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| How we deal with the process determines whether or not we are truly ready |
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:43-44)
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:11)
In order for us to prepare for the return of the King, we need to consider how He first came. From the Gospels, we discover that His first coming was a mission that initially targeted the Jews. He Himself made this point clear. The Gentile nations were not expecting the Christ and so they were not waiting for Him.
The Jewish people were the ones with the teaching concerning Moshiach who would come to liberate His people. The Jewish way of life was such that much focus was given to the coming of the Messiah and they waited for Him with an almost fanatical anticipation. A focal point in their religious activities was to prepare themselves for this. However, the manner in which He came was so radically different from what they prepared for that it immediately set off a competition between their minds and their hearts.
When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, “Surely this man is the Prophet we’ve been expecting.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others said, “But he can’t be! Will the Messiah come from Galilee? For the Scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David, in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born.” So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. (John 7:40-44)
There was a process that led to His first coming. All those who found it difficult to agree with the process, found themselves in conflict with the Person when He arrived. These seeds of disagreement in many people were in fact what built over time to a continuing isolation from Him until eventually it all culminated in a bizarre consent to His execution.
Now the same Christ is coming back again, this time as the Bridegroom to receive His bride to Himself. Here’s the real question. Is history going to repeat itself? In the recent past, even the most researched predictions concerning the time of His second coming have proved to be wrong in one way or another. The truth is that He is the God who hides Himself (Isaiah 45:15). It is His nature to test our hearts, not our analytical skills! Do not be deceived. Just as the process leading to His first coming was a test for the Jewish people, so will the process leading to His second coming be to us. Jesus is not just seeking the informed, He is seeking the transformed. That is one reason why the most widely accepted and popular views about His coming will likely continue proving wrong. His nature is such that He does not do things by public consensus. He does not act in order to merely satisfy our curiosity or appease our utopian expectations.
He is coming like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:12; 2 Peter 3:10). Only those who are awake and have learnt to carry the light even when surrounded by times of great darkness will be partakers of His return. They will recognize the process to its final stages. The analogy of a thief making entry in the cover of darkness is used here to help emphasize how secretive this mission will be. You’ll agree with me that such a strategy is not something you will find readily available in bookstores, vendor stalls, newspaper kiosks, distribution centers and shops everywhere. You will not find a secret like this shared openly in magazines, newsletters, and other publications worldwide, or in hundreds of thousands of articles like this one. If you do, then it cannot be considered a secret, because the objective would have been defeated.
A master truly focused on testing the hearts of his servants may give them general indications about his coming. But he will definitely not make the manner of his return obvious. As the first coming shows us, we may have all the correct doctrines on the manner in which He will come. But there may be a thousand different ways in which an omnipotent God can make a single text in the Bible become fulfilled! As long as we are on earth, we can only see in part and understand in part (1 Corinthians 13:12). This is why the best way to prepare is not by scouring the news for strange happenings and then holding these up as our special end-time indicators. It is not by plotting a countdown, checking off an eschatological diary, or keeping end-time maps, clocks and calendars.
The best way to prepare is by abiding in Him. It is learning to recognize Him now so that we can obey Him in the present. Again this takes a kind of humility which the pride of knowledge cannot tolerate. Consider for a moment the forerunner who was sent to prepare the way. This Baptist who came from the deserts, eating locusts and honey, dressed up in camel skin, looked more like a wild recluse than a true preacher - let alone a representative of Heaven. As Rick Joyner puts it, you could not have been able to accept either John or Jesus unless you had a revelation that went beyond appearances. This was a test. Those who rejected the Baptist eventually found themselves opposing the mission of Jesus, and the Kingdom He had come to introduce. Those who rejected the process leading to His first coming found His Person unacceptable when He arrived. At a time of gathering, they found themselves scattering.
All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. (Luke 7:29-30)
This explains how thieves, prostitutes and other outcasts begun getting into the Kingdom ahead of those who were experts in the law. They had recognized and accepted the process. They had not seen John as a wild religious caricature, but had understood the true prophet that he really was. They had the humility to accept the truth. Revelation helped them digest the book without judging it by its cover. This is a sobering thought for each of us. The goal of all scripture, including prophecies on the second coming, is not to help us keep track of events. It is to bring us into union with Him. When we lose sight of this end, the process can become a stumbling block. We can then be in danger of falling into the same error and repeating history.
As long as we are on earth, a lot of what He does is not going to be obvious to the minds of even those who seem to be the most mature and discerning. What He is building is a spiritual habitation. Hearing His voice and following Him may sometimes mean doing things without fully understanding why. But following Him is the only sure way to keep from being deceived. Those who thought they were best prepared for His coming and had studied enough to know exactly how and when it was going to happen, found themselves vehemently opposing Him when He actually came. Their human expectations became a stumbling block, blinding them from the reality that was walking right in their midst.
“Have you been led astray, too?” the Pharisees mocked. “Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in him? This foolish crowd follows him, but they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is on them!” … They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!” (John 7:47-52)
Knowledge puffs up but love edifies. We will be loyal to the one we love and if our knowledge is more important to us that our love, we will easily be sidetracked. Whenever there arises a conflict within us between knowledge and love, we must pursue love, not knowledge. If we merely use doctrine, even prophetic doctrine to feed our knowledge, the result will be the kind of pride that blinds us to the truth we profess to know. We must not seek knowledge as the foundation for love, but love as the foundation for knowledge. Love takes first priority because love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10).
The truth is, we may have the general idea of how the return take place, but the actual manner will be a personal test for each of us. The best way to prepare is by recognizing Him and abiding in Him now, in every day circumstances - even in the simple things of life. Learning to listen to His leading in the present as He reveals Himself in a situation, through the people around us, or in times of devotion. We are called to love Him with all our minds, hearts and strength and this is where our quest should lie. This is His promise: He that has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father also, and I will love Him and will reveal Myself to Him. (John 14:11)
We are not yet half as zealous as the experts of the law were about the coming of the Messiah. Yet they missed Him. Is it going to be different with us? Look around us. The process leading to His second coming is already here. How we deal with this process determines whether or not we are truly ready. Now is the time to step away from human speculations, arguments, vain theories and predictions. The truth is that He has been coming to us every day. We are not here to contend over whose apocalyptic view is right, but to humble ourselves in repentance and seek His face from a pure heart. It is time to recognize and become one with Him.
