Childish Reasoning

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NLT

At first sight, was Paul saying to us that the spiritual gifts were “childish things”? Looking back over the previous chapters, we find theology that has shaped much of modern Christianity, with its references to the Holy Spirit and His spiritual gifts given to believers, gifts that have continued the ministry of Jesus and His presence to believers ever since. So, saying that the gifts were “childish” could not be further from the truth. In the context of this chapter, we see that Paul was referring to the time of perfection, a time when the use of spiritual gifts such as prophecy and tongues will no longer be necessary. So, who or what will “perfection” be? It can only be the time when Jesus returns. Eventually, the church will mature to the point that we reach the “fullness of Christ.” This will happen only after He arrives, but it is the course we currently pursue. The gifts are needed to help, edify, and encourage us until He comes; then they will no longer be required.

So, the childish reasoning in 1 Corinthians 13:11 refers to Paul comparing the time of a child growing up, when their worldview is totally different to that of an adult. We know that, of course. A small child has a simplistic and protected view of the adult world around them, reaching conclusions that change as they grow up. For example, a small child will believe in a fantasy called Santa, going along with the deception of writing letters and putting out signs in the street. He or she will hang up their stockings and go through the charade for a while until reality dawns and the bubble bursts. But they then continue the story for the benefit of younger friends and siblings. As a small child, I had no idea of the politics of the post-war years, but, in hindsight, I can remember my parents being concerned by events that had the potential to suck them back into more conflict. Today, my worldview is totally different from what it was as a child.

The gifts of knowledge and prophecy
provide only a partial glimpse

The season of the gifts of the Holy Spirit will come to an end one day. Now we see “puzzling reflections in a mirror” or, as the King James translation puts it, “through a glass, darkly”. The gifts of knowledge and prophecy provide only a partial glimpse of the world that God sees, but I’m sure that God, as with a child, protects His people from seeing more than they should. There was the story of Habakkuk, who cried out to God about the injustice, the violence, the evil and misery that was taking place in his day. But God knew that this prophet could be trusted to handle the message of what was about to happen. Grim and devastating times were on the way, and God said to Habakkuk, “I am raising up the Babylonians, a cruel and violent people. They will march across the world and conquer other lands” (Habakkuk 1:6). But Habakkuk knew that what God was about to do was righteous, and he said to God, “O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins” (Habakkuk 1:12). The vision horrified Habakkuk, and after hearing God’s plans, he finally wrote, “I trembled inside when I heard this; my lips quivered with fear. My legs gave way beneath me, and I shook in terror. I will wait quietly for the coming day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (Habakkuk 3:16-18). 

“I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!“

We pilgrims may cry out to God with a similar complaint. The world around us is still riven with injustice, violence, sin and evil, and there will come a time when God will say enough is enough and deal with it. Jesus gave John a Revelation of what was to come, and it makes grim reading. As in Habakkuk’s day, most people will disregard the warnings and carry on living their lives of evil and wickedness until the final calamity occurs. God said to Habakkuk, “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” (Habakkuk 2:3). 

The End Times,
seen “through a glass, darkly”

The End Times knowledge that we have is only a partial glimpse of what is to come. Prophetic messages have added to the mystery and uncertainty, but they all lack the detail and timing that only God knows about. We see at present only “puzzling reflections in a mirror” that provide a hint of future events. If you like, we have a childish view of the End Times, with only as much as God has chosen to reveal to us, perhaps for our own protection. But one day, and many think it will be soon, Jesus will return, bringing perfection with Him. And so we pilgrims look for opportunities to warn the people around us, as Habakkuk did by writing God’s message on tablets (Habakkuk 2:2) for messengers to carry to the people of Israel. We meet people in the office and on the street, and have the opportunity to invite them into Jesus’ kingdom. The time is short, folks, so we must be prepared, as we look forward to the time when we will grow up and see what God sees.

Dear Father God. You are our loving Parent, who looks after His children. We thank You for Your grace and love, and we give You all the glory for what You have done and will be doing soon. In gratitude and in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen

Save Some

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
1 Corinthians 9:21-23 NLT

There was a film released some years ago about a catastrophic event that would hit the world in which we live, an apocalyptic situation in which the US Army was instructed to do what they could to “save some”. In a sense, we pilgrims, too, find ourselves in a similar situation, with the world in which we live facing the End Times, which increases the urgency to tell people about Jesus and do what we can to “save some”. Not everyone will respond to the Message of Christ, but just in case, we must look for opportunities to set before people the gravity of their situation. In Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Jesus gave His disciples an answer to a question about the end of the world. Matthew 24:3, “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”” These two chapters would be grim reading for those who do not believe in Jesus, but such people most probably would not have a Bible on their favourite bookshelf in any case. But as we read down Matthew 24, we see many of the signs happening today that Jesus talked about, signs that are brought to a crescendo with verse 30, “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”. In verses 37-39, Jesus said, “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realise what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes”. 

In Genesis 6:9, we read, “This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God“. God used Noah in two ways. The first was the witness regarding the building of that boat. He built it on dry land in a world that had never experienced anything like what was to come. Imagine the conversation with people who had probably never seen a boat and asked Noah what it was for. To be told what was about to happen made no difference, and the response that Noah received was probably one of ridicule. He was perhaps labelled crazy and shunned by those in his society. It took a great deal of faith to build that boat, as it was large and not something that could have been completed in a short time. In fact, the Scriptures seem to indicate that it took one hundred years to build. The second was that God used that boat to save all the animals and Noah and his family. Today, many dismiss the story of Noah as a fable or even a falsehood, despite evidence of a primordial flood all over the world, as documented in geological and fossil records. 

Paul wrote that he tried “to find common ground with everyone, doing everything [he] can to save some”. In our imaginations, we can picture Paul driven by the fear and expectation that Jesus would return very soon, putting an end to the world as he knew it. Thankfully, God, in His grace, has delayed the return of Jesus. Romans 11:25, “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ”. How many is “the full number of the Gentiles”? We don’t know, but we discern the times. We see some of the signs that Jesus warned His disciples of in Matthew 24, and conclude that His return is closer now than it was two thousand years ago. Jesus said to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who had asked Him for a miraculous sign from Heaven to prove His authority, “ … You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” (Matthew 16:2-3). The “signs of the times” are with us, dear fellow pilgrims, and we must wake up and do what we can to “save some”. 

We start with our friends and families, persistently praying for them, sharing the Good News, and even begging them to make the right decision for Jesus. Where they will spend eternity is too important a decision to leave to chance and hope. God is full of love and grace. He is patient and kind, and is always ready to receive a repentant sinner into His family. In Heaven, we can just imagine a huge counter, continually ticking up as new Christians are born again, always getting closer to the time when God will say enough. To all those who say that a God of love would never send anyone to hell, we turn again to John 3:16, where we read “… whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will inherit eternal life”. We note the terrible alternative to eternal life, which is perishing. There is no other possible place for mankind. And so we pray, and pray, and keep on praying, that God will have mercy on our generation, on our family and friends, with the hope and expectation that we, through God’s grace and mercy, will “save some”. 

Dear Heavenly Father. We name our friends and family before You today, that You will draw them to Yourself as we share the wonderful Good News about Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Time is Short

Posted on by korgrocker

“But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems. But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.”
1 Corinthians 7:28-31 NLT

In Paul’s day, the expectation was that Jesus was going to return “soon”. In John 14:2-3, we read, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am“. And then we have Matthew 24:44, when Jesus said, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected“. In neither case did Jesus say when He was going to return to the earth a second time, but the early church can be forgiven for having an expectation that it would be “soon”. Even in the book of Revelation, John wrote down some of the last recorded words of Jesus, such as in Revelation 22:7, “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book”.

With the expectation that Jesus might return at any moment, Paul encouraged the Corinthians to get their lives in order. He told them to stay married, if that was their status at the time, but to remember that service to Christ was far more important, and if they were going through a time of sorrow, or a time of joy, such occasions were unimportant in the light of Jesus’ imminent return. And his final point was that, although possessions were all very good, the believers in Corinth mustn’t become too attached to them, because they wouldn’t survive the cataclysmic event associated with the world “passing away”. There is an apocryphal story of a businessman who nagged God unmercifully to be allowed to take his possessions with him into Heaven. God relented, allowing this to happen, so for convenience, the businessman sold what he had and converted it all to gold. When he died, he turned up at Heaven’s gates with a heavy bag and was asked what it contained. He replied that it was all his earthly wealth in gold bars, only to be told that there was no point in bringing it with him, because in Heaven, gold was used to pave the streets. A silly story that has made the rounds as a Christian joke, but it makes the point that nothing we have on this earth can survive the transition into Heaven.

In Matthew 24, Jesus outlined some of the events that will occur before the world “passes away”. He mentioned wars, famines and earthquakes, but only in the context that these were the “birth pains with more to come” (Matthew 24:8). Jesus then said that terrible things would then follow, with persecution and martyrdom, false prophets and sin. But here’s the thing, Jesus then said that the “Good news of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world” (Matthew 24:14). Perhaps the early Christians had a world view that didn’t extend beyond the Middle East, and had concluded, with the rapid propagation of the Gospel, that their world had indeed been reached. But Jesus told the disciples about other things that would have to happen, such as complete darkness without the sun, moon, and stars, before Jesus came. Matthew 24:30, “And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”.  

David Pawson, the late theologian and apologist, maintained that four significant signs had to happen before Jesus returned. These would be, “A “world-wide disaster” including wars, famines, and earthquakes; a “great tribulation” of worldwide trouble where many believers would be killed; the rise of a false dictator who commits an abhorrent act in a future temple; and the Antichrist’s return to power in the Middle East, and the subsequent preaching of the gospel to the entire world before the final judgment“. So, on that basis, about one and a half out of the four signs have been completed. But come what may, it is pointless trying to come up with a date for Jesus’ return, because He said to the disciples, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows” (Matthew 24:36). Instead, Jesus said, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:44). 

We pilgrims, with the benefit of hindsight and a complete canon of God’s Word, can discern the times, but we must also be obedient to Jesus’ warning, as set out in two parables in Matthew 25. The “Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids” ends with the verse, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return” (Matthew 25:13). This was followed by “The Parable of the Three Servants”, where Jesus made the point that it is not about when He returns, but what we have been doing while He has been away. The time may or may not be short, but while we wait, we must be busy in our service for the Lord.

So, suitably warned, we pilgrims must be careful about how we are spending our time while we await Jesus’ return. He may or may not come back in our lifetimes, but once we die, our service for Jesus will come to an end. We are not “pew warmers”, social or Sunday Christians, of course, just waiting for the moment when we will cross the Great Divide. Instead, we are active in our faith, seeking to spread the Gospel at every opportunity. We prioritise our lives so that we are not overburdened by the troubles and possessions of life, looking to Jesus, “who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith”. What else can we do when we consider Jesus and all that He has done for us?

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for Your words about the end times, with the parables that illustrate what You require. Amen.

God’s Secret Plan (3)

Posted on by korgrocker

“When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-2 NLT

“God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfil his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”
Ephesians 1:9-11 NLT

Perhaps we pilgrims have never considered God as a Being who has made plans. Why would He need to, because he created this world and everything in it? In Genesis we read that he created with a word, “Then God said, …”, so weighing it all up, God’s plan must be for our benefit. Through His grace He has allowed sin and evil to rumble on in our world, something that has impacted and corrupted every aspect of His perfect creation. Of course, He could have eliminated sinful humans at a stroke, as He did with the generation at the time of the Flood, but what would that achieve because no longer could God enjoy His human creation forever? He could have created a race of humans that never sinned, but what benefits are there in having robots praise Him with artificial intelligence creating the words of prayer and song? So God came up with the perfect answer. He made a plan that would eventually bring about the race of human beings that He wanted all those years ago, a plan that started with the creation of Adam and Eve. In those days in the Garden of Eden, God enjoyed spending time with Adam and Eve until the day when their sin ended the relationship. So God made a plan and it would require many centuries of grace, forgiveness and love, to redeem a people who were riddled by sin and evil and who rejected Him, their Creator, at every turn. And as the centuries stretch into millennia, the plan continues. God will never give up.

God’s secret plan has always been present in this world, but mankind generally has been unaware of it.  The prophets of old had the occasional glimpse, and with the benefit of hindsight we pilgrims can see parts of the plan coming to fruition. Jesus and His Message of the Cross was a significant milestone in the plan, and that act of love, offering mankind forgiveness for their sins, and righteousness in His presence, marked the beginning of the End Times, as the Second Coming of Jesus is awaited, His final appearance on the world stage. We don’t know when God will finally sign off the final milestone labelled “End of the Age”, and declare that the plan is complete, but one thing is for sure – we are much closer today than mankind was when Jesus walked on this planet. 

Paul wrote that God’s plan will come to fruition at “just the right time”. God’s plan is to “bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth”. A combining of Heaven and Earth is incomprehensible to us earthlings, but it is all in God’s plan. We see how the will happen in Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone“. In the next two verses, John received a vision so incredible that it had to be true. John wrote, “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them“. In Revelation 21:6 we read, “And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true””. And who will be living in this New Jerusalem? Revelation 21:27, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life“. 

That is God’s plan, and we pilgrims, believers who have put their faith in Jesus and the Message of the Cross, have been allowed access to God’s secret plan. Paradoxically it is only a secret to those who refuse to believe in God but it is not a secret anymore to believers in Jesus. He has gone on ahead of us and He is getting everything ready for that momentous day. What happens between now and then can be seen in the pages of Revelation, and in places the reading is uncomfortable. Many people, even believers, have dismissed the last Book in the Bible as irrelevant and more a fairy story, but it is there for a reason. It shows that God’s plan is still very much work in progress, and the Book of Revelation is in three parts. It starts with a warning to Christians everywhere, and then follows this with an age when living on Planet Earth gets more and more difficult and uncomfortable. Things get very bad, but then we see the turning point in Revelation 20 after which things get very much better – unless you are an unbeliever of course. But God isn’t fazed by people who rubbish His plan. They will find out what happens one day.

The good news for believers is that “we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan”. God didn’t just formulate a plan and then hoped it all worked out. His plan included all believers, each of whom God chose in advance. Peter wrote, “ … you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession … ” (1 Peter 2:9). Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them“. God is actively working out His plan in the lives of believers everywhere. We love God from the bottom of our hearts, secure in the knowledge that we are an important part of His plan, and He will one day enjoy our presence as we join him, first in Heaven and then in the New Jerusalem. John wrote, “No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5). So there we have it. If that is not Good News for us, then it will be if we consider the alternative. We note that there will be no opportunity for a lukewarm believer in God’s Kingdom. Instead we will entering a life so exciting, so complete, that is totally beyond human comprehension. But in His presence we will praise and worship Him, reigning with Him as He planned.

Dear Father God. All this is too difficult for us to get our minds around, so we ask that You help us stay close to You as You bring all things together in accordance with Your plan. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Clouds of Darkness

Posted on by korgrocker

“He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds. Thick clouds shielded the brightness around him and rained down hail and burning coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded amid the hail and burning coals. He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies; great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused. Then at your command, O Lord, at the blast of your breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.”
Psalm 18:9-15 NLT

These verses today dramatically portray God’s judgement on Planet Earth, judgement for all the sin and wickedness that just cannot be allowed to continue forever. There are two occasions in the Old Testament where God has catastrophically destroyed people and their infrastructures because of sin, and we can read the accounts of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Flood, in Genesis. At other times God has judged His people by sending them into captivity. On an individual basis, God’s judgement is ongoing, with unrepentant sinners being “ … abandoned … to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies” (Romans 1:24). Paul continued, “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too” (Romans 1:28-32). Does all this sound and look familiar as we observe what is going on in our societies?

 Our holy and righteous God will not tolerate evil and wickedness forever. We read in Genesis 6:5-6, “The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart”. We pilgrims probably have difficulty believing that our God could be so distressed over “human wickedness” but those four words “it broke His heart” sum up the impact sin has had, and continues to have, on our loving and gracious Creator God. 

Darkness is described by David as “dark storm clouds” and we read the fulfilment of this in Revelation 16:10, “Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish”. The events foretold to happen in the End Times will not be pleasant! 

David’s poetic language nevertheless acts as a warning to all humanity. There will come a time soon when the Gospel will have reached the furthest corner of the Earth, and then the end will come. This will initiate a series of events culminating with the destruction of Planet Earth and the introduction of a new order, populated by all those people, past present and future, who, through Jesus, meet God’s criteria of righteousness and holiness. Through the Holy Spirit, David prophesied of this time of judgement coming and his apocalyptic language portrays times of terror and anguish too hard to bear.

The End Times will be met with mixed emotions by us pilgrims. If we are caught up in them – they could arrive in our lifetimes – we will welcome the end and mourn the troubles, but Jesus reassured us of a good outcome for His people, as we read in Matthew 24:13, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved“. Jesus later said, “In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:22). We trust Jesus, however, because only He has the words of eternal life.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You that even now You are preparing a Heavenly home for each of us. We proclaim our faith in You and look forward to seeing you one day soon. In Your precious name, Amen.

Days and Years

Posted on by korgrocker

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
2 Peter 3:8-9 NLT

It was obviously a problem for those early Christians – why was the expected return of Jesus apparently being delayed? Did He really say He would come back again “soon”? But then, what does “soon” mean? Has God changed His mind? In John 14:3, Jesus said that after He had prepared a place for them, He would return to get His disciples, “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am“. But there can’t be a delay with the Heavenly building work because, after all, God only had to speak the word and something would appear from nothing. But Jesus did say that even He didn’t know when He would come again – Matthew 24:36, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows“. All He said was that His followers must be ready – He said, “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:44). 

The Bible tells us much about the End Times, and how Jesus will return. Jesus provided some detail in Matthew 24 and 25. His discourse contained warnings and signs of the end, and He left the impression that he would return within a generation. Matthew 24:34, “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place“. However the word “generation” can also be translated “age” or “nation”. But comparing current world events with the End Times prophecies, we can surely assume that we are living in the End Times, and must do what Jesus advised – get ready for His return. 

Peter gave a reason for the apparent delay in Jesus’ expected return. He wrote, “He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” That’s the grace of God. The fact that we are currently alive in itself indicates that God is giving many generations the opportunity to reach out to Him and embrace His loving and saving grace. If Jesus had returned when the early believers had expected Him to, then we probably wouldn’t be here. God is patient, and events will happen as He orders.

But what about Peter’s suggestion that “ A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day?” God lives outside of time, or perhaps time lives inside God. But the Eternal Being sees the end from the beginning. All history, all world events past, present and future, all generations and nations, are laid out before Him and He can therefore see many things, that we can’t. But what we do know is that God can be trusted. The One who holds the world isn’t capricious, or unpredictable. He is holy, loving and kind. The accolades we could write about God are many, but one driving factor is His righteousness. His perfect righteousness can be trusted to bring about a conclusion that is right. All we are asked to do is to have faith in Him, believe in Him, put our trust in Him and get ready for Jesus’ return. It may not be in our lifetimes, but that doesn’t matter. What does, is that we follow Him and keep His commandments. Day by day, year by year. Time is unimportant. 

So how are we living? How do we treat those around us? How is our relationship with Jesus? It would be terrible to find that He returns, and finds us unprepared. Especially when His grace is freely available.

Father God. We know You love us, so it is no hardship to return that love. We say “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

The End of the World

Posted on by korgrocker

“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.”
1 Peter 4:7 NLT

This is a sobering verse, with a theme that Peter repeated in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment“. Will the earth as we know it end soon? The answer is that we really don’t know what “soon” means. To us humans “soon” means in the next few hours or days. But certainly no longer. But as we know, God lives without our time system. Instead He will do what He has promised to do at just the right time.

There is an expectation in the Bible that one day the world as we know it will cease to exist. This is because one day God’s grace will be replaced by His judgement. We live in a moral universe and the sin and evil that is endemic in our societies will have to be accounted for. There are a series of events that the Apostle John wrote down, and which form the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. If you wish to find out more what these are, please read my devotional book “The End Times” (author Adrian Clark), available on Amazon. But we’ll pick up the narrative in Revelation 20. 

The devil will be chained and incarcerated, and the saints, including those whom were martyred for their faith, will rule and reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years. John’s vision included the explanation that these dead people were brought back to life as the first resurrection; the resurrection of everyone else was not to happen until after the thousand years were up. Satan was then released from his prison and he made a last attempt to conquer God and His people. But to no avail – he and his armies were defeated by fire from Heaven, and he ended up in the “fiery lake of burning sulphur”, a place of eternal torment (Revelation 20:10), joining his proteges, the beast and the false prophet. 

Revelation 20 ends with the events we call the Great White Throne judgement. We read in John’s account, “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books … And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:13,15). But when we turn the page, we find an amazing event – the new Heaven and Earth. But more on that in my book.

Peter exhorts his readers to “be earnest and disciplined in your prayers”. But he doesn’t say what those prayers should consist of. Knowing what is to come must, by its very essence, focus the minds of us pilgrims. We must keep short accounts with God, ensuring forgiveness for the sins we might commit. We must, with clarity of thought, examine ourselves. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith”. David, the Psalmist, wrote the prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). We must pray appropriately, knowing that “the end of the world is coming soon”. 

Dear Father God. We can never thank You enough for Your grace. All we can do is to fall on our knees before You in worship. Amen.

Suffering

Posted on by korgrocker

“Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!”
1 Peter 3:17 NLT

Does anyone not experience some form of suffering in their lives? There is the pain of an injury or illness. There is the grief associated with the loss of a loved one. The emotional pain when a relationship breaks down. Of course, there are many degrees of suffering, but we have all experienced it at one time or another. Peter, in today’s verse, added the thought that we can even end up suffering for doing a good deed. In today’s media there is the sad story of a man who was attacked and killed by two dogs because he was protecting his elderly mother. A good deed ending in a person’s death. We must also remember that doing a bad deed will often result in some form of suffering, as the civil authorities take action and prosecute a person for breaking a law. Note that Peter did not say that suffering was inevitable, but he contrasted the suffering resulting from a good deed with that gained by doing a bad deed. If the suffering was the result of a good deed in line with something that God wanted, then that was the better place.

On a more global scale, modern media brings to our attention disasters, wars and other events that bring much suffering, and all in real time. So almost at the same time as it happens we hear about the devastating earthquakes in Morocco or the floods in Libya. Events that have brought other people’s suffering right into our thoughts through our smartphones or TV. “Why does God allow such suffering to happen” is the clarion call that goes out in response. Jesus Himself warned about such world events. In Matthew 24:7-8 we read, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come“. The Book of Revelation details the plagues that will occur on Planet Earth as the End Time events take their course. Why? Because we live in a sad and dark world blighted by sin. Are the floods, famines and other natural events the result of mankind trashing the planet through the exploitation of natural resources? Perhaps, but one day God will explain all to those who ask. At such times we pilgrims turn to Scriptures, such as Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge“.

At a more personal level, suffering can result from our life choices. But in it all, we start to see some answers when we turn to God. The Book of Job is dedicated to suffering and is well worth a read. But neither Job or his friends could see a reason for his suffering. In the end he was silent before God, still in the dark about the purposes, but realising that through it all he had to trust in God. When we go through times of suffering, the natural response is to turn our backs on God, blaming Him for the situation we are in, but in times such as these our only response is to turn to Him, because he will stand with us in our troubles and support us through them all, step by step. 

Dear Father God. We trust You through all our trials and tribulations. For that we are deeply grateful. Amen.

Coming Soon

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.” “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book. ””
Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT

The old Apostle John is coming to the end of his Lord’s Day vision. He has a final conversation with the angel that God had sent to walk him through everything he saw and heard. And the angel reaffirmed what John already knew, that the audiovisual presentation he had received was “trustworthy and true”. John must have been saddened that the experience was coming to an end, but also excited that he would soon be joining His Master in Heaven. 

In our verses today, the word “soon” was mentioned twice. We apply a temporal understanding to this word, expecting that something will happen in the next few hours or days. But here we are, two thousand years after John wrote down what he saw and heard, wondering what “soon” really means. The use of this word implies that we must be ready, as though the something we expect to happen is due imminently. If we don’t we are in danger of becoming lethargic and complacent, deferring what we should be doing to some undefined time in the future. In modern parlance, “kicking the can down the road”. But in a sense, compared with eternity, our “soon” is our life span. We don’t know when we will pass over the Great Divide, but it might be ”soon”. One thing is for sure though. The events of John’s vision will happen just as he saw them, because the angel, God’s messenger, said they were “trustworthy and true”. Sadly, many people try and dismiss the Revelation story as being difficult to understand so, consequentially, it can’t have any relevance. Some consider it the ramblings of an old man, and wonder why it was included in the Bible at all. 

But in the same way we wonder about what “soon” means, we also wonder about that other temporal event, the End Times. When will it start? Or has it already started? Nowhere in John’s vision does it say how long it will take, running through all those plagues and disasters. Neither does it say anywhere in his visions when the End Times will start. Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the end of the world and in Matthew 24:3 we read their question, “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?””. Jesus’s reply was, “ … Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” (Matthew 24:4-8). And in Matthew 24:36 He confirms our dilemma, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

Jesus told us that the End Times events were to be preceded by wars, famines and earthquakes. Perhaps preparing the ground, as it were, for the devastation yet to come. Jesus’ return could be “soon”, in our lifetimes, or it could be in hundreds or thousands of years in the future. We don’t know. Only God knows. But the events outlined in John’s vision were “trustworthy and true”.  We ignore them at our peril.

The angel finishes his epilogue with the assurance that if the prophecies contained in the Book of Revelation are obeyed, then blessings will follow. We could turn this round and say that those who are disobedient to the Revelation prophecies will, at best, not be blessed, or, at worst, end up cursed. The angel was saying that God went out of His way to give John the visions he received. He took it seriously. So must we.

Father God. We confirm our allegiance to You today. Only You have the words of eternal life. Only You know the beginning and the end. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

Authority to Judge

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.”
Revelation‬ ‭20:4-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever been wronged by someone? Perhaps you have been badly or racially mistreated? Accused of something you hadn’t done? Our abilities to put the record straight can be limited in our societies, but sadly, many people, and particularly Christians, are persecuted for their beliefs, and without redress. And many have died because they have refused to renounce their faith in God. We read in the verse today, that when Christ’s rule for a thousand years commences, He will be joined by those resurrected martyrs who have suffered and died “for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God”. Their reward is that they will be resurrected and reign “with Christ for a thousand years“. And we’re told that they will be joined by all those who have refused to worship the beast and be branded with his mark. 

But who will these resurrected people be judging? During the millennium period, there will be a different type of society. No democracy any more. This will be a theocracy, ruled by Jesus, the Son of God, and righteousness, not sin, will prevail. And Jesus will delegate to His faithful servants the authority to judge all those who, through their sin, upset the theocratic societal order. We discovered in the last blog that, although the devil was consigned to the bottomless pit, sin and wickedness would still prevail. No joy then for the sinners. They will be judged by the very people that they wronged.

But what about those Christians who were not beheaded for their faith? The Apostle Paul wrote about this eventuality in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever“. This was the event many have referred to as the rapture. 

John was informed that this was the first resurrection, as described by Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians. Notice that for us pilgrims, there is no fear of the first resurrection. Some ask about what sort of body we will have after the first resurrection. Paul write in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” We also get a few clues from the sort of body that Jesus had after His resurrection. His new body was recognisable, but it also had some amazing qualities. 

John is told in his vision that those resurrected at the first resurrection will be blessed and holy. No more corruption. No more sin. No more sickness. No more death. But there is a second resurrection coming at the end of the millennium, when the rest of the dead, the unbelievers, will rise. This will not be a good place to be for those who have rejected the grace of God, but more of this later. So we pilgrims look forward to the day when we will enter into eternal life. The detail of this isn’t totally clear from Scripture, but through faith and our belief in God, we are assured of our future. 

Dear Father God. As we peer into the future, and dimly see Your grace and provision coming into fruition, we once again declare our love for You, grateful for Your grace. We worship You today. Amen.