“Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.” (Eze 12:28 AV)
Jesus rebuked the scoffers for their inability to discern the signs of
the times. “The Pharisees also with
the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign
from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It
will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul
weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern
the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Mt
16:1-3 AV) The signs of the times referred
to by Christ are the fulfillment of scripture in the nation of Israel at that
time. The book of Daniel is the Old
Testament version of the book of Revelation.
That is, Daniel was written to the Jews who would see the incarnate
Christ in the waning years of the Old Testament. The book of Revelation is written to the
saints and sinners who will suffer through the waning years of the age of the
church. In both cases, the books end
with the appearance of Jesus. Daniel
prophesies the geopolitical condition of the region of Palestine from the time
it was written until Christ came as a babe.
The Pharisees and scribes should have seen it coming.
Where I live, it is common to see temporary parking restriction signs
pop up here and there. Sometimes, you
know what they are for. For example, the
state fairgrounds are about a mile from my house. Beginning about two weeks before the fair,
temporary parking signs go up on nearby streets. They announce the dates of the
parking restrictions. There is no real
surprise as to the purpose of the restrictions.
The signs do not elaborate on the state fair coming to town. We all know the dates of the fair and the purpose
of the restrictions. However, there are
many times a certain street or area will have temporary parking restriction
signs posted for which we have no clue as to the purpose. There is great speculation. The curious can go to the city’s website to
find out why, but that is not always the case.
Not until work begins is it obvious as to why we cannot park where we
once did. The overall project is revealed
one step at a time. When the project is
completed, we have a full understanding of the signs. When those signs go up, there are other
actions a person might take. Not knowing
why the signs are going up, the householder may prepare their house against the
residual effects of construction. Dust,
noise, etc are all a consideration. The
signs declare action is coming soon. These
temporary parking restriction signs are an indication that what the city board voted
on is coming to pass.
We may not like the application of the truth above. Or, maybe we are anxious for it. It matters not. The LORD will not forebear forever the coming
of His Son. He is coming back. The exact time we know not. But He will return with the sword of the word
of God and the host of angels with Him.
He is returning to take vengeance on those who would reject His free and
gracious offer of forgiveness of sins resulting in eternal life. He is coming back and every day brings it a
day closer. It may have been two
thousand or so years since Jesus made the promise of His return, but all that
means is we are two thousand years closer to His return. We all have opinions. Jesus may come back in our lifetime. Or, the world has always been this bad and it
might be another thousand years before Christ returns. The opinion matters not. The promise is what matters. We should live in the reality that God will
not forebear forever and any day could be the day of His return. He will forebear no longer. A certain generation will live that statement. It might be ours.
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