Advent reading over the years has deepened my thinking about the Second Coming than any Hal Lindsey or Tim LaHaye book… or all of them combined. Those Thief in the Night or Left Behind movies can’t deepen my sense of anticipation for the Second Coming like steady doses of Advent reading year after year.
A steady, disciplined walk year after year through passages like Matthew 24 set my heart straight. These passages stir my thinking and deepen my self-examination.
The task at hand is not to walk in fear. The task is not to guess about a date or speculate on the antichrist. The task at hand is to stay in radical obedience to the tasks given to me by my King before he left the first time. If I am found at those tasks, I will find myself ready for his return. I will have found that I’ve also helped others be ready for his return as well.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matt. 24:42-44)
Maranatha. The King is coming.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 