As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Pastor Kevin Schaal wrote recently to address the question of whether recent events—and our times in general—signal Christ’s return to end human history. I agree with his conclusion on that question.
I want to respond to his introduction, though.
“The End is not here yet. But as every contraction—whether false or real—reminds the young couple that a baby is coming, so the events described by Jesus Christ remind us that He is returning, and maybe very soon.” - P&D
Read Part 1.
Did you know that there will certainly be a future end-time spiritual revival upon this Earth? Jesus prophesied in Matt. 24:14, stating:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
What will that look like during the days of the tribulation? Who will be the personalities that will be involved?
It is indeed one of the great untold stories in all of the Bible—to say nothing of the prophetic future.
Did you know that a great end-time revival is promised in Holy Scripture, and that its impact will be such that it will push any previous so-called revivals or awakenings into the shadows forever?
Or perhaps better—the imminence of death as related to prophecy.
The Imminence of Death—note that I didn’t say The Death of Imminence—though some want to quash the latter. Death isn’t a nice subject. Yet it’s one which demands our attention. Barring the Lord’s return for His church—in whatever context we think that will be—we’ll all have to cross the Great River of Death at some point.
In our culture, it’s become the proverbial fifth wheel of holidays.
Really, we don’t even celebrate it anymore. It used to be that we would pause for much of the day—to feast, spend time with our families and, yes, to watch football … but, most importantly, to worship and give thanks.
Read Part 1
It will be here before we know it! December 25th, that is….
But long before that big day, we’ll sense the sights, the sounds and smells.
Christmas, in fact, permeates our culture so thoroughly that it almost mingles together with all things related to fall—the cooler weather, a warm sweater, the desire to stay inside, football on television, a hot cup of cocoa, and the crackling of the fireplace.
If you work in a retail environment, you’ve already seen them—maybe as early as July, but certainly in August. Yes, you’ve seen the signs!
I am referring, of course, to the signs of Christmas.1 They’re all around you by now.
“A ‘Rapture Index’ — on which any reading above 160 means ‘Fasten your seatbelts’ — was raised this week to 187, close to its record high of 189 in 2016.” - RNS
“It’s those with long experience who are in a position to “keep calm and carry on”—to focus on executing the fundamentals when it looks like the other team is just going to run up the score. To be the tortoise rather than the hare.” - Olinger
Discussion