Jesus' return is always imminent. Are you ready?
Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, don’t panic because everything is probably happening right on time.
Jesus said we would not know the day and hour of His coming again, but, in Matthew 24 and other passages, He did suggest we could know the “season” or “age.”
In our present moment, it feels as though the “pregnancy of history” has swollen to a crucial point. For the first time in history, there are events Jesus prophesied in the Olivet discourse that were not possible in earlier times but are now not only possible but happening. Here’s a sampling:[i]
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- Global evangelization is possible and occurring because of rapid travel and communications (Matthew 24:14).
- The Jewish state of Israel exists, and other nations are aligned in opposition to it, some vowing its elimination (Ezekiel 38, et al.).
- Global lawlessness is a reality because of the impact of worldwide mass media and instantly transmitted social forces (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
- It is possible for revolution to leap from nation to nation because of the ability to broadcast revolutionary events instantly.
- Apostacy has intensified, spreading from nation to nation, denomination to denomination, and individual churches once faithful to the Gospel message (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
- Because of global media, it is now possible for entire nations and people groups to fall into delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11; 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3:1-8).
- It is now possible for the first time in history for entire economies, markets, and global commerce to collapse in one hour or less because of their worldwide electronic connectedness (Revelation 18).
- Intensification of hatred and the persecution of churches across the world, even in the United States and other societies that previously supported religious liberty intensifies (Matthew 24:9; Revelation 12).
- The Nature of war has shifted from conflicts between geo-political units to war between civilizations or people groups, as Professor Samuel P. Huntington showed so powerfully in his book, The Clash of Civilizations (Matthew 24:6-7).
However, a recent event may show that the kicking of the pregnant womb of time has reached a critical point: the “coming” of the “Chatbot Jesus.” Users can ask “Chatbot Jesus” questions they desire and get the answer they prefer.
For many Christians and even others, this would mean the putting of words in the mouth of a robot Jesus would be the ultimate in apostasy and heresy, perhaps even something akin to the “abomination of desolation” (Mark 13).
Will the Antichrist be a human invention, proclaiming a message that finite people have programmed into its mechanical speaking mechanism?
Time may tell quicker than we think.
After shocking His wide-eyed followers with the kinds of things that would precede His return, Jesus said, “All these things are merely the beginning of “birth pangs.”
Based on what we see around us, especially in the AI-chatbot Jesus’, many might conclude that it may be the “season” or “age” in finite time that will ultimately lead to His return. If we are trusting Christ, it is a good season not to worry, be afraid or panic, because everything is happening right on time.
However, it is very much a time to be ready. It’s important to do what He told His followers 2,000 years ago: “Be ready, be alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42-44).
Those words were spoken by the real Jesus, not a “Chatbot.”
[i] Material in this section is taken from, Wallace Henley: Globequake, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2012.
Wallace B. Henley is a former pastor, daily newspaper editor, White House and Congressional aide. He served 18 years as a teaching pastor at Houston's Second Baptist Church. Henley is author or co-author of more than 25 books, including God and Churchill, co-authored with Sir Winston Churchill's great grandson, Jonathan Sandys. Henley's latest book is Who will rule the coming 'gods'? The looming spiritual crisis of artificial intelligence.
