And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. Revelation 22:10
Many years ago, with his hearing starting to go a little, Clifford Haines was telling me he had trouble hearing the alarm clock in the morning. I told him I thought I had a solution to his problem. The company I was working for had just expanded the selection of clocks that they were selling. Among the new electric clocks was one that used a flashing light as an alarm. Clifford was pleased when I gave him the clock, and even more pleased when he used it. ‘It’s impossible to stay in bed when that thing is flashing,’ he told me with a grin. Like many people, it was important to him to get up when it was time to do so. Millions of clocks have alarms that allow millions of people to be ready to meet their day. Just like today’s text, which reminds us that we need to be alert, because the time is at hand for God’s program to move on to the next great event.
These words do not mean that the rapture will occur tomorrow. But they do mean that the rapture could occur tomorrow, or even today. And we should be ready. In our text, John is told not to seal up the sayings of the book. In other words, he is to keep the book open and ready. And the most important thing you and I can do as believers to be ready for the Lord’s coming is to keep the Book open. We need to have it ready for use for ourselves, to keep our souls fed and to keep our minds focused on our Lord. We need to have it ready to share with others the need to be also ready and to present the glorious message of the Gospel.
The world around us is ignoring or rejecting the Bible more and more. No longer are Gideon Bibles allowed to be given to school children. So-called scientists are pushing more and more their false agendas designed to make the Bible look outdated, inaccurate, and irrelevant. Their theories cannot be proven, but the world is allowing their lies to replace the eternal truth of Scripture. Those lies can have their impact on Christians, because taking sides with the Bible exposes us to criticism and ridicule. We don’t like that, so we keep our mouths shut when we should speak up. We also are subject to doubts because of the deluge of lies that wash over us every day. We need to remind ourselves and each other that the Word of God standeth sure.
The time is at hand – these words should excite us at the wonderful prospect of the imminent rapture, and they should motivate us to share the excitement with others. -Jim MacIntosh