DEPARTING EARTH IN PEACE
OR
DEPARTING WITHOUT PEACE
SUNDAY MAY 6, 2018
Scripture To Consider:
“And when eight days were completed, for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male who opens the womb [firstborn son] shall be called holy to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’”
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ [Messiah]. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, Simeon took Him up into his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’” Luke 2.21-32
Something To Consider:
It had been revealed to Simeon, a just and devout man waiting for the promised hope, help, and intervention of God, that he should not see death without first seeing the Lord’s Christ, the Messiah in person. Think with me for a moment. What is the possibility that some of us may witness with our own eyes the salvation of the Lord Jesus coming again to planet earth in all His glory and power? If we are living in what the bible declares as the last days, we may see end time events unfold before our very eyes. How blessed would we be if this is the case and these things we are studying begin to come to fulfillment in our lifetime?
The apostle Paul writing in Romans 13, beginning in verse 11 instructed all in every generation by stating, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry [partying] and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Excellent advice from Paul!
How then shall we live? Better yet, how shall we die if called upon before the Lord returns? Will we depart this earth by way of death in peace as did Simeon? Or will we depart this earth without the peace of God? The answer lies in whether we are willing to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thereby making no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lustful desire for the momentary pleasures of this life! The choice remains our choice, but we have an advocate with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal defense attorney who is at the right hand of our Father in heaven interceding on our behalf. Let us choose wisely!
Something Else To Consider:
We are told by Luke, “And the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon.” Luke adds, “And it had been revealed to Simeon that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” In John chapter 15, Jesus revealed in advance the world’s hatred of true present tense believing Christians. This world’s hatred and rejection of those following Christ has in past centuries and will continue to come in waves in the future just as Jesus has revealed. Jesus has rightfully warned us of this continued hatred that must and will increase as we near the end of man’s corrupt rule upon planet earth.
I firmly believe the world’s hatred, rejection, and end time persecution of true believers has once again begun to envelope the globe! Jesus revealed to us in John 16, beginning in verse 1; “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble [depart from the faith]. They will put you out of the synagogues [places of worship]; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.”
But there is hope according to Jesus even in the midst of the future end time coming hatred and persecution of true saints. That help comes in the form of the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, we too as Simeon, John the Baptist, and even Jesus, we need the Holy Spirit to be upon us. We too need the spiritual revelation of God’s righteous Word to be manifested to us by God’s Holy Spirit. We, as did Simeon, need to be led, guided, and divinely directed by God’s Holy Spirit on a daily basis. It is our best chance of departing the world’s hatred and rejection in peace!
Something More To Consider:
Simeon, who was led to the place of worship by the Holy Spirit, was holding onto the promise of God that he would meet the Savior there. Are we, our families, and those we worship with, holding onto the promises of God in Christ Jesus, or are we holding onto the poisoning of professional and yet false religious man-made practices? Are we holding onto the sharper than a two-edged sword of the Word of God, or are we wrongfully holding onto the deceptive messages of end time false prophets? These questions surely give us something more to consider and certainly something more to think about.
Jesus was and always shall be the Light of the world to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel. That covers and includes everyone, every nation, every culture, and every country. No one is ever excluded by God from departing this life by way of death, without first having been given the opportunity to see with their own eyes and accept with their own heart, the salvation made available in Jesus. Will we be departing this earth in peace when the time comes?
The alternative is not a pleasant picture. Every day silently brings us closer to that time of departing. And just how many more days do we have upon planet earth under the rule and reign of human government? How long before the Father decides to end man’s deception and the misrepresentation of God by false so-called religious leaders?
At what point will the Father send His Son as promised by Jesus in Matthew 24? At what point will Jesus send His angels to gather His end time enduring to the end saints? As we see end time bible predicted alignments of nations such as Russia, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Sudan, surely, we realize we are approaching the end. If called upon to depart this earth either in death or in the gathering together of God’s people, will we depart in the peace of God that passes all human understanding?
A Few Final Words:
Jerusalem was filled with religious men and yet, the Child Jesus divinely found His way into the arms of a just and devout man of God. Simeon, of whom the Holy Spirit was upon and of whom was waiting for the coming of God’s kingdom, saw the coming of the Lord. How many of us because of our present tense belief in Jesus and because we are willing to endure to the end, are honestly waiting for the coming again of Jesus?
And if so, we can rest assured that we too as did Simeon, we will see the Lord when He comes to gather together His saints. We will in the end either see Christ coming by way of our death or by way of His coming in great glory immediately after the tribulation of future days, according to Jesus.
Wise leaders and wise leaders in training will always look forward to the future as well as to the present, for it makes departing this earth a peaceful and very pleasant reward and not a reluctant regret. “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Will we therefore be found departing this earth in peace or departing this earth without the peace of God reigning and ruling in our lives?
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your promise and open invitation for us to make sure of our departing this earthly world in the peace of God. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 