Romans 13:12 says, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” From this verse, we considered that the time present is night. However, that is not the end of all. There is a time yet to come. That is our next consideration.

Second, we must consider the condition of the world which is yet to come. Paul calls this “time to come” as “the day.” The day is at hand. This is the time to which we ought to look forward. It is the time when the Lord Jesus Christ shall come again. The present state of things in the Church of Christ shall undergo a mighty change, a change so great, that it shall be like the turning of night into day.

The world we live in is not to go on always as it does now. The darkness of sin, ignorance, and superstition is not always to cover the earth. The Sun of righteousness shall one day rise with healing in His wings. The Lord Jesus shall come again with power and great glory. He shall return as the morning without clouds, and then it shall be “day.” There is a time coming when the devil shall be bound and shall no longer rule in this world. Sin and its consequences shall be cast out. The groaning creation shall rest at length. The wicked shall be shut up for ever in their own place. The saints of the Most High shall at length possess the kingdom. There shall be a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness shall dwell. It will be “day.”

This is a time when believers shall have joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee far away. Every tear shall be wiped, every cross laid down, every anxiety removed, and every bitter cup taken away. Persecution, temptation, sickness, mourning, parting, separation, and death, shall end. That will be sunshine. It will be “day.” Of course, it is a time when the whole family of God shall be gathered together. They shall rise from the grave and put on a glorious body. They shall leave behind them in their graves every imperfection, and meet without spot or wrinkle, to part no more. It will be a joyful “day.”

This is a time when believers shall no longer see through a glass darkly, but face to face. They shall see as they have been seen and know as they have been known. They shall cease to wrangle and dispute about outward matters and shall think of nothing but eternal realities. They shall behold their crucified Lord and Saviour with the eye of sense, and no longer follow Him by faith. They shall see one another free from all corruption and misunderstand one another’s motives and conduct no more. It will be “day.” Thus, this day cannot but be a day of great comfort. Sometimes we may feel that we walk in darkness without light in this life right now. We also have hard battles to fight with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We may be discouraged as if we will never win our way home and must faint by the way. Our flesh and heart are ready to fail. We are sorely tempted to give up and sit down in despair. But the day yet to come is different. For sure, a good time is before us. Our day has yet to dawn.

All such good thoughts must encourage us, but we ought to remember that they come with warnings. There are reasons we all should tremble and fear. It is because many professing believers’ thoughts are only all below, focusing on earthly things. Their treasures are all on earth, and their brightest time is now. If this is the case for you, I must solemnly warn you that you must be changed. Your views, your tastes, your inclinations, and your affections must be renewed and transformed. You must learn to view the world that now is and that which is to come in a very different light. Go and sit at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to teach you this lesson. Ask for the enlightening Spirit to anoint your eyes that you may see. Ask for the veil to be taken away so that you may behold everything in true colours.

I must remind you that Satan is workaholic. He is compared with a roaring lion. He is walking about and seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). When God asked Satan about his activities in Job 1, he answered Him, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7b). He labours hard to prevent us from thinking of a better world than that in which we now live. He strives to turn away our eyes from the coming day. He attempts to persuade us that we cannot do our duty in this life and set our affections on things above. We must be on our guard against such advances from Satan.

At the same time, we should not fall into the pitfall of misunderstanding that there is nothing to be thankful for in this world. There are people united with us by love, friendship, and relationship. There are many blessings that the Lord has given us for our needs and pleasure in this life. What is instructed to us here is that we should live by a biblical standard, that we should look for the coming of the day of God and wait for our Saviour from heaven and love our Lord’s appearing (2 Peter 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:8).

On the other hand, we must be cautious about all extravagance and fanaticism on the subject of things to come. Some have neglected their business or even ceased to love their wives, children, relations, and friends as a result of being wrongly led and obsessed by their misguided thoughts of end-time realities. We should take a Scriptural view of things as they are and things they yet will be. We should see our present evils and mourn over them, and see our future good things and long for them. We ought to honestly confess that sin is around us and long to be delivered from its presence. Holiness is one day to spread over the earth, and we long for it to come.

Can a man really hate sin if he does not desire to see it swept away from the earth? Can a man love holiness if he does not long for the time when all shall know the Lord? Can a man be truly united to Christ by faith if he does not wish to see Christ and to be with Him? Can a man be a saint if he does not thirst after the unmixed company of just men made perfect? Can a man be in earnest who daily prays, “Thy Kingdom come,” if he is content that the world should go on as it is without any change? Absolutely not! These things are impossible. God’s true children will want to be at home. They will wish for the day.

The present time is “night,” and the time to come is “day.” The present time is our wilderness, battlefield, and place of trial; but the time to come is our rest, our Father’s house.

Lovingly,

Pastor Emeritus Ki

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