Well, we made it! Here it is, the final post in our yearlong series, Blogging Through The Bible in 2020. I feel both a sense of relief but also sadness as this series comes to an end. I have tried to remain faithful in posting here five days a week over the last year. Some days it was easier to do than others. However, I am sad to see this come to an end because through this series we have been able to learn and converse together about what God is teaching us in His Word. As I announced earlier, 2021 here on the blog is going to be different. I will be posting one to three times a week in the new year. It will be on various topics as they relate to the Bible including some stories of what I and my family went through in 2020, and what God taught us through them. I hope you will continue to follow this blog, and above all I hope that I am faithful to God and glorify Him with what is written here. I will also tell you that in 2021 we will have some guest bloggers from time to time as well, as it is good to hear from other people. However, without further delay, here is the last blog of 2020.
Few topics generate as much conversation, and sometimes disagreement as the end of time. How will it end? When will it end? Is the church going to be taken out of the world before the last seven years leading up to Jesus’ return or will the church go through the last seven years along with the rest of the world? Those are just some of the questions I get asked surrounding end times events. Some of those questions have straight forward answers, and they are clearly articulated in the Bible. Others are a little less clear. My method of understanding and teaching on the end times is this, where the Bible is clear, I will be authoritative; where the Bible is less clear, I will leave space and give grace for discussion. While we often focus on when things will end, I believe what we should be focusing on is being prepared for when it does end. The Bible is crystal clear that all of humanity is on a collision course with the end. It is equally as clear on the fact that only God knows when the end will come. What the Bible is the clearest on however is that we need to be prepared for when it comes, and how we can be prepared. The only way to be prepared for Jesus’ return is to have surrendered to Jesus in faith before you die or He returns. By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the sole message of salvation throughout the Bible. So, let me ask you right here and right now, are you ready to meet Jesus whenever that day comes? If not, God in His grace is giving you another opportunity to surrender to Him. I would be more than willing to talk with you, and let you know how you can begin walking with God today. Reach out to me at pastorjustin@westlakebaptist.org.
When it comes to the book of Revelation, most people focus on trying to figure out what all the signs and symbols mean. They try to apply them into our current context. One of the problems with this approach is that by doing that, you are ripping the book out of its proper context. As my professors drilled into me, a verse, chapter, or book of the Bible cannot mean today what it didn’t mean then. While the book of Revelation is a book of prophecy, it was just as important in John’s day as it is in our day. How do we know this? We know this by what it written in Revelation 22:10, “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.'” This is an angel talking with John as the final vision of Revelation has been given. The angel tells John that this message that has been given to him was not just for the future, it was for now. The churches and Christians of John’s day needed to read and understand the message of this book. That is one of the hallmarks of prophetical writing. It has both an immediate fulfillment, but it is pointing towards the ultimate fulfillment. Much of what John wrote about occurred on a smaller scale in his day or shortly after. However, there is a larger more complete fulfillment that is still to come. Why did God give this message to John? We can find that answer in the theme of Revelation 22. Much of Revelation 22 is recording a conversation between John and an angel. However, Jesus interjects three times, and each of those times Jesus gives the same message, “I am coming quickly.” This doesn’t mean it was going to be a short time before Jesus’ return. Rather, it speaks of the immediacy and the unexpectedness of Jesus’ return. This is something that Jesus spoke of in the Gospels, specifically in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus said that He would return at a time in which people weren’t expecting. It will be sudden. That was His message here in Revelation 22 as well. He was telling John to get the message of this book out to the Christians and churches of his day so that they would be looking for and expecting Jesus’ return. This is why churches should not avoid the book of Revelation even today, because the message Jesus gave John then is still equally true and needed today. We must be prepared. Therefore, let me ask one more time, are you prepared for your own death or Jesus’ return? If not, will you surrender to Jesus today. He has already done all the work necessary for you to be saved. You must simply submit to Him in the faith He gives you and trust that Jesus is the only way to be saved. If you would like to talk more about it, if you have questions, or you would like to surrender to Jesus today; please reach out to me at pastorjustin@westlakebaptist.org.
Thank you again for following along with this series this year. I hope it has been an encouragement and a help to you in your walk with Jesus. May we all truly be prepared to meet Him whenever that time comes. Until that time comes may we love Him supremely and follow Him completely.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin