Signs of the
End
In 1860 the French chemist Marcelin Berthelot said: "Within a hundred years of physical and chemical science, man will know what the atom is. It is my belief when science reaches this stage, God will come down to earth with His big ring of keys and will say to humanity, 'Gentlemen, it is closing time.' "1
Not long ago in the New York Times Book Review Section there appeared an article by Michael Amerine entitled "Literature of Doom." It began: "Fantasy and fantastic fiction are merely handwriting on the wall compared to today's true literature of doom." Some of the current books listed in the article were
MUST WE HIDE?
THERE WILL BE NO TIME
MANUAL FOR SURVIVAL
FEAR
WAR AND THE BOMB
MUST DESTRUCTION BE OUR DESTINY?
AFTER DOOM, WHAT?
LITTLE WORLD, GOODBYE.
One morning on the Mount of Olives when the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked Him three very important questions: "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3). The disciples had accepted the fact that Jesus would return, and now they wanted to know when. They
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wanted to know, too, if there would be any signs preceding His coming. They knew that the Old Testament Scriptures were filled with the signs of His first coming and that they had prophesied accurately the details of that coming.
If only the world had studied the signs of the Old Testament, they would have known that Jesus was coming and they would have welcomed Him. But their ignorance and blindness concerning the teaching of the Scriptures led them to fail to recognize Him. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament revealed that:
— He would be of the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:9, 10)
— He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
— He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)
— He would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1)
— He would come as a prophet (Deut. 18:18-19)
— His own people would reject Him (Isaiah 53:3)
— He would make a triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9)
— He would be betrayed and sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12-13)
— He would be put to death by crucifixion (Psalm 22)
— His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16)
— Soldiers would cast lots for his clothing (Psalm 22:18)
— He would be raised from the dead (Psalm 16:9-10)
— He would ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18)
Jesus told His disciples that there would be signs for which they could watch, but He warned them on two occasions to beware of setting dates. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36). "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power" (Acts 1:7). Although He warned them about speculating on the exact time of His return, He did assure them that there were
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signs throughout the Scriptures, as well as in His own words, which would make it appear to those who have "eyes to see" that the time is near. "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).
The New Testament uses the word "sign" in various ways. In some instances it is a "wonder" in the form of a miracle to establish the divine claims of Jesus that He was the Son of God. One time Jesus referred to the "signs of the times" to rebuke the Pharisees for their inordinate demands that He produce proofs of His Messiahship. However, there are uses of "signs" that serve as evidences in the Biblical revelation.
Jesus said there would be a future generation with certain characteristics to indicate that the end is near. In other words there is an "X generation" at some point in history where all the signs will converge. Those whose hearts have been transformed by Jesus Christ, whose minds have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, will be able to read the signs of that day and to warn the people as Noah did. Today it would seem that those signs are indeed converging for the first time since Christ ascended into heaven.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE SIGNS?
1. The Mental State of the World
Jesus said two things would characterize the mental state of the world just before His return. First, "upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity" (Luke 21:25). To be distressed is to be oppressed or under pressure. Perplexity means "bewilderment." In other words, He said the generation before His return would be under severe pressure from every point of view and there would be no apparent way out. This sounds very much like something written by Sartre,
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Camus, Huxley, Hemingway, or some other modern writer. In fact, Jean-Paul Sartre wrote a book called No Exit.
Jesus said the world would reach a state of international impasse when nations would go down one blind alley after another, only to find that each was a dead-end street. "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:26). There will be worldwide frustration, stalemated wars, and great abundance together with millions starving. As men contemplate the future, He said, they will be not only afraid, they will be terrified.
Second, He said: "And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another" (Matthew 24:10). There has never been a time when people were so on edge, so easily hurt and offended. The psychiatrists are so busy that they themselves have nervous breakdowns as they try frantically to patch up our jangled nerves. Homes crumble under the devastating pressures of modern life. In some parts of the world as the pressures build up, families are actually being betrayed by their own members. We are surely in danger in this generation of psychological breakdown.
2. The Moral State of the World
In the time of Noah, it is written: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually . . . And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth" (Genesis 6:5, 12-13). Jesus said: "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man: they did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given
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in marriage" (Luke 17:26-27). Despite God's warnings through Noah, they were so occupied with themselves and with their wickedness that they "knew not until the flood came, and took them all away" (Matthew 24:39).
Jesus also said: "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed" (Luke 17:28-30).
Never has there been a time when men tried so desperately to have fun as they do today. We are sated, banal, and bored. In The Future of Man, Teilhard de Chardin wrote: "The great enemy of the modern world, 'Public Enemy No. 1,' is boredom . . . I repeat: despite all appearances, Mankind is bored. Perhaps this is the underlying cause of all our troubles. We no longer know what to do with ourselves."2 We are even tired from our vacations. It is not just that television programs are so bad, but we have become sick from too much. Long ago Job said: "The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment" (Job 20:5). The Bible says: "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful" (Proverbs 14:13).
The world is on the moral binge such as was not known even in the days of Rome. We have at our fingertips every pleasure that man is capable of enjoying, and man has abused every gift God ever gave him, including sex, until he no longer finds joy and satisfaction in them. Time magazine3 reported recently on a "Festival of Free Expression" in a Paris youth center where young men and women performed before audiences immoral acts of such depravity that they cannot be recounted here. This is man, doing what he wants to do. This is human nature, without God, expressing itself. And it is a sign of the end.
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3. A Falling Away
Jesus said: "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:11). "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils" (1 Timothy 4:1). The Apostle Paul warned: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This all seems to point to a time of widespread hypocrisy when multitudes of people will be herded into the church without having had a personal experience with Jesus Christ. Sects will grow. False teachers will infiltrate the church. The Bible will be under severe attack.
The strategy of Satan has not changed since he asked Eve in the Garden of Eden: "Yea, hath God said?" There are some teachers of religion who try deliberately to destroy the authority of the Scriptures and the faith of the church. They are the wolves in sheeps' clothing about which Jesus warned His followers. They are leaders of the "falling away," which is to characterize the church at the end of the age.
"For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:4). The word translated "crept in unawares" is an unusual Greek word occurring only in this place. Literally translated, it means to "creep in sideways" like a burglar in the house. This burglar has come not to steal our material possessions; he has come to rob us of our faith in God, His Son, and His Word. When faithful men of God raise an outcry
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against the presence of the burglar, they are accused of disturbing the peace. Old forms of error, known in earlier times, exert themselves again under such labels as "the new morality," "the new theology," and "religionless Christianity."
The Apostle Paul said: "That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3). "Falling away" refers plainly to an abandonment of belief. Many passages of Scripture speak of this. The prophet Amos wrote: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it" (Amos 8:11-12). There will come a time when people hungering for the truth will seek it where it is supposedly disseminated, such as books and churches, but they will not hear the Word of the Lord. Instead of receiving a message to satisfy their spiritual longings, they will hear a sermon on some current political or social problem, or a sermonette on art and literature. And so they wander from one place to another, going from hope to despair, and eventually they give up. "Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared" (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
4. An Increase in Lawlessness
Jesus said: "As lawlessness spreads, men's love for one another will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men
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shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Notice that this passage teaches explicitly that these are characteristics of the last days. Our newspapers are filled with accounts of the rebellion of youth, the overthrow of governments, and riots in almost every country on earth. We have only to quote the crime records to show that lawlessness is increasing at a frightening rate around the world. Jesus taught that just before the end, lawlessness would be worldwide. He said: "You will hear of wars and commotions" (Luke 21:9). This word "commotions" carries with it the idea of rebellion, revolution, and lawlessness, indicating that this was a sign of the approaching end of the age.
5. The Coming of Scoffers
"There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (2 Peter 3:3-4). Many professing Christians say this is a false teaching since the second coming of Christ did not take place as the early church expected. They say, Why hasn't Christ already come? Did not Jesus say: "Surely I come quickly"? However, that promise literally translated says: "I am actually on the way."
In our skyscrapers many offices are as high as seventy or eighty stories. An executive on the top floor calls to the basement
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garage and says: "I am on my way. Get my car ready." This does not mean that he has actually arrived at the garage, but that he is on the way and by the time the car is ready, he will be there. This is the meaning conveyed to us in the words: "I come quickly." Those Christians who are now in the basement or the grave shall be raised first; and when they reach the ground floor in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, we shall be taken up together with Him to meet the Lord in the air.
Those who believe in the inevitability of human progress find it hard to believe in the return of Christ. If we believe that man is going ahead by himself, we will never accept the promise of Christ that He will return and bring an end to sin itself.
Also, there are those who refuse to believe in His coming again, because it would cut across their plans and dreams. They want to eat, drink, and be merry without any interference in their self-centered lives. This is why the scoffers in Noah's time refused to believe in the flood of which he tried to warn them.
6. Widespread Persecution
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another" (Matthew 24:9-10).
"But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues you shall be beaten: and you will be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them . . . the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be
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put to death. And you will be hated of all men for my name's sake" (Mark 13:9, 12, 13), Notice the emphasis Jesus puts on "for my name's sake." Thousands of Christians compromise their faith in Jesus Christ by denying Him. Even some clergymen neglect or deliberately refuse to close a public prayer in the name of Jesus for fear of offending an unbeliever. They cannot endure the persecution that may follow an acknowledgment of Jesus Christ. This, too, is another sign.
7. Affluence
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days" (James 5:1-3).
While millions starve, other millions grow richer. A few years ago when we heard of a millionaire, we thought of him with awe. Today in the Western world there are thousands of millionaires. No longer is a man with a hundred thousand dollars considered wealthy. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy if the wealth was acquired honestly. However, neglect of the stewardship of one's resources is a sin in the sight of God. The Apostle Paul warned: "The love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). Jesus said: "Beware of covetousness" (Luke 12:15). Samuel Johnson said: "The lust of gold, unfeeling and remorseless, is the last corruption of degenerate man."
This is, of course, one of the great appeals of Communism. Disciples of Marxist materialism have gone into the poverty-stricken areas of the world and called the people their comrades. This appeals to those who live in substandard conditions
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while at the same time they see pictures of prosperous, wealthy nations. The Apostle said this would be one of the signs of the end.
8. The Preparation for Armageddon
"And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars" (Matthew 24:6). The Bible indicates that toward the end, wars will become more widespread, more devastating, and more frequent.
There is no doubt that the nations of the world are setting the stage for the enactment of one of the most terrible scenes in the drama of human strife, and the whole world is hurtling toward a war far greater than anything known before. In the Scriptures, it is called the "battle of Armageddon" (Rev. 16:14-16; Joel 3:9-14).
Modern war is the most highly developed of all sciences. We have perfected our weapons but failed to perfect the men who use them. There have been men such as Hitler who would have used any means whatsoever to conquer the world. Can we assume that no such man lives now?
9. Knowledge and Travel
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4). The meaning of Daniel's words could not possibly have been understood until this generation. Indeed, the Scripture says that they are "closed up and sealed till the time of the end" (Daniel 12:9).
Today we know well what Daniel meant. This is surely the age of speed and travel and knowledge. Human knowledge
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doubles every fifteen years, and man has gone from the horse cart to missles in less than two generations. Walter Reuther, the American labor leader, told me recently that we will gain more knowledge in the next ten years than we acquired in the past two hundred years. Until the coming of the automobile and the airplane, it was hard to understand what Daniel meant when he said that "many shall run to and fro." But now there are millions of cars on the highways and countless planes in the air at all hours of every day and night.
This passage could mean, also, that knowledge of the prophetic Scriptures will increase, and this is certainly true today. There is a greater interest and more study of the prophetic Scriptures on the part of many Christians than perhaps at any time in history. New archeological and scientific discoveries have brought prophecy into sharper focus. For the first time since the Scriptures were written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can understand many parts of them in the light of current world events.
10. Peace Conferences
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:3). Never has there been so much talk of peace. The world longs desperately for peace, but no peace seems to be in sight.
In the second Psalm David asked: "Why do the nations rage?" Because they do not know which way to turn in this age of violence and threat of destruction. In that same Psalm David said: "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." This "take counsel together"
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speaks of the desperate effort on the part of the world's leaders to establish peace, but God is left out of their planning. The Prince of Peace is never consulted about peace. Foolish man pursues his own program, claiming boldly that he can solve his problems by himself without God.
11. The Coming of the World Dictator
There are so many interesting references in the Bible to a future world government to be ruled by a great Anti-Christ that space does not permit discussing it here. It is obvious that the world's acceptance of one-man rule must be preceded by a period of preparation. At a recent peace conference in Washington, speaker after speaker referred to the necessity and the possibility of a world government. In the Gideon Seymour Memorial Lecture at the University of Minnesota, Arnold Toynbee said: "Living together as a single family is the only future mankind can have now that Western technology has simultaneously annihilated distance and invented the atomic bomb." He added: "The alternative to the destruction of the human race is a worldwide social fusion of all the tribes, nations, civilizations, and religions of man."
During the past decade, it has been realized that no nation can live to itself, for what affects one country affects all. There is also the trend toward dictatorship in many of the emerging nations and this means a breakdown of democracy. Government in the hands of a large group has often failed to function adequately, partly because of widely differing views. Endless differences, debates, and discussions nullify the value of the counsel of many. I once asked the dictator of an African state why they did not have democracy in his country. He replied: "Before democracy can work you must
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have an informed and intelligent electorate. We will not be ready for democracy for a hundred years."
In the Bible we read: "For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev. 17:17). Another revealing passage says: "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 Thess. 2:7-12). This tells us clearly that there has been a lawless power at work through the ages, and that toward the end of the age when people "have pleasure in unrighteousness," the restrainer who is the Holy Spirit will restrain only until the believers are taken away.
Then this superman who will be the incarnation of Satan, called Anti-Christ in the Scriptures, will be permitted to have world control. The Bible teaches that the world will reach a point where it will set up a world government, and a world dictator or president will emerge. Television cameras will no doubt be on the scene, and the news will be flashed around the world that a man of peace, a universal ruler, has been chosen.
The word "beast" in Revelation 13 is used to express the idea that this will be a man of great strength and ability to force his will upon the world. The term "beast" is not meant to indicate repulsiveness. On the contrary, the Scripture says
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that this man will be admired, feared, and worshiped. He will dominate the world scene with a cleverness the world has never known. He will temporarily put down war that has been devastating the earth. He will devise brilliant economic methods with immediate results. Prosperity will return, money will be plentiful everywhere, and the fear that has gripped every part of the world will give way to hope. The world will stand in awe and wonder at his superlative genius and power as millions actually worship him as a god. He will regiment all humanity, demanding that before food can be purchased his subjects shall be stamped with his mark (Rev. 13:17). The age of the computer will contribute to his ability to control the life of every person on the globe. He will be the very incarnation of evil. His one dream, one desire, one ambition will be to destroy even the thought of God on the face of the earth. He will blaspheme God and will exalt himself beyond any kind of god the world has ever known.
In 1902 Harper's magazine carried an amazing portrait of the coming ruler. The editors of Harper's said: "There will arise 'the man.' He will be strong in action, epigrammatic in manner, personally handsome, and continuously victorious. He will sweep aside parliaments and demagogues, carry civilizations to glory, reconstruct them into an empire, and hold it together by circulating his profile and organizing further successes. He will codify everything, galvanize Christianity, he will organize learning into meek academies of little men and prescribe a wonderful educational system, and the grateful nations will deify a lucky and aggressive egotism." The Bible says of this world ruler: "And through his policy . . . he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart" (Daniel 8:25). The Bible teaches that even the very elect of God will be deluded and that some of his early followers will be professing Christians.
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12. Worldwide Evangelism
"And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then the end shall come" (Matthew 24:14).
In the year 1500 the Bible had been printed in only fourteen languages. By 1800 it was in seventy-one languages, and by 1965 it had been printed in more than 1,250 languages and dialects. Add to this the media of radio and television, as well as the accelerated missionary programs of the churches since World War II. There are very few places in the world today where the Gospel cannot be heard. Because of modern travel, communications, and techniques, it is possible that the prophecy of Mathew 24:14 is being fulfilled in our generation for the first time.
There are many other signs of the end revealed in the Bible that space does not allow me to mention. But this we know, Jesus Christ will come. I do not know when. I do not know the hour, the day, the month, or the year. It is wrong and unscriptural to try to set the date of Christ's return. God alone knows when He will come. Yet the Bible says that He will come back to earth. There is no possibility that the nations of the world can solve the problems of human nature until He comes again.
One thing we do know, the coming of Christ is nearer than when we first believed. It may be that many of these events will transpire before this generation has passed away. The poet Campbell said: "Coming events cast their shadow before." What we see happening today may well be a preparation for God's intervention in human affairs with the coming of Jesus Christ. Paul told the Christians to "comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).
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What Should You Do?
For the Christian, all is not hopeless unless his affections are centered on the things of this world. If you have been living a life dedicated to God, laying up treasures in heaven, with your affections on things above, then you have no cause for despair and discouragement. This could be the hour before the dawn when Christ shall return.
In view of these rapidly moving events, what should your attitude be?
1. PREPARING WITH URGENCY
Jesus said: "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh" (Matthew 24:44). Are you ready to meet Him if He should come today? In many places the Bible warns us to be ready. You may say that this is an appeal based on fear. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7). That word "fear" could be translated terrified. Noah was terrified at the prospect of the coming events, and it was this fear that drove him to build the ark.
2. WAITING WITH PATIENCE
"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay" (Hebrews 10:36-37). The promised birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah was long delayed; but God's promise did come to pass even when it seemed impossible.
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3. WATCHING WITH ANTICIPATION
Matthew Henry wrote: "To watch implies not only a belief that our Lord is coming, but a desire that He would come, to be often thinking of His coming, and always looking for His coming as sure, in year and the time of it uncertain."
"We are waiting with longing expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20). The Apostle Paul wrote to Titus: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). After hearing a minister preach on the second coming of Christ, Queen Victoria said: "I wish He would come during my lifetime so that I could take my crown and lay it at His feet."
4. WORKING WITH ZEAL
"Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing" (Matthew 24:46). Some people have the idea that if Christ is coming, then why must we carry on? Why not quit working and watch? This was one of the problems of the Thessalonians to whom Paul wrote to affirm that Christ was coming. He explained some of the details of the last days, and he urged them to get to work. The hope of the coming of Christ should make us work all the harder so that we shall "not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28).
To the Christian the coming of Christ will be a glorious moment. To those outside of Christ, it will be the greatest of all calamities, a tragic separation, an unbelievable disappointment. But to those who are ready, what a glorious consummation! Almost the last words of the Bible are "Surely I come. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
__________
1. Walter B. Knight, Knight's Tresury of Illustrations (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962).
2. Pp. 145, 146.
3. June 4, 1965.
