Jesus Christ Return
A thief does not come up to a house and knock on the door. Robbery is something that happens suddenly and at a time people do not expect it to occur. What about us in terms of Christ’s return? Should we not be ready? Do we not know the times and the seasons? Yes, we do. We have every reason to be able to be prepared should the “thief” arrive, that is, should Christ return. ~John W. Ritenbaugh
1 Thessalonians 5:2
2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
We are close to the return of Jesus Christ; the world is filled with all kinds of signs of the end. They wear at us and worry us. We see them on television and hear them on the radio—everywhere we look, we see signs of the times. It is a stressful situation to be in, and still, Christ does not come. We say, “How long, Lord, will it be ’til You come?”
We can become neglectful. We can let our focus slip. We need to be exhorted and stirred.
Christ gives the first-century church a warning in Revelation 2:1-7, His message to the Ephesian church. He points out their problem. He gives them advice as to what they should do, and then at the end, He provides incentive for them to correct the situation that they had allowed themselves to deteriorate into. ~John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 2:1-7
A Letter to the Church in Ephesus
1“To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write:
The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says: 2I know what you have done—how hard you have worked and how you have endured. I also know that you cannot tolerate wicked people. You have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not apostles. You have discovered that they are liars. 3You have endured, suffered trouble because of my name, and have not grown weary. 4However, I have this against you: The love you had at first is gone. 5Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first. I will come to you and take your lamp stand from its place if you don’t change. 6But you have this in your favor—you hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. I also hate what they’re doing.
7“Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the paradise of God, to everyone who wins the victory.
