While We Wait for Christ’s Return

Part 1

Tim Moore: We all know people who don’t want to talk about Jesus’ return either because they really don’t want Him to come anytime soon, or because they have grown callous or skeptical about His promise to return. Obviously the mission of Lamb & Lion Ministries is to share the Good News of that promise to as many people as possible, offering encouragement and hope to Christians and a warning to those who do not yet know Him as Savior and Lord and would therefore be left behind at the Rapture.

We’ll return to discussing the signs and prophecies converging before our eyes in the weeks to come, but today it is just as important that we emphasize serving faithfully and staying alert while we wait. So Nathan, on that note, I have oftentimes cited an old Jewish proverb that says, “If you think the world’s going to end tomorrow, plant a tree today.” So what does that really mean to us in applying to our lives waiting for the Messiah?

Nathan Jones: I’ve heard so many people who love Bible prophecy quote that because it’s saying that we don’t know when Jesus is going to return. In Matthew 24, three times He says, “You don’t know when I’m coming back. Be watchful. Keep your eyes on Heaven.” We don’t know when He’s coming back. So what do we do? We continue to do the work that He’s given us, and we know what that work is through Acts 1:8, the great commission to go out and evangelize the world. And so you’re right. You know, we’ve got to always keep an eye for Jesus Christ, but keep working.

Tim Moore: Keep working. You know, I find it so instructive. As my wife and I have said, we wish we’d planted a few trees 25 years ago because by now they’d be mature. Sometimes we put off until tomorrow what should be done today, and if we would just invest wisely today, then there would be much fruit born in the future. I think this proverb is telling us if you want to continue to have fruit be born in the future, you can’t put off what should be done today.

Nathan Jones: I remember in the late 2000s, about 2008, I wanted to make a left behind video for the ministry. And I was like, “Wow, we’ve really got to get this done.” I mean, the way the world seemed to be that the Lord is coming at any minute. And so we really rushed to get it done and it’s been able to bless many people. But, you know, that was 2008. That was what, you know, 10, 15 years ago. And so it’s been a while and I thought really much at that time, just like Dr. Reagan when he founded the ministry back in the ’80s, thought, “Hey, the Lord could come back any moment.” And that doesn’t mean we’re misinterpreting the signs of the times because the signs of the times are getting more frequent and intense leading up to His return, but we just don’t know that date.

You know, when you travel and you know family is coming to visit for the holiday, right? You turn on the porch light and you know about the time they’re coming. You kind of peek out now and then out the window to see when they’re going to come. It’s like that. We know about the time period Jesus is going to come. Israel’s back in the land again. We still, though, have to keep watchful, just like you said.

Tim Moore: Well, that’s a good point. I’ve used the analogy of the Queen of England, bless her heart. She’s no longer with us. But if I was told she’s coming to visit me sometime in the next few weeks, well, I might put off getting my house cleaned up and prepared and making it orderly so that I was ready to receive a special guest. But if I was told she could come at any time, then I would keep my house clean and make sure it stayed that way because I don’t know when she’s arriving.

There’s both the motivation to live holy lives now if we anticipate the Lord’s coming, but there’s also a reality that we have to go about our lives not knowing how soon exactly He’s coming. Now we do proclaim that He’s coming very soon, and folks, it’s sooner today than it was when this ministry was founded in 1980. But if we had not invested, if Dr. Reagan and others before Nathan and I had not invested in the long-term outreach of this ministry, then we would not be sitting here today. So they had the foresight to proclaim His soon return, but be busy while awaiting Him.

Nathan Jones: Right, and when we go to the fig tree analogy, when Jesus says, “When the fig tree rebuds, you know that the time is near,” He was pointing to Israel. When Israel returns as a nation again. We are that generation. The Greek is actually Genea. It means an era or time period. So, you know, people say, “Well, Israel was founded in May of 1948 and if I calculate 70 or 80 or 120, whatever a generation is, it’s got to be within that time,” and it’s a misinterpretation. Genea actually means time period or era. We are the era that sees Israel in the land again. It could be another 20, 30 years, although, you know, it’s hard to believe, but it could be another 20 or 30 years. And that’s still within that time period that saw Israel come back into the land again.

Tim Moore: I think there’s another application that I found when I was researching for this particular conversation. I found a tremendous statement by a rabbi who was contemporary to Jesus’ day. His name was Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. And I hope I’m pronouncing that correctly.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, easy for you to say.

Tim Moore: Yeah, he was one of the Tannaim, which means he was one of the revered rabbis there in rabbinical Judaism in the time of Jesus. And he made a statement that said, “If you have a sapling in your hands,” speaking of planting trees, “and someone should say to you that the Messiah has come, stay and complete the planting and then go and greet the Messiah.” Now, that seems contradictory. Wouldn’t I want to rush to meet the Messiah? But he said, “Finish what you’re doing at that moment, and then go and meet the Messiah.” What do you think he meant by that?

Nathan Jones: Well, because He’s called us to a job. He’s called the Church to fulfill the Great Commission or to evangelize up to the very last minute. So even when Jesus is coming back in the sky at the end, I’m hoping the 144,000 are running to as many people as they can, sharing the Gospel with them as Jesus comes in the clouds so none will be there. For us in the Church Age, we need to be sharing, because hey, the person you talk to might be that person, the last person to get saved in the Church Era, and then the Lord will rapture people up to Heaven. So you’re right, even as He’s coming in the clouds, we better still be sharing the Gospel.

Tim Moore: We better still be sharing the Gospel. May He find us faithful and busy, as I said a moment ago. You know, I think there’s another element to this. You imagine living in the day and age of Jesus, there was a great fervor, at least of expectancy, of a messiah. Now, I would argue they weren’t looking for the real Messiah. Many people were looking for deliverance from Roman oppression. They were looking for the resurgence of their nation. Even as you go to the account of Jesus’ birth, Simeon and Anna are recognized as looking for the Messiah and the Scripture says that Anna went and shared with those who were waiting for the consolation of Israel. And my point has always been, yeah, they were looking for Israel to be delivered, but they weren’t looking for the deliverer the same way Simeon and Anna were.

Nevertheless, there were many false messiahs who proclaimed, “I’m him,” and people would get all worked up and run off in a direction and then be disillusioned by the reality that they had followed a false messiah. I think this particular rabbi is saying, “Don’t get worked up and go chasing after.” And we actually see evidence of this in Scripture. Nathan, if you go to John 1, we learn that Jesus begins calling His disciples there in verse 35. And, of course, we know that he calls Simon and says, “Follow me. You are called Simon, son of John. You shall be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter. This is in verse 42. And the next day, he found Philip and said, “Follow me.” And Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, and Philip went and found Nathaniel and said, and this is in verse 45, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

In verse 46, Nathaniel, being a little bit skeptical, says, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” In other words, “I’m not going to get all worked up. I don’t think you’re right to tell me to drop everything and go meet this guy from Nazareth.” But Philip said to him, “Come and see.” And sure enough, Nathaniel did go and Jesus recognized Nathaniel’s discernment. He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.” Verse 48, Nathaniel said to Him, “How do you know me?” And Jesus answered and said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” And so Nathaniel responds, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God.” But there’s inherent in this passage a little reluctance on Nathaniel’s part to just jump up and chase after what he fears may be a false messiah.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, during the time period, you’re right, there was quite a number of false messiahs. One led the Jewish people up to the Jordan River and he says, “That’s it. We’re leaving the Roman Empire. I’m going to make the waters separate and we’re going to go back out of the Promised Land.” Well, that didn’t work. You had a false prophet named Zadok and that’s where they got the term the zealots and one of the apostles, Simon the Zealot, came out of that cult. There were others. There’s the unnamed Jew from Egypt who Paul was accused of possibly being who was leading people astray. It reminds me actually of, do you remember, like, maybe 20, 30 years ago, there was this cult, they were waiting for a UFO to take them away…

Tim Moore: Yes.

Nathan Jones: And they put their suitcases out and they’re sitting on their suitcases on top of this mountain waiting for this UFO to take them away. And it’s amazing how many people we come across who say, “You all who believe in the Rapture of the Church are just like those cultists. You’re sitting there on your suitcases waiting to be taken up to Heaven.” But Tim, you and I speak all over the country and never once have I met a Christian who believes in the Rapture of the Church is just sitting on a suitcase and waiting. They are doing just what we’re learning here. They’re staying busy. They’re planting seeds. They’re doing good works.

Tim Moore: And I would argue that those who are looking for the soon return of Jesus Christ are doing those good works with a sense of urgency that those who are not looking for Jesus, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t think He’s coming,” they might say, and therefore they believe they have lots of time. Brother, ever since I learned that Jesus is coming soon, it spurred me to action with an urgency to my good works so that I can be found faithful, as I said, and busy.

Nathan Jones: Yes and knowing that Jesus Christ is coming back does three things for Christians. It encourages us to do good works. It encourages to holy living. You know when you’re a kid and you know your, you’re with the babysitter and you know your parents could come home any moment, you get good near the end, you stop harassing the babysitter because your parents will be home any moment. Likewise, you know, be doing good works and holy living while the Lord comes. And three is hope. And I think those who know the Rapture of the Church is coming have so much more hope than those who are anticipating living through the Tribulation or that there’s no Millennial Kingdom ahead, that someday Jesus might come back and that’ll be the end of it. Those who take a pre-millennial view, in other words, they believe in a literal kingdom of Christ for a thousand years and a rapture of the Church before the Tribulation, pre-Tribulation raptures, we have hope.

Tim Moore: We certainly do. You know, I’m reminded, you and I, when we go to Israel, we’ll see signs or at least placards and bumper stickers and such pasted on the back of road signs telling us that the Messiah has come because some got all worked up about a rabbi actually from New York named Schneerson and they said, “Oh, he’s the Messiah.” Well, folks, that particular rabbi is dead, he’s been buried, and he hasn’t come back. He’s not resurrected. He was not the Messiah. And yet there was this great hope and false hope that the Messiah would be that individual. We know who the Messiah is because He was crucified, dead, buried, and was resurrected, proving that He indeed is the favorite son of God.

Nathan Jones: And it’s interesting from the Jewish mindset, they actually see two Messiahs. They see Messiah ben Joseph, who’d be a humble person who’d fulfill the Isaiah 53 prophecy of a suffering servant, he would bring salvation, and we know that was Jesus Christ. But what they really want is Messiah ben David, the warrior king who would overthrow the Roman empire or today overthrow the United Nations and set Israel up as the prime nation of the world. And they couldn’t understand that it’s not two messiahs but one. But we know when Jesus returns, they will look upon Him whom they have pierced. They will weep and wail and they will cry out, sorry, with my cold here, I’m having a little trouble. You say it.

Tim Moore: Baruch Haba b’Shem Adonai!

Nathan Jones: Thank you, it’s hard to do Hebrew when you’re suffering through a cold, but yes. And so they’ll realize that those two Messiahs are actually one.

Tim Moore: Amen. You know, I think of a great exemplar who I’ve always loved studying and that is Abraham. As far as looking for a promise to be fulfilled, folks, Nathan and I have been awaiting the Lord’s return now for a number of years with great eagerness and excitement, anticipation. And yet He has tarried. He may continue to tarry. And so I think of Abraham, who was given tremendous promises by God that he would have a son, that he would get land, a promised land, that he would be the father of many descendants, so many that it would be impossible for him to count, and yet within his lifetime, Abraham had one son of promise.

He ended up with one son, a grandson I should say, who was covenantal and who honored the birthright handed down to him. He never possessed the land. Abraham lived in the promised land as a sojourner, just wandering about living in a tent. And yet Scripture says he was looking forward to a city not built by human hands, but built by God. And yet he never realized it in his lifetime, and still his hope did not waver. Why? Because he believed God. And that’s where we are today.

Nathan Jones: And it was credited to him as righteousness. You could read in Romans 4:3, it’s repeated in Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23, that when we are patient and wait upon the Lord, which patience is very hard for us finite creatures to do, but that’s what the Lord calls us. The Lord has already, before He created everything, created a plan and He’s put dates on everything. And so we know when we read the Bible, because of all the proleptic passages, in other words, prophecies written in past tense, even though they’re about future events, that for God, the Bible is his finished story.

It’s like in “The Hobbit” where Bilbo or Frodo at the end of the movie are finishing their book because they’re telling what happened beforehand. But for us in the timeline, we’re in it. We’re living it, right? So we know that Jesus is going to rapture the church. We know there’ll be a Tribulation, a Second Coming, a Millennial Kingdom, a Great White Throne Judgment. It’s already happened to God. But for us, we have to trust in the Lord and be faithful. And that’s why he told Habakkuk in Habakkuk 2:4 the just shall live by faith.

Tim Moore: The just shall live by faith. I think it’s so important to realize that we are living in a time that is challenged. There are many things that press in upon us, little “t” tribulations. Jesus said, “In this life, you will have trouble.” But He gives us this hope so that we do not fixate on where we are or the circumstances of our lives today and we have something to look forward to. And that reminds me of another great prophet, that being the prophet Jeremiah.

Nathan Jones: Oh, yes.

Tim Moore: He’s called the prophet of doom, or the weeping prophet, because he saw so many terrible things. But in Jeremiah 32, it records that while Jeremiah was being imprisoned for speaking truth to the king there in Judah, and Jeremiah said, “These things are going to happen, and if they don’t, you know, then my life is forfeit because I am wrong.” But he wasn’t wrong. And yet while in prison, his cousin came and said, “I want you to buy my field I’ve inherited.” I guess he needed the money. And so the Lord revealed to Jeremiah, “Yes, buy that field. Make an investment in your own future,” and then he built on that a prophetic revelation that there would be hope. Even in the midst of devastation, he told this weeping prophet, “Demonstrate through your own faith that there is a future and that there is hope and you’re going to show that even through your own actions.”

Nathan Jones: And the context of it is that King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians were besieging Jerusalem and Jeremiah was put in jail for prophesying against King Zedekiah. So here he is like, “What’s the point of buying a field when the Babylonians are just going to take everything and destroy everything anyway?” And it says at the end of chapter 32 in Jeremiah that it’s because the Lord wanted Jeremiah to show that His promises stand, He will restore the land back to Israel, He could be trusted, He’s faithful. And by buying that property, it put the deed into Jeremiah’s name.

Jeremiah put it in a, kind of like the Dead Sea scrolls, a protective jar, and hid it so that when that time came where the Jews were supposed to reclaim their land, I think somewhere that jar is out there, Tim, and Jeremiah’s going to come and he’s going to take that jar and he’s going to live in that land, that field that he bought, because God says that he will reclaim that land one day. Now, we know that he never did during that time because he got dragged off to Egypt and died. But in his resurrected body, he will claim that land.

Tim Moore: I think that’s such a beautiful picture because it demonstrates that even in the midst of what we perceive as calamity and apparent despair, what does despair mean? It means hopelessness. So even as I would think I have no hope, God knows the plans He has for us, a plan for a future and for hope. And so God wants us to keep our vision on the future, on what is coming, on His promises, which are always yes and amen. Again, don’t be ensnarled by circumstances right now, don’t give into despair, but focus on the hope. And we know that hope is not just hope in hope. It is a blessed hope which points us to Jesus Christ.

Nathan Jones: Amen. I think one of the best places to find what to do while we’re waiting is Luke 21:34-36. Jesus went through 10 different signs that pointed to His return. And this is how He ends it. He says, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. And that day,” His return,” come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things and that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

So Tim, when you break that down, there’s five things Jesus is saying here. First He’s saying, “Stop sinning. You know, I mean, you’re my representatives here on earth. Be little Christ’s. Stop sinning. Live holy lives.” Two, keep watch. You know, Christians are mocked for looking for Jesus, but Jesus commands us to keep watch. Three, pray to escape evil times. We live in evil times. There’s nothing wrong for praying about escaping it. Four, hope for the Rapture. Hope for His return. Live that hope out. Don’t be depressed and sad all the time. Know that you have hope. And five, accept Jesus as savior because you can’t be raptured up to Heaven unless you know Jesus Christ as your savior.

Tim Moore: You know, right at this time of the year, at the beginning of 2025, a new administration is about to ascend to power in Washington. President-elect Trump has already identified a number of people who will serve as cabinet secretaries, other appointed positions, but he’s also named a number that will serve as ambassadors to the United States in foreign lands. And so these individuals will move to whatever country they are serving in and they will act as a representative of the United States and of the President of the United States. Now, in this day and age, the president can pick up a phone and talk to a foreign leader or a dignitary. He doesn’t have to have a representative. And yet that person becomes an embodiment of America and of American policy to that foreign entity.

And in the same way, you and I have been commissioned by the Lord God to be ambassadors. He can reach out and touch people. He can speak to their hearts. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need us. But the Lord has chosen to give us the privilege and the honor of being His ambassadors here in this increasingly foreign land while we wait for Him. And are we living that out in a way that is representative of Him, that is declaring the truths He has revealed to us. That really is our challenge, but it is our opportunity as well.

Nathan Jones: You know, that’s a really good analogy because it all of a sudden dawn on me, Mike Huckabee’s going to have to move to Israel, isn’t he?

Tim Moore: He sure is.

Nathan Jones: He’s going to be ambassador. Well, we have a resource that helps us live a life of godly living, of hope, of being expectant. Maybe we could share that.

Tim Moore: We sure do. So several years ago, Dr. Reagan wrote Living for Christ in the End Times. And frankly, this book is as appropriate and timely today as it was when he first wrote it, because we are still living for Christ. The End Times are upon us. We are seeing the signs multiply, seeing them converge as never before. And so if you want to know how you can live for Christ, even in these dark days, we would encourage you to get this book. Nathan, we’re making this as a special offer for a limited time for only $10. Folks, given the width of this book and the vast blessing it will be, that’s a tremendous opportunity for you to not only get a tremendous resource for yourself, but perhaps to share it with others.

Nathan Jones: Amen. Amen. It’s a great book. I’ve read it. And Dr. Reagan goes through his own personal testimony explaining the trials and tribulations he went through and learned how to trust God. And Tim, I think that’s probably one of the hardest things as Christians, especially when we look at the world around us. It seems like it’s chaos. It seems like everything is falling to pieces. But, you know, as you like to say and I like to say, Jan Markell, God bless her for making it, the pieces are falling into place.

And when we trust God, we can sleep at night. Don Perkins, a fellow preacher at a conference, once said, “I sleep well at night because I know that God’s in control and He’s sovereign.” And that’s true. Even throughout the election last year, you know, for some reason, I had this peace about me because I knew that God’s in control. And when we understand that, we can really live lives up to, I don’t want to say our best life now, but we can live so much better lives because we have that hope.

Tim Moore: We can live for Christ now. That’s a better way to put it. You know, even the subtitle of this book says, Coping with Anarchy and Apostasy.” And we’ve seen a rise in anarchy, lawlessness. We’ve seen an increase in apostasy and heresy even within the church. Those things could discourage us if we didn’t have our eyes fixed on Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. And so we often sometimes wonder, why don’t we just get whisked up to Heaven the instant we put our faith in Christ? Because that would be great. You say, “I trust in you Christ,” and bang, you’re ushered into Heaven.

But that’s not how it works, because the Lord wants us to stay here and wants us to be living testimonies of faith in Him. Sometimes that takes tough faith, resilient faith, but never wavering hope. And that’s why I find Abraham to be such a tremendous example. Abraham never wavered in his confidence that God would fulfill all the promises made to him even though they were not fulfilled in his lifetime.

Nathan Jones: Except for Hagar. He slipped there.

Tim Moore: Okay, you’re right, you’re right. He tried to accelerate the fulfillment, shall we say?

Nathan Jones: Yeah, maybe God thinks that I should be doing something.

Tim Moore: Yeah, he was misguided, which proves he’s not perfect. But in terms of trusting God, I don’t think he ever failed to believe God will keep his promises. And so as Abraham’s life came to a close, he made sure to pass on that expectation to his son Isaac and then on to his grandson Jacob. And I think that’s what we need to do even today.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, and, you know, a lot of us think too that, well, there’s some great preachers who are preaching Bible prophecy. Hal Lindsey, for example. Well, Hal Lindsey deserves to be part of the Rapture. Well, unfortunately Brother Hal passed last November. It doesn’t mean that we’re guaranteed to be raptured living, but we know the dead in Christ will be raised first. So no matter what, all Christians are going through the Rapture.

Tim Moore: Well, as it says in Scripture, Job says, “Though he slay me, yet I will hope in Him.” And how do I pass on my hope to where it is a continuing living hope? It goes back to what we said first, folks, plant a tree. And Nathan, the tree that is referred to in that proverb doesn’t just mean a living sapling. I believe it refers to young people who will continue to grow and raise up to bear much fruit for the King. And folks, if you know a young person who you can pour into right now, do so to ensure that even if the Lord tarries perhaps even beyond our lifetimes, when He comes, the Son of Man will not find that there’s a lack of faith on the earth, but perhaps your children and your grandchildren will still be looking for Him and bearing much fruit for the King.

Closing

Tim Moore: Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet because he saw so much devastation befall his people. Others refer to him as a prophet of doom because he pronounced God’s judgment on Judah.

Nathan Jones: And although God had sent other prophets calling the people to repent, by the time He raised up Jeremiah, God’s patience had been exhausted. In fact, He twice told Jeremiah not to pray for Judah or try to intercede on its behalf because He would not hear those prayers.

Tim Moore: And yet just as Habakkuk came full circle to hope and exalt in the Lord, Jeremiah was also given a glimpse of the blessed hope, the coming righteous branch who will execute justice and righteousness on the earth, the very things that were lacking in Judah during Jeremiah’s time.

Nathan Jones: And that is why Jeremiah could exclaim in the midst of his own suffering and the impending doom of his nation, “Ah, Lord God, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you.”

Tim Moore: Do you have that kind of resilient hope? Hope that is focused on God and on His promises? Are you so confident in His blessed assurance that your anticipation of the righteous branch, that the circumstances of this life cannot dampen your praise?

While many Americans are feeling hopeful that better days are ahead, we know that many stress fractures are weakening our nation. Our moral compass seems to be broken, regardless of who inhabits the White House.

Jesus told us to store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal. By the same token, as the old hymn says:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.

And then that wonderful last stanza which points us to the future when it says:

When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

We’ll see you again next week here on Christ in Prophecy. Godspeed!

End of Program