Daily Archives: February 18, 2022

Weekly Devotional 2-28-22 Could This Be The Year

Weekly Devotional 2-21-22 Could This Be the Year?

After the Lord Jesus had resurrected from the dead He met with His disciples in Jerusalem. Having gathered them around him, they asked if He was about to restore the Kingdom of David to Israel at that time. To which He replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7). Rather than concerning themselves with the restor-ation of the Kingdom of David they were to go forth into all the world telling others about the resurrected glorified Lord, the Savior of all who would turn to him for their salvation, both Jew and Gentile (Acts 1:8). Their message was to be about the grace of God extended to all mankind. From Paul’s letter to the Romans we learn that this proclaiming is to continue until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). Two thousand plus years have transpired since Paul wrote those words and there is no way of knowing how long it will be until that fullness has come in, that is, until the last Gentile is saved and added to Jesus’ called out assembly, his Church. We can rest assured that it will come to pass someday and that we are two thousand plus years closer than when Paul penned his letter.

Peter warned his readers, “the pilgrims (saved Jews) scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia; that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation’ (see 2nd Peter 3:3-4). That same scoffing continues today and will continue until Jesus returns but return, He will. It is God’s unanswered promise to Israel.

However, there is an event that will precede Jesus coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s by seven years and that could happen any day. It is the catching up of His church. We read from Paul’s first letter to Corinthian church, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). John the Revelator writes that this will occur prior to that seven-year period mentioned above. He wrote, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10 ). John wrote this by command of the Lord Jesus Himself. His promise was and is that He will not cause true believers to go through the seven-year tribulation.

It is not therefore the year that the Lord will return and establish His kingdom, but it could be the year in which He catches up the church. We must keep in mind however “that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). We born again Christians are to persevere and to be diligent in our witness of Jesus Christ, expecting that this could be the year that He comes for His church, realizing that God has His plan and is on course in bringing it about.

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