The Bible, from beginning to end, tells us of different eras in which people lived, and events pertaining to God’s history occurred. We have the eras of Adam, Noah, and Abraham in Genesis.
Then there’s era of Moses and the Israelites – their freedom from slavery, years in the desert, and conquest of Canaan. Afterwards, we see the eras of the judges, the kings, and the prophets.
The four gospels record the era of Jesus’ first coming. The book of Acts examines the era of the early church, and the Epistles record instructions and advice on how to be Christ-like for Christians, new and old. Finally, the last book of the Bible, Revelation, prophesies the second coming of Jesus. With all these eras, or times, in the Bible, which era do you think we’re living in now?
I’ll Be Back! – The Time of Jesus’ Return
I’m sure we’ve all heard about Jesus’ second coming, and I bet we’ve all had our own ideas about what that would look like. Have you ever thought about it happening during your lifetime, or even right at this very moment?
If someone came up to you and claimed that he was Jesus of the second coming, how would you react? Because that is an extremely consequential claim. Maybe you would immediately dismiss him as a fanatic, or a conman. Maybe you laugh it off and make a joke in return. But what if that person was telling the truth? How could you know for sure?
We Need to Know Our Time
If we know the Bible well, it should be easy to distinguish the different eras throughout it. We know we aren’t living in the time of Adam and the Garden of Eden, or in the time of Moses and the exodus. When Jesus died on the cross and said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30) he fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and brought the time of the Law and the prophets to an end.
So then, are we living at the time of the early Christian church? In Acts 1:8, Jesus says to his disciples,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus’ disciples were tasked with testifying the works, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the world (the gospel of Jesus). At that time, Apostle Paul was chosen as a minister to the Gentiles, and he and some of the other apostles wrote the epistles (letters) to the churches started in Asia Minor and Europe.
Which Books of the Bible Could Take Place During Our Time?
As we know, Christianity is no longer a new religion. All of those things took place about 2,000 years ago. So then what’s left? What time of the Bible are we living in? Looking at the books of the Bible and which ones haven’t been completed yet, we’re left with Revelation. The time of Jesus’ second coming. The final book of the Bible is the one that we’re still waiting for and it’s the book that tells us about the events that will happen during Jesus’ return.
Do you know what all of these events are? Where they happen or who carries them out? Jesus told us about these events in advance through the prophecies in Revelation. He gave us his words of promise to believe in and follow when they take place.
“And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
John 14:29
We must know and believe these words as they have been recorded, without adding to them or taking away from them. Because if we do add or take away, then they’re no longer Jesus’ words, but our own.
If someone gives you a message to give to another person, you deliver that message as it is right? You don’t add to or take away from it. Otherwise it’s no longer their message, it’s your message. Knowing this is vital as believers so that we can know the prophecies and recognize the events according to the Bible when they happen.
Are You Awake or Asleep?
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, it says there’s a time for everything; a time for peace, a time for war, a time to plant, a time to uproot, etc. and we can see that in nature with the change of seasons, world events, and even in our own lives. We have times to sleep and wake, times to eat and fast.
Spiritually there’s a time for everything as well. A time when prophecies are made and a time when those prophecies are fulfilled. In order to recognize the fulfillment of God’s prophecies, we can’t be asleep, we need to be awake. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6,
…for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape… So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
When we are physically asleep we don’t do anything. We’re comfortable and at peace. When we’re awake, that’s when we are productive and alert of what’s happening around us. So if we’re spiritually asleep, comfortable, and at peace with everything, what will happen based on the verses we just read?
What Being Spiritually Asleep or Awake Looks Like
What does being spiritually asleep look like? Being content with the routine of Christianity – maybe reading the Bible here and there, going to church to spend time with friends and the community, anything that has to do with the mindset of “I’m doing enough.”
And while this might be upsetting or uncomfortable to read, we have to remember that it is prophesied that those who feel at peace and secure in their lives of faith, run the risk of missing Jesus’ return. That is why we are told to be alert and self-controlled. Awake and always prepared.
How can we be prepared? Jesus gave us the answer to that as well in John 14:23-24.
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
If we don’t know or obey Jesus’ teachings, then how can we truly say we love him and God? How could we say we are prepared for His return? And if we aren’t doing what was commanded by Jesus, and if Jesus and God do not come to us, then will we be able to enter heaven and have eternal life?
When we understand that this is what we need to do during this time that we’re living in, then that should become the focus of our faith.
How We Should Live Our Lives of Faith at this Time
As 1 Thessalonians 5 says later on, we should not be like those in darkness. Those who don’t know the Bible or the time we’re living in. We should instead be like those in the light.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:5-6
Those in the light have put the Word of God in their hearts and minds. They always seek to understand the Bible deeper. They recognize the time we’re living in and are able to keep God’s and Jesus’s words rightly. Jesus himself warns us to stay awake and be aware of the time we’re living in, in Matthew 24.
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:36-39
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Matthew 24:42-44
Stay Awake, Alert, and in the Light!
Why do you think Jesus is telling us these things? He doesn’t want us to be spiritually “comfortable” or asleep, but instead be awake and alert. He wants us to know and prepare for his return so we’re not caught unaware when that time happens.
If you set an alarm for a time to wake up for work or another event, you prepare yourself to wake up at that time. If you hit snooze and fall back asleep, you’ll be late for your work or event. Spiritually as well, we don’t want to snooze through the second coming of Jesus.
If we remain spiritually asleep, we won’t know the prophecies in the New Testament well, and so we won’t be able to recognize the second coming when it happens. In order for us to be spiritually awake, we must set our spiritual “alarm” by knowing and believing in the prophecies and teachings of Jesus. Then, when that alarm goes off (the second coming happens), we will be ready to believe and accept Jesus when he returns.
So What Time Is It Now?
Jesus promised us that he would return and bring salvation for those who are waiting (Hebrews 9:28). The details of his promises are the prophecies and parables in the four gospels and Revelation. Since we’re not living in the time of Genesis, the exodus and era of the kingdom of Israel, the first coming of Jesus, or the early church, then we have to conclude that we’re living during the time of Revelation and the possibility of Jesus’ return.
By studying the scriptures as God intended us to, without adding to them or taking away from them, we will be able to recognize Jesus’ return when it happens. We must know and keep the words of promise, the words of Revelation, and remain spiritually alert.
If we know Jesus’s words well, putting them in our hearts and minds, then we will be able to believe when those promises come true. My prayer is for you to have the heart and mind to remain spiritually awake. To learn the prophecies of Jesus and believe in them. Let’s make sure we’re able to recognize the second coming when it happens instead of sleeping through it.
Written by Kenny
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