Here’s the Truth
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered to Him
My wife and I attended a friend’s Church one Saturday evening to hear a guest Evangelist. I had never heard of the man. He started this way:
“How many of you here, tonight, are waiting for the Lord’s return?”
Most of the hands in the ‘audience’ were raised.
“How many of you are excited that He could come back at any time?”
Many hands were raised. There was clapping and shouting.
“How many of you are watching for Him and longing for that day?”
A loud cheer went up and, I thought, pandemonium would break out.
As soon as the cheering subsided, the grin on the Evangelist’s face faded and he became serious.
“Well”, he paused for a long few seconds.
Then he raised his voice and almost shouted, “JUST STOP IT!!!
“When Jesus ascended to heaven He gave us specific instructions. Standing staring up into heaven or waiting idly for Him to come back or spending much of our time in meetings to learn about His return WERE NOT AMONG THEM.
“He told us to Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And this includes you neighbors, friends and family.
“He said He will be back and He will be back when He gets back. Until then we have a lot of work to do and we need to be about doing His Work until He returns.”
It was suddenly very quiet in the auditorium. The Evangelist continued. I heard him. But, I remembered what I have just told.
If you aren’t DOING what you say you know,
then your knowledge is
just useless information.
There is great interest in knowing about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him. But it seems like we, His disciples (Christians) are more interested in ‘knowing’ than in ‘doing’. When, actually, the two (knowing and doing) are linked. Because if you aren’t DOING what you say you know, then your knowledge is just useless information.
And Jesus warns us about this when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
So, let’s try to take care of this matter. Let’s see what the Bible tells and so we can be assured and we can get on with DOING what we need to DO.
2 Thessalonians 2:1
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him,
“We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
(CLUE #1)
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion the apostasy) occurs and
(CLUE #2)
the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
(CLUE #3)
11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence (powerful delusion) so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
Deluding: Strong’s Concordance #4106: πλάνη plane plan’-ay from 4108 (as abstractly); n f; TDNT-6:228,857; {See TDNT 635 } AV-error 7, to deceive 1, deceit 1, delusion 1; 10
1) a wandering, a straying about
1a) one led astray from the right way, roams hither and thither
2a) mental straying
2a1) error, wrong opinion relative to morals or religion
2b) error which shows itself in action, a wrong mode of acting
2c) error, that which leads into error, deceit or fraud
Influence: Strong’s #1753 ἐνέργεια energeia en-erg’-i-ah from 1756; n f; TDNT-2:652,251; {See TDNT 254 }
AV-working 4, effectual working 2, operation 1, strong 1; 8
1) working, efficiency
1a) in the NT used only of superhuman power, whether of God or of the Devil
Further Clues
Matthew 24:7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. (See 2 Thessalonians, above here)
11 “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12 “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.
13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14 “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (CLUE #4 – That is, verse 14 and all those referenced verses above will happen – and then the end will come.)
15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
31 “And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
OK. Now that, THAT is taken care of, does that change anything in our day?
Mine neither.
So, let’s just go and DO what Jesus told us to DO until He returns.
- Today, I’ll go preach and teach the Gospel as God provides.
- Today, I will lay hands on the sick as God provides.
- Today, I will baptize someone, as God provides.
- I will clothe the naked, feed the hungry and take care of widows and orphans as God directs, today.
- I will seek the lost and with God’s help, make disciples, today.
Will you join me?
Please?
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Whitestone Fellowship 