Waiting Is

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 09:27-28, NKJV).

According to ancient and venerable Christian doctrine, Christ, the Suffering Servant, is coming again, physically, magnificently, undeniably - as Savior and Lord of Lords.

This next appearing will unfold in two phases: apart from sin, for salvation; and “to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 1:15, NKJV).

This is necessary in the same way that it was necessary that Enoch was snatched away before the flood, "…so that he did not see death, 'and was not found, because God had taken him'…" (Hebrews 11:5, NKJV). After which, the Flood of Judgment came, destroying all that walked the earth except for those creatures preserved in the Ark. 

So too, when Christ comes again, first He will snatch away His Bride, the church, then pour out God's wrath in judgment against a sinful world, preserving a remnant only of mankind.

And that interval between His Resurrection and Ascension, until He returns, is happening now. For the faithful, it is a time of eagerly waiting and occupying until He comes. 

For the willfully unbelieving, it is a time of unacknowledged approaching doom. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3, NKJV). 

That dreaded inkling of coming judgment is anathema to those who dwell on the planet in conscious rejection of God and the things of God. To be reminded of it in anyway evokes the desperate reaction of a spoiled child confronted with obvious wrong-doing. Shrill and vile accusations, foot-stomping, breath-holding, and even violence often ensues against the messengers of approaching judgment.

But to those of us who believe, we look toward His coming with comfort and joy, eagerly waiting for the Return of the King to put right all that is amiss in this crooked and perverse world. We hold fast the Word of Life so that whatever befalls us here and now is but light affliction, and cannot be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us.

It is essential to believers to have this anticipatory mindset, to set our minds on things above, lest we, like Lot, become enveloped in the things of the world, and lose sight of where are true citizenship lies. Knowing He might come at any moment for His church purifies our hearts and minds, while we wait and occupy.

Yet, the waiting can be long and hard, fraught with pain and isolation, as we wrestle against our flesh, the world and the Enemy.

Like the fallen beings we are, we either lose sight of our destiny when things are proceeding according to our satisfaction, or we whine and grumble about how long He is tarrying when life is difficult, or our pride is injured, or when we simply become tired of keeping on.

Our Lord knows this about us, and encourages us in our weakness.

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. (2 Thessalonians 3:13, NKJV).

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16, NKJV).

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9, NKJV).

This world is not our home. Not yet. One day it will be, when He gifts us with a new heaven and a new earth, and with that quality of eternal life which He died to make possible for us.

The primary danger then is twofold while we wait: distraction or weariness.

Both are debilitating.

Both take our eyes off Him and refocus them on ourselves - a sure guarantee of miserable self-absorption.

Yes, it's hard to wait, but the waiting is also part of His absolutely unique and perfect plan for each one of His children.

Remember this, especially in the night seasons. 

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (Psalms 103:14, NKJV).

The Judgment

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 09:27-28, NKJV).

There is nothing more repugnant to fallen human nature than the thought of final judgment. And there is nothing more inevitable, regardless of all the protestations, railings and blasphemous objections. To be brought before a superior authority and evaluated solely on the basis of our performance is the guaranteed climax of every human life. And without Christ it is equally guaranteed to go badly. Very badly.

Further, the Bible slams the door on the doctrine of reincarnation as a hope for second chances, as explicitly stated here: it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

A personal Judgment Day is a concept embedded in the very fiber of our being. Every known culture has its particular version written large in mythology, archetypal stories, and societal expectations. It is as human as an opposable thumb. 

It was put in our existential fabric by God Himself, as an act of both warning and mercy. We can attempt to deny it; by rebellion, try to purge it from our thinking, or we can do our best to attempt to "buy off" the judge by temporally bargaining against an eternal outcome. But it is a futile tactic doomed to failure.

Every word, every deed, every thought will undergo judgment in the fiery eyes of Christ, and nothing will escape notice. Every thought and intent of the heart will be brought to light. Nothing will remain hidden.

This should terrify every defendant (and we are all defendants), but in the majority of the cases, either because the outcome is so unthinkable, or the necessary submission to a higher authority is so repulsive, the modern strategy is to proclaim disbelief.

It doesn't work, though, especially in the "wee hours of the morning", alone, sleepless, steeped in guilt. We know, we just know, that judgment is coming, and for those who are not in Christ, whether they profess belief or not, the anxiety is virtually unbearable.

The "head in the sand" remedies abound. Compulsive eating, drinking, promiscuity, denial, outbursts of wrath, or any other profligate activity that distracts from the core revelation will do, as long as the thought, and attendant feelings, that "the judgment is coming" is, at least temporarily, overlaid.

Yet, as mentioned, this inherent, indomitable guilt is both mercy and culpatory evidence.

Mercy because it inflicts us with unease and motivates us, perhaps, to seek expiation.

Culpatory because even within our own God-bequeathed conscience we know we are inexcusably guilty.

Ignored, this double-edged impetus eventually diminishes in power and influence until our conscience is seared beyond any sensitivity, and we find ourselves saying or doing things that would previously have been unthinkable.

In the end, if left untreated, the patient not only dies,  but enters into eternity defiled with guilt and iniquity.

At that point, there descends upon that immortal soul an infinite weight of hopelessness and despair. All that was possible before death - repentance, coming to real faith in Christ, forgiveness - becomes utterly impossible.

This stiletto-sharp warning in Hebrews is meant for those who have yet to admit their own sinfulness. It is especially directed at those who mistakenly consider themselves righteous before God. For know this, without receiving Christ as your Savior (truly and sincerely):

…“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18, NKJV).