The late Baptist preacher Vance Havner once said: “I am afraid that there is a sort of theoretical interest in the Lord’s return prevalent among the saints that somehow does not seem to get hitched up to practical service. Some of the brethren are SIGHING over the times and wondering what we are coming to, but that is poor business for a Christian, who ought to know what we are coming to and be joyfully looking for his Lord to come. Others are STUDYING about it, and can give you remarkable explanations of the order of events and the meaning of 666 in Revelation, but, somehow, it is just a hobby that doesn’t translate itself into action. Again, some of the saints are SINGING about the second coming, but it is one thing just to sing the national anthem during the war and quite another to go into battle. The best evidence that the Lord’s return has really gotten ahold of us is when we occupy till He come, do business for God, buy up opportunities, because the days are evil.” (Havner- It is Time, p. 16)
While no man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7), the discerning student of the Bible realizes that the hour is late, and the global stage is set for end time events to be fulfilled.
When it comes to end-times Bible prophecy, there are two ditches to avoid: First, there are those who fall into the ditch of prophetic speculation- that is, they go beyond what Scripture plainly teaches and try to figure out the ‘secret things’ that God has not revealed. This involves date-setting, trying to identify who the antichrist is, or trying to figure out other details God has not revealed. Second, there are those who ignore Bible prophecy or minimize its importance because they see it as too controversial or too difficult to understand. This is also a ditch to be avoided because the Bible places a huge emphasis on Bible prophecy. One-third of the Bible is prophecy!
While the avoiding the aforementioned ditches, the Bible-believer is called to live in light of the Lord’s return. As church-age believers, we know that the next great event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the church- an ever-imminent, any-moment event where Christ “…shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
If Christ were to return today, would you be ready? Are you saved? If so, are you faithfully serving Christ?
How is the Christian to live knowing that his Lord could return at any moment?
- We are to “watch” and “pray” (Mark 13:33-37; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-9; 1 Peter 4:7; Colossians 4:2). To be watchful means to be spiritually alert and awake. Don’t allow yourself to become spiritually careless. But while watching, we must also be praying! Pray without ceasing. Pray individually, as a family, as a church!
- We are also to be faithful in the work that God has left us here to do (Mark 13:34). The servant of the Lord must not become spiritually lazy, apathetic, or spiritually cold. Rather, he must watch, work, and wait for his Lord’s return. We are called to “occupy” till Christ returns (Luke 19:13). We are not merely to be occupied with His coming, but to be occupying till He comes. The word “occupy” means “to do business, to trade or traffic” (Complete Word Study Bible). The Christian life is likened to a business venture. We are called to invest our lives in eternal pursuits for the glory of God, rather than, wasting it on trivial, temporal things. We are called to be busy about the Master’s service! We must cultivate a single-minded focus on making Christ well known through a faithful witness and making Christ look good through a faithful walk!
~Pastor Aaron Francis
