looking forward to “the second Christmas”

The Word for today:
Numbers 28, 29

I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17)

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." (Matthew 2:2)

Let’s pause, right here, for some perspective.

For the last couple of days we talked about the Wise Men, who pondered the prophecies of Balaam and Daniel until they found the King in Bethlehem.

These Gentile astronomers and scholars from Persia, Parthia, and Babylon -- places where Balaam was considered an outstanding prophet -- kept their eyes on the skies and their noses in the scriptures, anticipating the first arrival of the great King.

But Israel was not looking for him, with the exception of a small minority, such as Anna and Simeon (see Luke 2).

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It is not necessary to be Rapture-ready in order to participate.  You won’t be required to anticipate “the second Christmas” in order to participate in it, but why miss out on all the fun of looking forward to it?

One significant difference between Jesus’ first coming and the Rapture of the church is that the Wise Men, Simeon, and Anna were able to deduce the time of his arrival from careful scrutiny of the scriptures (especially the book of Daniel).

But there are no definite prophetic indications of when the Rapture will occur. (It is a biblical precept that time is often measured when Israel is front and center in scripture, while time is not measured when the church is in view.)

Therefore, when Rapture will occur is unknown, but that it will occur is certain. So don’t lose out on all the joys of anticipation as the time gets nearer. Any kid can tell you -- it doesn’t take a wise man to know this -- that there can be a whole glorious “month” of excitement and anticipation before the Day, itself, arrives!

We don’t have a clue (despite what the wackos will tell you) about the exact time of the Rapture of the church. But I can say with confidence that we’ve already passed “Thanksgiving.”

“Christmas, Part 2” is the next holiday on the bigger calendar.  So let’s get into it before we’re gone!

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