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15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”

16 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 singing,

“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

 

In my lifetime alone, I cannot number the times someone declared that the end was coming on <insert date>. Each time, that day has come and gone with life on this planet moving forward uninterrupted. With these texts from Revelation and other parts of the Bible, some people become fixated on trying to figure out when the end will be and what it will look like.

 

But why? I know that we have Jesus’ own words saying that he will return. But even Jesus said that he did not know when that would be. I think that sometimes people become so focused on what comes next because they simply have lost hope in the here and now. Christ calls us to be his servants NOW, not just in the life everlasting. We can have faith that indeed, God’s “servants, the prophets and saints” will be rewarded. So let us focus on how we can serve that Kingdom today. We should seek how to bring God’s Kingdom to our world today in the best way that we are capable. Worrying about what will assuredly come but we have no control over is a waste of time and effort. We can, however, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, heal the sick, support the widow, walk with the downtrodden, and proclaim the Word TODAY.

 

My King, we are grateful for your reign over our lives. Guide us to serve Your Kingdom with our every breath. Amen.

 

Chad Ryberg Cryberg@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: Discernment of vocation.