The questions that Habakkuk asked long ago in ancient Judah resonate again in today’s world:
Habakkuk 1:2-3 KJV – “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.”
The Lord responded to the inquisitive prophet by telling him that His judgment was already on the way (Habakkuk 1:5-11). His wrath came in the form of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians who destroyed both Jerusalem and the temple. God indeed saw the wickedness and violence, and He warned the people of Judah beforehand through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk.
Back to today. Despite a world that’s overrun with violence, deception, injustice, lawlessness, and wickedness, very few church leaders ask questions similar to that of Habakkuk. They do not connect what they see with biblical prophecy.
As I wondered about how again to respond to the normality bias so evident among believers today, I thought about the title of a Francis A. Schaeffer book that I read in college, He Is There and He is Not Silent. For today, I suggest we adjust it to: “He Sees, He Is Not Silent, and He Is Coming Soon.”
Jesus Sees
Jesus sees the perilous times in which we live.
He sees the grieving family members mourning the loss of the multitudes murdered by the COVID injections, the deceit and injustice rampant in our governments (especially in the U.S.), the anguish of children caught in the web of sex trafficking, the horror of children ruthlessly slaughtered in the womb, and the violence that’s wreaking havoc on the streets of our cities.
He saw all that happened on October 7, 2023, in Israel, and He grieves with along with those suffering from this great tragedy.
Based on what the Lord sees today, how might He reply if someone asked Him the same questions Habakkuk raised so long ago? I’m certain His response would include the words of Psalm 75:6-8:
Psalm 75:6-8 KJV – “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.”
As we wait for the Lord’s appearing we can be sure He sees what’s happening in this world and His response is already on the way. Perhaps it’s closer than most people can imagine.
One thing for sure, He is not silent. Unless the perpetrators of the evil around us turn to the Savior, they will feel the full force of God’s “cup” of wrath both in this life and in eternity.
Jesus Is Not Silent
Jesus is anything but quiet today concerning the horrors of our day, but so few are paying attention. There are more precursors to future Tribulation events than I can track. [All] these things resound with this message: My judgments will soon sweep over the world.
Jesus is most certainly not silent today. What then accounts for the silence in so many churches? Why are most shepherds deaf to the alarms that Jesus is sounding to alert the world of the approaching Tribulation?
Based on my experience, it’s because many of those that tend the Lord’s sheep make these assumptions: (1) Jesus will not dramatically interfere in the affairs of humankind until the very last day of human history, (2) the restoration of a nation to Israel is just a fluke of history, and (3) Jesus will not appear anytime soon.
God’s Word is clear: there will be an extended time of wrath upon the earth, described as the Day of the Lord in passages such as Isaiah 24:1-23, and Jeremiah 30:5-7. The Apostle John wrote about this time in Revelation chapters 6-18. During this time, the Lord will not only judge the world’s wickedness, but also bring a remnant of the Jewish faith to saving faith in their Messiah. Many will turn to the Savior during this time, but the false church and antichrist will kill most that do.
As the time of the Lord’s wrath approaches, He is anything but silent, but very few people are listening.
Jesus Is Coming Soon
Jesus not only sees and warns people of what’s ahead, but He’s also coming soon. He will intervene in our world.
The good news for us as New Testament saints is that the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, promises that we will not experience the wrath of the Day of the Lord or what we refer to as the seven-year Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 KJV – “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”
Jesus’ dramatic intervention in the affairs of humankind will begin when He comes for His church. This will wreak havoc throughout the earth. As the His judgments follow, even the most powerful leaders of the time will recognize them as “the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:12-17).
Jesus’ imminent appearing was the excited expectation of the early church (Philippians 3:20-21). In my book, The Triumph of the Redeemed, I provide a thorough defense of the pre-Tribulation Rapture. This is the belief that the fulfillment of passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:47-55, and 1 John 3:2-3 happens before God’s wrath falls upon humankind during what we refer to as the seven-year Tribulation. The Rapture will happen before the Tribulation.
This glorious expectation of meeting Jesus in the air is the “blessed hope” of the Gospel (Titus 2:11-14). I know of no better encouragement for the day in which we live.
We may have to wait a little longer than we would like, but we can be absolutely certain that our Lord is coming to take us to glory, to the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:1-3; Colossians 3:4).
Don’t believe the scoffers; Jesus is coming soon for us. It could happen today.
We Are Richly Blessed
The entire world will soon witness Jesus’ dramatic intervention in the course of human events on the earth and nothing will ever be the same. He will appear to catch His bride away, over the course of seven years severely judge the world’s wickedness that grieves us today, and later establish His righteous rule over all the nations.
The rapid approach of the Tribulation period tells us that we will be home with Jesus in paradise in the near future.
For those of us watching for His glorious appearing, it cannot happen too soon. In the meantime, please know that we are richly blessed to live in biblical times with a valid expectation of being alive when Jesus comes for His Church.
