End times … and Jesus?

End times … and Jesus?  2 Timothy 3.1

If in fact, these are the last days, as many have proffered . . . what in the world does that mean? Paul wrote, “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.”¹  Friends, we are guaranteed of this--after the difficult times, Jesus will return.  Maybe it will be today.  What a notion -- maybe Jesus will return today!  If so, what can we expect?

The truth is, Jesus promised that he will come again.  So friends, you and I must bear in mind what he told his beloved twelve, "I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.^”2 Jesus assured them that he would come back, "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with His angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."³ 

The last glimpse of Jesus on earth was on the Mount of Olives, where a gathering of his followers watched as he ascended into Heaven. “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”⁴  Indeed, Jesus himself said, "They will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."⁵

God is faithful.  We just studied Paul’s words to Timothy, “If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.”⁶ God is faithful to the words he has spoken, and Jesus will come again, as he promised.  We must never lose sight of the fact that our God has eternity in his hands.

Your eternal future is secure if you have entrusted yourself to him; death cannot hold you, and you will never be separated from him or his love. 

How will Jesus’ return come about?  “The Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God . . . and we'll be caught up together with them in the clouds . . .”⁷

Perhaps for some it is hard to imagine what it is going to be like.  But I can see it in my mind’s eye—in fact, I believe it will be a day not unlike today, where there are blustery clouds in the sky, sunshine peeking around the back of their silver lining.  A trumpet will sound—our King has come!  Those who have already passed will be the first to meet him in the air, and then the rest who are lucky enough to still be living on that day,⁸ may be driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California or the A1 Highway in Nigeria, or George Walker Bush Highway in Ghana, or Whitechapel Road in London.  Walking, driving, or sleeping—we will be caught up together with Jesus when he comes for his own.

Whenever he chooses to come back … however … and whatever is around the corner we cannot see, our Lord’s already there. 

Which reminds me of a song – a song I love so much:  “From where I'm standing, Lord it's so hard for me to see where this is going

And where You're leading me…I wish I knew how all my fears and all my questions are gonna play out in a world I can't control

When I'm lost in the mystery, to You my future is a memory, cause You're already there, you're already there… standing at the end of my life, waiting on the other side… And You're already there, You're already there

From where You're standing, Lord, You see a grand design that You imagined;  when You breathed me into life and all the chaos, comes together in Your hands like a masterpiece of Your picture perfect plan.

When I'm lost in the mystery, to You my future is a memory cause You're already there…

One day I'll stand before You and look back on the life I've lived--

I can't wait to enjoy the view and see how all the pieces fit…⁹

Click to listen and be blessed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrOotpSKOX0

Because the fact is - no matter what is happening in our personal lives, no matter how we feel, our God is in control – of time and space, history and the future of which we cannot know – we must not lose sight of this.

Christine

PastorWoman.com