“But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; Acts 2:14-16.
The Holy Spirit had just fallen upon the new believers in the book of Acts and they were a bit flummoxed about what was happening around them. Peter, understanding their confusion and endeavoring to ease their anxiety simply reminded them of what was foretold by the prophet Joel.
“This is that boys,” I paraphrase him. “Joel told us that this was going to happen. Why are you all acting so shocked?”
Most Christians today do not read their Bibles. In fact, for many, the Scriptures are more similar to the Fables written by Aesop than they are the inerrant would of God. The Bible tells a story of the History of the Hebrew world as well as a road map to things which must “surely come to pass.” We have so watered down the Word of God that many today simply approach it as a book of stories rather than an unveiling of pre-written history.
This commentary is directed towards true believers although it is my prayer that even the unsaved will be able to glean some truth from what they are about to read. My goal is not to convince the non-believer but, rather, to convict the believer. The Scriptures are full of sign post…road marks if you will…to show the hand of God moving throughout history.
This is that…is merely a sign post…a trail of breadcrumbs dropped by our Creator designed to reassure us that we are wandering down the correct path. Because so many believers are looking for evidence of the finish line…the end of the age…they are clearly trampling over the breadcrumbs on the way to the rapture bus.
This is that…is a pretty significant statement.
The Holy Writ is lined with sign posts.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Tim 3:1-5
Sign post…this is that.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matt 24:4-8
Sign Post…this is that.
There is much being written in Christian circles today about the signs of the times and the significance of the sign posts. Recently much of the Christian world stood with bated breath waiting for the “rapture of the church” which had recently been predicted to occur on September 23. The date came and went and as far as I can tell most believers are still around.
Back in my days as a high school football coach we spent a great deal of time “scouting our opponents…looking for tendencies…habits the opponent had…any information we could amass that would give us a leg up on our opponent.
Well, the Bible gives us a masterful scouting report of how the enemy is going to be operating as we approach the end of the age. When we see a world full of wickedness, rejection of Godly precepts, unexplainable instances of violence, sexual debauchery, and the rejection of all things righteous we should not be surprised.
This is that. It is what the Scriptures warned us we would see. God has shown us the Devil’s game plan for a reason. We are not to be caught with our pants down. We are warned about the foolish virgins who didn’t keep their lamps trimmed. The first chapter of Romans explains the suppression of Truth, the sexual anarchy, the eminent judgment of God, and the foolish darkening of the hearts of men.
Well my friends, this is that. These days are upon us.
God has given us a remarkable game plan for the times in which we live. We are exhorted to “not be ignorant of Satan’s devices.” We are commanded to “work while the sun shines for a day cometh when no man can work.” Like an old football coach Jude orders us to “earnestly contend for the faith.”
The purpose of the scouting report is not to point out how near we are to the end of the game but how we can best “occupy until He returns.”
Look out your window folks. You can clearly see that the Devil is running his plays just as the Scriptures warned us he would. What if Christ’s return is contingent upon His people working to make His enemies a footstool?
THIS IS THAT Boys! It is time to stop watching the scoreboard and worrying about how much time is left on the clock. This is that.
The question the Christian world should be asking itself today is what are we going to do about that?
