Based on Revelation 22:6-15 (New King James Version)
“Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’ And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. ‘Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’ Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.’ And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.’ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
This is an irrefutable truth, especially when we see the world we live in today: Christ is coming soon. Everything that was foretold by the holy prophets of God and by the Lord Himself is being fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled daily throughout the world, as it is written: “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.” Matthew 24:1-7. The wars that have happened in the rest of history cannot compare to the wars in the last two centuries. Pestilences that are affecting all men throughout the world like they have been lately and continue happening now has not occurred in history, where millions in the world die because of different diseases. And we see now this coronavirus that has caused the death of more than a million people in a matter of months; and people can try to point the finger at the authorities, but the issue is that no one could have seen this coming, nor have been prepared for something like this, and so, not even be able to know what to do (and we still don’t know well enough). There is hunger throughout the world, even in developed countries, because of poverty and lack of resources. According to the World Health Organization, in a study they published in 2018, more than 820 million people in the world do not have enough food to eat, more than 10% of the world population. Earthquakes, what can we say? The earth has shaken a lot and very hard, and in different places. And how can we forget Israel, the world’s clock, where one of the most extraordinary prophecies was fulfilled when Israel was brought back to its land and established by the world as a sovereign state once again in 1948, something that was seen as being impossible before. Everything is being fulfilled. Nothing will stop the fulfillment of God’s Word, as it is written: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Matthew 24:35. So then, a wise person should think like this, “How can I be ready for the coming of the Lord?” And I can only answer with God’s counsel through His very own Word.
The first thing should be our focus on God through Jesus Christ, and we see this when John thought of worshiping the angel that was revealing God’s mysteries to him, and the angel told him not to do it, but to only worship God. We can neither worship, nor give any adoration to anyone or anything outside of Jesus Christ, because God’s saints themselves never allowed it. They pointed to Jesus Christ. We see Mary, for instance, in the following: “His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’” Juan 2:5. The Apostle Peter also said this: “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11. The Apostle Paul also wrote this about the Lord Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36. Everything and everyone point to the Lord, for it is written: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5. So then, we cannot put our eyes on a person, no matter how special they may be. This was the error that the Jews committed when God the Son (Jesus) was before them. They were not able to see the Messiah, and they even killed Him, because they were more focused on Abraham, on Moses, and even on their own persons and desires rather than on the Most High and Sovereign God of the universe. Our goal, all of our focus and priority should be the Lord, for it is written: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ‘And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.’” Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
The other thing we see in this passage is that we will be judged for our work, and that we should do righteousness, sanctify ourselves, and do His commandments. So then, God is greatly interested in what we do with our lives, especially after coming to the knowledge of the Truth, because we are saved for a purpose, not just because. The Bible teaches us this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? James 2:14. “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. Everything we do after receiving the knowledge of the Truth counts, for good or for evil, depending on what we decide to do with God’s Truth, whether we decide to live for Christ or for something or someone else.
The day is drawing near for the world and for every human being. There is no way to avoid it, and to know when it will happen. So then, will the Lord find you ready when He comes for His true church, or when He comes for you individually? Lord bless! John