Christ Will Come Again...When?

This weekend marks Palm Sunday, the beginning of one of the two holiest weeks in the Christian calendar. On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus' entering the city of Jerusalem in Triumph to an explosion of good will, palm branch waving, and shouts of "Hosana" before undertaking the most important activities of his life.

These events included the overturning of the money-changers tables at the Temple and driving them out of that holy place, and resulted in some of his most famous teachings:

"Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive"

"Many are invited, but few are chosen"

"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God"

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted"

He also was asked a question during these final days in Jerusalem regarding which was the greatest of the commandments, and famously replied: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

He even foretold the coming of Christianity itself when he lectured the Jewish chief priests and the Pharisees that "the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

The week which began in triumph and proceeded on through inspiration, challenge, and controversy would ultimately move to his betrayal, arrest, trial, persecution and would end with his death on the cross for all of our sins.

Christians also believe that Jesus Christ is destined to come again in what many refer to as the "End Days", the "End of Time", the "End of the Age", or in the "Apocalypse" period at the end of time. This belief doesn't come from a teaching of men, but from the promise of Christ himself in those same final days of his life.

But when will Jesus return? At what time, on what day, in what year and in which generation of history? Many generations of men, even within the Church itself, have believed that they themselves were living in the end of times, that Christ would be returning in their lifetimes. They have all been wrong, as may those who believe so today.

What did Jesus say of his returning to us? Much, including some signs in the final moments that would signal that he had indeed returned. But the most important thing that Christ taught about that time was this: "of that day and hour, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." Jesus himself did not have the exact information as to his return. That information was and is held in the heart and mind of God the Father alone.

But because no one but God knows the exact hour, that does not mean that we haven't been given clues and signs to watch for that will signal at least the beginning of the end. We are told by James that there will be great economic calamities near the end. Timothy tells us that many men will turn from God and towards physical pleasures, paganism, and selfishness towards the end. Mark tells us that in the final years, Christians will be turned over to authorities, put on trial, and even put to death for their beliefs.

Mark also gave us one of the most important clues when he wrote that before the end times come "the gospel must first be preached to all nations." This simple message in and of itself ruled out all prior times of mankind before our current time. Only now, with the developments over the past century of air travel and the internet, have missionaries been able to reach every corner and every people on the planet with the gospel of Christ.

Christ himself taught that "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven."

Perhaps one of the easiest signs to look for that the world is beginning to enter into the period of the end of times would be the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, an event that is viewed as an impossibility by many in the world today. This event will indeed come to pass, however, if any number of Old and New Testament prophecies are correct. In fact, it is that very Temple that will be at the center of many of the final events involving the anti-Christ and his period of rule just before Jesus' return.

So when will Christ return? As he himself said, no one knows. But we can look for increasing natural disasters, incredible celestial events, the Jews rebuilding of the Temple, and for public persecutions of Christians all around the world as sure signs. If these things happen, you better be ready to get your self and your house in order. If these things have not yet happened, we have not yet likely reached the end of days.

But are we correct? Am I reading these teachings correctly? Are the Christian spiritual leaders? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe on some items, not so much on others. Maybe we just have learned to understand pieces of the final truth. The important thing to understand is that the end will indeed come, and Christ will indeed come again, and you need to love and accept him and try to remain ready. Remember Jesus' most important words: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Without faith and belief in and acceptance of Jesus Christ, you will not make it to heaven.

Jesus taught "Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come...be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come...stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Surrender Like Christ

Today is Palm Sunday, celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem to begin the pentultimate week of his life which would end in the most important event in human history. As Christ willingly surrendered himself for our sake, we should follow his lead. Our inspiration can be found right in the Bible, in Proverbs 16.

It is the Old Testament's Book of Proverbs chapter 16 where we learn to "entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." This important chapter of God's own book of wisdom is full of lessons and inspirational sayings that guide us to surrender our lives to the Lord.

We all make plans and set our lives on a course. But no matter how well-meaning or well planned that personal direction might be, you will not find ultimate success without the blessings and guidance of the Lord. You must not only make your plans, but your plans must include yielding to God's ultimate plan for you.

"In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps" says Proverbs 16. "Happy is he who trusts in the Lord." Make your plans, they are necessary. But just as necessary is to both pray on your plans and to include in your prayers to God an acknowledgement that He might have another direction for you. Make your plea that His will be done.

By acknowledging to God that you are at His mercy and will succeed only with His grace and blessings, you humble yourself appropriately and place your ultimate fate in His hands. "All the ways of a man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves the spirit."

Proverbs 16 gives advice for avoiding the influence of negative or evil people who will try to distract you from good in lessons such as "A scoundrel is a furnace of evil, and on his lips there is scorching fire" and "He who winks his eye is plotting trickery; he who compresses his lips has mischief ready."

The book urges one to speak only truth and to bring positive messages to the lives of others with sayings such as "Pleasing words are a honeycomb, sweet to the taste and healthful to the body." And yet we must do more than talk the sweet talk. Like Christ, we must be willing to walk the hard walk and surrender to God's will for us.

"How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!" sparks the book. "To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver." We want to succeed, and we often measure that success by money, goods, and power. This is not how God sees, or will measure, your success.

Like Jesus Christ, as you plan and train and work towards your worldly goals, remember that you need to ask for God's help and blessing. You need to be willing and open to His possibly having a different direction in mind for you. And you need, as Proverbs 16 and other books of the Bible can teach you when regularly and reverently, to recognize that worldly success is not your ultimate or most important goal.

NOTE: this entry is the continuation of the regular 'Sunday Sermon' series which can be found here most Sundays, all entries for which you can view by clicking on the below label from the www.mattveasey.com website

Conquering Fear

Just one week until Palm Sunday, and just two until the glory of Easter Sunday. For those Christians who go to church next weekend and receive their palm branches, do you know what it is that they are supposed to help you recall and what they represent? The palm branches are representative of those waved by the adoring crowds at Jesus Christ during his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem in the days prior to his arrest, persecution, sacrificial death, and His rising from the tomb. Before any of these events had taken place, there was a true sense of excitement and urgency among many of the people as the sacred occassion of the Passover approached. The Passover itself is the perhaps the single most important event on the Jewish calendar. It is a rememberance of the night that God struck down the first-born of Egypt in a show of power that led directly to the deliverance of the Jewish people out of the bondage of centuries of slavery. As the angel of death moved about the nation taking the lives of those Egyptian first-born, it passed over those houses whose doors were marked with blood, a sign that God had told Moses to pass along among his chosen people so that they might be distinguished and saved. It became a great custom among the Jews to travel to the great city of Jerusalem in order to celebrate this day, and in fact an entire great festival had been set up around the feast. As the time came, many wondered whether Christ would even show up in Jerusalem at all. It was well known among the people that the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, that person should inform them, so that they could place Jesus under arrest. Jesus had been involved in his public ministry for a couple of years at this point, and his teachings and reputation had grown so strong among the people that the traditional Jewish leaders felt severely threatened. There was talk that Jesus was going to become a king, and was going to establish a new kingdom, something directly threatening to the power of the Jewish leaders, but which would also possibly bring the wrath of the Roman empire down on them should these events leak out. The Jewish leaders wanted greatly to eliminate the threat which they believed Jesus was becoming, either by debunking him or, if necessary, killing him. The final straw came when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a feat that overwhelmed even those who had already seen Christ perform any number of miracles in the previous months. The scribes and Pharisees saw the swelling numbers and the passion of his following, and plotted to eliminate him as a threat. This word reached Jesus and his disciples, and they went 'underground', no longer moving about in public. So as the Passover feast arrived, the people wondered whether Jesus and his followers would indeed challenge the authorities and come out in public. They got their answer in a big way. Not only did Jesus arrive at Jerusalem, but he arrived in the manner that had been foretold for centuries by the prophets, entering the city while riding on an ass and through the city gate that had also been prophesied. The great crowd which had already begun gathering for the Passover celebrations heard that Jesus was arriving, and they rushed out to meet him, waving palm branches as he passed them. The palm branch was the traditional item used to hail the arrival of a conquering hero from a triumphant battle, and this was how many of the people were beginning to view Jesus. His message of love and peace was taking root. His message of conquering fear and even death itself was spreading like wildfire. The Bible says that one of the Pharisees on seeing this outbreak of affection said to the others "You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him." This is how large and emotional and affectionate the crowds were as they jubilantly waved their palm branches at him and shouted among one another "Hosanna!" which meant "Oh Lord, grant salvation!", a true sign of how they viewed Jesus. Just after Christ entered into the city a group of Greeks came wishing an audience with him, and to them he spoke plainly: "Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." The message was clear to all. Jesus was a wanted man in the eyes of the authorities, a threat to their rule, and perhaps a threat to the entire Jewish nation if the Romans found out about his coming 'new kingdom'. But he entered into the great city not through a back door, but through the front gates in a manner indicating that he was the Messiah, the promised Savior, the coming new king. He entered publicly, and on entering he proclaimed that the current ruler would be driven out. He showed no fear. He had conquered fear, he had raised a man from the dead, and in just a matter of days he would rise and conquer death itself. Many among even the ranks of the authorities began to believe in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not acknowledge it openly for fear of being expelled from the synagogue. They preferred human praise to the glory of God. It is the overcoming of this worldly fear that Jesus Christ showed in his triumphant entry in Jerusalem. It is the overcoming of this fear to which he calls us all. You should not fear shame in publicly declaring your Christianity, in publicly celebrating your belief, and in publicly calling others to salvation in Christ. Conquer your fear as Christ conquered it, directly and loudly and openly, and envision the palms waving around you in triumph as you receive them next weekend.