What Do I Do?
What Do I Do About It?
First things first. If you want to avoid the Tribulation, the time of God's Wrath, which I believe is approaching quickly, then there is only one path forward for you. That is to accept Jesus as your Savior and receive the gift of His salvation which He offers freely to you. He paid the full price for your sins, past present and future, and all you need to do is accept His gift to you. Paul tells us “That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10) It is as simple as that; believe that Jesus was the virgin-born God in human flesh who lived a sinless life, died for your sins, was raised from the dead, and offers salvation and eternal life in heaven to all who believe this and trust in Him for their salvation. Then tell someone of your belief--confess Him with your mouth.
If you do this, welcome to God's forever family! If you have already claimed your spot in God's family, praise God for that! Now that we have taken care of the most important part first, we will move on to an examination of what our lives should look like in light of Bible prophecy.
A good place to begin is with 1 John 2:28: "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." This implies that some Christians, carnal Christians who are saved but still living worldly lives filled with sin and disobedience to God, will be ashamed when Jesus returns for His own. I don't want to be one of them! The knowledge that Jesus could be coming at any moment for us should have a profound impact on how we live our lives. If today could be our last day on earth, many of the things we think are important suddenly take on secondary importance. Likewise, some of the things we tend to put off suddenly become extremely important--like placing God first in our lives, actively seeking and following His will for our lives, praying, reading and learning the Bible, witnessing to non-believers, etc. The belief in Jesus' soon appearing isn't a call to stop planning for the future; you still have that duty to be a good steward of the gifts and blessings God has given you, whether they be money, business, charities, influence over others, creative activities, family, etc.
Instead, the knowledge of His soon return should give us strength and enthusiasm to fulfill our duties as Christians, in that we are called to give all of ourselves to God as our service to him: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2) We are to offer our very selves to God, and the Bible is clear that this is our reasonable service. In view of how great our God is, who descended from His almighty position in heaven to become a man in order to suffer and die an agonizing death for us by taking on the whole burden of all our sins, it is indeed only reasonable for us to offer Him ourselves fully and without holding back!
We are not meant to sit around hoping and dreaming about when Jesus will come to take us with Him in the Rapture. Instead, we are to be following God's will for our lives, taking advantage of the limited time we have left by living out the purpose that God has planned specifically for us. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) Although good works have nothing to do with our salvation, which is through the finished work of Jesus Christ and Him alone, to which we can add nothing, we are called to live in specific ways as a result of that salvation and as a result of our hope in His coming for us. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." (Titus 2:11-14) Again, we are to flee from all ungodliness and the lusts of the flesh, and live lives of self control, following Jesus' commandments for our lives, as we wait for Him to return--our "blessed hope."
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2) We are constantly under observation, if not by earthly beings then by supernatural beings. Angels, fallen and otherwise, are constantly observing us, Ephesians 3:9-10, and in so doing they learn about the mysteries of the Church and of God's wisdom. Because of this, and because on earth we are surrounded by many mortal witnesses--especially in these days of social media and instantaneous communication across the world--it is necessary for us to set aside the sins that bind and imprison us and instead live our lives in dedication to the path God has set for us to tread upon. We are to be lights to those in darkness, even more so as the darkness closes in upon us as the end of this age dawns. Like Jesus, for the joy that He promises to His faithful, we must endure the sufferings of Christ. In this life we will have tribulations, Jesus promises us, but with Him on our side they become insignificant by comparison.
Paul is very clear that there is nothing we can do to add from or detract from our salvation. Once we have believed in Jesus' finished work on the cross and His resurrection to pay for our sins, our salvation is a done deal. However, just because we are equally saved through grace does not mean that all will be equal in the life to come. Paul is just as clear that we will receive different rewards based on what we do in service to Christ during our lives. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." (1 Corinthians 9:24-25) Paul also tells us, "According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
We also learn from Paul that one of the most important things we can do is to follow the path God has set before us while always looking forward to, or "loving", the appearance of Christ. We should always be in a state of readiness for Christ's coming, and we should always look forward to it with love and eagerness. As Paul says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Similarly, we as the body of Christ, the faithful Church, have collectively been given the gifts and the abilities needed to serve Christ until His coming. "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills." (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
We individually have each been given a gift or gifts--to some more gifts, to some less--so that we can use those gifts to serve Jesus in light of His imminent return: "That in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:5-8) Notice that the exercise of our gifts from God is connected inextricably with our anticipation and our waiting for the coming of Jesus. This is again a case of the fact that, since we know time is short, we should experience a sense of urgency and be all the more eager to use our gifts to serve Him while we are still here on this earth. Once the trumpet calls, and the voice of the archangel resounds, and we are raised up to be with Him in the Rapture, it will be too late to serve him in our mortal bodies. Our eternal rewards and our eternal destiny will already be decided based on what we have done while in the flesh. It is not wrong to desire heavenly rewards. Jesus Himself tells us that we should be focused on storing up spiritual, heavenly treasures rather than earthly treasures: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21) This is a call to focus on heavenly treasures and rewards, so we don't need to be shy about serving Him in expectation of receiving rewards for our service: "the laborer is worthy of his reward." (1 Timothy 5:18)
Similarly, we are to focus on the things above rather than the things of this earth. Again, that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan for retirement, take out life insurance for your family in case something happens to you, plan to send your kids to college, etc. It does mean that we should be heavenly minded, not earthly minded. The things of this earth are passing away, and we are here only for a blink of time before we go to our eternity with Christ. We should live for and focus on the eternal, not the temporal. "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)
So we are told to exercise our spiritual gifts and focus on heavenly things while watching for Jesus' return. The importance of watching for His return is emphasized by how many verses urge us to watch and wait. We have already seen several of them but there are plenty more. As a sampling, here are some of those verses: "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching." (Luke 12:37) "How you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." (1 Thes 1:9-10) "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thes 5:4-6)
Notice that this last verse says we are not in darkness that the Day of the Lord should come on us as a thief, but instead we are children of the light. That means we can see the Day coming as it approaches--unlike non-believers who live in darkness and are totally unaware of the coming of the Day of the Lord. If we can't see Jesus' return coming, why would so many verses exhort us to soberly watch for it? The fact of the matter is that, although "concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come," (Mark 13:32-33) we can see it approaching and we can know the general season of the Lord's return. When we see every single one of the signs given to us coming together and occurring at one point in time, that is today, we know that time is very short and our blessed hope is rapidly approaching.
Knowing this, how should we then live? "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." (1 Thes 5:8-11) God wants us to be sober, serious-minded, and to strengthen our faith, love, and hope of salvation--knowing that we are not appointed to the wrath of the Tribulation period, but instead are saved from it through our faith in Jesus Christ who died for us. We should comfort each other with the knowledge that we will be saved from the wrath of God that will soon fall on this sinful world.
"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:13-16) This is a call to holy conduct. We will never be free of sin this side of the Rapture, but in obedience to God's will for us we can conform ourselves more fully to God's standards of holiness. Sanctification is an ongoing process that occurs after we receive salvation, in which we are made more like Jesus Christ through the power and workings of the Holy Spirit. We can never attain perfection in our hearts, minds or actions, or escape the lusts and passions of our former ignorance, but we should nevertheless aspire to the perfection of holiness that Jesus demonstrated for us: "being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6) Also, it is very important to note that, while we are called to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ, we are also supposed to prepare our minds for action! God doesn't want us sitting around all day hoping, he wants us to do good works in gratefulness to the amazing gifts He has given us through Jesus Christ!
"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)
"And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'"
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15)
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." (1 Peter 5:8-9)