THE FEAR OF THE END (MARANATHA IV)

“Therefore comfort one another with these words.” –1Th 4:18

There’re two main reasons the early believers greeted one another with “MARANATHA”. The first is as an admonition to live godly lives in this evil world. Phi 4:5  says, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. and Rev 3:11 says, Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown.

The second reason is as an encouragement to each other.

Unfortunately, this second aspect of the Rapture is all but lost in today’s Church. The subject of the “Rapture” is taught with fear and threatening. Christians are told Jesus would leave them behind, and the message is then buttressed with extra-biblical ‘testimonies’ of people who claimed they saw visions of so-and-so Man of God in Hell, etc.

But the End-of-Days is meant to inspire hope, not dread. In the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was something the covenant nation of Israel looked forward to. When the prophets spoke of the last days, it was to encourage them that a time of national glory lay ahead.

The same is true of the New Testament authors. Indeed, the book of Revelations, the same book that many Christians are scared to open, was primarily written to encourage the believers in Asia minor who were undergoing sever persecution.

If the end of the world is being seen as bad news by both believers and unbelievers alike, what then is the hope of our salvation?

Our Lord, speaking on the Mount of Olives about the signs of the end times, said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near.”

In 1 Thessalonians, the most eschatological of Paul’s letters, he says, TWICE, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Th 4:18 and 1Th 5:11). Those “words” were prophecies about the rapture and the end times. In fact, he adds, as though understanding the hearts of modern-day believers, that “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”.

If over 2 decades of Left Behind teaching has taught us anything, it is that scare tactics does not produce lasting holiness. Biblical salvation is what qualifies for the Rapture. If a pastor spends his time grounding his congregation in that, then the Last Day would be something they would look forward to – along with the rest of the believers worldwide.

MARANATHA

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN