Most people are familiar with the saying: you can’t see the forest for the trees. In other words, we can get too focused on the little details (the trees) that we lose perspective of the big picture (the forest). Christians are guilty of that as it relates to the end times. Last week, Pastor Greg spoke about being prepared and not worrying about the exact time of Christ’s return. This week, in The Ends Times: Part II, Pastor Greg went over quite a bit of Scripture on the end times and what it might “look” like.
A lot of big terms were thrown out about the tribulation and the millennium. Some people, and churches, base their entire belief system around what they believe are the “correct” interpretations regarding the end times. Sadly, these people are seeing the trees very close up and ignoring the forest. At Grace, we believe in the bodily return of Christ and the judgement of all of humanity. We can debate the specifics until Jesus’ return, but in the end, does it really matter to the steadfast believer when the millennium is? or the Tribulation? Watch out for those trees - they can blind you to the forest.
How can people, Christian and non-Christian, get so caught up with the end of the world? Part of that answer is just fundamental to how human beings are wired: we’re a curious bunch. Another reason is to make sure that we’re ready for it when it happens. If we know when it will occur, then we can be ready and get our affairs in order.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Jesus made that very clear to his disciples - only the Father knows the time, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to figure it out. Rather than spend all that time and energy in attempting to discern the time of Jesus’ return, we need to concentrate on being prepared for His return as if it could be any day. In Sunday’s message, Pastor Greg put it very succinctly: endure, be ready and be prepared - that is what Jesus said.