Here’s the link to YouTube to listen to ‘Beware Speculation’
I can remember many a doorstep conversation with Jehovah’s Witnesses about the date of the Lord’s return. And if I remember correctly they’ve had to correct their corrections more than once! And I’ve been asked more than once whether I believe that we’re living in the ‘Last Days’ before the return of the Lord. That’s an easy one to answer because according to the Bible the ‘last days’ began with our Lord’s return to glory and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost – see Acts 2:17 and Hebrews 1:2
So our verse for today is Acts 1:7
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
I guess it’s only natural to want to know when, and that’s what probably lay behind the disciples asking about the dates marked in on heaven’s calendar. Jesus was having none of it. While we know that we are living in the last days (and have been for the last two thousand years), God has decided to keep the details to himself. Indeed, Jesus had previously admitted that he himself didn’t know.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Mark 13:32)
And the apostle Peter found he needed to write this
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)
As someone once said, “I’ve no idea when Jesus is coming back. I’m on the welcoming committee, not the planning committee.”
The ‘signs’ are there to encourage us to be ready at any time, rather than to pinpoint a specific time. If we focus on the when instead of the why, we’re in danger of missing the point. The ‘why’ is that he is coming back to finish what he started.
- with justice to judge the world in its sin
- in love to reward those who know him as Saviour & Lord
- to complete his victory over Satan
- to rout death
- to usher in a renewed creation, a new heaven and earth
Are you part of the ‘welcoming committee’? As we look forward to Christmas, it’s easy to get distracted. The challenge is to be prepared not just for Christmas, but for eternity.
And this made me chuckle A four year old boy was asked to give thanks before the family tucked into their Christmas dinner. Everyone bowed their heads, and the lad began what turned out to be a fairly all-embracing prayer. He thanked God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mum and Dad, his brother and sister and all his aunts, uncles and cousins. Only then did he get round to thank God for the food, which, by the time he had finished, was not as piping hot as it might otherwise have been!
He gave thanks for the turkey, the stuffing, the grave, the cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, the Christmas pudding and even the brandy sauce. Then he paused, peeping open one eye to check he’d not left anything out. After what felt like a long silence he looked up at his Mum and asked, “If I thank God for the sprouts, won’t he know that I’m lying?”
Alan Bailyes 