The King is coming! Did you catch what I just said? The King is coming! Not only did He say in John 14:1-3 that He was coming, but the prophetic signs are all around us signaling that He’s coming. Can you see it, too? I hope so. Sadly, though, it seems like the majority of Christians in America are apathetic to this truth, and it seems like it’s getting worse the closer we get to that event.
In the past few days I have heard two different Bible teachers mention the phrase, the King is Coming. The first one I heard was in a message a well-known pastor preached almost 13 years ago, where he was giving a brief review of the mindsets of the Church and how they changed starting from the time of the Apostles to the present. The second time I heard the phrase this week was in an interview that took place just within the past couple months or so, where the person was describing the current condition of the Church in general.
In the first message, the pastor pointed out that the early Church was continuously looking and expecting Jesus, the King, to return at any given moment. This was the mindset of the Church until the fifth century when Augustine concluded that the Book of Revelation was just an allegory. It was at this point that the Church decided that the Book of Revelation was simply filled with symbolism and adopted the mindset that is now commonly known as “Kingdom Now”, holding to the belief that it was up to the Church to conquer the world and establish the Kingdom of God here on earth. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that some pastors determined this belief had failed, and that this was not a Biblically sound teaching for the simple reason that you can’t have a kingdom without a king. It was only at this point, the point in which they began to get their theology right, that the wheels of prophetic fulfillment began to turn, something that hadn’t happened in over 1500 years. Then, in 1906 a revival broke out on Azusa Street, and it was during that time when the Church began to realize and proclaim that the King is coming. It was only then that the wheels of prophetic fulfillment went into high gear leading up to the restoration of the nation of Israel, as well as other prophecies being fulfilled faster and faster even as I write this. One more thing we also need to remember, is that even though Jesus is currently King, He has not yet established His kingdom here on earth, and He won’t do so until He returns at the end of the 7-year Tribulation Period.
In the interview that took place within the past few months, this Bible teacher discussed the current state of affairs for the Church in general. While this is not true for some churches and Christians, more and more churches are currently forsaking the message proclaiming that the King is coming. Instead, they’re focusing on messages that feel and sound good, messages around social issues, messages that are culturally relevant, messages of community, and messages about building the Kingdom of God and church growth. Some are even filled with messages of patriotism more than messages of a heavenly kingdom that awaits faithful followers of Christ. As a result, there is a very apathetic mindset to Jesus’ return for His Bride, as well as an apathetic or nonchalant attitude regarding their own relationship with Christ.
The message proclaiming that the King is coming should be one of the loudest and most frequent of messages passionately preached and taught within the Church, as well as what is proudly proclaimed when reaching out to the lost. With the greatly accelerated increase in the fulfillment of Biblical end-time prophecies we’re seeing, that message should be all the louder. That message should propel us to daily re-evaluate our lives as Christians and make sure we are living right in His eyes, to “set our house in order”, so to speak. The message that the King is coming should be a staple when we reach out to the lost, letting them know that in spite of all the negative that is happening around us and around the world, there is a hope for those who faithfully follow and serve Jesus. This is the blessed hope the Apostle Paul mentions in Titus 2:13. This message that the King is coming, this blessed hope Paul mentions in Titus, it is that which the Apostle Paul tells us to comfort other believers with in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11, and we need to hear this more and more all the time as we see that day approaching from a Biblical perspective.
I realize that there are some who don’t like or agree with what I write about, and some may actually get offended. For some, what I write may strike a nerve or two, and if so that may reveal that there are other issues one must address within themselves. No matter what, I hope and pray that God uses what I write to encourage believers in the faith and in their relationship with Christ, but also to convict where someone may be going astray with the hope they will get back on track. If something I write doesn’t set well with you, take it to God in prayer and let Him speak to you about it, and search the Scripture and what it has to say as well. The primary purpose of the Resounding Shophar is to challenge Christians to re-evaluate their lives, to make sure they are ready when the trumpet sounds for Jesus to return for us, His Bride. This in no way implies that I have it all together myself, but I also continually strive to re-evaluate my life and readiness as the Holy Spirit leads me, trusting that God’s grace has me covered if I maintain a right heart and attitude in all my ways in His eyes. And, why is this the primary purpose of Resounding Shophar? It’s simple. THE KING IS COMING!
THE KING IS COMING!!!!! THIS SHOULD BE THE MOST EXCITING MESSAGE FOR FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST!
THE KING IS COMING!!!!
John Johansson
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Nailed it!