As time passes, as a species, we become worse and worse at following instructions. The notion of common sense has died a slow death by a thousand cuts to the point that pizza joints have to put warnings on their boxes telling their customers not to eat the box, and coffee shops on their cups informing them that the contents may be hot, so they should show proper caution. A few years back, some lady banked millions after suing McDonalds for burning herself with hot coffee. More recently, eating Tide pods was all the rage, and people of all ages filmed themselves doing it as though it were some great accomplishment. Throw people tasing themselves and licking toilet seats on airplanes into the mix, and you get the feeling we’re not raising a generation of Rhodes scholars and Mensa candidates.
The dumbing down of humanity is
no longer a conspiracy theory; it is a provable fact, as studies have shown
that the average IQ has been on a steady decline year after year since the
1970s. What’s worse is due to the little gadgets we carry in our pockets and
have become dependent upon, we think ourselves to be among the brightest
luminary minds ever to walk the earth, so much so that anyone attempting to
challenge our preconceived notions or ideas is summarily silenced, mocked, and
rejected.
The only thing we’ve gotten
better at as time progresses is coming up with excuses for our actions and
blaming others for our poor choices. Whether it’s society, the education
system, the patriarchy, or feminism, we’ve become masters at passing the buck
and laying the blame at someone else’s feet, but Jesus eliminates this
possibility by pointing out that He told us all these things would come, He
told us beforehand, and if we fail to heed His warnings, if we fail to walk in
the way which He has made clear and prepare for the events of the last days of
the world, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. It doesn’t mean we won’t
try. It just means it won’t work.
Those who see the things Jesus
warned of unfolding will not be troubled in their hearts or spirits because
they knew beforehand that this was how it would play out. It’s like rewatching
a movie you saw a few years ago and remembering the next act, the next scene,
the twist, and the surprise ending. It may be a surprise to someone who’s never
seen it, but since you have, you expect the big reveal and aren’t rocked by it.
Unlike watching a movie you’ve
seen with someone who hasn’t, it’s not a spoiler to tell others about the
events that will begin to occur in the world. There is no mandate or unspoken
agreement keep them to yourself so you don’t spoil the ending. Granted, some
won’t believe you and will even become angry because they saw it ending
differently, but some will remember what you said, as well as how you were
insistent upon the single most important takeaway, that Jesus was the only
lifeline that would not fail them in the days to come.
Matthew 24:26-28, “Therefore if
they say to you, ‘Look He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look He is in
the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east
and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For
wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
When weighed in the aggregate,
there are more warnings about deceivers in general, whether false teachers,
prophets, or christs, than there are specifics regarding the last days of the
world in Christ’s discourse. This should not go ignored or unnoticed. There is
a reason and purpose in it, and if we fail to see it, it will be to our
detriment.
Again, if being deceived were
not a possibility, Jesus would not have spent so much time warning against
deception in its many forms. The last one Jesus tackles is the idea of a
secret, mysterious, unnoticed return. No matter who says it, if Christ’s return
is not of such monumental proportions that it shatters the fabric of what many
have come to believe as reality, it’s not the real Jesus, and He hasn’t
returned.
You can’t ignore lightning. It
draws the eye, it shatters the idea of normal everyone adhered to just moments
earlier, and it’s something that cannot go unnoticed. Even the blind and deaf can
feel the vibrations of a lightning strike in their bones and know something
extraordinary is happening. That’s what He meant by the two examples He gave.
There’s no such thing as secret lightning. When it strikes, you know it and
have a reaction to it. The same goes for the second example He gave of the
eagles being gathered together wherever the carcass is.
If you’ve ever driven by a field
and seen birds circling a given area, you know that something once living
breathed its last beneath them. Whether it’s eagles or vultures, once the sign
of their circling is evident in the sky, the rest of the portrait materializes instantly.
Christ’s return will not be a
secret event, nor will it be a hidden event. It will be undeniably evident, and
anyone who claims otherwise must contend with Christ's words. He warned of the
exact thing some are claiming today, yet nobody seems to take His words into
account.
You just don’t understand
because you’re Romanian. There’s this secret appearing, then the real one. Says
who? Not Jesus. This isn’t a new restaurant doing a soft opening, hoping to get
the bugs worked out before it goes live. Jesus doesn’t need to practice His
return or rack up frequent flyer miles.
Due to our overwhelming desire
to be out of here before things go sideways, we’re willing to believe men’s
words over Christ’s words and not feel at all bad about it. On the contrary, anyone
who points to what Jesus said gets lambasted and villainized because they don’t
want to see the secret glorious appearing that will keep them from having their
faith tested.
Why do you hate people? I don’t.
I love them; that’s why I’m not trying to give them a false hope contrary to
Scripture that will implode at the first sign of hardship. I would rather you
hate me and prepare your heart to endure to the end than love me for giving you
false reassurances that will never materialize and be shaken in your faith when
the things Jesus said would come to pass, do.
Yes, there is a selfish
component in all this: I don’t want to stand before God on the day of judgment
with blood on my hands for not rightly dividing the Word and by my omissions
having caused one of these little ones to sin.
Matthew 18:6, “But whoever
causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better
for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the
depth of the sea.”
In case you were wondering who spoke those words, it was Jesus.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 24 June 2024 | 11:33 am
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