Isaiah 9:7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

This whole passage is gloriously familiar, but it just struck me that this verse seems to be at odds with various popular eschatologies. It seems to agree with postmillennialism, which has been out of favor ever since WWI, and in direct conflict with premillennialism, which is probably the most popular eschatology today, and it doesn’t touch on “the Rapture,” that is so much a topic of anticipation and debate (even though the word never appears in the Bible). What came to me just now was that this verse is true regardless of how things look to us in the moment. Even in the horrors of WWII, which seemed to put a nail in the coffin of postmillennialism, people were turning to Christ and discovering His peace. We are totally short-sighted, unable to perceive the glories that God has ahead of us, and so we try to make all sorts of excuses for Him, to “make the Bible true” even though our experiences seem to contradict it. That’s a very human thing to do, but it is very self-centered, trying to make the world make sense to our brain instead of trusting God. That’s where faith comes in. If everything fit a plan that we could conceive, where would faith be? To me, the answer is pan-millennialism. The term was coined as a joke, but I think it has a lot of truth to it. It just means, “everything will pan out.” I think that is the position of honest humility.

Like many today, I have the gut feeling that Christ’s return isn’t very far off in terms of time, but then, believers in the 1^st Century felt that way, too. I know absolutely that I will meet Him in less than 30 years, and I’ve already lived in Omura for 44 years! Jesus told us repeatedly that we are to be ready for His return, and I seek to do that. I don’t think that means stockpiling foodstuffs! I believe it means being active in my obedience, seeking His will for what I am to do each day, striving to communicate the Gospel while I have the opportunity. I fail to listen actively to Him all too often, getting caught up in what feels good to me, and that requires keeping my repentance up to date. I am to remember that my time is limited and seek to be the steward of that time that He wants me to be, so that whether I welcome Him on His return or simply go to Him before that, I will have no reason to be ashamed.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me not let things slide, but rather be active in Your service whatever Your timeline might be, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!