..............................................................................................................................................
The Day After His Return
.
That day is the day of the Rapture — the day
Jesus Christ returns in the clouds to gather His Church to Himself before the
beginning of the seven-year Tribulation on earth. Those who participate in
the Rapture will rejoice as they see their Savior face to face for the first
time - but those who are left behind will know only devastation
Turning Point
Dr. David Jeremiah
One of the most popular children’s books ever written is by
Judith Viorst: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good,
Very Bad Day (Atheneum, 1972).
Alexander is a red-headed tyke whose day starts like this: “I
went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I
got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I
dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it
was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
But there’s a day coming in the future that will be much worse.
In fact, it will be the saddest day in human history.
Once it happens, history will move at a prophetic pace to the
conclusion of God’s plan for the world.
This day will not only be the saddest day in history, it will be
the happiest day as well.
This single day in the future will divide the whole human race
into two groups: saved and unsaved.
That day is the day of the Rapture — the day
Jesus Christ returns in the clouds to gather His Church to Himself before the
beginning of the seven-year Tribulation on earth.
Those who participate in the Rapture will rejoice as they see
their Savior face to face for the first time.
But those who are left behind will know only devastation.
The word “regret” captures something important about that day.
Alexander, the little guy whose day got off to a bad start, was
not having a “regretful” day.
His day was “bad” because of a chain of events that were simply
frustrating. But it wasn’t a regretful day
To feel regret is to know you didn’t do something you should
have done.
And even worse is the realization that it’s too late to make
things right.
For Christians, it is a reminder that we need to be about our
Father’s business while there is still time.
The people left behind on the day of the Rapture will feel
regret because they failed to listen to the words of Scripture warning of the
coming of that day.
I will follow Jesus’ lead and make no predictions about when
end-time events will be set in motion (Matthew 24:36).
But following Jesus’ lead again, I will say confidently that the
day is coming (Matthew 24:1-35).
What we do between today and that day will determine our actions
on the day after He returns.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul wrote to comfort the believers
in Thessalonica — giving much-needed hope and encouragement to those who were
longing for Christ’s appearing.
They had been taught that Christ was going to return to earth
for His Church, but they also knew that some of their Christian friends and
relatives had died and would not be alive when Christ returned.
Paul explained that Christ would return for all believers — both
the living and the dead: “And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (verses
16b-17).
It’s the day after that day that you do not want to be found on
planet earth.
Evil will gain the upper hand on earth through the Antichrist — the
man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3).
For seven years, it will be hell on earth.
Because the day is unknown, we must live in a state of
preparedness. Preparation is the proof of anticipation.
.
As we eagerly wait and watch for that day (1 Corinthians 1:7), we should live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11), pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and persevere (Revelation 3:11-12).
.
As we eagerly wait and watch for that day (1 Corinthians 1:7), we should live holy and godly lives (2 Peter 3:11), pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and persevere (Revelation 3:11-12).
Perhaps most of all, we should prayerfully reach out to share
the Gospel with those who are not ready for that day.
Will you be full of rejoicing on the day Jesus appears for His
Church?
Don’t live one day in regret. Commit your heart to Him as Lord
and Savior today!
Dr.
Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God, and serves as Senior
Pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California.
For more
information about Turning Point, go to www.DavidJeremiah.org
No comments:
Post a Comment