"1"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty." -- Malachi 4:1-3
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has told the world what time it is since 1947, when its famous clock appeared on the cover. Since then, the clock has moved forward and back, reflecting the state of international security. For nearly 55 years, the Bulletin clock (a.k.a. the “Doomsday Clock”) has been the world’s most recognizable symbol of nuclear danger. The first representation of the clock was produced in 1947, when artist Martyl Langsdorf, the wife of a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, was asked by magazine co-founder Hyman Goldsmith to design a cover for the June issue. Currently, it stands at seven minutes to midnight.
Throughout the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war loomed over the horizon. The nuclear buildup was fast and fierce. It got to the point where MAD (Mutually Assured Destrucion) became the one and only deterant. A few times, even that was not enough. Cooler heads prevailed in each of those cases, and today, the threat of a nuclear attack, while not gone is far less. However, there is another danger that is far more serious and far more imminent than that of nuclear war.
John, in a revelation received from Christ Himself, paints a vivid picture of the final showdown between good and evil. John also paints a picture of a grand judgement, where all souls who ever lived are separated and judged. Those who have rejected Christ are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. While many scholars debate on what exactly the "second death" is, one thing is clear. Without Christ, these souls will be eternally separated from our Father. We need to go out and ensure that we are not responsible for anyone else's death.
What time is it?
First and foremost, it is important to state that nobody not even Jesus Himself knows the exact timimg of His return. Anyone who tells you date or even a time frame is either guessing, or lying. While I personally have my own theories, that is not the reason for this issue. If interested you can look at a study I have done on the Rapture; however, in this particular issue, I would like to focus more on the imminency of the situation.
Frankly, if we ask, "How long do we have left?" That defeats the purpose of being vigilant. After his parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-12), Jesus commands us, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour" (v 13). We need to be watchful, waiting for his return, not sitting around wondering how long we have left.
That being said, we need to be not only be vigilant, we need to be active. I believe that if God had his own "doomsday clock," it would currently read one minute to midnight. We know that "with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (2 Peter 3:9), so that one minute could be a hundred years. However, like we just said, the exact timing is not the issue. Rather, it is the urgency of the situation, and the situation is urgent. There are billions of lost souls on this planet. Literally billions of people who will thrown into the lake of fire, and many Christians of today seemingly do not care.
Before ascending back into Heaven, Jesus gave His disciples, and us, the "Great Commission":
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
That is our main job as Christians, to seek and save the lost sheep of this world. It is not to convert the saved over to our way of thinking, nor is it to make the lost "Baptists" or "Methodists" or any other denomination. No, we need to save the lost. It is really quite simple, yet some have made it so complicated, much more complicated that it needs to be.
While the Bible itself may be complicated on some levels (Isaiah 55:9), the gospel message itself is simple enough for a child to understand. Jesus even tells us, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Children are humble and accepting. They are also trusting and dependant on their parents. Adults, on the other hand, tend to make things overly complicated. They can be cynical, always looking for 'the catch'.
Unfortunately, some Christians do the same thing with salvation. They make it overly complicated, or they add 'a catch' or caveat to the process. We need to be like children in our understanding and acceptance of the scripture. Then we need to spread that acceptance and spread the message of the Gospel.
Charles Hadden Spurgeon once said, "A little child has no ambitious dreams; he is satisfied with little things; he trusts; he aims not at greatness; he yields to command. There is no entering into the kingdom of heaven but by descending from fancied greatness to real lowliness of mind, and becoming as little children. To rise to the greatness of grace, we must go down to the littleness, the simplicity, and the trustfulness of childhood." That is probably the closest thing I have seen as to the meaning of what Jesus has said.
God did not make the gospel message some long and complicated process. Salvation is not only for the scholars, it is for everyone! Everyone needs to "become like a child" and humbly trust our Father. We need to stop fighting over nuances and start spreading the Word! The time isn't close, the time is here. Here and now, we have to go out and win souls. If we put even a tiny fraction of the effort into seeking the lost as we do into converting the saved, Heaven would be standing room only!
If we were to go out and do what Jesus commanded, instead of bicker and fight with each other, Heaven would be "packed to the gills." So, why is it that instead of heed the great commission, we lock ourselves inside our own building decrying those who worship in the building across the street? While we sit around and argue, lost souls are wondering aimlessly around this planet. Souls that will eternally perish.
God does not want a single one of those souls to perish. Peter tells us, "The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:10, emphasis mine). Should our desire be that of our Father in Heaven? YES!! We should have a burning desire to seek the lost and bring them into our family. Time is quickly running out. Jesus will be here before we know it, and then the time for reaching the lost will be gone.
One minute to midnight. We are that close to our Lord's return. How many of us are fulfilling His commission while we wait?
We Need To Talk
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When I was younger, a rock group by the name of Aerosmith was very popular. One of their top songs was called "Livin' on the Edge." It opened, There's something wrong with the world today/I don't know what it is/Something's wrong with our eyes. I think that is true on all counts. There is something wrong with the world today, and something wrong with our eyes for not seeing it.
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My wife and I were talking earlier this week and she mentioned how things today seem backwards. For example if you have a baby but are "not ready" then you are selfish or self-centered, uncaring for having the audacity to bring a baby into the world when you are "not ready" (this is an aside, but how is anyone ever really ready? I have three kids and was "not ready" for any of them). However, if you kill that baby, well then you are lauded as "responsible", people tell you that you did the right thing.
Yes, there is something wrong with the world today, and there is something wrong with our eyes for not seeing it, for not noticing it and worse, not caring. After the horrible tragedy of 9/11, some suggested that God was trying to get our attention. While I personally do not believe that to be the case, I do think that recent events show He is trying hard to get our attention.
On the first of this month, Mt. St. Helens in Washington erupted, well, "belched" is more like it. There were some tremors and some hot gases escaped. However, now seismologist have her on a level 3 alert, which means an eruption is imminent. A few days before that, there was an earthquake in California that measured 6.0 on the Richter Scale. Let's not even mention the four major hurricanes that hit Florida. The last of which, Jeanne, went out into the Atlantic, then did a loop and went straight for the FL coast. Before that Ivan hit the entire norther gulf coast.
The Coup de Gras, I believe, is the picture above. That was taken by someone in FL. Hurrican Charley blew the advertisement off the billboard and beneath it was the previous message. If you cannot read it, click on the picture to enlarge it. It was one of the "conversations" bill boards and in this particular one, God is saying, "We need to talk."
We do need to talk to God. He is trying to get our attention. We need to open our eyes and recognize what it is the Lord is trying to do, or trying to tell us. He gave us His word, but many who profess Christ ignore the parts that don't suit them. We are supposed to be a light to the world, and yet many who profess Christ have extinguished their lights and joined the world in darkness.
That's not the way to win souls. "When in Rome do as the Romans do" is not from scripture. If we act no different from the world then the world will see no reason to accept Christ. If the lost see no difference in Christians, if they don't notice a marked difference in our lives, then they will have no desire to gain what we already have.
"When in Rome..." is not from the Bible. However the Bible does say, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you" (John 15:19). Jesus Himself tells us the world will hate us, because we are different. In Paul's second letter to the Corinthian Church, he tells us just how different we are:
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! -- 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
We are a brand new creation. We are no longer like the world and should no longer act as the world does. I think that is part of what God is trying to tell us. In many churches there is so much that has been comprimised, so much of the truth that is sacrificed, and I really believe God is calling us to get back on track, get us focused on the mission He gave us before returning to Heaven.
Time is running short, and we cannot save the lost if we are acting like them. Yes, they will like us more, that is evident with the world's approval of the appointment of the Episcopalian openly gay bishop. The world sees it as "progress" or "tolerance" and gives their nod of approval. Here's little tip: If the world approves of something, chances are it is not right in God's eyes.
Unfortunately, there is something wrong with our eyes. We are all blind to what is happening today, both to the world and to our Church. Some are willfully blind, others are distracted by their own infighting. Either way, we need to wake up, open our eyes, and take a stand for what's right.
We need to stand together and proclaim in one voice the Gospel of Christ. We cannot dilute or water down this Gospel. We need to give it to them straight. Some will not be able to handle it, others will reject it outright, but if we water it down to the point where they will accept it, what is it they have truly accepted? Not the Truth.
Therefore, let us stand firm, let us not waiver, let us not waffle. Let us stand together as one. Let us work together as one. Let us go out into the world and reach the lost. Not by conforming to the ways of the world, but by holding fast to the truth and by supporting one another in our efforts.
CONCLUSION:
God's Doomsday Clock. The idea of God sitting up in Heaven "watching the clock" can be a somewhat humorous one. And God does in deed have a sense of humor. However when one realizes just how close we are to God's clock striking midnight, humor tends to take a back seat. There is a certain urgency out in the world today. Almost as if Satan knows his time is running short. We need to feel that same urgency and more, act on it. Time is running short, so instead of fighting with each other, or conforming to the ways of the world, let's stand together on the Truth, Jesus Christ, and go out and reach lost. Let's put our childish ways behind us, yet let us be like children. We should humbly accept each other and work together to reach those who are without Christ. We only have one minute left, let's use it wisely.
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