is Jesus Coming soon???

WHEN IS JESUS COMING BACK?

Friends, when I recently posted a Bible verse with a picture of Monday night's blood I was NOT making a prediction about the timing of Jesus’ return. It would be foolish to do that. The color of the moon just reminded me of Acts 2:20.

The Bible clearly says that NO ONE can figure out the timing of Jesus’ return. It’s a waste of time. If fact, if anyone claims to know the date, you can be certain it WON’T occur on THAT date - because Jesus said “NO ONE knows the day nor hour it will happen!” In fact, Jesus admitted that even HE did not know the date of his return! (Only the Father knows.) It WILL happen someday , regardless of scoffers, but it is a waste of time trying to figure out the date. To attempt to figure out something that even Jesus admitted he didn’t know - is pure arrogance.

WHAT JESUS said: "NO ONE KNOWS that day or hour, not the angels in heaven, NOR EVEN THE SON HIMSELF, but only the Father know. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:36-37 (Everyone was caught by surprise in the days of Noah. They were just going about their normal work, not thinking of God.)

WHAT PAUL said: “When is all this going to happen? I can’t really say anything about that friends, for you know perfectly well that NO ONE KNOWS. That day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” 1 Thes. 5:1-2

If you are looking for a specific sign to happen before Jesus returns, here it is from Jesus himself: “This Gospel of my Kingdom (Good News) MUST FIRST be preached throughout the ENTIRE WORLD, as a testimony to EVERY NATION so EVERYONE hears it, and THEN FINALLY, the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

Jesus isn’t coming back until everyone he wants to hear the Gospel has heard it and had a chance to respond. The moment that last person accepts Christ (and God already knows who that person is) - then it’s over. We’re outta here.

SO... if you want Jesus to come back soon, forget trying to figure out when it will happen and start witnessing to your friends and taking the Good News to the 2,900 tribes that still have no Bible, no Believer, and no Body of Christ! In the PEACE Plan, we call this “The Final Frontier Project.” If you or you church wants to be a part of this, contact me about The PEACE plan and we’ll send you information. PastorRick@saddleback.com

It is interesting that the last topic the disciples wanted to talk about before Jesus ascended back to heaven was prophecy and future events, But Jesus changed the subject! . (Acts 1:6-8) Jesus was far more interested in evangelism and missions than prophecy! We should be too! Instead of teaching about “last things” Jesus changed the subject. Jesus essentially said “IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS to figure out the future. INSTEAD I want you to go be witnesses to the entire world.” We should be focused on SHARING, not signs. He’d already given them the most important sign – the Gospel must be shared with everyone God wants in his family (Matthew 24:14)

ACTS: 1:5-6 says “The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, WHEN are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus replied: "IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW (It’s none of your business!) the times or dates that the Father has set by his own authority. INSTEAD. you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES in Jerusalem, AND in all Judea and Samaria, AND to the ends of the earth."

Notice that our outreach in love to unbelievers is to be SIMULTANEOUS “Jerusalem (your home) AND Judea (your county/state/province) AND Samaria (to those of a different cultures who live by you) AND to the ends of the earth (every tribe and people group). We are to do this simultaneously- all at once, at the same time, not sequentially.

Many churches make the mistake of thinking this commission is sequential (‘then...then...then...) instead of simultaneous (“and... and... and” They want to reach their friend first, THEN their city, THEN other cultures their area, THEN finally go to the whole world. But that is the wrong strategy. Every church must be global and local AT THE SAME TIME. It is not a sin to be a small church but it is a sin to have a small vision. If you want Jesus to come back sooner, you must care about the whole world hearing the Good News, especially the Unengaged Unreached People Groups (UUPG). The gospel must be shared with EVERY tribe so that someone from each tribe is in heaven

St JOHN reported that in his vision of heaven “ I saw a great multitude which no one could count, standing before the throne of God. They were gathered from every nation, every TRIBE, every race, and every language.” Revelation 7:9 For that picture to be true, we still have about 2,900 tribes to share the Gospel with, so someone from that tribe will be in heaven. To learn how you can be involved, visit The PEACE Plan website:http://www.thepeaceplan.com/

THIS week, the best thing you can do is to bring someone to Easter service at your church! Also I encourage you to get your friends to watch my Easter message online “THE ANSWER IS EASTER.”
I’ve posted a 3 minute video you can pass on as an invitation here. It’s deeply personal: http://bit.ly/1ile6FO Bless you all! Go reach the world!