End times

The Coming of Christ and His Kingdom

English

This gospel message, delivered at a meeting in Toronto in October 2018, begins with one of the Lord's most searching challenges: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matt. 7:13–14). The broad way is easy and comfortable; the narrow way costs something. The sobering truth, often left unspoken in church circles, is that this warning is addressed to Christians — not only to unbelievers. Those who take the easy way will face judgment even if they are saved from the lake of fire, because salvation from eternal condemnation is a gift, but the reward at Christ's return must be earned by faithful obedience. The heart of the message is a careful presentation of Jesus Christ: who He is (the Son of God, the Last Adam — the beginning of a new human race in God's image), how His coming was foretold in precise detail centuries before His birth, what He accomplished through His death and resurrection, and why He is coming again. He is coming to judge the world, whose accumulation of injustice and rebellion has been building toward a reckoning (2 Pet. 3:7). He is coming to judge all Christians at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), rewarding those who were faithful and punishing those who served their own preferences. And He is coming to judge "Babylon" — the confused and divided system of Christendom that has led many into false teachings while calling it service to God (Matt. 7:21–23; 1 Cor. 3:15). The message concludes with a call to choose the narrow way today — to take one's Christian life seriously, obey the Lord even when it contradicts one's own feelings, and be ready to give an account before the Judge of the universe. The coming kingdom is not an abstraction but a prize to be sought. Those who overcome will reign with Christ; those who squander this grace period will face a sobering reckoning at His return.