THE LORD IS COMING SOON; ALMOST AT THE DOOR

Prophetic Voices Sounding the Alarm

The Lord told His disciples and His followers (the Church) that He was leaving them (speaking of His death, resurrection and ascension) to prepare a place for them and to come again (back) to receive them unto Himself, and take them to be with Him for good (John 14: 1-3).  This event is the rapture of the Church.  At this event, the Lord does not land on the earth but stays at a meeting place in the air to collect the saints, the dead in Christ and those who are His and are alive at His call.  

On another occasion, Lord spoke of coming in glory with the angels and will take the throne of His glory and sit in it. (Matt 25:31).  This event is prophesied in Zechariah 14:16.  He will sit on His throne as King of kings and Lord of lords of the whole earth.  His throne will be in Jerusalem.  This second event is the 2^nd Coming.  Unlike His 1^st coming where He died, rose again and went back to heaven, this time He will reign and rule on the earth for a thousand years.

Bible scholars agree that the rapture of the Church and the 2^nd Coming will come in quick succession.  Bible scholars believe the two events cannot be more than seven (7) years apart, He takes the church to heaven in the rapture and returns to earth at the end of the Great Tribulation to establish His kingdom.  So, in the discussion that follows, when we talk of His coming, we speak of both 1^st and 2^nd comings, since both are taking place in quick succession anyway.

Why we ought to have a sense of the time of His coming

Have you ever taken a trip in which you were unprepared?  I have.  When that happened, I left a lot of things that would have made my trip stress free, safe, convenient and very fruitful.  As you know, forgetting something for a trip is really not a big deal because whatever is forgotten or undone, it can still be rectified.  The result is only temporary.  But, when Christ returns it is like the time of the master asking for His stewards to make an account of their stewardship.  We do not want to be found by the Lord to be unfaithful and wanting.  If you missed the rapture, it may not be the end of the road for you but you expose yourself to so much uncertainty and risk to your soul.  The warning to be ready at all times for His return is all over the gospel accounts.

 To have a correct view of the nearness of His coming, regardless of it being the rapture or His 2^nd coming, will help us take the right steps, prepare and avoid trouble.  

When does the Bible says He will come.

Here are a few thoughts regarding the when question:

• The Lord said that the day and the hour the rapture, the Father has reserved to Himself

• But the times and season scriptures reveals. Please note these things which were prophesied to appear before His coming:

1. The Lord is prophesied to return to Israel and defend it against an army of invaders (Eze 38 and 39). Since May 14, 1948, Israel is back as a nation.  It was not a country before that.  The Jews were scattered in 70 AD during the invasion of Jerusalem by the Romans.  Israel then ceased to exist.  From 71 AD to 1948 there was no country of Israel, the land was desolate and mostly uninhabited.  Since the nation of Israel was non-existent during that period, He could not possibly come before this milestone.  But, today, since there is a country He could come back to, the possibility is real.
2. The Lord spoke in Matt 24:6-7 of wars and rumors of wars along with famines, pestilences and earthquakes as happening before His return. There are currently wars and rumors of war, famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Our news networks and media are reporting all these.
3. The countries spoken of in Ezekiel 38 which will wage a war against Israel, are appearing to be forming a confederacy of nations hostile to Israel. These include Russia, Iran, Turkey, Syria and other Muslim nations.  Eze 38:12 says the invaders are driven by their desire for plunder and booty.  Amir Tsarfati of https://beholdisrael.org believes the booty they are after is natural gas that Israel has a large reserve of which Russia is wanting to control the supply of gas to Europe.  It could also be plain and simple hatred for Israel which inspired by demonic influence.
4. When we look at today’s news, we see that lawlessness abounds, the love of many growing cold. This was prophesied by the Lord in Matthew 24:12.  Today, we see violence and crime taking place in unprecedented fashion and becoming more and more serious and severe and the perpetrators are becoming even younger.  Criminals commit crimes in a country other than theirs.  This means law enforcement where the crime was committed have no jurisdiction over them since they live in another county.
5. Second Thessalonians 2:3 speaks of that Day as not coming until the falling away comes first. I am of the opinion that the falling away has occurred already with the erasing of the moral compass that was brought in by the Judeo-Christian influence with the spread of the gospel and Christianity.  The magnitude of thievery, corruption, scams, deceptions and commonplace lies in our culture is proof that the moral compass has swung in the opposite direction.   The falling away has happened.
6. There is gridlock in society and culture, a battle between good and evil that cannot be won because the side which wants to uphold the law is opposed by another side opposed to it (on account of item 5 above). This is a true in the United States and in many nations of the world.  There is no clear majority on one side.  The people are divided.  In many countries, the reign of parties and governments with the Judeo-Christian perspective is largely disappearing and opposed by globalists, environmentalists, Muslims and atheist who unite to oppose them.  Good governance is stymied by opposition with a global anti-Christ agenda. 
7. The poor becomes poorer, violence and injustice is not punished, corruption is widespread, justice and the rule of law is absent or diminished. Life is not sustainable for many and is ripe for the coming of a savior.

Conclusion

The Lord destroyed the earth with a flood in Noah’s time because, as the bible says, “The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)  From this, we can conclude that there is a limit to the grace that the Lord bestows on an evil world.  When that limit is reached, then judgment will come.  Isaiah 2:12 says “For the Day of the Lord of Hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up- and it shall be brought low-.”  The proud and lofty are those that do not believe that there is reckoning of evil.  That reckoning starts on the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6-9) which will conclude with His second coming.  He comes to judge the Christ rejecting world, the evil, the injustice and the shedding of innocent blood.  At the end of it, He will establish His kingdom on earth and reign on His throne which will be in Jerusalem.  All these signs point out that the season of His return is near.  Almost at the door.  If we perceive this, if we understand it, we ought to repent, depart from evil and turn from being an enemy of God and make Him savior and Lord.  To understand how this can happen, read the blog, “What it means to be Born again?”