Jesus Is Coming Soon!
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Jesus is coming soon! There is both joy and urgency in this message from the Lord. We look forward with great joy to seeing Him in all of His glory. But at the same time, there is so much the Father wants to do through us before Jesus comes again!
The Announcement
Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:12-17 NIV
White Robes
Jesus is coming again as judge and with rewards for those who have followed Him in this life. Our own striving to please God and others will not wash our robes and make us ready for His return.
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13-14 NKJV
Only our faith in Jesus can make us clean and ready for His return. It is His righteous Blood at work in us, His Bride, that clothes us in clean robes so His Spirit can love others through us! Hallelujah!
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 19:7-8 NKJV
Our old way of living was selfish and self-centered. If we strive to receive credit for the good that we do, that’s when we know our hearts have a problem and our robes are soiled. We’re working by our own power, not by the Spirit. But our new way of living is by drinking of the Holy Spirit of grace through relationship with God. We are filled with grace to give grace away to others! Our works are now empowered by the grace of God, not by our prideful attempts to keep God’s laws. Galatians 5:13-26
Come!
The Holy Spirit is offering the free gift of the water of life now so that we can be alive by the Spirit when Jesus comes back for us! If we still live in fear and shame, we have to come back to the Gospel of Jesus– the foundation of our faith. The guilt of the whole world has been atoned for and those who believe in Jesus are guilt-free. Because of our faith in Him, God will never punish us!
We are no longer in the realm of sin and death, but in the realm of life by the Holy Spirit. He is our source of living water and there is no longer any reason to be afraid or to feel ashamed. He has washed us clean, and by God’s extravagant gift of grace we have everything we need in this life to live victoriously. Jesus wants us to come to Him every day and drink of Him– to be transformed by Him daily. Because we know Him and trust in His grace, we can say with confidence, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Coming Soon?
Jesus said He was coming back soon, over 2,000 years ago, but hasn’t come yet. How can this be?
Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 2 Peter 3:8 AMP
God has always been and will always be. He created time when He created the universe. The Lord is the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End. He operates outside of time, but understands time better than we do. Jesus knows that our lives on this earth are short and we can’t waste a single day. There is so much to be done for the Kingdom and He has chosen us to work through. Only God knows when our last day on this earth will be. And when our body dies, Jesus will come to meet us and take us into Heaven!
Our Time is Short
Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord— for we live by faith, not by sight. Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 NET
Whether we live to be 120 or pass on at a young age, we can say that Jesus is coming one day to take us Home. We can rejoice in Him and fulfill His purpose for our lives while we still have the opportunity. And if He comes on the clouds while we’re still living on earth, we will see Him in all of His glory!
Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! Revelation 1:7 NLT
The Rapture
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NASB
The Word of God is quite clear about Jesus coming back for His Church. It is also clear that in the end times there will be seven years of great tribulation. At some point in time, believers will rise to meet Jesus in the air while others will be left behind. This is commonly called “the rapture” and it will take everyone by surprise.
Surprise!
Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Matthew 24:40-44 NLT
It is not clear whether the rapture will take place before, during or after the great tribulation. Many scholars have debated on this subject. I prefer to believe the Word left this part of the timeline unclear for a reason. What we can be certain of is that Jesus is coming for God’s children. It will be sudden and it will be soon. The Lord wants us to be ready when He comes for us and there is no time to waste.
The Prize
After His return, everyone will be judged according to their faith in His grace. If we pour out grace on others as He did for us we will have nothing to fear. We can eagerly look forward to seeing Jesus face to face! If we haven’t, we can ask for forgiveness and start living by His Spirit.
The Lord wants us close to His heart. He is filled with love for us! With the time we have left, the Spirit will transform our hearts making us more like Jesus every day. Accept God’s grace and peace for yourself and you will have grace and peace to give to others. Jesus loves us above and beyond what we can ever imagine and His Blood has made us clean! So rejoice in His extravagant grace and get to know Him personally before He comes back! Jesus is coming soon!
And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:8 NLT
