Closer Than We Think...

Like Amos, “I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet” but even without the inspiration of a prophet, some things in scripture can be readily seen and contemplated.

In the first half of this month, Pfizer, a large pharmaceutical firm announced an efficacy rate of 90% in preventing Covid-19 regarding its vaccine. Today, Moderna, another huge pharmaceutical company announced they had developed a Covid-19 vaccine that is 94.5% effective in preventing the disease. It is estimated that these vaccines, as well as others, will be available as early as the 1st quarter of 2021. This is great news!

Though I have long deserted Premillennialism because of its many contradictions with Scripture and the fallacy of its major premise; that Jesus failed to set up the Kingdom of God in the first century, I am aware that many of this persuasion still hold the nation of Israel in high esteem and believe the 2nd coming of Christ is tied to that nation. Recently, there have been several peace accords signed by Middle East Nations regarding Israel.

What’s my point?

Paul’s letters to the church at Thessalonica are filled with information regarding the 2nd coming of Christ. Though I do not believe any man knows or can predict the day of Christ’s return, I do believe there are hints regarding the mood and temper of the days when Christ shall return.

Paul said, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” I Thessalonians 5:1-3.

Jesus said, “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39.

I do not know if the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic falls within the permissive will of God or the intended will of God. Perhaps the pandemic is a last call from the Lord to get our attention and call the world to repentance. Perhaps it is designed by the Lord to punctuate our frail mortality and our desperate need for God in maintaining our physical lives. Perhaps God allowed it to accomplish similar ends or an end we cannot understand. Perhaps it’s just a worldwide pandemic... it has happened before. I don’t know, but I do know the creator of the universe can never do anything wrong. He does not lie, He does not sin, He does not tempt anyone to sin… on the contrary, He always provides a way of escape from temptation, I Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2; James 1:13.

Just a thought… just a possibility… something to think about. What if the 2nd coming of Christ is about to happen? When Pfizer and Moderna have their vaccines approved and they are made available to the world, I’m sure many, if not most, will revel in our medical brilliance and think, “Peace and Safety.” Actually, it would not surprise me to see that very saying is plastered on CNN or Fox News. Surely there will be eating and drinking as restaurants and bars fill up again with celebrations of “Back to normal!” The wedding industry that has practically shut down for the last year will boom again as brides and grooms resume their wedding day plans for their large assemblies they were denied by the pandemic.

Daniel was told, "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." Daniel 12:4.

The airports will fill up again as families reunite from months of separation and seasonal celebrations denied. We will run to and fro like never before.

We, with our vastly increased knowledge of the last century… we... man, who have set foot on the moon, have again conquered… WE are the masters of our fate… WE have conquered Covid-19 by our knowledge!

“…they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage…”

“…For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them,…”

“…many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase…”

Disregarding the fictitious Premillennial view of the 2nd coming of Christ, there is nothing stopping the Parousia. The Dome of Rock does not have to be destroyed and a new temple built in Jerusalem, there will be no literal 7 year tribulation period, no rapture of the church before that tribulation, no literal “Mark of the Beast,…” there will simply be a shout… the voice of the Archangel… the trump of God, I Thessalonians 4:16. All that are in the graves, both good and evil will come forth in the same hour, John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2. Christians, who are alive at the coming of Christ will be changed (Physical immortality) and caught up to be with Christ along with the resurrected righteous dead, I Corinthians 15:50-55. Those who are not ready, the lost and the resurrected unrighteous dead will ride this old sinful world to its fiery demise, Matthew 24:40-42; II Peter 3:9-10. Then… then..., we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, II Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10; Matthew 25:31-46.

What if… What if… these things were about to happen? What if all that has been happening in the last year is, in fact, God leading us up to that final day? Someone may say, “No… that’s not going to happen… things are just going to go back to the way it was before… the way it’s always been.” Even that thought fulfills Scripture regarding the 2nd coming of Christ;

“…knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." II Peter 3:3-4.

We may be closer than you think… There WILL BE a LAST GENERATION.

What if Jesus does come in the first quarter of 2021? What if we are that last generation that hears the trumpet and the shout of the Archangel with fleshly ears? His coming is as sure as the character of a God who cannot lie... He is coming again!

The question is, are you ready?

We may be closer than you think.