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him— those angels serving the God you (and I) are expected to serve with undivided heart. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Are you still Looking Behind Life’s Scenes? Do you understand what God is showing you here in Daniel? Life as you know it will reach an end. You may live out your years— living until you fall asleep in death. Life may end suddenly unexpected— in a car crash, a heart attack, cancer, accident. As you stand before the Ancient of Days, as you watch him judge, as you watch him open up the book on your life, what will he find? He will see your every single failure wiped away with the blood of Jesus. Jesus carries your (and my) book of sin to the cross. The Holy One of God cancels out each crime with his own blameless life. With his own blood as ink Jesus writes your name into God’s book of life. When the court was seated, and the books were opened, what will the Ancient of Days see? Your name in the book of life. How will he judge? He will declare the sentence Jesus has won for you: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34) My dear friends, pay attention to the words you speak in the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed. Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. God is telling you what will happen. God is pulling back the curtain of this life so that you may Look Behind Life’s Scenes and prepare yourselves for that Final Day. Notice where you stand in world history. Beasts have come and gone; kingdoms have risen and fallen. Kings have reigned, only to lose their kingdom. Jesus has been born, suffered, died, buried, and risen again. What’s left? This. Here. The Ancient of Days coming. The Ancient of Days judging. Look Behind Life’s Scenes and see what’s really going on. See the Ancient of Days come. Watch the Ancient of Days judge. |
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