How close are we to the appointed day?

 

 

    We know that God has already appointed a day in which He will judge the world according to righteousness (Acts 17:31). That is, there is a specific time already fixed in the mind of God in which this earth and all life as we know it will come to an end. When Jesus spoke to His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, they asked, "When shall all these things be?" (Matthew 24:3).  Good question!  Concerning the destruction of the heavens and earth (2Peter 3:10), we need to ask the same question: "When shall all these things be?"  That is, "What time is it? How close are we to the appointed day?"

 

    God has kept the earth rotating around the sun at an angle of 23 1/3 degrees for at least 6,000 years.  The Law of Christ has already been in existence more than three times longer than the Law of Moses.  More than at anytime since the first century, men are mocking the Bible and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" (2peter 3:4).  Our knowledge is doubling every four years (Daniel 12:4).  And, our earth is "waxing old like a garment" (Isaiah 51:6), already supporting over six billion people, and that is expected to double in the next twelve years. How many people can the earth support? Just what time is it?

 

    In the rat-race of our society, there's the tendency for our faith to grow lazy and go into hibernation. That would be a tragic mistake, because our world is moving toward a certain fixed destiny. The Bible summarized this "certain destiny" in two simple words: THE END (1Corinthains 15:24).

 

            Paul writes,  "…and knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed."  (Romans 13:11).    No one knows the day nor hour when our Lord will return (Mark 13:32-33), but we do know that we are 24 hours closer than we were yesterday at this time. Are you ready? Are you following Jesus – the Word? (John 1:1). If you are not following Jesus, you will not end up where He is, and He is in Heaven (Ephesians 1:20).  Peter writes, "…what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (1Peter 4:17-18).   - - Toby Miller