What I’ve been thinking about lately
I’ve been thinking a lot about you over the past few months, as your brother and companion in this current age. One thing has really struck me as I have been thinking and praying: our lives, whether we know or feel it personally, are caught up in the biggest revolt of mankind to ever take place against our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You can see it everywhere you look. I don’t want to list all the events that illustrate this revolt; you know what I’m talking about. Instead, today, let’s talk about Jesus, and His glorious, victorious return.
Jesus is returning!
Jesus Christ is returning to earth! We know this in the back of our thinking, somewhere. And the return of Jesus Christ to earth is the greatest event to ever take place—EVER. It will be bigger than Noah’s flood, bigger than the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, and bigger, I dare to say, than everything that Jesus did during His time here on earth. This includes His miracles, His work on the cross, His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Why? Because all of Jesus’ work on earth points to this one event: His return!
How Paul described Jesus’ return
Paul describes Jesus’ return like this:
This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus [the wicked unbelievers]. They will be… shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10
Paul was very confident that the return of Jesus, His ‘second coming’, is factual and of prime importance to believers in Jesus. In fact, Paul felt that Jesus’ second coming is something to long for and to spend much time in prayer about.
The great silence
According to the statistics on the internet, about sixty to seventy million people will slide into eternity this year. And all this with barely a word being said by the big personalities on social media, or any major news service warning the rest of us, about the ‘second coming’ of Jesus and the global upheaval to follow. Even in our churches, where we would expect and hope to hear teaching that would prepare us for what is ahead, most pastors will teach one message or less per year on the subject.
How should we be living?
My friends, Jesus is coming with powerful angels in blazing fire! That does not fit in well with my Amazon subscription, reading Fox news, or watching my favorite sporting event or spy show. In light of this reality, then, how should we now be living? In fact, even more than that, where do we as believers need to fix our eyes and thoughts in the coming years? Where do our thoughts go when we think about the future?
The apostle Paul says this:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4
The focused life
Can we begin to bring our minds back in line with what God Almighty is thinking about? Do our thoughts about how the return of Jesus will demolish every man-made structure change our ideas about retirement? As we are being transformed into His likeness, will this affect how we think of others?
We Westerners think of life as revolving around our needs, pleasures, our feelings, possessions, and our comforts. But let’s go beyond that today. Let’s go beyond what we own or what we think we need and let’s take a fresh approach to our mind’s focus. Let’s even go past our political opinions, and instead talk about the wonders of Jesus and His ‘second coming’.
Those are my thoughts today. You remain in my prayers—please pray for us, as well!
—Tom Grossman, Sr.
Founder, Stop End-time Confusion
