From January 1st
to December 31st our calendars encompass holidays, birthdays,
anniversaries, church events, vacations, doctor appointments, business
meetings, school days, athletic events, work days, week-ends, parties,
celebrations, funerals, weddings, and much, much more.
From the sound of the morning
alarm clock until the time it’s heard again the next morning, our calendar days
are divided up into time segments. Regardless where we live on this globe we
call earth, we are all affixed to ‘time.’
It’s time to go to school.
It’s ‘quitten’ time! It’s time for your medicine. It’s time to eat. It’s time
for your test. It’s time to go on vacation. It’s time to go home. How about
this one; it’s time to think about eternity, where there is no time, or is
there?
“In the midst of the street
of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of
the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2)
Time is not bad. Most of the
verses of Genesis chapter one speak of ‘time’ and the days, consisting of time,
were declared by God to be “good.” Time was here before the Fall (Adam and
Eve’s original sin), and will be here from now on.
Someone may mention that
Revelation 10:6 says, “… that there should be time no longer,” but this should
have been translated “that there will be delay no longer.”
“Time” is not our problem.
“How we handle time” is our problem.
Scarlett O’Hara, in “Gone
With The Wind,” would say, “I’ll think (or worry) about that tomorrow.” Some
folks like to say, “Put off today what you can do tomorrow.”
A lot can happen in a day’s
time. How many times have lives been irretrievably changed in one second? God
warns us about that.
“Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.” (Proverbs 27:1 NIV)
“Why, you do not even know
what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14 NIV)
The difference between “time”
on earth, in our fallen state, and time in eternity is that there are good
times and bad times in the here and now, in our fallen state on earth. In
eternity with the Lord, all time is good.
For example, on earth in our
fallen state:
· It’s Bible study and prayer time. (Good time)
· It’s almost time for my date with the woman I’m going
to marry. (Good time)
· It’s time for church service to start. (Good time)
· It’s almost time for my root canal. (Bad Time)
· It’s almost time for the test I didn’t study for. (Bad
time)
· It’s time to sentence the prisoner. (Bad time)
Literally, from hour to hour,
day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year, we all live on a time
schedule here on earth. God knows exactly, to the second, how much time we each
have to live in this body. We do not know from second to second, minute to
minute, etc. how much time we have left. Therefore, we should all spend our
time wisely.
Some folks live by the seat
of their pants when it comes to arranging their time. To the other extreme,
some have a schedule for everything. The best plan is whatever works for you.
Just make sure that it works. Are we forgetting to do things? Maybe we should
write them down.
What do we consider important
enough in our lives that we wouldn’t want to forget it; the job interview, the
exam, date night with our spouse? Normally, those things we consider to be
important in our lives, we remember and we make time for them.
Have we set aside time for
Jesus Christ, the Son of God? How many appointments have we broken with Him? He
stands at our heart’s door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). Have we answered? If
we have, have we spent time dining with Him, or have we allowed other matters
to interfere? There are so many exciting things He wants to share with us. What
a pity, if we allow those other matters to hinder our time with Him.
The greatest news He wants to
share with us is His willingness to save any who will put their trust in Him.
He wants to give us eternal life, where all those times in eternity will be
‘good times.’ He wants to adopt us into union with God. He wants us to rule
with Him, and that’s not all. He wants us to be looking for Him.
Jesus said in John 14:1-3
that He will come back from Heaven and take all who are His back to Heaven. He
had the prophets and the Apostles tell us what the ‘times’ would be like prior
to and when His wrath is poured out on earth. According to His own Word, the
Bible, that time is fast approaching.
He first will come and
retrieve all who are His, those who have died and those who are still living.
This is called the Rapture. Afterwards, seven years of Tribulation will be
poured out on earth as His wrath consumes the nations and as He cleanses and
draws His people Israel to Himself.
Time is running out. The
people of earth have always lived in a time that provided a Savior (Jesus), who
they could call on to be saved and be with after death, with the added bonus of
avoiding hell. Today, that is still true, but there is something else to consider
also. One can live without Christ and miss the Rapture and then be thrust into
hell on earth (Tribulation). If you think life is bad now, it’s a cake walk
compared to the time of the Tribulation.
Anyone who has seriously
studied prophecy should be keenly aware of the approaching time of God’s
judgment upon this earth. Yes, Jesus will snatch out (Rapture) His own before
His wrath falls, but if you have not come to Him by faith alone, you will be
left to suffer during that terrible time (Tribulation). Many will be saved
during the Tribulation, but millions more will not. Many will be saved and lose
everything they own, including their life, in the process.
God has set a time for all
these things to happen. When will that be? I do not know, but I believe with
all my being that time is fast approaching. I base this belief not on feelings,
or what someone else says, but strictly upon God’s Word, the Bible.
The world is running out of
time, and most of those who belong to the world are letting time slip through
their fingers like water running through a sieve. Even many true Christians are
oblivious to the tick-tock of God’s clock running down. He has a timer set for
us, and it could ring at any moment. At any moment the Father could say to the
Son, “Go get your bride.” (Rapture) After that, the gloves are off.
Time is an awesome thing. Not
so if you are in prison of course “doing your time,” but even there, if you
belong to Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter where you are, only who you are. If
you belong to Jesus Christ, you are a child of God and the bars will not hold
you when He comes for us (Rapture).
If you are not a child of
God, thank God for every minute He has given you, and by all means, do not
waste another second in getting your life right before Him. Call upon Him to
forgive you and save you from your sins, and He has promised to do so. Listen
to the soft knocking at your heart’s door and let Him in. Time is running out.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
