Anticipating Eternity
Matthew 24:4-31
Recent participation in a Bible Study Fellowship women’s small group involved a closer look at this passage of Matthew. These verses are Jesus words about the signs of the end of age and the distressing times that will precede His return (the second coming). An application question was presented in the lesson inquiring how Christians should “…receive and respond to these warnings” (The Unexpected King: Matthew’s Account of Jesus; pg. 24, question 7b). I felt God prompting me to search deeper through Scripture to find other verses that provided “charges” for how believers are to live out their faith, furthering God’s Kingdom in light of the knowledge of Christ’s return. Not every passage listed below pertains directly to the context of Christ’s return, but rather to the broader idea of living and acting in faith – applicable to all believers. These are New Testament passages I found helpful, though I do not consider this to be a verified complete or exhaustive list. (Key words and phrases regarding these Biblical commands to believers are italicized for emphasis only).
Matthew 24:42-44, NIV
“‘Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come….So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.'”
I Corinthians 16:13-14, NIV
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith: be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”
Philippians 1:6, NIV
“being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Colossians 4:2, 5-6, NIV
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful….Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
I Thessalonians 4:16-18, NIV
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:35-39, NIV
“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
James 1:2-3, NIV
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. “
James 5:7a, 8, NIV
“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming….You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
I Peter 5:6-11, NIV
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all you anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
Jude 17-23, NIV
“But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.’ These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt: snatch others from the fire and save them: to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.”
Application
- Resist the temptation to engage in sin just because God willingly and patiently forgives it. Just because Christ’s return is of the future does not mean that we can deny His current presence in our lives.
- Commit time every day to your personal relationship with God. Open the Bible with an intent to learn, pray with an intent to both share your heart with God and to hear His voice, and engage in Christian worship/church/Bible study communities with an intent to grow spiritually and to likewise edify others.
- Be prepared and hopeful! Live every moment in preparation and joyful anticipation of Christ’s return.
