READY OR NOT…

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place…Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” -Revelation 1:1,3

I read an article the other day that was imagining the different manner of life which would be lived on the earth 5,000 years from now. I chuckled, wondering what possible earthly reason someone would take the time to write such an article.

I wonder what people are thinking when they, with some uncertain “scientific” projections, believe they must, by human means and at all costs, cool down the earth’s average temperature by some degrees or it will never survive. They attempt to do so by expending trillions upon trillions of dollars with an agenda which, after all that expenditure, is still quite iffy and will take centuries to accomplish, if at all. It is, of necessity, a very, very long-range view which takes no concern at all of the instruction found in Revelation, as though this book has nothing factual to do with the future of earth and its conclusion.

This is not to mean that we are not to be wise stewards of the creation. We despise pollution on the earth. The earth is our home, and as her stewards, we need to keep her clean, protected, and unpolluted. However, people are part of this creation also; our managing of the physical earth must balance with it a concern and care for the poor. The climate change agenda ignores and, consequently, harms the poor of this world, who God has given into your care.

Reading Revelation flies in the face of the climate change philosophy and its long-range thinking. When you read of the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls being expended on the earth by the One who made her, you understand His intent in her destruction by His judgment. The earth will not be destroyed by warming or cooling, but by the hand of the One who made her.

God can warm or cool the earth as quickly as He desires, which He who controls the processes of nature on His earth is doing now in introducing a most unexpected, by the global warning alarmists’ projection, present world-wide cooling.

Predicting the future is very much a “shot in the dark.” Weathermen have tried to accurately predict the weather for tomorrow and next week for a long time. They are getting better at it with newer understanding of weather science, but it still is not foolproof!

To predict 5,000 years or more, even a century, into the future without taking cognizance of Revelation is spitting in the wind. There are known astronomical laws at work in God’s universe restricting the life expectancy of earth and the longevity of a life-providing sun because the universe continues to rapidly expand. God’s universe is not static.

Needless to say, rather than predicting millennia into the future, you would do well to be aware of the signs of the present time which are found in John’s vision – particularly, as you carefully look at the characteristics of this age through the spectacles of the Holy Spirit in Revelation. John says its fulfillment is near. What does this mean today after 2,000 years of the coming of Christ, who gave this vision to John, being “near?” Saying that such proves it is not near puts your concern to be watching and ready into a serious state of lackadaisicalness. He Himself said, “Behold, I am coming soon!”

When the events prophesied in Revelation begin to blossom, there is a set amount of time before the earth is burned up and destroyed. Consummation occurs and human history comes to a screeching halt. A new age begins, then, after the Final Judgment is complete – a new age which has no end, according to the Lord’s own promises.

These are the facts revealed by Scripture, though we do not know the specific amount of time for all this to occur. But it is measured in years, not generations. Scripture speaks of these last days in which the anti-Christ is revealed and the tribulation occurs as one generation in which all which is predicted, including the great cataclysmic events, is accomplished. We are told that the tribulation is so absolutely severe that it will not be allowed to linger. After waiting two millennia for these days to begin, this time is very quick indeed.

I do not intend here to exegete all the “signs of the times” set forth in this Bible-closing vision, but rather point you to the Lord’s benediction, His blessing of those who read aloud the words of this book and keep what is written in it. What matter is it if, like me most likely, you do not live through to the consummation? You still should pay careful attention to knowing what is found here, discerning world events coming to pass in light of these Scriptures.

He comes, in any case, in the twinkling of an eye, like a thief in the night. At midnight comes the cry, and then every eye will see Him!

The battle cry of Revelation and Matthew 24-25 is “Be ready!” Be ready before He gets here, be ready at the start of those last days, be ready if you are alive at the Lord’s coming! All the lessons of Revelation amount to one consuming task: Make yourself ready to meet the Bridegroom!

“Wake, awake, for night is flying. The watchmen on the heights are crying, awake. Jerusalem, at last! Midnight hears the welcome voices and at the thrilling cry rejoices. Come forth, ye virgins, night is past! The Bridegroom comes; awake, your lamps with gladness take. Alleluia! And for His marriage feast prepare, for you must go to meet Him there.”

(First verse of Philip Nicolai’s hymn, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying,” 1599)