“Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly I took action, and all My predictions came true. For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze. That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’” (Isaiah 48:3-5 NLT)
The expression “came to pass” is used nearly 500 times in the King James Version of the Bible. Why is that important? If I invite you to a party that will take place on a certain date and time, but you’re busy that day, so you come at a later date and time, what could I say? “Sorry, it came to pass!” In other words, “You’re too late, it’s already happened!”
Do you understand, that’s what will happen when the Lord returns? The birth of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, was prophesied hundreds of years in advance, but when He arrived, the Lord didn’t shout it to the nations, He revealed His birth first to some shepherds in a field. Why not the religious people who should have been watching for it? Because they didn’t believe it even when they were told, and the Lord of heaven knew their hearts were too hard to take it in.
The huge difference between the Lord’s first coming and His second coming is, He’s not coming back to convince anyone of anything; He’s not coming back to take sides or to choose disciples; He’s coming back to take over! All the warnings will be ended, all the debates as to whether He was really who He claimed to be will be in the past. The Only thing that will matter on that day will be: DID YOU BELIEVE HIS WARNINGS? ARE YOU READY FOR HIS INEVITABLE ARRIVAL?
God is love, but He’s also just. Much of what we see rampant in the world today is blatant sin being carried out in defiance of the loving God of heaven. Human trafficking, including children, for the pleasure of perverted men and women of means, will one day come to a screeching halt. The security they believe they have by hiding their perversions in underground cities will come to light in the justice of a holy God and they will burn in hell forever for their defiance.
But to me, that’s not the greatest tragedy. Billions of seemingly good people who go to work, raise their kids, love their families and go about their daily lives and never hurt a flea, will flood the gates of hell, not because they were blatantly evil, but because they ignored the call of God to repent and believe the clear warnings of a holy God, not believing it applied to them. After all, in their mind they were already “good.”
But what if they’ve never heard? Perhaps the Apostle Paul can clear that up for us. He writes in Romans 1:18ff: “But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”
Add to that the millions of people who DO know Him, or at least claim to know Him, but who live like He doesn’t exist. That just leaves a relatively few of us to hold up the standard of the Savior – live it, teach it, preach it every day with our lives and our voices, sharing the holy message that Jesus died to save sinners, of whom we are chief – yet He forgave us, cleansed us, redeemed us, and set us free, and He will set you free as well!
Though in many ways, God has and continues to extend His warnings, we must not stop warning everyone we can for as long as we have breath. It’s our mandate!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed
Walking With Jesus 
Love it! Thanks for sharing your faith with us each day. Steve
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