If you are like me, you’ve probably had your fill of post-apocalyptic disaster movies. I really don’t need to see the world end for the eleventeenth time. Hollywood is obsessed with the end of the world and apocalyptic imagery. Sadly, when they borrow those images from the Bible, they strip them of all biblical meaning. That leaves us with a cheap imitation of the truth. It’s about time we took one of their images and imbue it with biblical meaning, don’t you think?

These stories often depict some kind of bunker, shelter, or ark that is humanity’s last hope of survival. If our intrepid heroes can reach said bunker, they will be safe, and the species will endure. If these are indeed the last days, and several passages say that they are (see 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 John 2:18), where should we run for safety? Where is our bunker?

It might surprise you to learn that God has indeed given us a place of safety, and it isn’t some fortress in a desert somewhere. Hebrews 10:24-25 is a wonderfully encouraging passage as we face an uncertain future. Here the author exhorts us to “to stir up one another to love and good works”. We can’t do this if we are “neglecting to meet together”. Tragically, there were believers who had made a habit of neglecting the gathering of the local church. This left them isolated, vulnerable, and weak. 

What does this have to do with the end times? Verse 25 concludes with these words: “encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The “Day” refers to Christ’s return in judgment. Verse 27 warns that those who persist in sin will face “a fearful expectation of judgment”. This is where the church comes in. The church is that haven or bunker that protects us from the coming storm. The gathering of God’s people is a means of grace in the life of a believer.

What does the church do? Among other things, the gathered church exhorts, encourages, and stirs up believers to live righteous lives. We should be known for our “love and good works”, even if the world around us is falling apart. That is how we are called to be light in the world. Trying to do this alone is not only hard, but foolhardy. God has given us the church so that we can strive together. 

The gathered church also corrects us when we go astray. Earlier, in Hebrews 3:13, we are warned against “the deceitfulness of sin”. To keep us from hardening our hearts, we need to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today"”. While we wait, we exhort. The local church serves as a preserving influence in the lives of Christians, keeping us from conforming to the world around us.

How do we prepare for the end times? By drawing close to our fellow believers. The Lord Jesus Christ has given us a haven, a bunker in the church. The nearness of the return of Christ should not scatter God’s people but draw them together. 

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

​Jesus warned that, before his return, “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). “You’ve got to look out for number one,” they’ll say. Christians ought to be different. Believers should be known for their care and compassion, expressed in serving one another.

One of the ways in which believers prepare for the return of Christ, is service. In Luke 12:42-44 Jesus tells a short parable about a wise servant: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.”

In the parable the master leaves his servant in charge while he is away. The newly appointed manager has not only been given the responsibility of supervising the other servants’ work, but also of providing for their needs. If he fulfils this responsibility faithfully, he is called “blessed”. He becomes the object of his master’s special favour. What blessing does his master bestow on him? An even greater position with even greater responsibility. His master’s return is not something he fears, because he was doing what his master commanded him to do.

But what about an unfaithful servant? I still remember the feeling of dread that came over me as a child when my parents got home, and my room was still a mess. They told me to clean it up before they got home. I didn’t and now I would have to face the consequences. As Christians, we need not wait for the Lord’s return with dread. We prepare for Christ’s return by being busy with the work that he has given us. 

In Matt. 25:31-45 Jesus describes his return as a great tribunal. On that day our love for the Lord will be measured by our service to others, because “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (v. 40). We prepare for that great day by sacrificial love and service: providing a meal to the hungry, a cup of water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, care for the sick, and comfort to the afflicted (v. 35-36).

The end times are a powerful motivator for service in the present. Instead of withdrawing from others, we run to their aid. This is how believers prepare for the return of Christ.

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter