Just before the risen Christ ascended to Heaven, some of His followers asked Him if now He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. Now as in right now.
How many times did the Lord warn us that His return would take the whole world by surprise? What part of “It is not for you to know” don’t we understand? Really–as if the whole thing was only about setting up another kingdom in Israel. Like this time it’ll be different?
Christ’s business was the salvation of the entire human race, and only God the Father knows the timetable. Jesus said we would be taken when we least expect it, and urged us to live in such a way that we would always be ready for it.
But false prophecy has always been with us.
All of us will have our own individual end times, and we don’t know the day or hour of those endings, either, or (in most cases) the manner of our going. But as my friend Hamlet once said, “The readiness is all.” Well, okay, so God said it first. See, for example (as we say in the scholarly trade when we’re too lazy to look up more than one or two citations), the foolish and wise virgins of the parable, not to mention the thief in the night and many other admonitions to be right with God regardless of when and how the end arrives.
Amen. Being prepared, with extra oil for our lamps is crucial. The beginning of “birth pangs” should remind us of how important that is, as well as deep study of all Scripture so as to recognize more clearly how the prophecies relate to their fulfillment. There are many clues.
One of the signs of Christ’s imminent return was that false prophets would arise and mislead many. We can see that today. One of the things I find most appalling is the chameleon-like manner in which some politicians use religious beliefs to their advantage, frequently knowing little about the subject.
Then there’s the always bizarre phenomenon of secular leftist jidrools lecturing Christians on how to be Christians… plenty of mileage there.
At the DNC opening night Convention, on speaker was saying if we didn’t vote for Biden we would go to hell.
But if you do, you won’t have to *go* there. It’ll be right there, all around you.
Fortunately, the hell that people create on earth — or at least the one they create for other people — lasts only during this life. It only seems to go on forever. But we’ve been told that for those who hold out for Christ to the end, although they die, they will live forever.