On That Day

On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and on the earth the kings of the earth, They will be gathered together like prisoners in a pit: they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. ~Isaiah 24:21-22

The word of God is, at the same time, unendingly complex and elegantly simple (for more on that see our post Elegantly and Beautifully Simple). There are some questions that will only be fully answered when we meet Jesus face to face and some truths that are undeniably crystal clear. Christ's coming to judge and to rule fits nicely into both of these categories.

A person could study the theology, doctrine, and even wild imaginings of the end times for an entire lifetime and still not have an accurate and clear understanding of what exactly will happen before it actually does. In fact, you should be wary of any teacher that claims to know for certain exactly how the events of the end times will play out. While this is an important area of study that informs our understanding of God and of His ultimate plan, it is a subject that demands humility on the part of the student and, on this topic, there is but one teacher and that is Jesus Himself.

Isaiah, who told us clearly about Jesus' first coming as savior over 700 years before it occurred, also tells us about our Lord's second coming and of eternity (Isaiah 49:1-57:21). In Matthew 24-25, Jesus Himself teaches us about His return and of the final judgment. If the topic of how the end times will occur is unendingly complex within scripture, the fact that it will occur is elegantly simple and clear beyond any doubt.

Regardless of when and where you might think the battle of Armageddon will occur, who you imagine the antichrist will be (or is), or when you estimate that the rapture will happen - the fact remains that our time here on this earth is short. Whether we are here when the Lord returns or whether he calls us home first, the fact remains that every person will one day stand before the Lord and will answer for every careless word they ever spoke (Matthew 12:36). We tend to overlook this fact as we go about our daily routines distracted by life's many pleasures and trials.

Take some time today to prayerfully reflect on your life and on that moment when you will stand before God. Take some time also to imagine a person that you know who doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus and what that moment will be like for them.

The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ~Revelation 22:20

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/electropod/3167236184/)