Week 27, Day 1: Coming Quickly
Well, this is the last post of our New Testament reading. If you have been following along, you have now completed the whole New Testament in the last six months. I appreciate your efforts, and hope you have gained much from your studies along the way. We are planning (starting Monday, July 20th) to start a reading schedule in the Old Testament. This will, of course, take us much longer. We are going to plan to do one chapter per day, except where the chapters are very short (such as in the Psalms). I think we may try to post about the reading for the day, instead of the previous day’s reading. We may try that for a while, and see how it works. If it does not go as smoothly, then we will switch back to our current pattern. I look forward to our coming studies!
Some thoughts from Friday’s reading…
The one idea that keeps being repeated, especially in Revelation 22 is the idea of the coming of Christ in judgment. In the book of Revelation, the warning was that the judgment was coming against Rome and the ungodliness that she (the great harlot) was responsible for. The Christians needed to be ready for that coming judgment, so that they were not guilty of falling short of their goals. If they gave up, and joined in the wickedness, then they would be a part of the judgment that was coming quickly. At least 3 times in this one chapter, the idea is repeated that the judgment was coming quickly. The reward would come with Christ (Revelation 22:12) whether it be for the righteous or the wicked. The righteous would be rewarded with good, while the wicked would be rewarded with condemnation.
We too must be ready for the coming of the Lord. He may come in judgment on the nation that we live in, due to its wickedness. If that is the case, we want to remain righteous so that we don’t suffer the same condemnation as the wicked. But, even if He chooses not to do that, He has promised that He is coming back to judge the whole world. At that time, the righteous will be taken to their eternal reward, but the wicked will be condemned eternally. It should be clear that we want to be on the right side of the judgment! So, the words of Jesus should be loud in our ears today as well. He has not told us when He will come, but just knowing that it could be any time should be enough for us to keep ourselves in a constant state of preparedness!
Popularity: 19% [?]
One Comment »
Stephanie said :
July 15, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Thanks for the exhoration to stay ready.