1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
It Seems It’s about Time
This text describes what is the most anticipated religious event in
the world—the coming of Jesus Christ for His people. Christians call
that event the RAPTURE. The Bible tells us much about the rapture.
1Thessalonians 4 and 1Corinthians 15 actually break the return of
Jesus down into individual steps for us, something like slow motion;
so that we can see step by step what actually happens in the rapture.
The book of Revelation, along with other passages in the Bible, tell
us what will happen AFTER the rapture. In a short sentence, a period
will occur on the earth called the tribulation in which God will judge
the earth and all of its inhabitants.
And various Bible passages give us some indicators of what will be
happening before the rapture. Nothing exact. Nothing so specific
that you could set a watch by, but general conditions that shall exist
in the world when Jesus comes for His church.
However, the question most often asked is, "When will Jesus come?"
That is the question that most ask more than any other—and the Bible
does not tell us. In fact, it tells us plainly that no man will ever
know the exact time of Jesus’ return for the church.
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father.
Let me repeat myself. No man will ever know the exact time of Jesus’
return. Unfortunately, that has not stopped a lot of people from
picking a day.
In 2011, Harold Camping and others spent millions of dollars picking
not one but two dates, and being wrong on both. Several things made
this event especially bad for those who preach the rapture of the
church:
1. First, generally speaking, Harold Camping was one of us.
While some of his doctrine was tainted, he was a Bible-
believing, Bible preacher/teacher who believed in trusting
Jesus by faith, and—as far as I know—was solid in many of
his basic Bible doctrines.
2. Second, Harold Camping had both a network of radio stations
and short-wave broadcasting towers so that he was able to
broadcast across the entire globe. In fact, his network was
and is likely the 2nd large radio ministry the world has ever
known.
All of this gave Bible-believing, Bible preaching believers, churches,
and preachers a black eye that probably turned some away from the
Bible and Bible preaching forever.
For the third time, let me say that no man will ever know the exact
time of Jesus’s return. Even so, it seems it’s about time. Like
Amos of the Old Testament, I am not a prophet nor the son of a
prophet. God does not communicate with me through dreams, visions,
or voices. I am not a seer. I have received nothing new from the
Holy Ghost. Still, to me, it seems it’s about time for Jesus to
return.
I cannot say today or tomorrow or even this century. I am not a date
setter. Yet, it seems it’s about time.
This morning, and the Lord willing tonight, let me share with you
some thoughts. Just two points. The first what the Bible says and the
second what it seems like, at least to me. The first one is straight
out of the Bible.
I. The Bible teaches the imminent return of Jesus.
A. The Bible says people will be carrying on with their lives and
will not expect the return of Jesus.
Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood
they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took
them all away; so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be.
1. I studied over what Jesus said in Matthew about people
eating and drinking and marry until the day of judgment
for many years, not really understanding what He meant.
2. Like so many others, I looked at those three actions and
wondered what could be so sinful about those that Jesus
picked them.
3. Then, last year, I believe I have come to understand His
statement.
a. The understanding is not in the three actions but in
the fact that people would keep doing what they had
always done right up to the time Jesus returns.
b. In other words, there is not going to be something so
catastrophic to happen that the human race will have
to stop the planet and get off.
c. No doubt, some will wish they could; but none will.
d. The world will keep on going, and so it has, even
during its first world-wide lockdown.
B. The Bible further says that some people won’t see the event
coming at all. They will be taken by total surprise.
1Thess 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as
a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the
children of the day: we are not of the night, nor
of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but
let us watch and be sober.
C. Listen carefully:
1. The Bible does not teach us in anyway, that Jesus’ return
will be soon.
a. The Bible itself was completed some 1900 years ago.
b. If the Bible writers said that Jesus’ return would be
soon, then we would have to agree that the Bible was
wrong, because no one can say—with an honest heart—
that 1900 years is SOON.
c. We should never say that the Bible says Jesus is
coming soon.
(1) I know we sometimes say it that way, but that is
not what the Bible says.
(2) You can say what I am going to say this morning, I
believe Jesus is coming soon; but if we say that
the Bible says that Jesus is coming soon, we are
asserting something that the Bible does not say.
d. The Bible never said Jesus was coming soon.
(1) Jesus said He would come quickly \\#Rev 22:20\\,
as in suddenly, as in when He comes, everything
will happen quickly.
(2) But Jesus never said He was coming soon.
2. The Bible does teach that Jesus COULD come at any moment.
a. That is what imminent means, that something could
happen any moment.
b There neither is nor has been anything to prevent Jesus
from coming.
(1) There is no prophecy that must be fulfilled.
(2) There is no event that must happen.
(3) He COULD come at any moment.
D. However, the Bible also says that Christians should not be
caught sleeping when Jesus returns.
1. That indicates that even though we will not know exactly
when Jesus will come, we can know enough to keep our eyes
open.
2. And it is those kind of hints or clues that I want to
share with you today.
II. But it seems it’s about time!
A. Now we are leaving what the Bible clearly teaches and moving
into what I am observing from the times we live in and the
Word of God.
1. I cannot prove to you that it’s about time.
2. I can only say that it seems it’s about time.
3. I may be wrong.
a. If I am alive in 100 years and Jesus has not returned,
I will admit I was wrong in 2021.
b. In fact, if I am alive in 50 years, I will admit I was
wrong.
4. But I imagine that I will still be saying that it seems
that it’s about time!
B. Why I believe It’s about time for Jesus’ return:
1. I believe it’s about time because Israel had a miraculous
rebirth.
a. \\#Lu 21:29-32\\.
Luke 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold
the fig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of
your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come
to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh
at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words
shall not pass away.
b. It is my belief that the fig tree mentioned in this
passage is the nation of Israel and that the budding
of the fig tree, is the nation of Israel becoming a
nation.
(1) I cannot prove my belief that the fig tree is
Israel or that its budding is Israel becoming a
nation.
(2) If I am wrong, it will not cause me any doctrinal
heartache. I have been wrong before and I will
be wrong again.
(3) However, until I am proved wrong, I am going to
believe these assumptions.
c. And if you are willing to consider my assumption,
consider this also.
(1) One of the greatest modern-day miracles and
proofs of the Bible occurred on May 14, 1948,
when Israel became a nation.
(2) Even before Israel declared itself a nation, both
the United States and Great Britain had
privately urged them not to do so.
(3) The armies of the surrounding nations were
already lined up to attack Israel the moment
they made their declaration.
(a) That would be the trained, experienced, and
well-equipped armies of armies of Egypt,
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/israel_and_the_1948_war.htm
(b) No one gave Israel a chance!
(4) But when the dust settled, Israel was not only
still there, but they were victorious, having
taken portions of their enemies’ lands!
(5) This is referred to as Israel’s War of
Independence.
d. All—and I mean all—who know anything about that war
call it a miracle.
e. I say that that God put Israel back into their land
because Jesus is coming back soon!
(1) I can’t prove it.
(2) I might be wrong about it.
(3) But I believe it.
f. Notice what God says in \\#32\\.
Luke 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation
shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
(1) The Bible says that generation, the generation
that was alive to see the fig tree bloom, will
not pass away until all be fulfilled.
(2) I believe that everything that God has promised
about the future will be fulfilled before the
generation that saw that event passes away.
(3) If a child were born in 1948, the longest one
might expect that child to live is 80 to 100
years.
(4) So if Jesus has not returned by 2048, I will
begin to doubt that this is a reference to
Israel becoming a nation; but until then, I am
going to believe that Jesus is coming back soon.
2. I believe it’s about time because of man’s advancing
technology.
a. Because of man’s technology for the whole world to
view the same event in real time.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth.
7 And when they shall have finished their
testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the
bottomless pit shall make war against them, and
shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street
of the great city, which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was
crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and
tongues and nations SHALL SEE their dead bodies
three days and an half, and shall not suffer
their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall
rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send
gifts one to another; because these two prophets
tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the Spirit
of life from God entered into them, and they
stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven
saying unto them, Come up hither. And they
ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their
enemies beheld them.
(1) Last night, the whole world could have
watched life the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
(a) They would not even have to be sitting in
front of a television to see it.
(b) Most of the world could have watched it on
their cell phone.
(2) That technology was not around 100 years ago.
(3) Some of it has not been around for 25 years!
(4) You can think what you will, but I believe God is
giving us the technology that we need to fulfill
the Bible’s prophecies because it’s about time!
b. Because of man’s technology to bring an image to life.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto
the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many
as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed.
(1) A second beast had "the power to give life to the
image of the beast."
(2) With Artificial Intelligence, the human race now
has the ability to make any image—of the coming
beast or anything else—come to life.
(3) Already, automobiles are driving, robots are
serving, drones are flying, rockets are
launching, and missiles are striking without
consulting their masters.
(4) One of the aims of some in AI is to create an
artificial human. The project is called
artificialHuman. They call their creations
Neons and if you time "artificial human" into
your web browser you can see them, Most of them
look like young adults, but they can be built to
appear any age. They blink, smile, and even
shift their weight around while standing still
just like a human being would. I do not know
what their abilities are intelligence is; but
you can mark it down, technology is getting
to building a being that will pass for a human!
https://www.predictiveanalyticstoday.com/top-brain-inspired-
artificial-intelligence-projects/
(5) However, with AI, a body is not necessary.
(a) A video technology called Deepfake can
produce a video image with an exact vocal
reproduction of any real people.
(b) Deepfakes began to pop-up on the internet
a few years ago, showing prominent and
powerful people saying whatever that the
video creator wanted them to say—and it
looked and sounded like the person they
were created after.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/10/18659432/deepfake-ai-fakes-tech-
edit-video-by-typing-new-words
(c) In 2019, long before I had heard of
Deepfakes, a prominent CEO was duped into
giving a scammer $243,000 by a Deepfake
video.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessedamiani/2019/09/03/a-voice-
deepfake-was-used-to-scam-a-ceo-out-of-243000/?sh=6ebab82f2241
c. Because of man’s technology for every individual to be
tracked and forbidden access.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive
a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or
the number of his name.
(1) With RFID technology or Radio Frequency
IDentification, things and people can easily be
tracked and—if necessary—granted or denied
access.
(2) RFID has been used by vets to identify pets and
by manufactures to protect their products for
years.
(3) Most of our credit cards can now be waved close
to a scanner, and a person will be allowed or
denied access to make a purchase.
(4) A Wisconsin company, Three Square Market, became
the first to implant their employees with RFID
chips somewhere around 2017.
(a) They did not require it, but they did offer
it.
(b) Those who accepted the companies invitation
now only have to wave their hand in front
of a scanner to be granted access to their
assigned areas.
d. Please understand that none of this technology is in
itself bad.
(1) Technology is just technology.
(2) What will make it bad is that the devil and his
anti-Christ will use it for their purposes; but
it is quite likely that by the time they do,
many companies and nations will have already
started using it.
(3) The fact that Three Square Markets installed the
available technology doesn’t mean they are a
demonic company.
(a) The Bible does not condemn everyone who has
a RFID chip implanted into their hand to
hell.
i. It condemns those who take the Mark
of the Beast to hell.
ii. There is a difference; but maybe you
are like me.
iii. Personally, I am taking any mark or
chip!
(b) But the evil that is coming is not the fault
of the technology.
(b) Neither is the evil that is coming the fault
of the companies that use the technology.
(c) The evil that is coming is the fault of
people being lost and wicked.
3. I believe it’s about time because of current events.
a. I could be wrong. To be honest, I usually am.
b. But in light of our advancing technology, consider recent
events.
Most of our nation and the world has now experienced
a prolonged lockdown. This past week, I heard on the
radio (secular not Christian) a personality say that
it has already been agreed on by states with
Democratic governors that they will lock down their
states again, probably the 2nd week of August. Their
reasoning—or their excuse—will be the increasing
numbers for COVID. There is also increasing talk of
every person having to have a travel pass. Other
nations already have them. I have little doubt that
will happen at some point and only slightly less
doubt that this will eventually be done with a RFID
card. Either way, this pass will allow or deny you
access to stores to buy and sell and to work to earn
money to provide for your family.
(1) There are numerous locations that have required
hospital workers to get the vaccine.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/
2021/06/21/hospitals-start-requiring-workers-to-get-covid-shots
(2) It was reported this past week that both Disney
and Walmart were requiring "some" workers to be
vaccinated.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/30/business/walmart-mask-policy-delta-
covid/index.html
(3) Might I point out that this kind of a mindset did
not exist even 18 months ago!
(4) Think what you will, but I believe it is coming
to pass because it seems it’s about time!
I am not finished, but I will stop. I have presented some of why it
seems to me that it’s about time, but there is more. I will continue
tonight; however, I hope I have said enough all ready to get you to
consider the possibility.
I cannot prove that Jesus’ return is soon, but I believe it is, and I
want you to at least consider it. Consider it so that you will make
a decision to do what Christ is telling you to do this morning.
1. Be saved.
2. Be baptized.
3. Join the church.
4. Tell others about Jesus.
5. Get involved in God’s ministry.
Whatever it is, do it today because it seems it’s about time!
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