Back to Basics - April 5
We are called Seventh-day Adventists. The "Seventh-day" for the day of rest that we set aside to be with our creator God and "Adventist" because we find hope in the coming of Jesus Christ, who has promised to return again and take us home to be with Him forever.
This promise that God has made to us is found many times in the Bible, and it is one of the most clear commitments that Jesus has ever made with us. Listen as He is talking to His followers:
John 14:1-4
"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there."
Also, while Jesus followers are watching Him ascend into heaven, an angel appears to them and says quite plainly these words to comfort them:
Acts 1:9-11
"It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!'"
It's hard to imagine an end to what we believe "life" to be. It's hard to even think about something so completely unimaginable, and yet that is exactly what the followers of Jesus were trying to spread as the early church started to grow. Their message was the soon return of Jesus and that His Kingdom was at hand. They called this "good news," or "The Gospel."
It is talked about in many places in the Bible:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
Revelation 1:7
Matthew 24:30-31, 42-44
Jesus is preparing a place for all of us who choose to be with Him, who say they believe in Him and call on His name. He has promised to be with us now and through the trials that may come our way or the waiting that seems so long. He will send you strength to endure this time until He finally comes for us and puts an end to sin and its chaotic mess.
