The Time is Near
And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
(Revelation 22:10-11) ESV
The end could come at any time. That’s to say, the end could start at any time, because we know that it’s a series of plagues called the tribulation.
Our passage today is a rather stark example of “you reap what you sow,” or karma. The time is at hand, that’s to say, time’s up. If you’re bad keep being bad, if you’re evil keep being evil: if you’re good keep being good, if you’re pure keep being pure.
We could see the beginning of the end at any time. This being the case, how should we live our lives? Not surprisingly the Bible speaks directly to this and in the correct context: the end of the age.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
(2 Peter 3:9-13) ESV
What sort of people ought we to be? If God isn’t willing that any should perish, and the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn, how should we behave ourselves? Carefully.
So what sort of people should we be?
- We’re resolute in our faith in the Bible and confident in our knowledge of science.
- We know the character of God well enough to be sure that his promise to preserve His Word for us is reliable.
- We’re steadfast in our determination to reach this dying world.
- We’ll continue to proclaim the coming of God’s Kingdom.
- We’re going to politely warn you about the reality of hell.
- We’re going to endure.
Any time it appears that scientific knowledge is in conflict with the Bible, popular science (SciPop) has selected an incorrect interpretation of the evidence to support its godless existence narrative.
With that in mind we can be 100% confident that the Bible is true. This means that some really awful stuff has to happen before the end of the age. It could begin at any time. We have to ponder the sudden appearance of the COVIS-19 virus and its devastating impact so far. It’s going to get much worse. With that in mind, the end may have already begun.
Salvation
- Call upon the name of Jesus Christ,
- believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
- confess your sin.
Read through the Bible in a year
| Reading plan | December 21 | |
| Linear | 1 John 4-5 2 John | |
| Chronological | 1 Peter |
Matty's Paradigm 