Article #2 of 27/09/22

The question that concerns us is : Why prepare ourselves for the Return in Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Because our Lord Jesus Christ gives us 2 challenges in relation to His glorious Return :

1st challenge - The challenge of love-agape :

In Matthew, chapter 24 Jesus speaks of His glorious Return. In verse 12, Jesus says, "...because of the progress of iniquity the love of many will grow cold."

What does this verse teach us about the times leading up to the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ?

• Iniquity will multiply : The Greek word translated in our versions as iniquity or evil relates to that which is lawless in reference to the law of God. The idea is that men will refer less and less to everything concerning the law of God: “everything that departs from the law of God will multiply in the world; there will be less and less room for all that concerns the law of God”.

• Therefore, the love of many will grow cold. It is basically the heart of the human being that will cool down.

• The love referred to here is agape, the love that comes from God. This therefore concerns Christians in the first place.

• It's a fact. Jesus is describing a situation that will happen to many.

• The challenge : The challenge for you today is, "Will you be one of those many whose hearts will grow cold or will you take up Jesus' challenge and keep a warm, warm, loving heart?" You and you alone can decide. There is no fatality in the words of the Lord: even if iniquity will increase and the love-agape of many will grow cold as a result, what will become of your love, of your heart ? What are you going to choose?

2nd challenge - The challenge of faith and fidelity :

Let’s read Luke: 18.8 : “But when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Here the context is indeed the Return of Jesus.

What does this verse teach us about the Return of the Lord?

• The Lord asks a question related to faith, so it primarily concerns Christians.

• The fact that the Lord asks the question implies that the answer is not so obvious and that no doubt many believers will have left the faith at the time of his return. We are talking here about the apostasy (denial of the Christian faith) of which the Word of God speaks, a concept that we will discuss later.

• Note that the word faith (pistis in Greek) also has the meaning of fidelity. For example in the verse of Galatians: 5.22, relating to the fruit of the Spirit, the word pistis is translated either by faith or by faithfulness depending on the version of the Bible used.

• Thus we could translate Luke: 18.8 “… when the Son of man comes, will he find someone who is faithful to him? "

• The Challenge for you today is : “Will you be part of the remnant of the faithful, of those who walk with Him, in faith and waiting for His Glorious Return? "

In conclusion :

Meeting the 2 challenges of Jesus means choosing to become and to remain until the end :

A F A I T H F U L M A G N E T

Let's proclaim out aloud : “ Yes Lord Jesus, in anticipation of Your Glorious Return, I choose to be a Faithful Magnet, by Your all-sufficient Grace. I love you "

Maranatha !