1 Thessalonians 4:13 – But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
On television, there are two ways to get the news.
One is the daily updates of what is happening in real time. The daily news tends to create a lot of anxiety and speculation because the outcome is open-ended. When we are uncertain what the future holds, it often causes anxiety in the present.
The other way to get the news is with biographies or the History Channel with footage and reporting of events in the distant past that are long settled. People tend not to get anxious watching, for example, old footage of World War II as compared to current geopolitical events that could culminate in World War III.
For God, everything is the History Channel, and nothing is the nightly news. God created time and can work in time but is not bound by time. God sees everything in its finished state and invites us to trust Him for a happily-ever-after ending for all of His people. To walk with Jesus is to march in the angelic army with the God who overcomes the world. We are to believe this by “our faith” until we see it by sight, as God does.
Roughly 25% of the Bible was prophecy when it was written. Prophecy is when God, who knows and rules the future, reveals it to His people so that they can live with less anxiety because they know the end of History. The storyline of the Bible is that Jesus came once in humility to save sinners, and that Jesus is coming again in glory to raise the dead, fill Heaven and Hell, defeat Satan and demons, lift the curse, and rule and reign forever and ever.
When God finished creating our world and our parents in Genesis 1-2, He said everything was good and everyone was very good. Since sin entered the world, God has not abandoned His original divine design. God will return everything and everyone to the state of Genesis 1-2.
Knowing all of this helps Christians waiting for Jesus’ Second Coming to obey the most common command in all the Bible, “fear not”. We can live by faith, not fear, because we know that Jesus is over everything and everything, is our good Lord, and has a perfect plan to work out all things for the good of those who love Him.
How would it encourage you to realize God sees all of history as the History Channel, so we can trust Him and His plan?
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