WHEN CAN WE EXPECT JESUS TO RETURN FOR THE FINAL JUDGMENT?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People 
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, 
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, 
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the 
good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than 
lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. 
Have nothing to do with such people.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5)

MEDITATION:
Many people want to know when Jesus will return for the final judgment.
Why would they be concerned? Would their lifestyle and priorities change 
if they thought His return was near? If so, doesn’t that imply that they are 
not living as they should, and they know it? In our world, procrastination 
is not unusual. Sure, we will live as the Lord expects us to “one day”, just 
not right now.

Of course, no one knows when Jesus will return, except for our Creator.
    “But about that day or hour no one knows, 
      not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, 
      but only the Father.” 
      (Matthew 24:36)

However, Paul was given a vision of signs that indicate His return is 
nearing. He said there will be “terrible times”. Are we living in perilous 
times? Of course we are, as crime, murder and terrorism are increasing 
rapidly. Efforts are underway by some to eliminate law and order by
defunding the police force, and if they succeed, our perilous times will
escalate even more.

Paul said, “people will be lovers of themselves”. There are many folks today 
with an attitude of, “It’s all about me”. Commercials encourage this kind
of attitude and we see it in sports where players want the focus on them
for making a good play. Those of us who love sports see this type of attitude 
often as a player tries to draw attention to himself by pounding his chest or 
engaging in some other kind of attention getting antic.

He said people will be “lovers of money”. We see this often played out
as people strive to be ‘just a little better’ than others. Love of money
can be the reason some people are robbing God, so they can use what
is His to get more for themselves. The mantra of the world we live in is, 
“Get all you can and can all you get” and “Just do it”.

Some homes are being broken apart due to the absence of workaholics 
who are in pursuit of more possessions and staying ahead of others. It’s 
no surprise that he lists “boastful”, “proud”, and “conceited”. As people 
make more money, they get more possessions, and naturally they want 
to ‘show them off’ to others.

They become proud of everything that is theirs and have little concern of 
what others have (unless it is more or better than theirs). Listen closely to a 
conversation between two people and see how often one will talk about the 
achievements of themselves or their children, and how little they ask the 
other person about their life and family.

“Abusive” and “brutal” is the type of action someone has when they are 
frustrated over failures in their attempts to ‘achieve’; failure causes some
to feel they are missing out on enjoying the important things of life. Violent
actions can also be caused by not being able to cope with some situations; 
it happens because of their lack of ‘self-control’ (another sign listed by Paul). 
When sin takes a person down the dark path of meanness, it can result in
abusive or brutal actions, because Satan has corrupted their minds. 

Not too many years ago, there was an occasional ‘spoiled brat’ in the 
neighborhood, but lately we can see instances of disrespect for parents 
in many families. We could explore all kinds of reasons for this, but the 
fact remains that a growing number of children are “disobedient to their 
parents, and others” with no fear of consequences for their actions.

“Ungrateful” doesn’t mean doing something for others in return for what 
they have done for us. It means a person does not even show any genuine 
gratitude for what they receive from others (whether it’s a gift, a helping 
hand, or some needed encouragement). This lack of appreciation can also
cause some to fail in giving God the credit He deserves and thanking Him 
for all He has provided. 

“Unholy” is an interesting item in Paul’s list. It is indicative of those who 
‘put up a front’ of being a believer, but underneath the facade there is no 
real substance to support their claim. Some are convincing themselves, 
and others, that they are saved by their words and actions, but they are 
speeding toward an eternity separated from the Lord. The root cause is, 
many have created a personal ‘religion’ with their own guidelines, instead 
of surrendering and obeying God’s commands.
    “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter 
      the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the 
      will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to 
      Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in 
      Your name and in Your name drive out demons and 
      in Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will 
      tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, 
      you evildoers!’
      (Matthew 7:21-23)

Although we could list many examples, let’s look at one that happens 
often. Someone claims to be a Christian, quotes scriptures, and posts 
biblical phrases on social media. However, they have ‘dug in their heels’ 
about obeying God’s command to worship together with other believers. 
When asked about it, they will either become angry (because they know 
they are wrong), or they will justify their disobedience (because they are 
trying to convince themselves that it’s okay).

Sometimes when a person likes another person of the opposite sex, and 
the person they like asks them to attend church with them, they jump 
at the opportunity. Why? Because they want to be with that person; it 
has nothing to do with worshipping with other believers.

Three of the items listed are related – “without love”, “unforgiving” and 
“slanderous”. A person with sincere love will have the capacity to forgive 
others (as God has forgiven them), and to avoid saying bad things about 
others.

Some are guilty of slandering because they want to build themselves up 
by belittling others; it is a byproduct of jealousy. We can see this when 
we make a compliment about someone and the person we are talking to 
says, “Yeah, but did you know…(something derogatory)”.

The movie industry doesn’t help as it tries to convince the masses that 
love is only equated to sex. The news media doesn’t help either, as it 
falsely reports information that is detrimental to people who disagree 
with their opinions and goals.

“Treacherous” and “rash” are loosely connected as we see people 
ending up in perilous situations, because they failed to use the 
wisdom God has given mankind, which separates us from the 
animals.

“lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” points to misdirected love.
It is an attitude of pleasing self rather than pleasing God. As long as God 
fits into their desires and plans, they will include Him, but if it requires a 
sacrifice or an inconvenience, then He is left out. That’s not a love of God!

It makes sense that the very next item he lists is, 
    “having a form of Godliness but denying its power”.
He is pointing to hypocrites, which are people who talk and act like 
Christians, but they have refused to allow the power of the Holy Spirit 
to enter their lives and change them on the inside, which will result in 
God being their top priority.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit, some are ready to justify or debate 
(sometimes vehemently) their disobedience of God’s commands. With the 
Holy Spirit in control, a person looks forward to, and finds joy in obeying 
His commands like, worshipping with others, and ‘returning’ a portion of 
what He has given us (the scriptures tell us that a tithe of what we have 
belongs to God). 
    “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, 
      ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are 
      under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing 
      me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may 
      be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, 
      “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and 
      pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough 
      to store it.
      (Malachi 3:8-10)

By no means is the intent of this devotional to indicate that the 
return of Jesus is nearby. However, we can see from what Paul
has listed, there are ‘indicators’ which point to His imminent 
return anytime soon.
    Even so, when you see all these things, 
    you know that it is near, right at the door. 
    (Matthew 24:33)

ACTION:
Questions to consider:
    - Am I living each day as if I expected the return of Jesus?
          So you also must be ready, because the Son 
          of Man will come at an hour when you do 
          not expect him. 
          (Matthew 24:44)

    - If I could know when He would return, and it would 
      happen ten days from now, what would I do differently?
      Why not make those changes now and start enjoying a 
      close relationship with Him and other believers?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I am thankful for Your promise that Jesus will 
return and take all believers to our eternal home. Forgive me for 
defiantly disobeying some of your commands that do not fit my 
lifestyle and desires. I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill me so much
that I no longer worship on my own terms, but on Yours. I want to 
live a life with complete trust that You will bless and take care of me 
whenever I obey Your command to tithe. I am tired of watching 
others having a relationship with You that I am missing out on
due to my own selfishness. I have procrastinated long enough, 
so I ask You to help me make the changes needed to behave more 
like a member of Your family who wants to live like Jesus.” 

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