The Grand Insult

I think I’ve sort of figured out why it bothers me so much that there is so much rank indifference to the Second Coming among those who self-identify as Christians. Yes, I know – many of these people may not be Christians in the Biblical sense. But the fact is, some are. And we talk with them – or try to – about the signs of the times, the things Jesus told us specifically to watch for, and the unmistakable Revelation 12 sign that’s nearly upon us …. and you know as well as I what kind of reaction we often get.

It bothers me because this is an insult to Jesus Christ of the highest order. Not just the disobedience to His explicit command to watch (Mark 13:37), but the inexcusable indifference to His return.

Here’s an illustration: A guy is engaged. He’s in the military and he is being deployed. So he says to his fiancée, “Sweetheart, troop movements and ship movements are classified, so I can’t tell you when I’ll be back. But check the ‘arrivals’ page on the base web site every night. It will announce our return 24 to 48 hours before we get back. You’ll have enough advance notice to be on the pier when I return.”

Then he leaves, and six months later he returns. He gets to the pier and lots of folks are there, but not his fiancée. He waits around for an hour or so, then gets on the phone. She tells him she never checked the arrivals.

You can imagine the excuses she might have offered, but the bottom-line question is: Does she really love him? And with that comes another question, does she deserve him?

I think the answer is “no” on both counts. And sadly, Jesus is getting the same shabby treatment from people we know who claim to be Christians. I think it’s shameful and disgusting, and I’m at a loss as to what I can do about it. But I think the Matthew 7:23 crowd is going to be a whole lot bigger than we imagine.

“No one knows the day or the hour” will NOT be a defense, or an adequate excuse. Let’s face it: arguably up to a quarter (perhaps more) of the scriptures have eschatological application. Did Jesus follow the Olivet discourse with, “but you need not concern yourselves, because ‘no one knows the day or the hour’?” Did John end Revelation with, “you can ignore everything I’ve written here, because ‘no one knows the day or the hour’ “?

I need not belabor this. And I won’t. For those who truly love Jesus Christ, these are exciting times. For those who want just enough Christianity to stay out of hell, I’m afraid a painful surprise may be in store.

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (emphasis added)