Wednesday: So What?
A young man tried to witness to his mother. He told her about the death of Jesus and the promise of His return. He was fairly proud of himself, thinking that he had done quite an eloquent job. When he finished his mini-sermon about Jesus and the Second Coming, his mother looked at him and said:
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
“So what does that have to do with me now?”
Read 2 Peter 3:11-13. How does Peter answer the question, “So what does that have to do with me now?” See Matt. 24:43-51.
As we have said, our very name Seventh-day Adventist reveals our belief in the reality of Christ’s return. The teaching is foundational; our whole Christian faith would become meaningless without the return of Christ and all that it promises.
But are we not in danger of becoming like the wicked servant in the parable of Matthew 24:43-51? We might not be doing the specific kind of evil depicted in the parable, but that’s not the point (it is, after all, a parable). Instead, what the parable warns about is that it could become easier to lower our standards, especially regarding how we treat others, and to become more like the world and less fervent in our belief in the Lord’s return.
Sure, now and then we do face those who, with their charts and prophetic calculations, claim to have the date for Christ’s return. But for the most part the danger facing Seventh-day Adventists is not that they are setting dates for Christ’s soon return. Rather, the danger is that as the years pass, the promise of the Second Coming starts to play a much smaller role in our thinking.
Yes, the longer we are here, the closer we get to the Second Coming. On the other hand, the longer we are here, the easier it is for us to imagine His return as so far away that it really doesn’t impact our daily life. Scripture warns against this kind of complacency. As Peter said, if Jesus is to return, and we are to face judgment, Christians should live lives of holiness and godliness (2 Pet. 3:11). The reality of the Second Coming, whenever it happens, should impact how we live now.
| How much does the reality of the Second Coming affect you in your daily life and thinking? What, if anything, does your answer say to you about your life and faith? |
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Our Lord has told us, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matt. 24:44 The state of mind for many (either SDA or not) is one of sign watching. Many will say there are a series of events that must occur before He comes. For SDA's it is the Sunday laws...for many outside our church it is the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. If we become sign watchers instead of Jesus watchers, we waste precious time as His servant. We might not understand that God has the right to "finish the work and cut it short...." Romans 9:28 "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Matt 24:22 And then, of course, the Second Coming could be mere seconds after today or next week if we die. Therefore, let us lift our eyes and life to Jesus every day and live it doing His will which is to minister to the suffering around us. We are, as Jesus instructed, servants. When He comes, will he find us doing so?
Eddie,
Refer back Matt 24:21 to see why verse 22 is mentioned.
I have lost track of the times SDA speakers & pastors have said, "Jesus is coming soon."
Those SDA members who have been taught about future events according to the Spirit of Prophecy believe that there has to be a time of trouble, mark of beast, Sunday law, death decree, close of probation...etc. How soon can the 2nd coming be if all of this has to be fulfilled?
Do most SDA members look forward, in anticipation, to the 2nd coming? Do they feel that they are ready for heaven/new Earth/eternal life..especially since they often hear that they are lukewarm Laodiceans?
A couple of thoughts. His coming is soon. We should never stop preaching that because by Peter and others this is how we should live and let others know the same.
Also, we are told the closing events would be rapid ones
It is worth remembering that there is a lot of emphasis in the Bible about the unexpectedness of Christ's return. We easily fall into the trap of sign counting until that becomes the main focus of our thinking. I rather think of the unexpectedness of Christ's return and pray to be prepared by helping to prepare others.
I have 3 generations of Adventists before me who have been saying that Christ is coming soon. It makes no sense to say "soon" otherwise we get branded as "the boy who cried wolk", but the unexpected nature of Christ's return, even for those that are prepared carries with it the notion of living now as though he is coming now.
Yes, the ONLY time we can do anything in regard to our salvation is NOW. Even what we have done in the past is not sufficient to cover NOW. We must choose to let Jesus into our heart always NOW. He can save us from sinning NOW.
I want to be united with my family when He comes!
I think that the whole question of whether we will be ready has to do with who we choose as our employer. Whether we are working in a factory or retired or sick in bed or about to die, we can choose God to be our ultimate employer. If we do this we will ultimately be the greatest blessing to all around us. Being employed by God means that we "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness." He, then, makes Himself responsible for our success in His work wherever we are. He also promises to supply our needs so that we can continue the work He has given us.
This will keep our focus on Him when we choose to allow Him to be the employer. Thus, we will be ready when our probation is closed and our life will be most fulfilled. Money and things will not be our goal. That will not be our concern because we can trust our Employer to provide for our needs. He will never let us down unless we don't allow Him into our hearts to motivate us and to give us our job description. But it is not His fault when we break ties with Him to focus on the things of this world.
In Matthew 12:38-42, it tells us that the people of Nineveh and the queen of the South had only one desire: to learn more about God; they wanted not only to be convicted, they desire to be converted in God and enter into His Kingdom. As you read the following bible verses, let us all desire to get to know Jesus better, instead of looking for a sign. If we get to know Jesus better day by day, we will not have to worry about being Ready at His Second Coming. (I say "if" instead of "as" because it's up to you, it's your choice to get to know him better; that is what this is all about, our relationship with Jesus).
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale\'s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
The original Greek word in 2 Peter 3:12 is the word "speudo" and its meaning is more that of "Eagerly awaiting," rather than "Hastening." in the King James it says "Hasting unto," hasting is the present tense of haste. And haste makes waste. Was it not a waste to have hastened and set the date to October of 1844 that Jesus would come? Here we are almost 200 years later and Jesus is still not here.
In as much as we might be saying that the sign has no significance, I do believe God has a program. He does not do things anyhow. He is a God of order.
How do we reconcile the prophecy of Dan. 2. The image showing kingdoms of the earth, they have come and gone as prophesied... and now we are on the last part of that image.
I should not be taken wrong to mean that we can only order our lives upon seeing signs.. NO, all what I am saying is that God has a well tabulated program that unfolds as planned. We are to keep ourselves pure and live our lives in anticipation of His soon return.
He even tells us in Mat 24 that when you begin to see these thing come to pass, look up and know that I am at the door. What are these thing we are to see? Events will unfold as God has lined them up!
Happy Sabbath to you all.
The Bible is full of the promise of the "day of the Lord". Isaiah 13:9 warns us: “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming...., with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it.” There are similar references in Joel 2:11; 3: 14; Obadi 15; Amos 5:18; 1 or. 5: 5; 2 Cor. 1:14; 1 Thess. 5:2; Rev. 16: 14 etc. In Acts we read: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17: 30 - 31.) Peter states, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief….” repeating the words of Jesus in Matt. 24:42-43 when He said, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.” (See, also, 1 Thess. 5:2-3.). The Bible also declares that just as in the days prior to the flood, when people ignored Noah's pleas to come into the ark, so shall it be in the days preceding the Second coming of the Lord. There will be those who ask cynically, "What is the relevance of His coming?" So what if He comes? Peter clearly states that the day of judgement will come unexpectedly and many will not be ready to meet Him.
Flexy Msengana, The many that will not be ready for Jesus to come is much greater than imagined. There are over 7 billion people on the earth at any one time. Yes there will be a very large number of those that are not ready to meet Jesus on the day of the Lord.