For Thought and Meditation - Monday, September 26

[Pine Baron]

Good morning all. I will admit, patience is not my strong suit. Thank God it's His. Have a safe and blessed day.

Patient for Our Sake
by Greg Laurie on Sep 26, 2022

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
—2 Peter 3:9

When it comes to the subject of studying Bible prophecy, sometimes we miss the point. We can become obsessed with things that we think are fulfillments of Bible prophecy but actually are not. We forget that Bible prophecy is not given to inflate our brains but to enlarge our hearts.

If we really understand what Bible prophecy is about, then it should cause us to want to live godly lives. The Lord is not late in returning to Planet Earth. He has just been patient with us.

Here’s what the Bible says: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).

God is waiting. I remember, back in the early 1970s, everyone was talking about Jesus’s return. We were praying, “Lord, come back!” Aren’t you glad that He didn’t answer our prayers? After all, there are a lot more people who have come to Christ since 1970.

I believe that someone somewhere walking Earth today will be the last person to believe before the Lord calls His Church home to Heaven. This is what we often call the Rapture of the Church. Writing about this event, the apostle Paul said, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NLT).

If you knew who the last person was who needed to come to faith in Christ before His return, it would be tempting to apply a little pressure on that person, wouldn’t it? Imagine sharing the Gospel with that person and leading him or her to Christ, and suddenly, we’re all in Heaven!

God is waiting for more people to believe.

[USMC87]

Amen, the last person that will be saved is in God’s plan of salvation and will come when He calls them.

[dverna]

I do not believe God is waiting for more men to become believers.

I believe God is waiting for the period when the number of believers (as a percentage) drops to a level where it is assured non-believers (and evil) will dominate the world. At that point, He will "cut His losses" and destroy evil.

So, if we want to hasten the coming of Jesus, we must do the opposite of what we are doing now. We should let evil "win" and not encourage people to come to the Lord. But that is not what God wants us to do.

We must try to spread the word as best we can knowing that it is essentially a "lost cause". By that I mean we can win more souls to salvation, but we cannot defeat evil.

We are to try to win every battle against evil while acknowledging we cannot win the war. Man cannot defeat evil. It can only be defeated by Jesus.

What is the significance of the last man to come to Jesus? Is there any mention of this person in the bible? Does the bible tell us this "last soul" triggers Rapture. And in case you have only swallowed the hook and not the sinker, Laurie states he believes the man is "walking the earth today". More silliness. People have made audacious claims for centuries. No one knows when Jesus returns or the event that triggers it. Laurie's comments do not withstand critical thinking IMO. I know he is a well-respected pastor with a huge following, but that does not make him correct.

When I read stuff like this, it demonstrates how some churches "lead" their sheep. Sheep is a good metaphor BTW. I will leave it at that.

[Ickisrulz]

I don't see anywhere in the Bible that says once Jesus returns to Earth, no one else can be saved. I also don't see any end to mankind's continued procreation and the addition of more lost souls that need salvation mentioned in the Bible either.

[Ickisrulz]

Who could have predicted the events that were needed to trigger the first coming of the Christ. Here are the ones I have heard and can think of, I'm sure I am missing some:

1. Israel finally gave up idolatry
2. Israel finally took the Law seriously (too seriously)
3. Universal language to facilitate the transmission of the Gospel
4. Relatively safe roads for the Apostles to travel and spread the Gospel
5. Suitable parents for Jesus
6. Suitable forerunner of the Christ (John)

Who knows what will be needed for Jesus' return?

[brokeasajoke]

We must have patient hope. While many try and decipher clues in the bible to His return, no man knoweth. We must live each day as though it were the last (easier said than done some days).
Some say we're are living in the beginning of sorrows and while that may be true God's time is not our time. Christ will return at the right time. We could say we have seen the beginning of birthing pains. Still yet what is the amount of time that must pass? No one knows. I think time was a creation for mortality since it is not needed for the immortality. I never really prepared for higher education or what I was going to do after school because I fully thought Christ would return before I reached that point. I remember when desert storm started and grandma came out on her porch and yelled to us Armageddon had started. Don't be fooled. Repent and be baptized for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and live like today is the last but don't be silly about it