What to Do Until Christ Comes

Sixty-one percent of Americans believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Twenty-three percent of Christians in America expect the second coming of Christ to occur within their lifetime? Do you expect to be part of the final generation that is alive when the Lord Jesus Christ physically returns to planet earth? If so, you’ll want to be thoroughly ready for it in advance!
What do you expect? Will we experience doom and gloom, or zoom and boom? Will this generation see gigantic tabloid-style catastrophes that wreck civilization, or an era of unparalleled peace, prosperity and optimism?
With either scenario, the truths in this book apply to your life in the same practical way.
This book has one purpose. It explains to Christians the five most important issues that God wants you, the Bride of Christ, to focus on while you wait for your Bridegroom to come and take you home. It teaches you, in extremely practical terms, how to get ready for Christ’s return.
Jesus says in Matthew 24:44, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” But, you ask, how? 2 Peter 3:11-12 asks this question plainly, “what kind of people ought you to be . . . as you look forward to the day of God?”
For you as a Christian, God’s specific answer to that question consists of five parts.
1. God wants you to WATCH until Christ comes. Matthew 24:42 says, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Mark 13:33,37 adds, “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come . . . What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul promises rewards in heaven for “all who have longed for his appearing.” In section one, you will learn how to watch for His return by longing for Christ’s presence in the same way that a Jewish bride longs for her bridegroom to appear.
2. God wants you to WITNESS until Christ comes. Matthew 28:19-20 commands us to “go and make disciples of all nations . . . to the very end of the age.” God’s command to witness (Acts 1:8) remains in force until the entire world has heard the gospel. You must “snatch others from the fire and save them” from God’s coming judgments (Jude 23). In section two, you will learn how to witness until Christ’s return by “gossiping the gospel” because you love God, people and yourself.
3. God wants you to WORSHIP until Christ comes. Hebrews 10:25 instructs, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day [of Christ’s return] approaching.” Every time you celebrate the Lord’s Supper, you hear the instructions to proclaim the Lord’s death “until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). In section three, you will learn how to worship Christ until He returns by serving in church, being Spirit-filled, and yielding to Christ’s Lordship.
4. God wants you to WALK in obedience until Christ comes. 2 Peter 3:11,14 exhorts, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God. . . . So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” In section four, you will learn how to walk until Christ comes by personally repenting of the seven common Christian sins that Christ uncovers in Revelation 2-3.
5. God wants you to WORK for Christ’s kingdom until Christ comes. 2 Corinthians 5:10 teaches, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body.” In Matthew 6:20, Jesus urges, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” In Philippians 3:14, Paul invites us to join with him, to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” In section five, you will learn how to work until Christ comes by using your time, treasure and talent in a way that will maximize your eternal rewards the judgment seat of Christ.
We are racing to the edge of eternity. My heart races to think about seeing Jesus face to face.
When Christ calls for His Church in the clouds, you will easily recognize me that day. I'll be the one screaming victory praises at the top of my resurrected lungs and grinning from ear to ear.
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David Briggs, “At the Millennium,” Associated Press, October 26, 1997. An additional 14% say Christ will return within a century, and 26% more say it will happen within the next thousand years. This AP nationwide telephone poll of 1,016 adults was taken by ICR, July 11-15, 1997.

Personally, I anticipate a pretribulational rapture. I believe that Jesus Christ will airlift His church from earth before hell’s holocaust under earth’s terrible tyrant begins. However, holding a different viewpoint will not diminish the applicational value of this book to you.