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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Our
Heavenly Employment One
of our favourite topics of discussion as Christians is end time
prophecy. We've debated the
various prophetic scenarios, indulged in endless speculations, and
predicted the dates of what we have speculated.
In the midst of all our theorizing, we must never forget to
occupy ourselves with the work required of us by our Lord.
In one sense of the word, you might view Jesus as being our
heavenly employer. With this
in mind, Luke 19:13 in the King James Bible is relevant.
"And
he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto
them, Occupy till I come." While
being raised in Evangelical Christianity in the 1950's and 1960's, I
recall the word "occupy" being an important word in connection
with Biblical prophecy, and for good reason.
The KJV translates "occupy" in Luke 19:13 from the
Greek word "pragmateuomai," which means, to do business, as in the exchange of
goods and services for financial gain.
The meaning of this Greek word in its Luke 19:13 context tells me
that Christians are employed in the business of the Lord until He
returns on the Day of Accountability to call in all outstanding
accounts. The
context of James 5:7 and 8 addresses the time when Jesus will call in
these outstanding debts from the wealthy who have used their wealth to
feed their hedonistic lusts. You
can read Revelation 17 and 18 for further detail on this Day of
Accountability. James 5:7
and 8 read: "Be
patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how
the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently
waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming
is near." James
said that the Lord's coming, or the Day of Accountability, is near.
The verb "is near" in the Greek text is a perfect verb.
In simple terms, a perfect Greek verb is normally an action that
has taken place in the past with certain and specific present
implications. Obviously,
Jesus' second coming has not already taken place.
I believe, then, this passage tells us that the future return of
Jesus is as certain as if it has already happened.
That being said, the phrase "occupy till I come" tells
me that we cannot be caught slacking off when our heavenly employer
returns to balance His books. Coffee
break is now over. Let's get
back to the business of the Lord.
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