Following Judah's Lion

Behold He Comes

There is coming an event, in fact an entrance, that will completely transform the entire world. God in the Person of Jesus Christ is returning to this earth just as He said He would. For those who know Him it will be glorious. But for those who have not been born again it will be eternally tragic. There is no middle ground, and there will be no second chances.

The men and women that are now teaching that everyone will receive a second chance are not only wrong, but they are being used of the evil one to give false hope to millions. The Scriptures clearly warn even believers to take inventory of their spiritual condition lest we rely on a shallow and false testimony. This is not some obscure doctrinal skirmish that has limited spiritual implications. This goes to the heart of what it means to be a believer and what it means to be born again. The issue can be summed up as this:

Does a sinner have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and only Jesus, and be born again to become a genuine Christian, and does that sinner have to do that before he dies to inherit eternal life?

That, my friends, cannot be massaged and debated as if there are many valid perspectives. If the scriptures mean anything, and if there is anything that can be called absolute truth, than this must be at the very center. But it is that very truth from which many evangelical leaders are moving away, and many teach new age mysticism couched in varying degrees of Biblical distortions. The human intellect when left to assess truth on its own is fallen and can believe almost anything.

But in the distance looms the second coming of the Lord Jesus. As His approach nears many are losing their faith to false and deceived men of intellect and communication skills. Will they be saved? I do not desire to get into a debate over “eternal security”, however the writer of Hebrews gives several warnings that to me indicate one should not rest on his historical spiritual laurels. But men are scratching itching ears and lulling people to sleep with vain philosophies and doctrines of devils. To compromise the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and the necessity of the born again experience is to deny Christ.

It is mind boggling to imagine that Jesus Himself will return one day to this earth. But make no mistake about it, this will not be a time of rejoicing and “getting to know Him”.

II Thess.1:7-10 - And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

I cannot imagine how one can manipulate those verses to represent anything less than a horrific scene and a grave warning. And of course there are more. The incarnation has been revealed, the sinless life has been documented, and the labor of redemption has been finished. When the same Jesus returns He returns with great power and glory. No longer will He offer His face to human spittle; no longer will He turn a deaf ear to mocking; no longer will He submit to the fists of evil men; no longer will He turn His back to the vicious whips; no longer will He surrender to death. No, this same Jesus was crucified as the Lamb of God, but returns as the Lion of Judah!

But man resists any unpleasant truth and seeks to effect outright change in order to receive it as much more appealing and much more in line with human reasoning. I take no pleasure in the demise of the wicked, but I recoil at the pervasive teachings that soothe the souls of men who are in great spiritual peril. And to alter the truth is to lie. And these liars are the decedents of the sirens of Greek mythology who lured men to the rocks of shipwreck with their beautiful and bewitching voices. It is a spectacle that was foretold by the Spirit Himself.

But we who hold fast to that which has been given to us by that same Spirit through God’s precious Word can never rest and think more highly of ourselves than we should. For we stand entirely upon the grace of Almighty God and anything of worth within us is completely of Christ. And if by God’s grace we stand firmly upon His truth with a good measure of substance, then all the praise must go to Him and Him alone. If I arrive before my Lord and if He welcomes me with words that reward my faithfulness to His Word, then I will bow my face before Him and profess that my path was illuminated and empowered by God’s Holy Spirit alone, and I will reject any praise to my own human recourses and understanding.

We live in very perilous times. Sin increases with open bravado and violence covers the earth. Of course such things were true in times past, but man has increased his capacity for rebellion and sin. But at the very doorstep of eternity, much of the church has become restless and unsatisfied with the old paths. The church has craned her neck to see and desire the fruits of the world, and she has sniffed out greener doctrinal pastures where wolves graze. The ancient landmarks are ridiculed while the new ways are trumpeted. Jesus is used rather than worshiped. The Risen Christ is now a talisman that can bring material blessings like some eastern genie. His worth is now measured by His ability to pay the car payment rather than pay for sins.

But we must watch and pray. We look for His coming, not because he will punish the wicked, but because we long to see His august beauty and magnificence. This world has lost any allure to us, and only Jesus can satisfy the spiritual longing deep within our hearts. We have heard His story and we have read His Words. We have spread His message and we have worshiped Him in the Spirit. We love Him. But like the great Apostle Paul, we know that to be with Him is far better. And so we occupy and we wait. But make no mistake, we shall behold Him one day. That is what we live for and that is what we would die for.

Ti.2:13 - Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;