The Weekly Diner

Hello Weekly Readers! May the Peace of God be with you as we meet at the Diner once again!

I first of all want to thank you for your prayers as Chad K, and I went forth in service to the Lord into Kenya, Africa.

It was truly a blessed trip, and we surely felt your prayers as we ministered to the wonderful people in Kenya! We were received so wonderfully, and we felt that there was many people that had to true desire to partake of the Holy Word of God!
May Jesus Christ continue to be lifted up in Kenya, as well as in your country, wherever in the world you may be!

This week we have a guest writer for which I am thankful, as my time is being fully used trying to catch up on work that I am behind on due to the trip!
If the topic in the article raises any questions for you, just email me and I will be happy to communicate with you about it! foreignmission@comcast.net

May God Bless your week! John R.



THOUGHTS ON CHRIST’S SECOND COMING

The second coming of Christ has been widely debated and discussed throughout Christendom ever since Christ, Himself, spoke about it to his disciples. Tragically much of what is written or preached comes out of a person’s own views than out of the Bible. The Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, include the sayings of Jesus regarding his second coming. For the sake of brevity, a portion of our Lord’s discourse with his disciples recorded in Matthew 24:36-44 is as follows:
“…but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Without going into detail on the text, several facts are clearly stated that we cannot change, even if we would like to do so. Immediately we are told that, “of that day and hour knoweth no man.” So anyone who claims to know when the Lord will return is a “false prophet.”

Secondly, we are told the general conditions of life prior to the Lord’s return will be quite normal and usual. People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day the Noah entered ark. In a sense it was “business as usual.”

Suddenly in this text, there is an alarming shift—“ Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” The reality of the brevity and uncertainty of life in this world is inescapable and may be shocking. No one has a guarantee of tomorrow. In the light of this reality, Jesus makes the most important statement regarding his second coming saying: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

In Luke’s account of this sudden, unexplainable death of which Jesus spoke as “being taken”, the disciples asked. “Where, Lord?” to which Jesus gave a mysterious reply saying: “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (Lk. 17:37) The word for “eagles” could also be translated as “vultures.” The meaning is clear—the one taken is not someone “raptured” out of this world, but plainly one who has died as vultures or eagles are meat-eating birds.

Thus without question the most important matter connected to our Lord’s second coming is not our concern as to the “when” of it, but the necessity of preparation for it. So what is the necessary preparation? To this the Bible gives a clear and sufficient answer. It is to personally believe in and confess that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Lord. There are many additional details that spell out more completely how this faith in Christ becomes a reality for each of us.
But essentially it is through the work of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God, the Gospel, to effect “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

Everyone is summoned to repent and believe the gospel. This is the first work of God in our hearts and our response is our “first love” that is to remain as the continuous fuel that will fire our whole life of being a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is all summed up in two truths—love to God and love to one another. When these two truths are real in daily life, we will be prepared for the “when” of our Lord’s appearing!