Living in Light of the Lord's Soon Return

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:11-14). Current events in our world point to the very real possibility that Jesus Christ will return for His Church at any moment. This truth is so spectacularly clear that I am amazed that most Christians have failed to take notice. This indicates a bigger problem—the Church is asleep! It is no wonder, as many churches, both mainline and conservative, have bought into Satan’s lie that the Church has replaced Israel and prophecy, as it relates to the end times, should not be taken literally, but rather spiritualized. However, the God of the Bible does not have a speech impediment. His Word is to be taken literally. Even if something within Scripture is symbolic, there is always a literal meaning behind the symbolism. So, the problem really is one of unbelief. Many in the Church today simply do not believe God when it comes to matters concerning the end of the age. A tragic result is that many in the Church are asleep—ignorant of the times in which we live and the things that are coming upon this world. They may as well be sleep walking!

There is so much going on today that indicates two things. First of all, God is setting the stage for the final fulfillment of all end times prophecy. Secondly, the return of Christ for His Church is very near. Consider the many things in play today that indicate the brevity of the hour. Israel is back in the land—the key to end times prophecy (Ezek. 36-37). The rise of the European super-state and Mediterranean Union is laying the foundation for the rise of a modern form of the ancient Roman Empire (Dan. 2, 7). The current worldwide economic troubles, as well as terrorism, have the nations of the world marching lock-step towards globalism (Dan. 2, 7; Rev. 17). The desire of the Palestinians to take God’s Covenant Land as their own, as well as, the whole Middle East Peace Process has key world leaders working day and night to forge a solution—a solution that seems to allude all who busy themselves with it (Ezek. 35; Dan. 9; Zech. 12). The rise of an Iranian led, Russian equipped coalition that will come against Israel in the near future is quickly taking shape (Ezek. 38, 39). In fact, there is so much going on concerning Iran right now that one can hardly keep up. It seems the whole thing is rushing quickly towards war. Could it be that the prophesied War of Gog and Magog (see Ezek. 38, 39) is on the near horizon? If so, what does this say about the nearness of Christ’s return for His Church? If war breaks out in the Middle East, as I suspect it soon will, the world as we know it will change. The world economy may very well collapse as oil surges to hundreds of dollars a barrel. Add to that the very real possibility of a nuclear exchange in the Middle East and the world will beg for a leader to put things in order—to guarantee peace between Israel and her enemies, thus protecting world access to oil. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for [seven years]” (Dan. 9:27). Such a leader is coming. He will arise out of Western Europe. The Bible refers to this individual as “the beast” (Rev. 13), and the more commonly known title of Antichrist (1 John 2). He most likely is alive and well on planet Earth today. The hour is indeed late. It is time for the Church to wake up!

When Paul says to “awaken from sleep,” he means to awaken from spiritual apathy and lethargy, or to put it another way, unresponsiveness to the things of God. When we consider the nearness of Christ’s return for His Church and the judgments upon this world that will follow, we must wake up, lay aside and forsake our sins, live a life that is pleasing to God, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (the ongoing spiritual process of sanctification), and be about our Father’s business. Sadly, many in the Church are content to keep sleeping—oblivious to the hour in which we live and the nearness of Christ’s return and judgment. Furthermore, many are content to continue in their blindness and sin rather than repent and believe the true Gospel. They are content to mock God, either by word or deed saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). It escapes their notice that God has directly intervened in human history in the past and He will do so again in the near future. Therefore, we must wake up and be firmly anchored in the Lord, as time is quickly running out, “for now salvation is nearer to us than when we [first] believed” (Rom. 13:11).