Hope for Today
Against the uncertainties of our times, people need a word of hope. Naturally, we worry and wonder what will happen with the war in Ukraine. We wonder what will happen with other nations of the world. We wonder about the economy and so many other things. In coming days the experts will make predictions about what is to come. We can weigh those claims as they come but something that will serve us far better is to look to a sure and certain future.
The near future may be hazy but on the horizon we have complete clarity. How can that be possible? Well, the same Jesus who defeated sin and death has told us what the future holds. Some believe that this means we should seek correspondence for every facet of current events in Scripture. I am skeptical of this. History has shown this to be a good way to humiliate one’s prophetic ability. I’ve lived through many prophetic announcements that have proved to be quite wrong. The wars in the Persian Gulf were supposed to usher in Armageddon. Y2K was going to be the end of the world. And there may be more to come. I’m sure these events may have some prophetic significance but I believe we may only recognize them in retrospect.
In contrast to this, Jesus told us what we need to know. First, He told us these things would happen. Jesus said: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8). Jesus used the illustration of birth pains to talk about these kinds of events. These types of events should remind us the return of Christ is drawing nearer and nearer. Today Jesus’ return is nearer than yesterday.
Second, Jesus told us that believers should live in a state of expectation. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Jesus admonishes believers to be prepared because even as His return is signaled by all of these events, it remains unexpected. We don’t have a time and date we can mark on the calendar. We must simply be ready.
Finally, Jesus gave us a picture of what will happen once He does return. That picture is glorious. Jesus will return to rule the nations of the world as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). Satan will be thrown into hell, the curse of sin will be removed and this world itself will be made new: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).
In these uncertain days, we serve a certain God. Let current events sober you and keep you reminded that we are awaiting Christ’s return. We fix our eyes on Jesus now and look forward to His sure return. He is our hope!