Expecting...

"You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."

Luke 12:40

When do we expect Him to come? At first glance, looking around at the world today, I feel like the Lord's return to earth could come at any moment. Some, many who are in the midst of the worst horrors, are praying, "Come quickly Lord Jesus!" The wars, rumors of wars (terrorist threats), physical, legal and social persecution of God's people, make me lift up my head and expect to see Him come bursting through the sky at any moment. However, Jesus said He's coming at a time that we don't expect. 

I'm not saying He couldn't return at any moment, but Jesus gave us a clue about what would be going on in the earth right before the end. He said "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14. That word testimony is the Greek word marturion which means a testimony, witness, evidence or proof.* So at the time of His return, or just before, this gospel will be preached, in the whole world, to all nations. The preaching and His return will bear witness with each other.

Will this preaching be coming from those under severe persecution who refuse to deny their faith, even at the risk of death or loss? Or will it come from those who have great blessing on their life in the midst of great turmoil in the world? I would guess it to be both. There are two equally telling tests of faith. One is persecution and the other is prosperity. Persecution either presses people to draw closer to the Lord out of both need and faithfulness, or causes them to question and abandon their faith. Luke 21:36, Prosperity either causes people to draw closer to the Lord out of thankfulness and gratitude, or to become comfortable, arrogant and with a false sense of security, abandon their faith. Deuteronomy 8. 

The point is, as Christians, we want to guard against both the hopelessness and fear that comes with persecution (or the threat of persecution), and the pride and complacency that comes with prosperity. The gospel of the kingdom needs to be heralded and proclaimed throughout the world. That is to be our focus no matter which situation we are in.

*Strong's Concordance of the Bible retrieved from Biblehub.com 08/29/2015