Monday, April 9, 2012

I'LL BE BACK!

In the 1984 film, The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger tells those counting on him, "I'll be back!" And, true to his word, Schwarzenegger returned in The Terminator: Judgment Day (1991), The Terminator: Rise of the Machines (2003), and The Terminator: Salvation (2009).

Schwarzenegger was not the first to make such a statement, nor, I suppose, will he be the last. In 1942, as Japanese forces tightened their grip on the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to relocate to Australia. Upon arriving in Australia, MacArthur, speaking to reporters, uttered his famous line, "I shall return!" In 1944, MacArthur fulfilled his promise of returning to the Philippines, and in a prepared speech, he said: "People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God, our forces stand again on Philippine soil — soil consecrated in the blood of our two peoples. We have come dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people."

While MacArthur's declaration may have somehow inspired Schwarzenegger's line, nineteen centuries earlier, the greatest Man who ever lived made a similar promise. He said, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (Jn. 14:1-3). Jesus made this promise to His disciples, and today, we, as His disciples, wait expectantly for Him to come gather us up in the Rapture of the Church to be with our Father in heaven (1 Cor. 15:50-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18). We know He is coming back for us, and we are thrilled to know our eternal future is to be spent with Him!

However, seven years after He has removed His Church from this foul world, He will keep His promise to return and physically establish His 1000 year kingdom on earth called the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-7). Zechariah wrote, not knowing he was writing about His Second Coming, "And His feet shall stand that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (Zech. 14:4). This will not be good news for the majority of those who survive the seven year Tribulation (Dan. 9:24-27; Jer. 30:7; Matt. 24:1-29). "That day" will be a time of judgment for the nations of this world. Twenty times, the prophet Zechariah speaks of "that day." Ten of them are good news to those who are His (Zech. 2:11; 3:10; 9:16; 13:1; 14:4, 6, 8, 9, 20, 21). Ten of them are bad news to those who oppose Him and His people (Zech. 11:11; 12:3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11; 13:2, 4; 14:13).

Jesus said, in so many words, "I'll be back!" The question is, are you looking forward to His return, or are you terrified by the thought? There is good news if you are terrified; the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:1). That means you believe in God and His pending judgment. You know you need a Savior. Jesus has offered Himself to be your Savior; all you have to do is take Him at His word.

He will be back!

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