Are You Ready for His Coming?
“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12).
That God’s blessing extended to Gentiles rather than Jews alone outraged the people gathered at the synagogue in Nazareth. From His birth to this day, Jesus has not been welcomed by the masses. According to Scripture, only six Jews—Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna—were looking forward to the Messiah’s coming, along with “some shepherds” who were told by angels of His arrival. The rest of Jewish society went on with their lives without realizing how near their Messiah’s arrival was.
There were only eight people in Noah’s ark. Most people, despite repeated warnings, were unprepared for the coming universal flood. The world today is just as unprepared for a greater judgment as it was for Noah’s flood, the Great Tribulation.
As a young boy, Jesus was remarkably precocious. Saying he was unlike anyone who had ever come before him is an understatement. When He was only 12 years old, the teachers of the Law at the temple were “amazed at His understanding, and his answers” (Luke 2:47). During His public ministry He confounded the scribes and Pharisees by teaching with authority. And still, most did not recognize him for who he was. Even Jesus’ disciples were unsure what to make of Him. Multiplying loaves and fish, calming a stormy sea, healing the deaf, lame, leprous, and blind, releasing the demon-possessed from bondage—these are just some of His works. It still took the Father in heaven revealing Himself for Peter to finally confess, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-17).
Meanwhile, although attracted by miracles of healing, the crowds largely remained unaware that Jesus was their prophesied Messiah. For His own reasons (proper timing), Jesus chose not to openly reveal this to them. More often than not, He told those He healed to follow the Law but not to tell anyone about Him. He also spoke in parables so that his full ministry would not be understood by everyone. From the moment He was born, Jesus was not widely accepted by the masses.
Only the six named people who were awaiting the Messiah’s coming, along with the “some shepherds” told by angels about his arrival, had “eyes to see and ears to hear” (Matthew 13:16).
Like then and now, only the sheep who recognize His voice hear and follow Him. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
What about today?
If the reception of His first coming was so sparse, what about now? Similar to society in Jesus’ day, people still tend to fall into three different categories:
1. Some simply do not know that Jesus is coming again. They do not know because nobody has told them about his return.
2. Others claim to know him but live as if He has no impact on their lives. They show complete apathy about His return.
3. However, for a minority, the promise of His return remains highly significant. Its hope fills their hearts and motivates their days. They wake up each morning hoping that He will come that very day. They observe the Lord’s Supper, remaining faithful to Paul’s admonition “until He comes.” (I Corinthians 11:26).
The greater judgment falls on those who, like in Noah’s day, know or choose not to know. They are willfully ignorant.
They live carefree lives, unaware that they dwell on the edge of eternity and that God’s wrath rests upon them (John 3:36). Living in spiritual darkness, they claim, “peace and safety,” unaware that “destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child” (I Thessalonians 5:3). Like most people during Noah’s time, they will be swept away when God’s wrath is poured out on the world. Many lukewarm, self-professed Christians fall into this category.
But throughout Church history, there has always been a silent minority that, like the biblical magi, seeks to follow the Messiah at any cost and cast their crowns at his feet. Let us be as like-minded and determined as Simeon, Anna, and the others mentioned earlier.
It is generally believed that the wise men learned about the coming Messiah from the Hebrew scriptures and the testimony of faithful Jews living in the pagan kingdom of Babylon. In that regard, they had the same prophetic Word found in the Old Testament—although we now possess the complete canon of both Old and New Testament prophecies. Moreover, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit living in us, illuminating God’s Word in our hearts.
The signs of the times that Christ is coming back are multiplying all around us and before our very eyes. Soon—perhaps very soon—He will burst from the eastern sky. We won’t have to follow a star as did the wisemen to find His humble birthplace; He will come in radiant glory to reign upon the earth.
Revelation 21:1-7, “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.”
Are you looking, are you longing for that day?
Alleluia!
Dr. Robert Bryant