Well, we’ve had one of our periodic rapture alerts. If you’re reading this either the guy was a false prophet or you and I have big problems.
We’re still here.
Of course, those who know the Bible know that when someone sets a date, he’s off base. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father,” Jesus said. (Matt. 24:36, NIV). The guy in California thought he knew and a few thousand silly souls believed him.
Of course secular media had a field day mocking these people and by extension some of them also mocked the idea of the coming of the Lord, unfairly heaving everyone who believes this truth into the same basket with the loonies.
Atheists, in South Carolina I think, were planning an “after-rapture” party. I know God doesn’t need my help, but I would have liked to have sent a ten point on the Richter scale earthquake—with no lives lost and no damage—to chatter their teeth and wipe the smirk off their self-satisfied faces.
Do you wonder that God doesn’t let me be in control of these things? He loves those smirky faces and wants them to have eternal life. Matter of fact, they’re part of the reason he hasn’t come yet.
Scoffers aren’t anything new. They had already popped up like yapping daisies on the first-century landscape.
“First off, you need to know that in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they’ll mock, ‘So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.’ (2 Pet. 3:3, 4, The Message).
And Peter tells us why He hasn’t come back yet:
“God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. But, when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief.” (2 Pet. 3:9, 10, The Message)
He’s waiting so that others can know Him. Okay, hold off on the earthquake Lord.
The bogus rapture was supposed to take place at 6 p.m. last Saturday evening. I knew it wasn’t true, but as 6 p.m. approached I began to think, “What would I want to be doing when the Lord comes back?”
I began to praise Him and think about the coming of the Lord. And He came! Oh, I know He didn’t come back for the Church yet, but He came to me in a special way as I was desiring to see Him.
If someone tells you that he knows when the Lord is coming back, just chalk him up as a nutcase or a manipulator.
But, if someone tells you that Jesus is coming back, believe him. We don’t know when or even if it will be in our lifetime, but God wants us to live each day with an eye towards His coming.
And … I know but … wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the Lord had come Saturday?
Hmmm…
“…change is difficult. It is doubly hard when you are half-hearted or not fully committed. But when you are playing full out, you accelerate the rate of change and open up the possibility of real transformation.” Michael Hyatt