Maranatha!

No one likes to wait. When I was a kid, when I went to the movies I would buy a ticket and wait in line until the ushers let me into the theater and once they did, it was a mad rush to get in a grab a good seat.  No one wanted to sit in the first two rows where the screen looked a thousand feet long.  That was way before the days when you can now pick out and reserve your seat for the movie.  But even now, once you sit down in the theater, it takes another 30 plus minutes of movie previews (I like these) and commercials (I don’t like these) before the movie starts.

Then there’s the doctor’s office.  Even with an appointment you still end up waiting quite awhile before you actually see the doctor.  And how about the Visa process, which I’ve mentioned in previous articles where you go through a 90-day process, sometimes longer, in order to secure a longer-term Visa.

Let’s face it.  Life is a series of events which involves waiting.  I recently re-read the book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsey, published in 1970.  It’s a book which goes through current and potential future events in the then 20^th century and ties them into Biblical prophecy, especially from the book of Revelations.  While there are certainly some items of prediction that didn’t pan out in the book, it was interesting to me that how many of the predications from that book are still relevant to our modern time, now some 55 years later.  There’s a word mentioned in the book, “Marantha,” which is an Aramaic phrase meaning "Come, Lord!" It's a prayer used by early Christians (and made popular in the 1970’s), expressing their longing for the return of Jesus Christ, which the Bible predicts will happen one day. 

I wish Jesus would return tomorrow.  And so, I wait.  Eventually, like most things, the wait will be over so I’m happy to wait patiently (unlike waiting for the Visa process).  But for those who do not believe in Jesus as their Lord and savior, they are not waiting.  When Jesus comes back to earth, it will be quite a shock for those folks.  Look at it this way – the Bible clearly states in several verses that Jesus will come back one day to take all believers to heaven.  Like I mentioned in a previous article, either the Bible is really God’s Word and is therefore true, or it’s not.  So, what side do you really want to be on?

For me, I say, “Maranatha!”

·       He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. (Revelations 22:20-21) 

·       And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven…So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming…You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. (Matthew 24:30-44) 

·       For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17) 

·       And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27–28) 

·       But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  (2 Peter 3:8)