Don’t get left behind.

The year was 1993, and I had completed my Freshman year at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. A couple of months before the end of the year, I heard on Christian radio that my favorite CCM group, 4HIM, would be in concert at Christ Church in Nashville a day after I completed exams. And to top it off, Michael English was the opening act.

“In Christ Alone” was the top song of the day, and I couldn’t wait to hear English get the crowd warmed up with some Jesus music before my go-to group hit the stage. 4HIM’s “Face the Nation” was my entry into CCM, and their third album, “Basics of Life,” had recently been released. I got my tickets and left college right after exams to go and meet an old friend for the concert.

The concert venue would be open seating, so we arrived a few hours early. I wanted to be near the front row to hear the mullet-touting Christian group sing high notes up to the top of the rafters. As we arrived, we noted that the parking lot was kind of empty. In fact, there were hardlyany cars in sight. The empty lot was a good sign as good seats would be ours and concert t-shirts lines would be small! We saw a few maintenance workers moving staging and chairs as we entered Christ Church. We asked one, “Are we in the right place for the 4Him concert?” Much to our disappointment, he responded, “You missed it by a day. The concert was last night.”

We missed it. We thought we made preparations, but the concert had already taken place. 27 bucks a ticket was big money in 1993! But in the grand scheme of things, our lives moved on. My friend and I would see 4HIM later that summer at a faith night after baseball game. If anything, we had a good story to tell. Here I am, 30 years later, and it provides the hook for this blog.

Yet, a day will come when Jesus will return, and people will miss it. As the old saying goes, “they will be a day late and a dollar short.” People will miss it. And it won’t be a good story at all. Life will not move on. Why will they miss it? Because they do not make the proper preparations.

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” -1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

My eschatology took shape long before most Christians in the Bible belt consumed Tim Lahaye and Kirk Cameron. My dad and most of the deacons in my Southern Baptist Church sported their Scofield Study Bibles with pride. This particular Bible was essential for the toolkit of any Southern Baptist. End times theology was a topic discussed, yet rarely debated. Most every Christian it seemed in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, were pre-trib, pre-millineal. Jesus would come back, rapture His church, there would be seven years of tribulation, and then He would come back again. After this return, the literal thousand-year reign of Christ would begin, and everything would culminate in Armeggedon, and eternity would then begin.

Before anyone gets too excited, or maybe even alarmed, I’m not going to give you all the details and signs of what all the second coming entails. I couldn’t do them justice here, but I encourage you to study. Look at Matthew, Thessalonians, Daniel, and Revelation, among others.

Get together with other believers and study. All the while, keep the main thing that main thing. And what is the main thing? That Jesus is coming back, and we better be ready!

Many days I consider myself a “pan”-millennialist. You know, God is in control and Jesus is coming back, and it will all pan out in the end. That doesn’t mean I haven’t studied the end times; I take eschatology seriously. But I do believe it is a third-tier belief. And when I say third-tier, I simply mean that one’s interpretation of the events surrounding Christ’s return is debatable in that I could argue biblically from various perspectives. In fact, I find it easy for different church members to have different interpretations and be in the same Sunday School class in the same church. Our faith has non-negotiables, such as Jesus is the only way to Heaven and the Bible is God’s Word. Eschatology is not that. And most eschatology doesn’t even make it into the second tier.

Second-tier beliefs would be theological issues that divide people by denominations. These topics would include issues like baptism, women in ministry, and spiritual gifts. I learned very quickly in seminary that all of my professors held different positions regarding eschatology and had all studied the topic in greater depth than I had. The “Left Behind,” Scofield, classic dispensationalist, taught me—as well as covenant theologians, amillennialists, and post-millennialists. And just so you know, I tend to drift to amillennialism Covenant theology. At least today I do! Yet as I stated, I could argue from all perspectives and even end up holding them to be truth.

Now that we have some technical stuff out of the way, I’d like to ask: Do you ever fear getting left behind upon Christ’s return? I’d bet that many Christians have that experience. If we understand the Bible correctly, we should be encouraged about the return of Christ, not fearful.

Yet many either get obsessed with eschatology, or live in fear. I was in 9 th grade in 1988, and a popular book was making the rounds in many churches. The book was 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will be in 1988. Every so often, a similar prophet comes along. I was shocked at how many of my Christian friends were nervous the day Jesus was supposed to return. Of course, He didn’t. And just so you know, anytime someone predicts the exact day that Jesus will return, that will not be the day.

When I reflect on theological passages like the one from Paul in Thessalonians, truths exist that we all must conclude. So many theories and interpretations of end-times theology exist, and I wouldn’t dare claim without certainty to have the “right” one. Yet when we look at passages like 1 Thessalonians 5, we can all come to grips with unmistakable truths: We should be ready. We should be looking. People will be taken by surprise, for the return of Christ will take place like a “thief in the night.” If you know Jesus, you are not in darkness and have no reason for fear. Keep trusting in Him, be waiting for Him, walk with Him, and you will be ready whenever it happens.

Don’t wait for a revival of 90’s “Judgement Houses” to convict you. Amid an uncertain world and a future we can’t predict, find your certainty in Jesus. Trust in Jesus today. Let a personal relationship with Him define your life. You won’t be late for the concert. You won’t “miss it.” You will have nothing to fear. The one who holds the future will be holding you.

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18