The End is Not Yet

I asked the Lord recently about how much time was left, how long until Luke 21:36 was fulfilled? I believe his answer was a familiar scripture that tells us the end is not yet:

Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Luke 17 and Matt 24 are loaded with imagery for the day we leave this planet. Yes, there are many scoffers in the world who hate the escape from all and anyone who mentions it. Those scoffers will be exposed on the day we go into our 'ark,' the day we leave our 'Sodom.'

Our Lord gives us a picture of the day we leave. What does the picture look like? What are the words used as paint to 'paint' this picture for us? The words are:

Eating
Drinking
Buying
Selling
Planting
Building
Marrying
Being given in marriage

These are the words our Lord used to paint a picture for us. The words our Lord used describe a day for us. Look at the words in the list above. If all you knew about the day that our Lord comes was that the words above best describe that day, would you say the words describe today? I don't think so. Do you think the words above describe a 'great depression' that people keep telling us is coming? I don't think so. The words our Lord used to describe the day he is coming had everything to do with a prosperous day. The words used describe to perfection what the days looked like not too long ago at the height of the housing market bubble.

We cannot add or subtract from the words our Lord used to describe the day he is coming. We have to take what was written at face value and face value indicates more likely than not, we have more waiting to do.

Look around you, listen to the pundits who try to piece together a vision of the future for you using today's "news," how accurate have they been in the past. Who saw today's economic collapse coming? Few did. How many today are predicting days of prosperity ahead of us? Nobody is. Yet the word of God paints us a picture of a better day than the days we are in today. In that day, he comes back for us and the same day the world spins into the abyss.

Why would the Lord come back in a day of prosperity and not in a day of wordly distress?

Here's why:

Hosea 13:6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

The world is in distress today. In days of distress people cry out to God for relief. I believe the days we are in today are the transition from 3rd base to home plate. I believe we are seeing days of distress today as a last great act of mercy by our Lord before all hell breaks loose on earth. Act of mercy? Yes, that's what I said. If you are jobless and homeless and sick and tired but you are truly "in Christ" then you have gained more than all the world has to offer and your momentary troubles will fade away. The people who have not responded with faith to the days of distress will have missed their last pre-time of Jacob's trouble chance to set things right with the Lord.

People are crying out to the Lord today and what happens when he feeds them? They become satisfied, they become proud...and you finish the sentence... Luke 17 and Matt 24 both paint a picture of a day in our future that is characterized by prosperity not depression and distress. The coming day of prosperity we see painted in Luke 17 and Matt 24 will be turned on its head the very moment we leave this place. We are told that with both Noah and Lot, the "good times rolled" right up to the very day they went into the ark and left Sodom. 30“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

The Lord is always many steps ahead of this world. People can't see more than inches in front of their own faces because they do not look to the Lord for wisdom. People look to this world for their wisdom and strength and guidance and substance. The Lord could come back for us any day, but we likely have to wait for a more prosperous day to see it.

The signs of our Lords coming are:
Eating...today people are starving
Drinking...today the world is thirsty
Buying...the news headlines tell us people are not buying anymore
Selling...the news headlines tell us that sellers are going out of business
Planting...less people are planting because of bad weather, government regulation, no profit etc
Building...builders of every type are filing for bankruptcy due to the economy, housing and commercial real estate glut etc etc
Marrying-marriage today is the "out" thing to do. "Hooking up" is the "in thing"
Being given in marriage--ditto^^

Think about it. Be patient....grace and peace