Dear afflicted saints,

The end of the world could come any day now. I don't say that for the same reasons the nightly news media or political pundits or climate activists do. Their motivation seems to be fear in the hopes of stirring you into action. Whether it's to cast a certain vote or buy a certain car or change a certain habit, the goal is to get you to do or stop doing something. And you can see that in the way they threaten the end: "The end of the world could come any day now if you don't..."

When we talk about the end of the world as Christians, it's not a threat or possibility that hinges on some action the people of the world may or may not take. When we say, "The end of the world could come any day now," we mean it. And we mean it because Jesus meant it when He said it, and He said it a lot. 

While there is a month and a half left in the year 2023, there are only three weeks left in the Christian Church Year. Over these final weeks we'll listen to some of the things Jesus said about the last days. Christians have been doing this for centuries. As the days grow shorter and darker, we are reminded that the same is happening to the world in which we live. Its time is getting shorter as Jesus' return draws closer and the darkness of sin grows stronger. 

That's why Jesus's of the Last Day is actually a source of great comfort for the believer, not a terrorizing threat. It's a promise that things will not always be like this. The Day is coming when all that is wrong in the world be over and undone. 

What will precede the Last Day? What would Jesus have us do while we wait? What will that Day look like? Jesus will answer these and similar questions for us over the next couple weeks.

I pray you have had a blessed week and would love to see you and your family to find mutual encouragement in God's Word.

In Christ,

Pastor Bater