https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/expert-says-meteor-could-wipe-6447901
Warnings
In a previous post, 'Are you ready for the Big Day?' I referenced Jesus' parable of the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom so long they fall asleep. (Matthew 25) The virgins represent the people waiting for the coming of the Messiah. When the bridegroom did come, only some virgins were ready with their lamps. Many of Jesus' teachings deal with the topic-- 'The kingdom of heaven is like' or 'will be like.'
Jesus and other prophets devoted many teachings to the coming of God's Kingdom and the final judgement. Over and over they warn that we must make sure we are ready. Note some serious warnings in Matthew 24:36-51, starting with 'No one knows the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the father.' Jesus says that it will be like Noah and the flood, when people had no idea anything was happening until they were swept away. Verse 42 warns 'Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.'
Then he warns of a servant whose master is away. The servant should always do right so that whenever the master comes back, he will be discovered doing good. But if he is wicked he thinks he can do as he likes because the master is away. Then the master will unexpectedly return and 'will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
These are just some of the warnings that we are to stay obedient and in relationship with God (faithfully praying, reading the Bible, doing good works, and telling the gospel.) They certainly make me take notice!
Signs
See Matthew 24 and Luke 21
Picture this, the disciples are admiring the temple, 'Oh how beautiful, and strong! Surely it will last forever!' when Jesus ruins the moment saying that it will be completely destroyed. Of course they want to know when it will happen and what to watch for. Jesus obliges by explaining what will come:
1) Fall of Jerusalem (occurred in A.D. 70)
2) False prophets and messiahs perform great signs and miracles to deceive many
3) Wars
4) Natural Disasters - 'beginning of birth pains.'5) Persecution, imprisonment, martyrdom of Christians
6) Betrayal, falling away from the faith, hatred and wickedness
7) Gospel preached to all nations
8) Aberrations with the sun, moon and stars
So is the end 'near?' Are we living in the end times? All of these signs have occurred repeatedly except the last two. Bryant Wright answers:
"Absolutely...yet current events are not the main reason. What may surprise you is how long we have been in the end times. When Peter stood to preach on the very first day of Pentecost, he explained what was happening through the lens of Scripture. He quotes the prophet Joel (Joel 2:29) when he writes 'And it shall be in the last days,' God says, 'That I will pour forth of my spirit on all mankind' (Acts 2:17). God's Word is clear. We are living in the last days. The end times are here!" (The Stage is Set, Wright, Bryant 2017)
https://www.christianbook.com/stage-israel-times-christs-ultimate-victory/bryant-wright/9780801019517/pd/019510
The author means that because the world received the Holy Spirit, that means that the end times have begun. So then why has it been over two millennia and we have not seen Jesus return? Remember that God experiences time differently than us (2 Peter 3:8), each person faces individual judgement when they die, and Israel would fall in a few decades. Therefore, it makes sense that Jesus would want everyone to be ready.
Pastor Wright's book is an insightful study of the end times. He is able to explore this topic without being discouraging, advocating faith in Jesus throughout the hardships Jesus foresaw.
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Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky. and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Matthew 24: 29-31
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