“A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” Isaiah 40:3
The voice of John the Baptist was prophesied about by Isaiah over 700 years before John was born. Old Testament prophecies were the first “voice calling” to the Jewish people so they could begin to anticipate the coming of their Messiah. What they expected, however, was someone quite different.
When Jesus came, the Jews thought He should be more like a warrior. They were looking for the Savior to set up His earthly rule and reign, conquering Israel’s political enemies. They weren’t expecting the Messiah to come and die a criminal’s death on a cross! And they were certainly not expecting Christ’s resurrection. Jews believed resurrection only happened at the end of this age. What they failed to comprehend was that Christ was coming twice to earth: once to die for the world’s sin, and the second time will be to judge the world. This is why many Jews missed His First Coming—unmet expectations.
History is a great educator. The Jews were wrong in their interpretations of Scripture, and their misguided expectations were a result of this misunderstanding. We mustn’t do the same thing. There are hundreds of interpretations about Christ’s Second Coming. What if we get it wrong, too? What if it doesn’t unfold in the way we think it’s supposed to? Sometimes we also misunderstand Scripture, especially when it comes to the symbolism of prophecy.
Here’s how I deal with the ‘End Times’ prophecies… I think it’s best to remain humble, and to focus on what is most important—relationship with Jesus. How do we do that? Scripture says in a parable about the ten virgins (in Matthew 25) that we’re to keep our oil lamp full. This means we are to keep the intimacy with God first in our lives, as the oil represents the Holy Spirit who comes to dwell within us once we’re saved. Then, when He finally comes, if you’re still on Earth at that time, your lamp will be lit; in other words, you will have the ability to “see” because you’ve maintained your relationship spiritually. And that ability to see will prepare you for however the End Times events go down in history.
Think Divinely: The voice calling today is the Lord’s. He desires intimacy with you right now, in this very moment.
Eschatology is such a touchy topic! I agree that a humble attitude and our relationship with Christ are of utmost importance. The one thing my husband keeps talking about is the attitude of some Christians that things are just going to get worse and so they fail to serve Christ in a culture that is rejecting Him. I do understand his point that we have to see that “of the increase of His government there will be no end” and work toward growing God’s Kingdom, not hiding out so we don’t get persecuted. It seems that we do need a more optimistic approach to the “End Times.”
Thanks for making me think more about this.
Yeah, eschatology is tough to discern, to be sure. I agree with your husband – just because things are getting worse, doesn’t mean Christians need to give up trying to make it better. I use the analogy of our aging bodies. We’re all going to grow old and die, right? So does that mean we should just eat junk food and become sedentary? I hope not! Our bodies will not grow old as gracefully if we give up caring for it. And just like the world around us – if we give up caring for others and the environment in which we live, we will be contributors to it getting worse. That is the opposite of what Christ asks us to do.
God sends us messages in many ways. He sent John to prepare the way for the Lord. I pray we will be ready to accept the messages God sends each day.
Amen to that! Thanks for your comment.
When I teach anything related to eschatology, I often begin with II Peter 3:11-12 –
“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”
Our eschatological focus should not be on who is right, but rather, who is ready!
Good point! Thanks for stopping by. Blessings, Lisa Q
Great post! I’ve spent years And years studying eschatology, hoping I’d be able to “figure it out.” Haha! What happened instead was that I realized there is no certain way to know. I believe that every theory or chart is wrong in more than one point. My conclusion was the same as yours. Jesus gave so much final instruction on what we are to be DOING as we await his return that we have our hands full living a life of the type of obedience we see in the parable of the sheep and goats, for instance. So, I focus on living that type of life and on recognizing that all views have in common that just as surely as he appeared the first time as he had planned to do, even though no one had understood because of their flawed expectations, so also it will be when he returns. Our expectations are surely off as we await his second coming, just as they were the first time.
Amen to your comments, Melinda. Yeah, it’s intriguing to try and figure it all out, and I don’t think we should entirely throw our hands up in frustration over it, but I do think His ways are so much higher than ours that we should always remain humble over our assumptions of how the End Times will play out.
Thank you some very probing thoughts Lisa!
You are most welcome! I love to make people think…. divinely. 😉
I’m with you, Lisa – remain humble, focus on Jesus and be ready. We never know when or how, nor are we supposed to! God bless you.
God bless you, too, Jessica! Thanks for stopping by.
I remember hearing that Christ would return before things got too bad for believers. i guess those prophets didn’t consider how bad things were for believers in some places abroad.
Jesus promised tribution. It may come our way before he returns.
Faith. Fellowshiip with him. Such a good message, Lisa!
Thank you, Nancy.
Great post Lisa. I read every Left Behind book and several other end times books trying to get some insights or clues. At the end of the day, I agree with your assessment. It is so much better to focus on being prepared and obedient. It will all come together according to God’s plan which is definitely not dependent on our interpretations.
Thank you for your comment! God bless you.
So well done, Lisa! The prophecies are clear about some things. Jesus is coming again to judge the world that he came first to save. And he repeatedly said, “Watch and pray”. His end times parables were clear, stay close to the Lord, as you say, through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. May we be found faithful when He returns!
Thank you, Melissa!