A Crown for Those Longing for His Appearing

On Sunday, I quoted the Apostle Paul as saying, "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearing." I believe I gave the reference for this verse as Titus 4:8. I should have said 2 Timothy 4:8. At any rate, it's a great quote and very challenging as we think about our own longing for the Lord's return.

Here is a list of the signs of his coming that I also mentioned, along with their references:

1. Religious deception - Luke 21:8
2. Violence and war - Luke 21:9-10
3. Natural disasters - Luke 21:11
4. Signs involving the sun, moon, and stars - Luke 21:11, 25-26
5. Religious persecution - Luke 21:12-19
6. Armed threats against Israel and Jerusalem - Luke 21:20-24
7. Moral and social collapse - 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5
8. Apostasy - 1 Timothy 4:1-2

In addition to these, the Bible also predicts there will be a period of relative calm that lulls people to sleep, as opposed to their staying alert and being ready for the events of the Lord's return to begin to unfold.

I do think it's fascinating how nearly all of the signs (excluding #4) have been present in some measure throughout the Church Age. I mentioned Sunday how this reality has led some to become cynical about the Lord's return and the signs leading up to it. That's too bad, since the signs are not intended to provoke cynicism, but rather faithfulness and perseverance. The presence of the signs in some measure throughout the Church Age is therefore a tremendous indication of the Lord's grace. Every generation has been given good reason to prepare and watch for the Lord's return. This probably is something many of us would not do on our own. So the Lord not only graciously rewards us for longing for his appearing as it says in 2 Timothy 4:8, he also provides us with sufficient motivation for reminding ourselves of the imminence of his return.