THE EDGE OF TIME


The World, the Word & You! Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan

“WE ARE STANDING ON THE EDGE OF TIME ¾ A PERIOD OF GREAT EXPECTANCY IN EVERY AREA OF HUMANITY. FROM TECHNOLOGY TO SPIRITUALITY, THE FUTURE HOLDS THE BRIGHTEST AND YET PERHAPS THE MOST FRIGHTENING CHANGES”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about it…

…If one scans the Bible for perhaps the most important topic, one will find it is the great prophetic themes concerning the Coming of the Messiah, God’s Savior of the world! In fact, in the New Testament alone, the Lord’s coming is mentioned some 318 times in over 260 chapters and numerous times in the Old Testament. It is a truth of tremendous importance to mankind. Therefore study of the great prophetic themes that run throughout the Bible is of utmost importance as we rush headlong into the future that will at any moment in time bring the culmination of God’s promises to His beloved children, the Christians of this world.  Indeed, in our 21st century with each passing moment, we see areas of Bible prophecy pieced together and come alive in the unfolding drama of God’s history! Yes, we truly live on the Edge of Time, which by the way is the topic for today’s broadcast. But before I get into it, let’s take one more moment and pause to listen to this moment of music, after which I’ll return with my message for you today…

… In the Book of Revelation, the last and final communication from Heaven to mankind till Jesus comes, we are told,

Rev 19:10 (NIV)  “…For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.””

That phrase, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” means exactly that! All prophecy in the Bible, that predicts the future, was given for one purpose and that is to reveal Jesus Christ the Savior’s coming for redemption of all mankind. Now concerning the prophetic themes of Scripture, in summary form, let’s look at the Bible as a whole and see what has brought us to the edge of “prophetic” time. To begin, we see in the Old Testament,

1. THE FIRST COMING OF CHRIST FORTOLD (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14) – God’s Word revealed right at the onset of humanity’s creation and fall, that God would one day send a Redeemer, a special human being who would be able to remove the sin stain on humanity and bring us back into a right and perfect relationship with the Creator. Now we know from the Bible, that the promised Redeemer would be the offspring of a woman (Gen 3:15), the offspring of Abraham (Gen 12:1-3), the offspring of Judah (Gen 49:8-12), the offspring of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16), and finally the offspring of a special virgin woman named Mary (Isa. 7:14; Mat. 1:21). In addition, this man-child would be like no other ever to be born of Adam’s family. Why? For one thing He would be fully a man, but He would also be God Himself come in human flesh (Isa. 9:6-7; John 1:1-3,14). This promise of God Himself being the Redeemer of mankind, is the great beginning theme of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the future. Of course this was fulfilled, beyond a doubt, in Jesus Christ. We read,

John 1:1, 14 (NNAS)  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

But then following His birth, His life and His death foretold, that He would bring the redemption payment of all humanity, we are specifically see in the New Testament the great theme,

2. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IS aLSO FORTOLD (Mat 16:28; Titus 2:13) – Yes, the Second Coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ is clearly prophetically revealed! What is Christ coming for? He is coming again for three major reasons:

(1)   Christ is coming again to judgment the world  (Psa. 7:8; Psa. 96:13; John 16:7-11; Rev. 19:15). All these verses in summation tells us Christ’s Second Coming is first to bring God’s wrath upon our fallen unrepentant world of sinners. He does this by first judging all mankind, and upon finding them guilty of sin and all evil, then God will meet out the chosen penalty, which is death and Hell for all eternity. Secondly,

(2)   Christ is Coming Again to save His Old Testament Covenant People, Israel! (Gen 13:14-15; 2 Chron 21:7; Psa. 89:28;Ezk 37:26-28) The Scriptures are too numerous to quote which reveal God, in the future, one day will restore the scattered nation of Israel and give them the entire land of Palestine forever! This will only happen when their Messiah Jesus, the Savior of the world returns in glory and they as a nation recognize Him and confess Him as their Savior. But now, the third most important reason for His Second Coming is,

(3)   CHRIST IS COMING TO RAPTURE THE CHURCH, AND GATHER ALL SAINTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TOGETHER WITH HIM FOR ETERNITY (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess 4:16-18; 2Thess 2:1). This is the most important and prominent theme of the New Testament, that is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the final moment in history when the edge of time is forever fulfilled. Now what can we say about this in light of the fact that so many abuses and false teaching surrounds these great prophetic themes of the revelation of Jesus Christ?

 Let’s look at some dangers in studying the Second Coming. This is an important issue as we stand at the edge of time when God poises to bring in eternity; first by the first phase of the Second Coming we call the “Rapture” of the church. Now admittedly, there are many differing ideas of how and when Jesus will come again “for” His saints. However, I firmly believe after much study of all the differing ideas proposed these days, that the only real and true interpretation of Christ’s coming again “for” His saints, will occur at any moment in God’s timing, but before the Tribulation Period begins and the antichrist is revealed.

Today much sensationalism has clouded the promise in scripture of Christ’s coming again for the Church saints. In the last forty years, we’ve witnessed the folly of sensationalizing prophecy. We’ve heard many predictions of when Christ will come again. However we need to heed Jesus’ words as to the timing of His blessed return, the blessed hope of the church. We read,

Mark 13:32-33 (NNAS)  “”But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 33 “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.”

Unfortunately, this Scripture has terribly confused many Christians and been used by cultists and other twisters of God’s Word, to say Jesus was not God, or He was just a lesser god.  But when Jesus said that He didn’t know the time of His return, it did not mean that He was confessing He was not God. On many other occasions the Lord Jesus made it clear that He was God, fully God come in the flesh. Most succinctly we read,

Col 2:9 (NNAS)  “For in Him [Jesus Christ] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”

John 8:58 (NIV)  “”I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!””

If Jesus is God, and all God, He must therefore have all of God’s non-communicable attributes one of which is “Omniscience”, that is God is all-knowing; If so, then how could Jesus not know when He would return, if the Father has set the date in eternity past? Let’s answer this one. We further read in,

John 18:4 (NNAS)  “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said^ to them, “Whom do you seek?””

We must understand the “Kenosis” of Jesus, that is, the Nature of His Incarnation. The Bible tells us God fashioned Himself into a human being in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. He was born of no human father, but God the Father’s Spirit created His body, soul and human spirit out of the seed of a woman, the Virgin Mary. Therefore Jesus Christ was and is fully God, but also was and is fully man. These two divine and human natures reside together in one human being. It appears that Jesus the God man was able to separate these two natures from each other for God’s divine purposes.

Phil 2:7 (NNAS)  “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”

Jesus was as a result of this able to shield His omniscient knowledge from His conscious human mind and spirit, when it was the Father’s will to do so. A case in point is found in,

John 5:30 (NNAS)  “”I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Yet at all times and moments of human existence on earth, Jesus never gave up His divine qualities or attributes, He just controlled them and balanced their presence together as the Father led Him. Thus, the Lord willfully restrained His human nature from knowing the omniscient plan of the Father God’s return of Christ for these three things we discussed a moment ago. Now this of course is, the “mystery” of God come in the flesh, but it also presents for us the mystery of His Coming again. The truth of the matter is, no one can know the exact time of Christ’s return! Therefore, everyone who predicts the date of His return from the fanatical prophecy experts to the cultists who claim inside knowledge ¾ all are wrong and disobedient to set dates.

Any who have done so, from Edgar Whisenant and his ludicrous book, “88 Reasons for the Rapture in 1988,” to Harold Camping’s unfortunate prediction of the Lord’s coming on September 7, 1994, all have been embarrassed and proven foolish.

The point of this is, we do live on the edge of prophetic time. A time that is leading closer to the coming again of Jesus Christ. Now, the Church’s true response is to live in full anticipation and expectancy of it. And then, you’ll know the sure and certain hope of it will light the fires of dynamic love, deep compassion, urgency of witness, and final preparation for meeting our Lord at any moment and time.

Yes my friend, regardless of what so-called prophecy experts are saying. Jesus Christ is coming again at any moment, and NOTHING needs to be fulfilled for His return for His New Testament saints! That’s a fact of Scripture. So, watch out for the experts today who use news headlines to open scripture.  Current events were NEVER planned by God to be guidelines for interpreting prophecy. Moreover, our preparedness for Christ’s return must never be controlled by world events either. Rather, it must be controlled by the Word of God which tells us,

Mat 24:42-44 (NNAS)  “”Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

Phil 4:5 (NIV)  “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

1 Pet 4:7 (NIV)  “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

James 5:8 (NIV)  “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”

From the words of Jesus, to all His apostles and writers of scripture ¾ they all rested in the fact that Christ could and would return at any moment, although unknown to all humanity. Now, God has delayed for over 2000 years. Does this mean He has forgotten or has a different plan? Not on your life, rather the fullness of time He has set has not arrive yet, because God is long-suffering and wanting as many as possible of all humanity, to be born, saved from their sins, before Christ returns to judge the world of its sin.

Are you ready for the coming of the Lord? The Bible warns from Old Testament times to New,

Amos 4:12-13 (NIV)  “”Therefore…, prepare to meet your God...” 13 He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is his name.”

Jude 1:14-15 (NIV) “See, the Lord is coming… to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.””

Rev 22:12 (NIV)  “”Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”

 I don’t know about you, but we live in perilous times. Yes, all around us many current events and happenings in our generation seem to indicate that the period of time the Lord says He will be coming back, seems to fit the puzzle more and more. That means we all must be ready to meet the Lord. So the question is ¾ will we meet Him at peace with God, and in a joyous reunion as a believer and follower of the Lamb, or we will meet Him as the fierce wrathful God, who vows to bring swift judgment and cast all unsaved sinners into Hell for all eternity? The choice is up to you. All God the Creator asks of us is to receive His Son, Jesus Christ, and His free gift to save us from our sins. For sure, God asks no price from us for this, just that we give our hearts in surrender to Him acknowledging Him as our God and Savior.

So, have you received Jesus Christ into your heart and life? Have you confessed Him and your sins to God? If so, your life will have changed, and a new heart will be beating in your breast.

May God find that new heart fully in love with God’s Word, His Son, and the desire to live absolutely for Him. May you also be found without spot or blemish at the 2nd Coming of the Lord. He is coming again, that’s a fact and at any moment. Now as we live so close to the edge of time when eternity shall be ushered in by the coming of the Lord, let us all be sober and serious about the matter of our eternal destiny. Only Christ can change it, and the time is at hand for you to accept it. Receive Christ today, right now and be assured of His love and glorious return for you to be by His side. Maranatha, the Lord indeed will come quickly…

…The Mystery of Christ’s Coming again surely confounds those who desire dates and time, but for the saints who trust in God’s Word, they leave it alone with the only expectation that Jesus is coming again at any moment and we must be prepared and ready. Are your spiritual bags packed? Are you keeping short accounts with God as to your sins and confession of them? Are you an active witness for the Lord, sharing Christ with all around you? Are you living for Him, and on fire for the Lord and His church? Jesus says,

Rev 22:12-13 (NIV)  “”Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

May you be found ready and waiting, and may our Lord’s coming find us all faithful to Him.

·         Radio talk #3901

·         Broadcast date: September 30, 2001

·         Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator

·         Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast

·         Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 22 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.

For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan (dennis@wwy.org), or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/