During the early days of the Covid19 pandemic there was speculation as to whether the world would change for the better as a result of it. Subsequent events have shown that this was a forlorn hope. Fundamentally, the hearts of men and women have remained as they ever were, i.e. ‘deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked’, Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9. As we witness the atrocities that are taking place, globally, it is easy to become depressed; indeed, we begin to wonder whether there will ever be a time, when the world will change for the better. If the current traumatic pandemic has failed to bring this about, we begin to doubt whether anything or anyone can!
I am sure you would value your spirit being lifted, rather than cast down; therefore, in three of our meditations this week, we will consider a coming glorious time, when Jesus Christ returns to reign. Before this event, He will return to take all Christians, both past and present, to be with Him in heaven. This could be at any moment – there are no prophecies that have to be fulfilled before this thrilling event takes place. It will be followed, possibly a generation later, by a 7-year period of intense tribulation (judgement) on earth, which will usher in Christ’s return to reign on earth for 1000 years.
THE PURPOSES OF CHRIST’S RETURN TO EARTH TO REIGN
- to judge the world in righteousness, Acts chapter 17 verse 31
- to be vindicated in the world that cast Him out and crucified Him
- to prove that God has a Man, who can rule, when all others have failed
- to fulfil God’s promises to Abraham, David and his descendants
- to answer Jesus’ prayer to His Father: ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven’, Matthew chapter 5 verse 10
- to reveal the depravity of people’s hearts – after Christ’s idyllic reign, they will continue to rebel against God
Come, Lord Jesus, come!