The Return of the King

This entry serves as a final meditation for the Wildflower Rosary, the last decade for Sunday's Glorious Mysteries. The Second Coming of Jesus is the ultimate culmination of the Father's plan of salvation in this era of the Church. Many people these days are convinced that we are living in the days of the last generation, and there does seem to be a fair amount of evidence in their favor.

The Return of the King:

     "... and from his mouth, a sword ..."

     Revelations 19:11-16

There has been a lot of debate in learned circles about whether there will be a rapture of the believers before the worst of the Great Tribulation occurs. The prophecies are, by intention, unclear about the timing of this event, and certain teachers even deny that it will occur at all. I think the expectation, however, is clear that it is a separate event from Jesus' return to liberate Jerusalem from the final siege. Part of the confusion stems from the way the disciples asked their questions, mixing near events with far future end times. The first century destruction of the second Temple divides history in a way they could not imagine. But also, the prophecies of the Second Coming are left unclear deliberately so as not to betray the Father's plan to the interference of the Enemy. Jesus said that we would only see the season blooming of his return, and that no one would be able to predict the day. Thus, it is our job to remain watchful, ever ready to greet the King upon his arrival. 

It is not until John receives his vision at Patmos and writes the book of Revelation that we actually see the final Return of the King to claim his remnant from among the Jews. John sees two crucial events in the Tribulation, a harvest (ch.14), and Jesus' return for the last battle (ch.19). It may be that the harvest, taking away most of his true believers, removes all restraint from the world's conscience, thus allowing the nations to band together against Israel. At this point, Satan thinks he has a chance to win. He believes that if he can destroy all of the Jews, he can prove God a liar.

Only the 144,000 Jewish missionaries for Jesus, and those willing to stay and risk martyrdom to keep on calling those who might yet believe, are still preaching the Gospel. Many Israeli Jews may respond, but the few living elsewhere will likely be dependent on hearing with a conscience sensitive to the Lord's Voice. Surviving as a diaspora Jew will be a dangerous proposition. These remaining Jews are the ones for whom Christ returns in glory, pouring out his wrath to fight the many armies encircling Jerusalem. The Father never forgets his covenant with Abraham. The Jews are still his chosen people, and his betrothed, beloved Bride.

In Revelations 19, Jesus appears, riding on the clouds, when the heavens themselves rip open. He will be riding a white horse and his appearance is fierce, with his robe dipped in blood. He bears the name "King of Kings and Lord of Lords," and from his mouth comes a sharp sword which devastates the enemies arrayed around Jerusalem to oppose Him. When his feet touch the Earth, on the Mount of Olives, a great earthquake happens and splits the mountain all the way into the City, opening the way for his people to escape toward Moab and Petra. There He protects them until their enemies are vanquished. The resulting carnage will be too horrible to imagine, so the crows and vultures will feast. It will take months to bury the dead, and years to clean up the radiation.

The stories recalling the way these events from the Revelation actually played out will, no doubt, be recorded for posterity. The stories may become the third volume of our Holy Bible. When all is said and done, Jesus will be enthroned as King in Jerusalem, and He will oversee the clean-up of the scars of battle and the renewal of our planet. Then we will at last see what a correctly ordered society is supposed to look like, when the temptations of the devil are locked away. For a thousand years, He will reign over the whole world. And we shall live to see it all unfold. 

Hallelujah! Jesus is coming soon! 

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Are you saved, or just pretending?

We all need to examine ourselves to be sure that we are in Christ, and not just members of a church, playing at being Christian. We may think that we are saved because we go to church, but not all church-goers have been truly, deeply transformed by the touch of Jesus. Are we actually seeking to be his disciples, walking in his footsteps, trying to understand his words, and living according to the Father's will, as He did? Or, are we merely cultural Christians, seeking sanctuary within the church, doing what Christians do, and hoping to get into Heaven someday? 

Jesus told a story, a parable about a field sown with wheat that also sprouted with tares --- weeds that grow looking like wheat, until their seeds mature differently. He knew that the Church would appear to be full, but not all would be truly his. They think they will be saved, but their hearts have not been renewed. Their lives superficially look like Christians, but they hide secret sins that are not repented from. They haven't put God first, but cling to the idols of this world seeking their own advantage, rather than what would build his Kingdom. However, Jesus said that we would not be able to tell true wheat from the weeds until the time for the harvest. Only then would his angels be able to separate the two. 

And some will come to Me saying, 'Lord, Lord, did we not do great things and mighty works for you, in your name?' And I will say, 'Go from me, you wicked evil doers, for I never knew you.' And they shall be cast into the outer darkness. (paraphrased)

This goes to show that some will pretend to be children of God, doing the works of one who belongs, while yet being unchanged in their hearts and sinning over and over in secret, because they covet the values of this world.

Thus the Lord says, 'I do not see as man sees, looking upon the outer garments, but I look and see what is in a man's heart.' ... The angels can see the difference between the wheat and the tares, but the separation will not occur until we stand before Jesus at the door to Heaven. Do not worry that you may be found unworthy. None are worthy but those who love the Lord and seek to please Him by repentance and obedience, following his words and example. If this truly describes your heart, you are saved. Of course, we keep finding small sins that we confess to Him and repent to forsake them. We will not be perfect until we are given resurrection bodies and the robes of righteousness, as promised, upon our entry to Heaven. 

We do not earn our salvation the way other religions demand. Jesus offers that for us as a free gift of grace. That's the only way we can ever be accepted before the infinite, holy, perfect God, our Father, Creator of the Cosmos. 

Your sins cause God an infinite amount of pain and suffering. You can never earn enough merit to overcome the infinite pain you cause God by sinning. One sin gives infinite pain, because God is infinite ... but because Jesus is also God, the Son, his sacrifice is also infinite to cover all of our sins, and his infinite mercy offers that same sacrifice for you, if you will accept Him as your Lord and Saviour.

Don't let your pride, trying to earn salvation, be the sin that you don't repent from, continuing to reject his mercy. You can't be good enough because you are created and finite. You can't put out infinite effort and thereby become perfect. You're not supposed to be able to earn Heaven, because God doesn't want us to boast of how we deserved to be saved. God does not owe his respect to any bits of his creation. He saves us because He made us for Heaven, but because He gave us free will, we have to choose to love Him. 

Our free will is both God's gift, and our problem, because we misuse it and sin. The result of sin is to be separated from God, to lose Heaven --- spiritual death, and eventually, physical death. But, in his compassion, Jesus offers Himself in your place, and then gives you his righteousness so you can stand in his place on Judgement Day and be saved by his merit. That is a merit that we can never earn for ourselves, but Jesus did it for us. 

We only need to trust in Jesus. All He asks is that you come and follow Him, and become his disciple. Let Him place his seal on you so that you can choose to do what is right, rather than following your own selfish interests. That seal is also a gift, given free for the asking: the gift of the Holy Spirit. By giving us the Holy Spirit, Jesus sends another part of Himself, the third person of God, to live in our hearts, where He can speak to us and guide us. 

Without the Spirit, we cannot do what is pleasing to the Father. But by listening to Him, we hear what the Father asks us to do. We know the Voice of God because He never contradicts his Word written in the Scriptures, but recalls to us the Law and the prophets, and the stories that reveal who He is. We follow with our obedience, and thus show how much we love Him. Our obedience is not perfect, but the mere fact that we keep trying, and confess our failures, shows the condition of our hearts. 

Perhaps the main difference is, we don't obey a set table of rules because they are rules. Rules will never save us. Rather, we obey whatever rules we can because we love God. We know that obedience pleases Him, and that is our whole goal, to do whatever we can to please Him. When Jesus came to live with us, He made the rules both simpler and harder. Simpler to remember and keep track of, but harder to achieve. This was not to cause us to despair, but to require us to ask for help. Each day we need to approach Him for assistance in our daily lives, and the fact that we do, and that we keep trying, is what pleases Him. 

We ask for forgiveness when we fail. He expects that and gives it freely, so long as we grant the same to others. And He gives us strength and grace to try to please Him with obedience And when we come to speak to Him, then He knows us, and we come to know Him as well. That is what saves us. 

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