Reawakening to the Return of Christ
1. We Are Living in the End Times
Mark 13:3-13 — As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
We are living in the end times. The signs are all around us.
There will be false christs and false prophets. Throughout history there have been many false christs and prophets. People who claimed to be Christ returned. People prophesying the exact date and manner of His return. Groups and cults following human leaders, placing their hope and seeking their salvation in these leaders. “Watch out for false prophets … By their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt 7:15-20). Jesus calls us to look closely, carefully, and critically at their teachings, character, conduct, motives and influence. Their teachings deceive people and are not biblical. They do not show the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They do not live the kingdom life. They love only themselves and those who love them. They create conflicts, disunity, and hurt. They are not peacemakers.
Wars and rumors of war (v. 7) — Not a day goes by that somewhere on earth there is not a war or a conflict going on. Rumors of war abound all the time. Do I need to say more? The same with natural disasters, earthquakes, hunger, and poverty (v. 8). Add to this epidemics and pandemics. Persecution has been ongoing since the early church. In January 2015, the Open Doors Organization announced that the persecution of Christians around the world has reached historic levels for the modern era. Since then events indicate that it will continue to worsen.
One sign is that the gospel must be preached to all nations (v.10). The good news is that this is happening. Bit by bit, step by step, more and more people groups are being reached with the gospel.
Another sign is the destruction of the family unit. In America alone, 60% of families are broken. We experience daily the trends, values, and practices that change the ways marriage and family are viewed; views that counter and destroy God’s plan and intentions for the family. So, we are living in the end times. Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God is coming back.
2. Jesus Christ Is Returning
His return is imminent. It is near. “Look, I am coming soon!” (Rev 22:7). Again in verse 12, “Look, I am coming soon!” And again, in verse 20, “Yes, I am coming soon.” His return will be personal — “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
His return will be visible. “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Mt 24:30-31). He will come in his full glory and with all his power, and all the nations and all the peoples, all the inhabitants on the face of the earth will experience his coming.
Christ is coming as the just and true judge. The world is full of injustice. But on this day our Lord is coming and final justice is coming with Him. There will be no more oppression, no more inequality, no more wrong—sin will be no more because Jesus will reign. He is coming to bring everything under his control. When we see the signs around us, we must not fear. We must not lose hope. Instead, we should stand up, and be filled with joy because we know that God’s reign of justice and peace is very near. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Phil 4:4-5). We don’t know when, but we know it’s near. But herein lies the problem. The Lord seems to be taking a long time in coming back. Already more than 2,000 years passed and we are still waiting. Because of this several things can happen.
We could become complacent about the Lord’s return. We become comfortable with the idea that our Lord may not come soon, “Well, at least not in my lifetime.” We think His return is not imminent because such and such a sign or event has not yet been fulfilled. We try to estimate the timing of his return, and so we forget that Jesus told us that no one except the Father knows the time.
Or we could become tired of waiting. We begin to wonder if He is coming back at all. It is hard to remain busy with the Lord’s work. It is difficult to live a kingdom lifestyle in this world. So we begin to take it easy and gradually we conform to the world. Our priorities shift. Instead of seeking the kingdom first and storing up a treasure in heaven, we now begin to look out for our own affairs. We stop loving. We stop serving. We stop making disciples. We are not looking out for the Lord’s affairs.
Or we could become so focused on and preoccupied with trying to explain the when, what, and how of His return. We become obsessed with explaining the signs, symbols, numbers, and visions. We try to link these with world events, with world figures. Verses are taken out of context. People speculate because they don’t know. And so we end up with all kinds of bizarre interpretations, predictions, and declarations regarding the end times.
Jesus told us these are the signs. They are not there to tell us when but that He is returning. That day will come like a thief in the night. It will close on us suddenly like a trap. Only the Lord knows. The truth, the reality is, He is coming back any moment, any day, any year. He is coming!
3. Watch Out, Be Ready! — How Will He Find Us?
And when He comes how will He find us? Jesus told us to watch out, be alert, be ready. Luke 12:35-40 — “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
In the same way, we must also be ready all the time because He may return anytime. Let us focus on being ready for his return because the main question is, how will he find us when he returns? Will we be ready to receive him? Or will we be sleeping?
Then Jesus went on, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. (Lk 12:41-48)
When Jesus left He gave us a very clear mission. We must continue his ministry of proclaiming and showing God’s kingdom to the world. As his followers, we are called to love Jesus deeply and care for people faithfully. He gave us the Great Commandment of love. He gave us the Great Commission to make disciples of all peoples. He gave us a mission — to represent His Kingdom in this world by living a kingdom lifestyle. To be his witnesses; to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
How will He find us when He returns? Busy with his kingdom work? We are called to be always ready. We are called to be faithful stewards of the mission He gave us because our Lord is returning! When the world seems to be falling apart we should not give up and lose hope. He is our Blessed Hope, and His return should propel us to a holy life of love and service. So, what should we do while we wait for his return — Be watchful. Be ready. Be faithful.
Stay awake — Jesus calls us to ceaseless vigilance and alertness. Our lives naturally go forward with ordinary pursuits, responsibilities, and activities. While these things are good and necessary, day-to-day life should never overshadow the expectancy of His return. Our hope is in Jesus not in the things of this world.
Be ready — We must make the necessary preparations for Jesus’ return. We are called to take All of Jesus to All the World seriously. Let us be doing His will and building His Kingdom as we ready ourselves for His return.
Keep trusting — Only the Father knows the time of Jesus’ return. Rest in the goodness of God. Trust Him for what He has chosen to keep hidden. Our Heavenly Father loves us and reveals what we need to know. Trust Him with what is unknown.
4. He Is Coming as the Majestic King and Lord
And when our Lord comes back He is coming as the majestic King and Lord. This time He is not coming as a baby. He will not be riding on a donkey. This time our Lord Jesus comes as the victorious one, in his full glory, and with all his power. Heaven’s armies follow Him, and all of earth’s nations fall at His Word. It will be an awesome, glorious, fearful appearance because he will appear as who He is — the Lord and Creator of the Universe. He will come in his full glory as King of kings, Lord of lords, and not even our best imaginations can foretell, predict, or describe what and how that will be.
Do we really believe that Jesus’ return is imminent? Are we ready? Do we live our lives with the awareness that at any moment, He can come? Are we utilizing the time we have every day to honor and fulfill His mission and do His kingdom work? Or are we going to regret how we chose to spend our time and live our lives when we stand face-to-face with Him?
As the signs of the end times are happening all around us — Do not fear. Do not be anxious. Do not worry. Do not give in. Do not give up. Keep living the kingdom life. Keep doing His kingdom work. Keep loving. Be ready all the time. Keep watching. Keep hoping. Keep praying. We are a Jesus-loving, Jesus-worshiping, Jesus-preaching, Jesus-serving people. Let us keep our eyes and focus on Him. He is coming back. Let us reawaken to the return of Jesus Christ.