Four conditions to watch while waiting for Jesus

Jesus is coming again. How are you doing with the waiting?

If you are anxious, whether eager or uneasy, you are not alone. The last words of the last book of the Bible have Jesus declaring, “Surely I am coming quickly” and John rejoins, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

I hear longing, urgency—even desperation—in John’s response. With all the turmoil he has seen in the visions in Revelation, John wants Jesus to return.

So do I.

Here it is 2021 and we were not supposed to be here. I remember the predictions that Jesus would return in the late 1980s. The time-setters deemed Israel’s 40th anniversary as a nation a significant factor.

And then came Y2K, when seers foresaw global collapse because computers hadn’t been programmed to calculate for 2000, a two-digit year of zeros. I was among the programmers who scrambled to inject four-digit years into reams of code. Milestones have come and gone and here we are, still waiting.

How are we doing with it?

Jesus knew the wait would challenge us and He was careful to prepare us for it. In a conversation with the disciples that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record, Jesus answered briefly their question about when the signs of His coming would appear but spoke at length about what to expect while He is away.

The disciples, like us, were curious about when. Jesus is more concerned about what He will come back to (Matthew 24:46-50).

The parable of the house frames Jesus’ answer

Jesus tells a parable at the end of His response that helps to frame the entire conversation. He describes a homeowner who departs for an extended time—going to a “far country”—and leaves the care of the house to servants. In Mark’s account, the doorkeeper is to watch for the homeowner’s return (Mark 13:34-36). Matthew adds that the wise among the servants ensure the others have their due meals (Matthew 24:45).

No doubt, Jesus is the one about to leave for the “far country” (heaven) and His followers are the servants responsible in His absence. Keeping to the analogy of the house, I see four conditions that concern Jesus, and how we can prepare so that we wait wisely.

1. Pretenders will try to get into the house

The first response of Jesus to the disciples’ question is, “Take heed that no one deceives you” (13:5). Many will come in His name, specifically as false Christs and false prophets (13:22).

The world knows Christians are waiting for Lord’s return, and Jesus tells us to expect pretenders who proclaim, “I’m back! The one you’re waiting for is here. Open the door and let me in!” They come as Christ in the place of Christ and will appear so authentic they may deceive us.

I see so much of this today. There are so many voices on the internet, in the media, and in the bookstores insisting theirs is the true message of Christ. Churches proudly welcome ways of living that are unacceptable to God and contend they exhibit true Christian compassion.

What are we to believe? Many are speaking in the name of Christ, with almost as many messages as there are speakers. The scores of divergent websites, books, and bloggers discourage me.

Jesus prepared us for this. When we know Jesus, who is Lord and Christ and the true master of the house, the false will not prevail.

You have probably heard how those who handle money train to spot counterfeit bills. They examine genuine bills thoroughly until they know their defining characteristics. When a counterfeit comes along, they can feel and see the false because they have seen and felt the true.

In this conversation, Jesus is preparing us for the days of counterfeits. These days are the time to immerse ourselves in the true Christ, to learn His word and ways so well that false Christs won’t fool us.

2. Persecutors want you out of the house

Besides pretenders who try to infiltrate our house of faith, Jesus said to expect others who want to drive us from the house (13:9-13). Driven by hatred for Christ and anyone His, the religious, the government, and even family will drag out believers for persecution, incarceration, and, ultimately, execution. Their intent? Abandon Christ. Renounce Him—flee the house—and save yourself.

We see signs of this where ISIS executes Christians in internet videos and the Taliban is said to be scouring Afghanistan of Christians in door-to-door searches. In our country, the religious denounce those who adhere to biblical values of life and marriage and gender.

To this threat, Jesus says, “Endure”. Shelter in place. The Greek compound means to stay under, a reminder that times will come when we feel under it and our hope is in the Lord who is overall.

When Joshua was about to lead Israel into Canaan God commanded, “Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua 1:6). We are awaiting the return of Jesus, who warned us gales will blow against our faith. Be of good courage, God says. Hold fast. Faith built on the Rock, Christ Jesus, will stand the storm. We have His promise: The one “who endures to the end shall be saved” (13:13).

3. Destroyers would tear the house down altogether

When all else fails—if pretenders can’t invade the house and persecutors can’t force you out—Jesus warned there will come those who work for the destruction of the house altogether, in this case, the very world itself. A dire abomination will unleash unprecedented desolation and tribulation of such magnitude that it will threaten our survival—unless God intervenes (13:14-20).

And He will. Jesus says His Father will shorten the days to save His people.

How do we wait in times like these? Jesus says, “Take heed” (13:23). The language means to look, to use your eyes and see what is happening. Jesus taught, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5:17). Be assured our Redeemer will not rest until He settles our affairs (Ruth 3:18).

The words of that wonderful hymn, This Is My Father’s World, are apt.

Though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.

4. Beware delay-induced arrogance

In Matthew’s account of this conversation, Jesus adds a final concern for His servants. Some will grow weary of waiting and become arrogant and abusive (Matthew 24:48-49). It is the arrogance of those who think God is far off and feel empowered to oppress the weak (Psalm 10). It is arrogance such as Paul saw in the church at Corinth when, in his absence, some had “become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you” (1 Corinthians 4:18).

And Peter foresaw scoffers who would ask, “Where is the promise of His coming? All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4).

How do we avoid puffing up in arrogance and becoming the evil servant that Jesus described? We recognize that waiting wisely can indeed make us weary. The delay may be longer than we expected. Take these scriptures to heart.

“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” —Galatians 6:9

“Do not forget…the Lord is not slack concerning His promise…The day of the Lord will come” —2 Peter 3:8-10

“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” —John 14:2-3

Hold fast, my friend. Jesus is coming again. He prepared us for events He knew we’d face.

Wait well.