End Time Anxiety
Do you find that many Christians don’t want to talk about end times or aren’t comfortable talking about end times? Are you one of them?
I personally love talking about end-time prophecy and Christ’s return, but when I begin to talk about it with others, the majority of the responses from people are negative or they are turned off by it. In general, I find that Christians are not comfortable talking about Christ’s return. Some of the comments I get include: “It’s no different than it was during World War II,” or “We’ve always been in the last days.” The one that really gets me is “We have a long way to go before we are in the end times.” I get the impression Christians don’t want Jesus to come back. What about you? Do you want Jesus to come back today? Answer honestly. I will answer that with a big fat, YES! Come back, Lord Jesus!
The Bible tells us in Philippians 3:20 to eagerly await Christ’s return. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”
If you answered yes, did you hesitate, or, are you eagerly awaiting his return? Eager means to be “keen or ardent in desire or feeling; impatiently longing.” It is a feeling of great earnestness, or to be enthusiastic, desirous, and interested. Do any of those describe how you feel about Christ’s return today, this week, or this month? If not, as a Christian, I think you might want to ask yourself, “Where is your heart?”
Even as I type this my heart leaps with excitement. I can barely contain my excitement of knowing one day I will be in the presence of Jesus, and yet, for many, they don’t want to talk about it, and worse they seem to want Jesus to delay his return.
The Bible tells us that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and when everything is ready, he is coming for us. Are you ready?
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:1-3
Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard why don’t people want to talk about Christ’s return.
· “What if my kids don’t make it in the rapture? They need my guidance.” Who will do a better job to save your children? Who do you trust more to save them? “I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace.” Isaiah 54:13
· “I want to get married and have kids before Christ returns. Is that wrong?” I get that, but … who is your first love and who do you love more? Matthew 22:37 Luke 10:27 James 4:4 I John 2:15-17
· “We’ve always been in the last days?” Are you saying Christ may never return? Have you stopped believing in scripture? Titus 2:13 Revelation 1:1 Revelation 3:11 Revelation 22:12 Revelation 22:20
· It’s scary. Some refer to this as “rapture anxiety?” Talk about a phrase from the pits of hell. Let’s not forget we are in a spiritual battle. Satan knows his time his short and what his final doom is (Revelation 12:12 and 20:10). When it comes to your soul, John warned the Laodicea church in Revelation 3 that being a lukewarm Christian is one of the worst conditions to be in. I’m not saying not talking about end times makes you a lukewarm Christian, but again, if you are fearful, perhaps it’s a condition of your heart. You can’t have your heart in the world and on heaven and walk in peace. If you don’t look at the whole story of Christ, including his return, and you only see the tribulation, of course, you’re going to fear. That’s exactly what Satan wants you to see and hear. When I went through the 40 Days Through Revelation” Uncovering the Mystery of the End Times devotional, my heart rejoiced with a hope I had not experienced going through this book verse-by-verse. Focus on Christ, our hope, our future, not Satan. He has no place in our present or our future. Hebrews 9:28 Revelation 1:3
· I don’t understand the book of Revelation? There has been a lack of teaching from the pulpit, and that’s more reason to study end times. I think Satan has convinced people the book of Revelation, and other books like Daniel and Ezekiel, about end time prophecy are too hard to understand, they are too scary to talk about, therefore, just focus on that which is good. What a great way to get people to ignore his final doom. In the process, he can go on doing what he does best - deceiving people into ignoring the gospel, living a lukewarm lifestyle, and doing the opposite of eagerly awaiting Christ’s return. If you aren’t eager for something, you are apathetic, disinterested, unconcerned. We ignore what we don’t understand and we can’t share what we don’t know. Satan does not want us to spread the gospel and he definitely doesn’t want the church talking about the greatest day left in history – the day of Christ triumph return. If there is one thing the church should be shouting from the mountaintops it is this! Proverbs 3:5-6 John 14:26 2 Timothy 3:16 I John 2:27
Take time to reflect:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:19-24
I think these verses are key to evaluating our hearts and how we receive the message of end times and look to the clouds for Christ’s return. We can’t have one foot in the world and one foot towards heaven and think we can walk in hope and peace. If we love this world so much, our family more, and I do love my family, but if we long for all those here and our lives here more, we must ask ourselves, do we love Christ more?
If we fear talk of end times, we must ask ourselves why. What don’t I want to give up? What am I afraid of? Be honest with your answers and bring them to the Lord in prayer. Does it cause “rapture anxiety” or are you truly ready for Christ to sweep his bride away and take you to where he is?
Without honest reflection, you can’t be prepared. Don’t be like the 5 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Five were prepared and five were not. Be prepared!
Thumbnail photo by Carlos Torres on Unsplash
