When culture speaks on the apocalyptic end of the world, as we know it, you get volcanic eruptions, tsunami’s, asteroids, and mythic creatures rampaging throughout the earth and bringing death and destruction in their wake. Hollywood is obsessed with the end of the world and because of the way they portray the end times many people experience feelings of dread when they ponder what it will be like. To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ (Jude 1:1) Revelations, when speaking about the second coming, is not only a prediction of doom, but the beginning of the marriage feast between “Us the Beloved” and our wonderful Savior and Lord. When we become bombarded with the doom centric apocalyptic predictions of this world we can rest in hope and peace because Revelations tells us what we can expect. That in the end times we will not be the objects of wrath but the recipients of love.
Revelations tells us how the story ends. When the time comes when the God of justice pours out the cup of wrath on those who have fallen short of fulfillment of His perfect law it will be empty and Jesus will say, “There isn’t any wrath left to pour out on those who have called out my name. All of the wrath was poured out on me at the Cross. They are mine! There is no more wrath! “ This message should stir a longing and hope for the return of Christ. We can look forward to being reunited with our perfect Savior for the rest of eternity. In 1 Corinthians 1:7-8 Paul says, "As you eagerly wait for the Lord Jesus to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Why do we eagerly await? Because the gap of separation caused by sin will be closed and we can finally experience eternal communion with Jesus and be perfectly in sync with the purpose of our creation, which is to reflect and experience the Glory of God. This is the promise we look forward to. In Romans 8:22 it says “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Even creation is eagerly awaiting God to redeem the broken condition of this world. Many theologians describe our current time as one that is in between. For those called, our names have been written in the book of life but we have yet to experience the fullness of transfiguration into the perfection of Christ. We still struggle with a sinful nature, we are still impacted by the evil and brokenness that is so prevalent in this world, and we are not set free from our current sufferings. We have been told of the time when we will leave this mortal flesh and be given a new flesh that never tires and never knows illness or pain. Paul says in Philippians that to die is gain and to live is Christ. The bible makes it
