looking
for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
If you are aware, in any way, you are aware that things in life are in a sad state of affairs. If you’re one to bury your head in the sand of non-news, then you surely see and feel it in your personal relationships, and family life. Let’s face it, life on earth can feel, at times, pretty miserable and perhaps somewhat hopeless.
But while
circumstances may seem that way, our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, tells
us hope remains. It is not a blasted hope, as one wag put it. It is a blessed
hope in the logos (Word) of God, Christ our Lord (John 1:1, 1:14).
Not only
does He tell us our redemption will be fully finished when we finally stand in His
presence, but it is also the word (promise) of the Word that He consistently gives us
(Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 46:11, Revelation 21:5). It is the promises of His physical return
and redemption of all things that are His bond. He tells us these things before they come to pass,
that when they do, we may believe (John 14:29), for they are faithful and true.
Titus, a
Gentile convert to the Christian faith, and traveling companion of the Apostle
Paul, wrote of this 2000 years ago. Christians of that age sincerely believed
the promise of the return of the risen Christ was imminently near, and they
were expectantly looking for it. But it wasn’t the Father’s time yet (Acts
1:7). His patient love and grace have been extended to all who would believe for
the past 2000 years. Amazing Grace!
While we do
not set dates of the return of Christ, He has told us of the signs of the age which
would be going on that would alert us to His return. They will tell us to look
up (pay attention) for redemption of heaven and the Earth is close at
hand (Luke 21:28).
There have
never been so many obvious signs, the most important of them began on May 14,
1948, when Israel, for the second time in her history, became a nation restored to its ancestral land after a forced displacement of 1,878 years. No other nation in the history of Earth can
make that kind of claim!
Jesus showed
Himself to be the appointed Mashiach (Messiah) of the Jewish people by
fulfilling all 300 messianic prophecies in the Tanach in every aspect of His
life. There are yet 1000 prophecies related to Messiah establishing His kingdom
yet to be fulfilled. If Jesus of Nazareth faithfully fulfilled the first 300,
He can faithfully fulfill the remaining 1000.
“Behold, I
come quickly [or suddenly],” are His closing words to John the Apostle (Rev 22:12).
We do not know the exact day or hour, but we can know the season, or
approximate time (Matthew Chapters 24-25, Luke 21:6-36). It is our Blessed hope in the
trueness of His physical resurrection, life, power and return. Keep your eyes on
heaven and in the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
His first
mission was to redeem the heart from sin, through the shedding of His blood on
the cross. In doing so He became the perfect and final Lamb that takes away the
sin of the world (John 1:29, Hebrews 9:11-15).
His second advent will be to redeem the times and rule and reign on the eternal
throne promised to His ancestor David. A promise kept is a promise performed
and He has proved Himself as the Eternal Promise Keeper. Look forward with
confidence to the very soon appearing of the Lord, Jesus Christ, if you know
Him.
If it
frightens you, you have yet to know Him, but you can. Trust in His invitation
to be your Peace and forgiveness of all your sins. If you’re not sure how you
can, you can do it simply by asking Him. While all you need is to believe (Acts
16:30-31), praying, “Jesus, I want to trust you to forgive my sins and ask that
you would come into my life and be my Lord,” will be heard and honored by Him.
It will give you a starting point in your journey of faith.
Look forward
to the return of our great God and Savior! It can’t be too soon for me, and
hopefully for you, too.
Ken
