By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #98 ~
As Christians, is it not our duty, our responsibility, to tell others about Jesus Christ, specifically, the truths of both His 1st coming and His 2nd coming? Now that we live in the end-times, and are seeing God’s prophetic word being fulfilled in the world around us, are we not even more obligated to tell people about Christ’s 2nd coming, and that He’s coming soon to rapture the church, and begin His reign over this earth?
Look at the example of John the Baptist. When he was here, he was fired up, telling people about the coming of Jesus Christ. He was a fearless man, filled with zeal, courage and love for Christ. “He preached the gospel to the people” (Luke 3:18). He told the lost they needed to repent of their sins so they could be made right with God. He made it clear that Christ would baptize people with the Spirit, speaking of salvation, and with fire, referring to God’s wrath. John, unlike the religious establishment of the day, was telling the people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.
Not long after John began his ministry, Jesus came, “preaching the gospel of God, and saying,‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15). As we know, Jesus spoke to the masses, discipled twelve apostles, did all kinds of miracles, died for the sins of people, and then rose from the dead. But the Jews rejected Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and in so doing, rejected Him as their King. Therefore, Jesus didn’t stay to be their King, but left them and went back to His Father in heaven. Since then, He has been building His church. But John didn’t know there would be two comings of Christ, and didn’t know about the church age, and that Christ would come back after it was over, then establish His kingdom on earth.
But now we have the whole word of God, enabling us to know the truth of Christ’s 1st coming and to see ahead to His 2nd coming. Since the Jews are back in their land, we know this church age will soon come to an end. As Christians, what are we to do? Luke 3:4 tells us to “make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” This verse, more than any other, motivates me to tell people about the return of Jesus Christ! Just think, the Lord of all, the Savior of sinners, the King of kings, will soon return and be revealed to the whole world! Doesn’t that get you excited, doesn’t that fire you up, doesn’t that get your spiritual adrenaline flowing? The One who loves you so much, the One who will judge this world, the One who will reign as King over this earth, is coming back to stay, and He will change everything, and it will be glorious!
What are we to do? We are to be like John the Baptist. Now we don’t need to wear a garment of camel’s hair, and eat locusts and wild honey, but we are, like him, to have love and zeal for Christ. And we are to preach the gospel to the lost! We are to tell them about Christ’s 1st coming, that He came to die for people’s sins, then rose again. We are to exhort them to repent and believe in Christ’s payment for their sins, so as to be born again, to be forgiven, and to enter into the kingdom of God. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
We are to also tell the unsaved about Christ’s 2nd coming, and warn them that if they don’t repent of their sins, they will experience God’s wrath on earth, and then experience His wrath in hell. This is the truth, the message we must share with the lost, and now is the time, since “the coming of the Lord is near” (James 5:8), since “the Judge is standing right at the door” (James 5:9), since it won’t be long before “the Lord will be King over all the earth.” Zechariah 14:9
What do we tell those who are saved, who are already Christians?
* Remind them of Jesus Christ’s 1st coming, and that we are now living in the end-times, the last years of this church age, and that His 2nd coming is right around the corner.
* Make sure they know about the evil Antichrist and the great tribulation that will affect both Christians and Jews.
* Tell them about the rapture, God’s rescue plan for us, and that we will then be glorified, perfected forever.
* Tell them about the Day of the Lord, God’s punishing wrath upon the unbelievers still living on earth at the return of Christ.
* Let them know that a remnant of Jews will be saved, that Christ will reign as King over the world for 1000 glorious years, and that the believers will reign with Him.
* Tell them about the eternal kingdom, the new heavens and new earth, that God will actually dwell among us, that we will be His people and He will be our God.
But don’t just tell them what will happen. Encourage them to be living a holy life, the most blessed, rewarding and satisfying life there is. Encourage them to be loving Christ, living for Him and looking for His coming. Encourage them to read passages in the Word that explain these truths so they themselves will have strong convictions, and can then tell others all about the 2nd coming of Christ.
One more thing – I really believe that God, in these days, is raising up a large number of Christians who dearly love His Son, Jesus Christ, and are excited about His soon return, and see it as their sacred duty to “Make ready the way of the Lord.” Might you be one of them!
P.S. Here are two previous posts that summarize specific things that need to take place before the return of Christ. Knowing these things will help you more effectively witness to others about Christ’s 2nd coming. When Is Christ Coming Back? and What Needs to Happen Before Christ’s Return?