These Things

 

“So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.”  Matthew 24:33-34  NKJV

 
What things?  “These things”.  I was not at all surprised to receive the comment this past week from someone who found it hard to believe that we as the body of Christ are still here.  They followed that comment up with another one professing surprise at the things we are seeing.  While at the time I agreed with those sentiments, upon reflection it occurred to me that while we can be surprised that we are still here, it really should come as no surprise that we are seeing “these things”.  After all, didn’t Jesus tell us we would?

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  Matthew 24:37  NKJV  

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”  Genesis 6:5-6  NKJV  

Of the many things which happened this past week, the following comment from one of our congressmen certainly got my attention, and I am equally certain heavenly attention as well.

https://www.lifenews.com/2021/02/26/congressman-jerry-nadler-gods-will-is-no-concern-of-this-congress/  

People in the days of Noah were focused only on their own pleasure with no regard for the will of God for their lives.  It would seem that this world has arrived at the same point when our leaders publicly make statements such as this.  God judged the world in the days of Noah and rest assured He will do the same to our world today.  I want to share with you a column from Hal Lindsey which, I have no doubt, applies to the times in which we find ourselves in today.

 

Though the Vision Tarry

by Hal Lindsey

 

Habakkuk 2:3 gives a beautiful promise about those things God revealed to His prophets. He told Habakkuk that even if the thing revealed does not happen quickly, rest assured that it will happen eventually. The Lord said, “The vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come.”

The vision God had given Habakkuk was not all sunshine and light. The prophet was horrified by a vision of the dreaded Babylonians striking Israel, even though he acknowledged that it’s what they deserved. God also gave Habakkuk a vision of Babylon’s destruction and of a glorious future for Israel. The first two events came true within a few decades. The last promise awaits complete fulfillment, but it also “hastens toward the goal.”

The point is, Habakkuk’s vision contained both promise and warning. God always keeps His word. For some, that means dread. Terrible things are coming on this world. Even now, we see the beginning of them. But He assures us of ultimate victory. Hebrews 10:37 applies the verse from Habakkuk to the return of Christ. “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come.”

God tells His children that we have not been appointed to wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). He will rescue us from the coming tribulation. In the meantime, suffering should not surprise us. In Matthew 10:22, Jesus said, “You will be hated by all on account of My name.” That’s no fun. But in Revelation 2:10, Jesus said something to the church at Smyrna which should give us great comfort today. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.”

We should not be surprised by suffering, but neither should we dread it.

Here in the early part of the 21^st century, most of the world looks to the future with a kind of helpless anxiety. Many things are going wrong. Disaster looms from a myriad of directions. Planet earth seems to have passed a tipping point. A cascade of tragedies threatens every person on earth.

Texas recently experienced the kind of problems we can expect in a deteriorating world. Most Texans suffered a lack of electric power, and then they suffered a lack of water. A high percentage of Texas uses electricity for heat. That meant experiencing frigid temperatures without furnaces. Ironically, power shortages caused by cold weather meant that vast amounts of frozen food thawed in grocery store freezers. Icy roads prevented trucks from resupplying those stores. These circumstances combined to force stores to throw away food in the middle of a food shortage.

 

The world sees its future in this. When we talk about deteriorating infrastructure, we’re talking about deteriorating lifelines of electricity, water, food, and other materials. We are becoming more and more dependent on these lifelines even as they become less reliable. Our government chooses to cut off fuel supplies. We are moving from dependable sources of energy to undependable ones. Water is becoming more scarce and its transfer less reliable. People wonder when the next shoe will drop. According to the Bible, it won’t just be a single shoe dropping, but a storm of them.

 

Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t speak of these calamities as a terrible end, but as a glorious beginning. The coming of Jesus is on the horizon. He will rapture His Church before the seven years of tribulation. At the end of those seven years, He will come back to earth to rule in perfect righteousness. The bad things will not last. But He shall reign forever and ever!

 

Though He tarries, wait for Him for He will surely come! In the meantime, even in hard times, He never leaves us. He does not forsake those who put their trust in Him.

https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-2-26-2021/

 

Keep watching.

 

A Spring Wedding?

 

"For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away!"  Song of Solomon 2:11-13  NKJV

 

Although I have shared this post before, since I started last week talking about spring it seems appropriate to share it again.  I am not sure if it is just part of a natural expectation resulting from a long winter or a prompting from events of the past year, but for whatever reason, here it is.  The news this past week concerning the United States and its relationship with Iran in regards to changing our stance on their pursuit of nuclear weapons has raised more than one red flag among students of prophecy. Combined with even more signs that we are approaching the possible time of our departure, it simply seemed a good idea to look at Solomon's thoughts from his book Song of Solomon. 

 

 

Did you look forward to your wedding?  Did you possibly get a little more impatient the closer you got to the actual date?  I think most of us have either participated in our own, or observed someone else in this position and understand the impatience and anticipation someone approaching their wedding day experiences.  This though, raises a question in my mind which I would like you to consider as well.  Since the Church is described as the bride of Christ, and the Word also tells us He is coming to take His bride home at a future date, do you think Jesus is experiencing those same feelings of anticipation and impatience that we do?

 

When is the last time you heard a sermon taught on the Songs of Solomon?  To be completely honest, I don't recall personally ever having heard one.  Which truthfully seems to be a shame because if you believe that all scripture is inspired by God, and all scripture is profitable for instruction, you are then left with the question as to why this book was included in the scripture and what is its message?  As Solomon wrote this song to a Shulamite woman who he had fallen in love with, it is in essence his love song to her as he is courting her with the intent of making her his bride.  You don't need to read very far at all to understand the depth of his love for her, and the anticipation he has for the day she will become his own.

 

Seen in this light, it appears to me that this song can easily be considered to be what Jesus is feeling as He looks forward to His wedding to His bride, the Church.  Although the Jews have always looked at this book as signifying God's love for the nation of Israel, and it easily could be, I can also certainly see Jesus' love for the Church and His anticipation for the coming wedding in it as well.  One of the many interesting things I found while reading this book was this description of his intended which Solomon gives us in chapter 4.

 

"You are all fair, my love, And there is no spot in you."  Song of Solomon 4:7  NKJV

 

The fact that he sees no spot in her immediately brought to mind the description of the Church Paul gives us in the book of Ephesians.

 

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."   Ephesians 5:25-27  NKJV

 

For many reasons, I can read this book and picture Jesus writing these words in anticipation of His future wedding with the Church.  Yet as long as we are going to talk about a future wedding, it would also seem appropriate to consider the possible timing of it, and see if Solomon gives us any clue as to when that might take place.  Notice his description in the passage from the second chapter, and everything that he says there.  It is obvious that Solomon is talking about the season of Spring, and all of the things that occur in Israel during that particular time.

 

"For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone."

 

Solomon tells us that the winter is past, as well as the early rains which normally fall in March and April.  It is these early rains which help start the growing season in Israel.

 

"The flowers appear on the earth;"

 

One of the things I, and many others appreciate most about spring is watching all of the flowers reappear after hiding under the snow for the winter.

 

"the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land"

 

Did you know that the turtledove is a migratory bird?  It normally leaves in the fall and returns to Israel in the spring. 

 

"The fig tree puts forth her green figs"

 

The fig tree normally produces its first crop in the spring, usually harvested in early June.

 

"And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell"

 

The grapes are on the vine ripening in preparation for the coming harvest which normally occurs in July.

 

The late Ray Stedman had this to say about this passage from Song of Solomon;

 

“There is the springtime of life. But it doesn't lie in the past. It lies in the future. One day this whole world will experience a springtime like that. The Lord Jesus Christ, returning at last to claim his waiting bride, will greet her in words very much like those. The springtime will come, the time of singing, the time when earth shall blossom again and the curse will be lifted and the flowers will appear on the earth. This is a picture of what can take place in the heart of one who falls in love with Jesus Christ and enters into springtime. The cold winter of loneliness, misery, and selfishness is past and the time of singing has come”.

 

All things considered, I think it is safe to say that Solomon was anticipating a spring wedding just like many others have.  Spring has certainly proven over time to be the season of choice when it comes to weddings, and the wedding stories in the Bible are no exception.  Many believe the Church is rapidly approaching its own wedding in Heaven, and a close look at the state of this world certainly seems to support that belief.  One day, very soon it would appear, the Church will hear the groom call out for it to "come away" just as Solomon wrote in this passage.  It is my prayer that you have made the decision to accept the gift of eternal life offered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for your sin, and that you are part of the body, the bride of Christ which will live with Him forever in the place He is preparing for us.

 

Keep watching.