Luke 21:27-28 (RSV)And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Matthew 25:31-46 (RSV) 31 "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Today, I was reading a blog that spoke of the passage from Luke 21:27-28 that describes the Day of the Coming of the Lord as simply our redemption drawing near, dismissing the idea of there being any judgement attached to that day. This is a dangerous conclusion made from taking one scripture and building a doctrine around it without keeping in context with the entirety of God's Word. In Luke, Jesus was speaking of the end times, and if you read the entire chapter, He warns them to stay alert. In Matthew, Jesus warns of the day of judgement that must occur.
If we neglect to warn of the coming judgement, it will be as if the blood of those who are lost will be on our hands. While I fully support the Day of His Coming will be a time of great rejoicing for those who love Him and know Him, and follow Him, it will be a day of horror to those who have opposed Him.
Too many in the Church have watered down the hard sayings of Jesus. Recently, I copied a scripture into my Facebook status that was Jesus' own words to us. Here it is:
Mark 3:28-30 (The Message)
"Listen to this carefully. I'm warning you. There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven. But if you persist in your slanders against God's Holy Spirit, you are repudiating the very One who forgives, sawing off the branch on which you're sitting, severing by your own perversity all connection with the One who forgives." He gave this warning because they were accusing him of being in league with Evil.
A dear Christian friend told me, "That's frightening and feels like you pointing a finger at someone Anna." I don't think he even recognized the Lord's own words!
Our western Christianity has been infiltrated and watered down by the politically correct, all inclusive, false love, a love without truth.
May we never cease to tell of our wonderful Savior's love for us, and that He came to save the world from the sin and evil that destroys humanity. Without turning to Him and receiving the eternal gift He gave us through His birth, death and resurrection, we will receive His judgement.
During this Advent season, let us prepare our hearts by meditating on the depth of love it took for God Almighty to lay aside His divinity to be born the Son of Man, knowing we would brutally mock, beat and "smite Him from the earth." (from Hallelujah, My Father, words and music by Tim Cullen)
Blessings, Anna Marie
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