In a world where headlines and end-times speculation can stir fear, Scripture gives believers a different response: encouragement, readiness, and hope. Because Christ has promised to return for His Church, we can live faithfully today—not alarmed by future events, but confident in God’s Word and anchored in the blessed hope of our Savior’s coming.
While talking with several men one day, the subject of financial investments came up, with particular emphasis on cryptocurrency. One of the gentlemen said he had not invested in cryptocurrency because he recalled end-times teaching about a one-world government that would implement a one-world currency. For that reason, he was reluctant to get involved with it.
I recognized an open door to explain some basic eschatological, or end-times, chronology in order to put his mind at ease. I explained that the one-world system described in Scripture would not come into full view until the seven-year period known as the Tribulation. I also explained that the Tribulation will not occur until after the Church, or Bride of Christ, has been caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus in what we refer to as the Rapture. The one-world system will be initiated by the Antichrist, who will not be revealed until after the Rapture of the Church.
He then replied, “Oh, I didn’t know that ... thanks for clearing that up for me.”
Whether or not he chooses to invest in cryptocurrency, I cannot say; but he did seem more at ease with what the Bible teaches concerning the future. That leads to this important point: nothing about the biblical teaching of end-times events should frighten us. In fact, the opposite should be true, because Scripture calls us to be encouraged as we look for our Lord’s return.
Concerning the Lord’s return for His church, the apostle Paul describes this wonderful event inI Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.”
Notice the emphasis in verse 18: encourage each other with this great news! That raises an important question: why will the Church be caught up to meet Jesus in the clouds? Paul answers in the following chapter, I Thessalonians 5:9, saying, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [NIV] Another version says, “For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.” [NLT]
Please understand, the Tribulation is the time when God’s wrath will be poured out on all of those left on the earth – those who have rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When Jesus was on the cross, He bore the wrath of God on our behalf. Those who believe in Him are not only saved from eternal hell, but also from this designated time of God’s wrath – the Tribulation. And as one writer puts it, “to infer that the church must endure the Tribulation and suffer God’s wrath is to strip away the finished work Christ accomplished on the cross.”
Without naming the day nor the hour, Jesus tells us about His return. In Matthew 24:42, 44, 50 He says, “42So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected.”
Christ’s return will be sudden, unannounced, and unexpected but this should never frighten us. Most of us already sense the shifting and changing that is occurring in the world today – and that unsettling impression is producing a heightened sense of urgency concerning the time in which we live. Most committed Christians who know and believe the Bible are certain about where the signs are leading us.
With this in mind, how should we live each day? To answer that question my mind quickly goes to a period of time when God’s people were living in Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah the prophet conveys a word from the Lord ... Jeremiah 29:4-7 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”[NIV]
The idea is this: the exiles were there to fulfill the purposes of God, and they were to carry on with life until those purposes were fulfilled. Although our circumstances are different, we too are called to carry on faithfully—to go to church, go to work, enjoy our families, and live in a God-pleasing manner—while looking with eager anticipation for the day of our Lord’s return.
We are not called to live in fear or dread of end-times events; instead, we are called to look eagerly for the return of our Lord. Paul gives the reason in Philippians 3:20: “...our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
One final passage brings this hope into focus: Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
So let us live ready, not afraid—faithful in our calling, steady in our hope, and encouraged by the promise that our Savior is coming again. Until that day, may our lives reflect confidence in His Word, love for those around us, and joyful anticipation of our blessed hope.
Maranatha! [Our Lord, Come]
Be blessed my friend and have a wonderful day!