God is . . . Soon Coming King

Jesus is coming back to reign as King over the whole earth.  Of that there’s no doubt. But when?  That’s the question. In truth, people have been looking for His return since the days of the apostles. But God doesn’t measure time the way we do.  To Him “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.” Still, the expectation of His coming peppers history. Dates have even been set, 1988 being one of them; a foolish exercise since Jesus said no one knows the day or hour.  But He did say we can know the very season in which to anticipate Him, and this by observing the signs of the times. He actually expects us to watch for these signs, and by extension, watch for His return. 

And what are these signs?  Countless books have been written on the subject, several of which sit on my bookshelf. One blog could never do the matter justice. But one blog is enough to say how alarmed I am about the number of signs I’m seeing, and the rapidity in which they are coming to pass. Based on that, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are the generation that will see the return of Christ.

Let’s examine a few of these signs. The first and most notable is the formation of Israel as a nation (1948).  The second is the unification of Jerusalem under Jewish rule (1967).  The next is the return of the Jews to their homeland which began occurring in great numbers in the 80s. The reader should begin to see a pattern here, and understand that Israel is the key to end-time Bible prophecy.

But there are plenty of other signs, too, if we care to look: an increase of earthquakes, famine, pestilences, plagues, wars and rumors of wars. True, these things are nothing new, but the operative word here is “increase”.  All these things will come upon us in wave after wave, increasing in both number and intensity. Think Hurricane Katrina; Haiti, Chile.  Think HIV and swine flu. Think the recent economic meltdown. Think “war on terror”, and think nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue states and dictators.

And then there’s this:  The Bible predicts the formation of a one world government, a one world monetary system, and the rise of a world dictator, all yet to come, but all in the works even as I write this. China, Russia, and numerous other countries are already talking about “dumping the dollar”, and even the UN is plugging for a new world currency.  Henry Kissinger, himself, the former Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford, said the New World Order was but a few years away. 

Now couple this with the mood around the world. The world is changing at an alarming rate. People are weary of the economic crisis and the discord among nations.  They’re suspicious of their own politicians.  In short, they’re ripe for change. Now add a few horrific natural disasters, some famines, escalation of global war and violence, and I don’t think it’s illogical to assume that these would make fertile ground out of which a world dictator could spring, one who promises a better life, a better world, but in the end will enslave it and allow no man to buy or sell without his mark (Revelation 13:16-18)—the famous 666—which, by the way, could be the prefix of a computer chip implant. The Bible calls this man the Antichrist.

I don’t know if it will happen in my lifetime. But I do know this, the return of Christ for believers will be a joyful day.  For unbelievers, it’s called the “great and terrible day of the Lord.”  Which side of the camp do you fall in? Joshua, the Israelite who led his people into the promise land, said to them (Joshua 24:15 KJV) “choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will server the LORD.”  I think this is the most important question we can ask ourselves today, because it just might be later than we think. 

Until next time,

Sylvia