Apathy of God's Children
by Peggy McIlveene, 5/31/04
You know, the lack of desire to talk about, read about, and understand Bible prophecy in the Church (true Christians, not the building) just blows me away! After all, the "great hope" of Christendom is the return of Christ for His Bride! Why doesn't that excite EVERY Christian as it does me??? I just don't understand! I LONG for Eternity, for perfection! I long for oneness with Christ, as I have oneness with my husband ("and the two shall become one")! Look where Christ introduces the taking of His Bride (the Church)... in Ephesians 5, the "marriage" chapter. He tells us that when a man and woman are joined together by Him in holy matrimony, they become "one" flesh... spiritually they become ONE, no longer TWO. Christ also calls THIS a mystery, not to be revealed (fully understood) until we see Him face to face!
I blame a LOT of this apathy on the fact that people are "too busy" with work and just life in general, to give serious study to ALL the word of God! They get so wrapped up in work and the cares of life, that they don't take time to read God's word and to "hope for" eternity! It's hard for me to imagine, but sadly enough, it's true! Another problem is that even though a THIRD of the Bible is prophecy, Pastors don't teach the End Times! And THEY are to be leading the flock of Christ! I can't figure that one out! If a third of the Bible is prophecy, how can the word be "rightly divided" if that third is ignored???
I began studying End Times prophecy in 1982, when I read a copy of Hal Lindsey's "Late Great Planet Earth", and have been avidly studying it ever since! Before that time, I can understand, because the Lord told Daniel there wasn't quite as much interest in it, since God told Daniel: "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4) Daniel wanted to understand the prophecies about the Last Days, but the Lord told him it wasn't time for him to understand... because he wasn't living in the End Times at the time. When Daniel asked the Lord, "What will be the outcome of these things?", the Lord told Daniel, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time." (Daniel 12:8-9) That tells me that until it was time for people to understand prophecy (namely, the Last Days), it would not be understood. The End Times, the Rapture, and the Tribulation were to be a "mystery" until they needed to be understood... when the time was "ripe" to understand them. A "mystery" is something only the Lord understands, and He will choose when the time is right to reveal the understanding of this mystery to His people.
I was going to a small Lutheran church at the time, and when I brought up the End Times/Rapture to my Pastor and fellow church friends, I was literally scoffed at... by my friends AND by my Pastor! Believe it or not, they didn't even want to HEAR about it! WHY NOT??? I was stunned, even back then!
Well, the End Times clock began ticking when Israel became a nation in 1948, and now people "go back and forth" incessantly, and knowledge has most definitely increased like never before! So has understanding of the Last Days to those who are interested enough to study God's word and ask Him for understanding of the Scriptures! The Lord promises us that the generation that sees Israel become a nation, will not pass away until ALL these things take place. Therefore, we KNOW we are in the Last Days! I don't understand why EVERY Christian isn't pouring over the Scriptures to find out what the "signs" of His soon return for us are!
We'd best wake up and smell the coffee!!! The signs are all in place, and the stage is set! Those who are not watching for His return WILL BE LEFT BEHIND!!! Just as with the Parable of the Ten Virgins: "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the Bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding feast [the Marriage Supper of the Lamb], and the door was shut." (Matthew 25:10). If we're not watching for Him, we will miss His Glorious Appearing! And since the Lord has unveiled the mystery of these end times, we are without excuse! WAKE UP, BROTHERS & SISTERS... Christ is standing at the door!!!
"But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." --Luke 21:36
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. --Romans 13:11
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. --1 Thessalonians 5:2, 5-6, 9-10
