By Martin Morrison.
This is one of our top devotions of 2020 published on the 14th of April 2020. Find the full article here
Titus 2: 12 – 13
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Whenever a hugely dramatic event occurs in our world, such as the present Corona Virus, many ask whether these are the last days? It is a good question. It’s normally only asked by someone who believes in God. Someone who believes in the supernatural. Someone who believes the Bible. Someone who believes in the first coming of Jesus and now His return. So they ask, is this crisis a sign of the last days before the imminent return of Jesus?
Christians ought to eagerly long for Christ’s return. Biblical Christianity trains us “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 Saviour Jesus Christ” Titus 2:12 – 13. John’s response at the end of Revelation should characterize the longing of all Christian hearts, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus come” Revelation 22:20. In fact, one of the signs of a Christian ensnared by the things of this world, is the less they long for the return of Christ!!
So Jesus teaches His disciples to expect His return at any moment. “Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming…..Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” Matthew 24:42 – 44.
However, there are two dangers.
The first danger is to misunderstand the Bible’s teaching on the last days. It is true that most New Testament passages that use this terminology speak of the return of Christ. However, it is equally true that “last days” terminology has a wider meaning. So in Joel 2:29 and Acts 2:17 the phrase is used of the events surrounding the coming of the Messiah. In Hebrews 1:1 – 4, the author of Hebrews tells us that we have been living in the last days, since the coming of Jesus. Meaning that the “last days” have been present since the incarnation. Thus far there have been over 2,000 years of “last days”!! Meaning that in salvation history, everything has been accomplished for our redemption. All that we are now waiting for is the return of Christ. Meaning that the last days are from the ascension of Jesus until the return of Jesus…Keep Reading