Mike Focht 2/23/2024
To say that the Bible speaks of Christ’s second coming is something of an understatement. The Old and New Testaments systematically disclose the future workings of our Lord on several different levels, and even though the specifics may be somewhat up for debate, the reality of end-times truth is sure. Christ is coming again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Of that fact, Christians have no doubt.
My concern relates more to a disturbing trend of Christians unwittingly succumbing to Satan’s tactic of luring us to settle for something less than the Scriptures reveal and call for. With the progress of time and the continued fulfillment of prophecy, a proliferation of end-times doctrine has also emerged. The fact of that is neither here nor there. What is disturbing is that our present rise of end-times doctrine has also ushered in a version of prophetic voyeurism.
On one side of the coin, many Christians relish any scrape of prophetic information they can uncover. They love diving into difficult passages for “secret” Bible messages, they are quick to battle any view of Christ’s second coming that doesn’t follow their preferred timeline, and their eyes are darting to and fro, ever watchful for the anti-christ or Satan’s next possible candidate.
The problem with this untrained zeal is obvious. It doesn’t work in the hearts of individuals what the Biblical reality of end times truth calls for. Invariably, the fruit growing from this prophetic zeal is somewhat tainted.
Having end-times doctrine does not mean that we personally possess end-times hope—and that is what the Bible seems to concern itself with regarding a prophetic understanding on this side of Christ’s return. I fully agree that our doctrine directly influences our hope, but like the Pharisees of old, we can still have one without the other.
Numerous Scriptures could be marshaled to witness the purifying truth of the Christian’s end-times hope, but I will mention just one. Paul spoke to Titus, saying: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
To keep our hearts from this blessed hope and our eyes from looking up, Satan has tempted most of us to do one of two things. Either, he makes us so happy and comfortable with this world that we cannot imagine a better one, and therefore, prophecy becomes a fearful warning trumpet that we try to ignore lest we tremble too obviously. Thus, we slowly become worldly and carnal.
Or, Satan causes us to be so caught up in the needed but insufficient details of end-times scheduling that we forget the necessary and life-giving hope of end-times reality! We must not allow ourselves to become more emotionally invested in uncovering prophetic clues than in having the living Christ revealed to our hearts through His Spirit.
A proper understanding—or reception—of prophetic truth will build hope into our hearts, not mere informational certainty. We must never allow the one to overcome the other. We can become so busy studying and discussing systems of doctrine that we forget the unsaved world is supposed to look at us and believe that we believe heaven is on its way to us! Do we live like we are soon leaving this passing world for an eternal kingdom where we are priests and priestesses or princes and princesses?
We need that type of hope! And so does the dark world that we live in.
The truths of a new kingdom and our Eternal King should so shape our hearts that we find them naturally crying for Jesus’ reign. Why else would Christ encourage most of His church—that would never live to see the rapture or second coming in person—to pray, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Is it not because He expects our hearts to be filled with hope even though we perish before seeing Him with our physical eyes?
We need that type of hope!
Finally, how many of us are truly ready to meet Jesus? I am not asking if we are prepared to go to heaven. We are ready to go to heaven and escape the pain of this sin-riddled world. Are you personally ready to meet your Savior face to face? Am I? Do our hearts honestly cry, Even so, come Lord Jesus?
We need that type of hope!
May our hearts never be enticed and delighted by the facts and movements around Christ’s coming more than they are yearning and hoping to see Christ Himself! If we have wrongly understood the prophetic truth of the Word of God, Satan has won a great battle. The enemy will do anything to sequester our hearts from the hope Christ would instill in His sons and daughters as we make our way toward eternity in our Father’s house.
Satan knows that there is great power and blessing when we begin to understand the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory! May our faith, love, and hope grow proportionately to our understanding of divine truth.
I want to encourage those who readily admit their acute lack of this divine hope. If you feel helpless in your search for a deeper comprehension of Christ’s second coming and the realities that truth should instill, then take heart, for God has not left our wandering hearts without a Guide. There is One; He is with you even now, and He will not leave you orphaned in this passing world. Christ has promised that He will be your Teacher and your Guide.
Please, find a solitary place, get on your knees, and pray that the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.