Eschatology.
I like big words. I like words that cause people look at me with a furrowed brow as if reading my face is going to magically give them the definition. Okay, and since I value intelligence and hold it at a high standard, I may or may not enjoy knowing something that others don't. There I said it.
Anyway, back to the big, gnarly word. Eschatology is the study of 'end times'. The word, broken up, actually means 'last study'.
I have always been fascinated with the final book in the Bible, Revelation. Ok, first off....let me correct all of you - it is Revelation - NOT Revelations. Now that we have that taken care of, let's continue. *ahem* As I said, I have always enjoyed it. My dad was a fanatic with end of times prophecy as well. Perhaps that is where I get my passion for it.
There are many theories as to the end times and Jesus' return, therefore, you may be skeptical on my interpretation. Tough. Ok, that was somewhat harsh but my back kind of hurts, it's late and I may be a tad cranky. What I meant to type was - that's okay, but I am going to give you my take on some of it.
No, I am not going to break down the entire book or even really touch on much of it at all. That would take forever - I am currently breaking down the book for our youth group and it's a 12 week study so you can imagine how long I would have to blog about it. Perhaps someday, but not any time soon.
Anyway, crazy things are going on in the world. More so than ever before. Nothing in society shocks us. We are desensitized to everything and most everything is acceptable. If you aren't accepting you are labeled "judgmental", "critical", "close-minded", "religious nut", and so on. I would prefer to think of myself as wholesome and striving for holiness, but hey, what-ev.
The crazy thing is when Jesus left the disciples and ascended into heaven, He told them to keep an eye out. He said he would return. That very moment...that very second that Jesus was no longer in sight....humanity anticipated his return.
And he gave us signs to watch for.
Christians around the globe have a twitch deep in their spirit. They have a gnawing sensation that something big is coming, something monumental. I keep hearing it everywhere I go.
It's like this - the honey bee is a fascinating creature. It really is. Once the bee finds a patch of flowers it enjoys, it will continue to feed from them for it's entire life span. It is called flower consistency. Now bees can live a surprisingly long time under the right conditions - up to 4 years (mind blown, right?). So, they build their nest and feed off the tasty flowers and then hibernate in the winter. Once Spring lazily approaches, the bees start to stir. They start to move about. They are anticipating something. They know it won't be long before their favorite flower blooms again. They feel it inside their spirit. Their internal instincts know that something is coming but being a bee, they can't rationalize what it is. They just know it's going to be big - monumental. Then *BAM* the flowers bloom and the bees are happy.
If God puts that kind of expectancy in a small honey bee for a flower.....how much more is He going to put in us for the return of our King? That twitch, that feeling that something big is about to happen....it isn't a coincidence.
The signs are there. Whether you believe in God, whether you believe in His coming.....whether you are in denial or think you have all the time in the world...it doesn't change the fact that He is coming back.
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
As God looks down on the earth He created - the complex animals He created from nothing, man He created in His image, woman He created from man, the trees, the fish, the birds, from the largest elephant to the most delicate spider's web - it amazes me how amazing this world, and everything in it, is.....as He looks down, Jesus is whispering - "Just a little more time, Father. Give them just a little more time." But soon, God is going to say enough and gather His bride (us, the church = believers) home.
We may not know the day nor the hour, but He promised us signs....and they are there.
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people" 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Read the book of Matthew (chapter 24) - Jesus gives us specific things to look for such as "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." We are lucky to have freedom to worship God here because there are MANY countries you can be put to death for owning merely a few torn out pages of the Bible.
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Jesus wants everyone to have a chance to be with Him in heaven - the end will not come until the Gospel has reached all nations. He promises that. With television and missionaries, how far are we from this reality?
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Do not wait until it is too late. If we knew the day and hour Jesus was coming, we would be buck wild until the hour before and then we would be on our knees (come on, don't sit there and lie and say you wouldn't!). Just like if a man knows a thief is coming, he is going to keep watch. No, he will come when we least expect it therefore we must ALWAYS be anticipating that this hour is the hour.
There is so much more. I could get lost in it all and get carried away but will leave you with that to chew on. Let me just add.....what comes after Jesus' return is not a pretty picture. Jesus takes up his bride and the holy spirit. Imagine a world where there was no tugging of "Jiminy Cricket" to tell us right from wrong. However, the book of Revelation isn't meant to scare you - it is a warning and a book of God's mercy. How you ask? God is pouring out his mercy after rapturing the church - he is giving humanity a time, a short time, to turn back to Him. A last ditch effort, so to speak. However, it is also showing God's power and wrath on those that refused His name. Let's just say that I will strive and do my best to not be here when that all goes down.
I dunno about you - but water to blood and earthquakes that sink mountains isn't my idea of a good time.
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