This is why Paul tasks us with preaching as one of our most important jobs. Keep going, keep preaching. Until we have no more breath left in our lungs or our Lord Jesus Christ returns, we have to keep preaching no matter what.
Hello Readers, hope all’s well. Today I present another End Times post.
How should we spend our remaining time before the End?? What’s our most pressing task?? What does the Bible tell us??
There are a few answers to that. But today, we’re going to focus on only one. And that would be the job of … preaching.
Preaching. It’s one of the most important jobs we have during the End Times. Even though it doesn’t always get the results we want, and it can even mean danger for us, we’re still tasked with doing it anyway. And there’s a good reason for this—can you figure out why??
Read on, and let’s think it over.
Paul’s Final Words
I was reading through 2 Timothy when I wrote this, trying to come up with a topic to write about. I was in 2 Timothy because that’s a Book which gives a lot of info on the End Times. Want to know what to look for in the End Times, and how to recognize when the Second Coming is close?? Read 1 and 2 Timothy. Great books, and they don’t take long to read.
At the end of 2 Timothy, we read one of the final things Paul wrote during his life here on earth. He knew these would be his final words, so he made sure to say the most important things with the time he had left. And what would those be?? Let’s take a look at 2 Timothy 2:4.
(1) I’m giving you this commission in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is coming to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearance and his kingdom. (2) Preach the word. Be ready to do it whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Correct, confront, and encourage with patience and instruction. (3) There will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. They will collect teachers who say what they want to hear because they are self-centered. (4) They will turn their back on the truth and turn to myths. (5) But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances. Endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the good news, and carry out your service fully.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 (CEB)
What Paul thought was the most important thing to tell Timothy, and us, was that we must preach the Word. We must ready to preach the Word whether it’s convenient and safe for us or not. We must correct and confront unBiblical beliefs, and do it with patience and a loving attitude of instruction. Our job is to lovingly guide other sinners like us to the truth of the Gospel.
We aren’t trying to force people to be Christians—such a thing is impossible anyways. “Real Faith isn’t forced, forced Faith isn’t real,” as I sometimes say on my blog. But one of our most important missions during the End Times is to preach the Word, whether that’s safe for us or not.
And for many Christians, it isn’t safe. This depends a great deal on where you live. There are countries in this world where being a Christian can get you in jail, killed, or worse. Check out Part 90 for more on that.
But whether we live in a country where it’s dangerous to be a Christian or not, there will always be opposition to the Christian message. Jesus himself told us the truth of this in Matthew 10. He told us the world would hate us because of His name.
(22) Everyone will hate you on account of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:22 (CEB)
And again in more detail in John 15.
(18) “If the world hates you, know that it hated me first. (19) If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, I have chosen you out of the world, and you don’t belong to the world. This is why the world hates you. (20) Remember what I told you, ‘Servants aren’t greater than their master.’ If the world harassed me, it will harass you too. If it kept my word, it will also keep yours. (21) The world will do all these things to you on account of my name, because it doesn’t know the one who sent me.
John 15:18-21 (CEB)
So you see, from the very beginning the world was always hostile to the Christian message. The Christian Gospel has always been opposed to the ways of the world, so the world hates and fears it. Jesus Himself warned us of this; it is what it is. But this doesn’t take away our responsibility to preach the Gospel until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of our most important jobs in the End Times. More on why in a second.
Now 2 Timothy 4:3-4 tells us that there will come a time—the End Times—when people will no longer listen to the Truth. They will surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. They will only listen to watered-down false ‘gospels’ that don’t demand that any tough changes in their lives. False ‘gospels’ that don’t demand we give up our sins and change our lives. These false ‘gospels’ include prosperity gospel, and many other deceptions.
And yet, Paul does not tell us to stop preaching the Word because of this. He tells us the opposite—to preach it as long as we can.
Many people won’t listen to our message in the End Times. It’s sad, but true. But that’s no excuse for us to stop. We need to preach the Word anyways, even if people ignore us and even if we get harassed. This is one of our main jobs now, at the End. We keep on preaching in the hope that even just one more sinner like ourselves can be brought to Christ and Saved.
Preach anyway. No matter what the world throws at us, and no matter who is listening. Even one more person Saved is a victory for Heaven, and for the Saved.
Paul highlighted preaching as one of our most important tasks in the End Times because time is short. All people are running out of time to turn to the Lord, REPENT! of their sins and change their lives. As long as there’s still time—even one minute—we have to keep preaching no matter the outcome.
In verse five Paul tells us to endure the suffering of preaching: The hatred and opposition, the lack of results. Anyone who doesn’t like the thought of suffering can take heart—we don’t have long left to endure. Our suffering will not last long.
Our Work Is almost Done
Let’s take a look at 2 Timothy 4 verses six through eight. What happens at the end?? What happens if we endure the suffering of preaching to the end??
(6) I’m already being poured out like a sacrifice to God, and the time of my death is near. (7) I have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. (8) At last the champion’s wreath that is awarded for righteousness is waiting for me. The Lord, who is the righteous judge, is going to give it to me on that day. He’s giving it not only to me but also to all those who have set their heart on waiting for his appearance.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 (CEB)
In verse eight Paul speaks of the ‘champions wreath’ awarded for Righteousness. This Spiritual prize is not a physical treasure; it’s a Spiritual reward waiting for us in Heaven. There are a few verses in the Bible that refer to the treasures of Heaven. Whatever they are, they’re beyond our comprehension. But whatever they are will be magnificent, and eternal. The contentment they give will never fade. We’re going to want and be pleased with these prizes more than any thing on this fallen and temporary world.
But the greatest prize of heaven is being one with God and resting in the LORD for all eternity. It’s an end to our labors and suffering. We will shed our corrupted and temporary physical bodies, and inherit our true, Glorious Spiritual bodies. And we can take pleasure in the presence of the Lord for all eternity, and never suffer separation from God again. This is the greatest prize for the Righteous, the prize we desire above anything else.
In other words, the suffering we must endure for preaching the Word will mean nothing once we taste the joys of eternal rest with the LORD. To put it another way, it’s the same as Paul told us in Romans 8:18. Our present suffering is nothing compared to our future Glory. Let God’s Promise give us the strength we need to endure until our final day.
(18) I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18 (CEB)
The end is near, Readers, and with it a rest from all our labors. So we must never stop preaching the Word anyway we can, no matter what opposition we face or how few results we get. Even one more sinner Saved is a victory for the Almighty Name of Jesus Christ and causes great rejoicing in Heaven, but there isn’t much time left to preach the message.
This is why Paul tasks us with preaching as one of our most important jobs. Keep going, keep preaching. Until we have no more breath left in our lungs or our Lord Jesus Christ returns, we have to keep preaching no matter what. And take heart in the promises of God’s Word. Our Eternal Rest awaits us in heaven, and once we get there none of our sufferings in this world will mean a thing. Let this knowledge give us the strength to endure in our work.
We won’t have to endure for long. The End is Now, and with it, a rest from our labors and the beginning of God’s new world.
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Until next time, be strong and do good!
Your new best friend in Christ,
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