Rejoice While We Await His Return

Psalm 96:13 speaks of all creation rejoicing at the coming judgement. The idea of rejoicing and judgement are not usually connected in our minds, but they should be.

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his faithfulness.

God is a just Judge who will set all things right. The enemies of God will be put under the feet of the Son of God. The dawning of the kingdom will bring a cessation of crime, wars, plagues, oppression, arrogant boasting, famine, poverty, false religion, false prophets, antichrists, mental illness, demonic activity, and aberrant behaviors.

Before His majesty all the earth will remain silent. 

Angels will bow and declare His holiness.

The living and the dead will receive the rewards of their deeds.

For the one who trusts in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ the coming judgement is not to be feared. By His Blood we are cleansed from unrighteousness and reconciled to God. The judgement promises peace!

"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it…" (Isaiah 25:8-9)

That judgement is coming is certain. Christians are warned “in the last days perilous times shall come” (2 Timothy 3). Yet no amount of opposition to the Gospel can thwart the saving power of God.

We are not to dwell on this or to become entangled in speculation about the events of the last days. We have work to do until that Great Day of the Lord. We are to abide daily in God's Word and serve Him in obedience. 

We are to “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)

We are to "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

We are to discern the true Light and be diligent in testing the spirits. “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist. (I John 4:2-3)

We are to love, especially those who have proven to belong to the Household of Faith. 

"Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13)

Related reading: Put Handles on Your Faith; A Prayer for Troubled Times