We all live through the challenges sin brings into our lives. The time we spend in difficult circumstances might feel unbearable, yet God has set a time for everything, and He has set eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11) for a good reason. There is a limit to our times of trials, but no limit to our time when God’s will is accepted and wanted by all peoples—after the second coming of Christ.
It’s just the in between time that we are challenged by the evils and blessed by the sweetness that remains in a world created by God. When it comes to the “End Times” we need to believe that God has it all under His love and care. I find great comfort in reading Revelation 12:14 as it mentions what I believe to be the times of pursuit by satan of baby Jesus and Mary that was only permitted for a certain time. “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.” The evil serpent-satan had limits to time set by God. He was limited by God in the evils he could bring down on Job, Mary, and Jesus, and all of us. We may not be able to completely love the time that God allows for evil to triumph in our own days, but we can have great confidence that when time is ended, it will be ended by God.
Every generation has found reason to wonder if they are living in the end times. Focusing on the second coming of Christ is not a bad way to help us think about how we are going to spend our time. In 1996, the whole world was beginning to be in a frenzy about the Y2K phenomenon that did not amount to anything. That was the year I first flew to Europe where I got on a plane that said, “one world” and discovered everyone in England was talking about the possibility of a Euro that I hadn’t even heard about in America. All of this caused me to start to wonder if Jesus may be coming back for the church in judgment in the year 2000.
The second coming of Jesus marks the end of time. I asked myself a question—“If Jesus were to come back in the year 2000 what would I want Him to find me doing?” That is a great question for us to ask ourselves every time we think about the end of times.
I ended up writing a book called Passion on Purpose about the answers I gave to how I would live my life. They are the seven actions Jesus promises to reward us for:
- Jesus gives heavenly rewards to those who use their financial resources for His kingdom. (Matthew 6:19-21)
- Jesus gives rewards for the spiritual disciplines we practice with the right motives. (Matthew 5-8; 16-18; 1 Cor. 9:17; 1 Cor. 4:5)
- Jesus gives rewards for standing up for your faith. (Matthew 5:11-12; Luke 6:22-23; Rev. 2:10; James 1:12)
- Jesus gives rewards for the way you treat others (Matthew 10:40-42; Luke 14:12-14; Hebrews 6:10; 1 Thess. 2:19-20; Mark 9:41; Luke 6:32-35)
- Jesus gives rewards for dedicating everything you do to glorify God. (Colossians 3:23-25; Romans 12:1)
- Jesus gives rewards or keeping God’s Word pure. (2 John 7-8; Rev. 2-3)
- Jesus gives rewards for being watchful for His return. (2 Timothy 4:8; Luke 12:35-48; Mark 13:32-37)
The end of times is the time to think about what is important in the way you use your time.
