Why End Times Are Essential For Every Believer

Our Lord and God is coming. For so long many have held out hope that their generation was the last one before the Lord comes on the clouds (Revelation 1:7). Many pseudo-prophets fortold the Prince of Peace's return and were wrong. Even in the age of Apostles, there were questions abounding, why has Christ delayed? The Apostle Peter responds, "Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created. They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed. But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction." (1 Peter 3:1-16). The Apostle Peter gives us great adominshment to keep enduring and being ready at any moment for Jesus Christ to return on the clouds and bring forth His Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-8) and the New Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21:1). We must as the Apostle Cephas said, keep patiently enduring and living holy lives after our Lord. So often time makes taladim (disciples) fainthearted or prone to sin. We must as the Apostle Peter says, "look forward to the day of his coming," (1 Peter 3:12) which the Apostle Paul tells us will ensure us a crown of glory, "From now on the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8 BB). 

Christ our God and King is coming! Do not become disheartened or lack in zeal, but rather be prepared every moment to receive the Returning Messiah! For Jesus shall come suddenly, "For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2 NLT). Our Lord Himself told us that we must be ready to receive him, for we no not the time of His coming, "So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return." (Matthew 25:13, NLT and KJV). We cannot afford to become slothful and sleepy, for at any moment our God and Savior could arrive. The signs of the times confirm that the time is short tell our Savior comes on clouds. The words of the Apostles under the Holy Spirit's direction tell us of the countless signs (2 Thessalonians 2, 2 Timothy loves of self, Matthew 24, Luke 13, Revelation 1-22 Chapters, 2 Corinthians, and more). As one expert put it, "over one third of Bible is devoted to the end times and their signs [30% of Bible is End Times prophecy, both Old and New Testament]." A rule of thumb in Scripture is, "if it is repeated or talked about extensively, it is important." The Gospel and how to be saved is repeated over and over across the whole New Testament, so is the End Times.

Why is the End of Times important? Firstly it is future. While we remember Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Corinthians 15:4), while we look back and believe (John 14:26 and ), we are called to look forward to His Second Coming (1 Peter 3:12). This is important, because if there was no future, no next chapter and final pages, our faith walk would become stale and saddened. The Last Days is life blood to a believer, it spurs us to remain strong in faith, to stand firm, and look forward to Second Coming by living serious and saintly lives (Romans 12:1). The threat of the Apocalypse acts as a catalyst and rod to keep us awake, active, and aware. We know hard times are coming (Matthew 24:1-24, and Revelation 8:1-33 thru Revelation 10:5). But we must always be excited, for the Apocalypse means "unveiling" which is to unveil a bride, and we are bride of Christ (Revelation 19: 7-9, Revelation 21:9). There is hope, "Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming," (2 Thessalonians 2:8) and "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords." (Revelation 19:11-16). Beyond the exhausting exegesis of the end Times is the excitement of Emmanuel's return! The Last Days should encourage us to keep enduring (Matthew 24:13) until Emmanuel (Jesus) returns. We shouldn't become overwhelmed by eschatology (study of end things, end times) but become excited by what God is going to do!

The Last Judgment or Last Days or End Times is also the promise of justice for us who believe. Many of us have been subjected to cruelly, evils, and wicked deeds by terrible people; but we are promised vengeance, "They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters--their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred--had joined them." (Revelation 6:10-11). Even those who are asleep in the Lord await judgment of the wicked, and we are told that Christ shall come to judge, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge," (2 Timothy 4:1),  "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-33, 46), and "He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God, The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses, Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty," (Revelation 19:14-16). The Last Days bring many people who have served the Lord faithrful the hope of justice, that the wicked who have through world persecuted the Church () and at last they will be held accountable, and those who thought they got away with defrauding, destroying, and demeaning the disciples of Christ shall find themselves trod down in winepress of God's wrath.
The End Times and End of Days is also enduring promise of an end of pain, suffering, violence, and even death and it will be a time of joy, freedom, love, and more, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away," (Revelation 21:4), "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death," (Revelation 20:4), "After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted (afflicted) and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels," (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7), "Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)," (Romans 8:19-25), and these promises to those on earth during our faith walk and when Christ returns,

"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ God blesses those who are humble (Matthew 20:16, Matthew 19:30, Luke 22:26),
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷ God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ God blesses those whose hearts are pure (in heart),
    for they will see God.
⁹ God blesses those who work for peace,
    for they will be called the children of God.
¹⁰ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." (Matthew 5:4-10).

The End of Days is a day when all things will be made new, the old earth and heavens will pass away, and a paradise will be formed, "In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord." (Isaiah 11:6-9), "But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment," (1 Peter 3:10), "By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly," (2 Peter 3:7), "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished (cross ref John 19:30)! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side east, north, south, and west. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel). The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones:the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Revelation 21:1-27). We thus have the promise of a world without death, pain, violence, hate, poverty, or sickness. Everyone who has had to be poor in this world shall be rich, those subjected to persecution shall receive rest, those who were treated with violence shall be treated with kindness, those who experienced death shall bask in eternal life and everlasting days in a paradise according to prophets of both Old and New Testaments. These images of heaven, a new earth, and life without the curse, sin, devils, and wickedness are contained in the End of Times parts of the Bible, and thus beleivers receive hope from these promises and images, just a Jesus had promised, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2 KJV).

The End of Days and Last Days are not just a time of destruction, but divine liberation, salvation, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, New Earth, and New Heaven! The Apocalypse is unveiling of the great joys of paradise to us Christian believers, and the woes and terrors for the wicked unbelievers. We must fix our eyes on Christ Jesus, and see the glorious things He shall bring at His Second Coming! For the Trumpets, Seals, Bowels, Plagues, and other harms are not the objects of our focus, but rather the Coming Christ who is God (Colossians 2:9, John 17) and One with God the Father, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, John 15:26, John 10:30). So be jubilant! Be expectant of Jesus Christ's Return! For it is soon, and we must not be caught naked (sinful), "(“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.”) (Revelation 16:15 AMP).