[MikhailianInception]

Hi Kevin,

Thank you for your response, brother! So, I am no expert, either. I just read here and there, and go through my Bible. The view I hold to is probably a Post-Tribulation. If I am not mistaken, the idea is that the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ happen at the same time. I don't believe in a rapture that happens 7 years before Christ's coming, and then the tribulation happens.

As I get older though, eschatology is not the foremost thought in my mind. It is how do I best serve and love Christ during my time on earth? I remember John Wesley was once asked, "If Jesus were to come back tomorrow, what would you do?" Some Christians would probably respond by saying, “Yikes! I’d be getting on my knees, confessing every sin I know of, and cry out to God in panic mode!” But, not Wesley. He just gave a calm reply, “I’ll be doing whatever God’s been calling me to do this whole time. I’ll do my devotions in the morning, serve in the orphanage, work on the hymnbooks with my brother Charles, etc.” In other words, Wesley was just being faithful and being present with Christ. He was ready for Judgment Day. I think the true Christian does not fear Jesus’s coming. I think the true Christian wants Jesus’s coming!

When it comes to eschatology, I am reminded by Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36-44: “36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” I realized how the prediction game is completely out of question in this passage. There is no way to know, predict, or theologize the End Times. Jesus comes when you don’t expect it. Every generation has gone through wars and rumors of wars. Christians in World War II thought that Jesus was coming back in their time. It’s completely understandable as the Bible mentions wars to be one of the signs. But, there really is no way to know! Some may say that this is a cop-out explanation. In other words, we are just making excuses for why Jesus hasn’t come after two world wars and the millenniums of famine and disease. Perhaps that is the case. But, more importantly, we need to see the bigger picture. Maybe the bigger picture is to be in the present moment of our reality, and to be faithful with what we are given right now!

Much of eschatology is speculation. There's premillennialism, postmillennialism, amillennialism, pre-trib, post-trib, etc. Who can tell which one is right or wrong? But, being faithful to Christ is what matters. How He comes or when He comes is secondary? When He does come, the only question He will ask us all on the Day, "Who do you say that I am?"

May the Lord bless you, brother, and keep you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy (Jude 24-25).

Your Servant in Jesus' Name,

- M.L.