What will it take?

OK.  I've just finished reading Revelation again.  Here is the question that is uppermost in my mind.  What will it take to get people to believe in Jesus?  I can understand to a certain extent how people can not believe right now.  I think they are wrong but I can understand.

What do I mean by that?  People are busy living their lives, earning a living, raising their families, etc.   You don't see anything like what is prophesied in Revelation going on right now so from many people's perspective there isn't any sense of urgency.  For many people it just doesn't seem like a real issue right now.   It's far enough in the future that it doesn't seem to be a real concern. 

It's kind of like the difference between when I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and when I went bungy jumping.  When you jump out of an airplane you are so high up in the air that it is a bit surreal.  The possibility of going splat just doesn't seem all that real.   However when I went bungy jumping I could see the cement very clearly and the possibility of going splat was much more real to me. 

I think that illustrates part of the problem of getting people to believe today.  That whole salvation thing is too far in the future.  People are more concerned with what will make their lives better today.

But what about after the tribulation?  Take a look at a couple of verses. 

---------------------------

Revelation 21:1(NKJV)

1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 

---------------------------

To start with we are going to have a new Heaven and a new Earth. 

---------------------------

Revelation 21:2(NKJV)

2Then I, £John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Revelation 21:27(NKJV)

27But there shall by no means enter it anything £that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

---------------------------

A new Jerusalem to go with it and only those whose names appear in the Book of Life may enter it. 

----------------------------

Revelation 22:14-15(NKJV)

14Blessed are those who £do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 

15£But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

---------------------------------

And even after all of that there are still those who don't believe.  Go read Revelation 16.  Things will happen that have never happened before like all of the living things in the sea die. 

----------------------------------

Revelation 16:3(NKJV)

3Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

----------------------------------

Think about that.  Not only do people see that happen, but they can see that it was prophesied before hand to happen, and even then there will be people that won't believe.  Wow!  How blind do you have to be?  Scripture clearly tells us that God wants all people to come to Him so it's not a matter of God excluding anyone.  It is the rejection of God in the face of overwhelming evidence that I don't understand.

But what about now?

The more I study, the more I become convinced that it is our personal, sincere, heartfelt testimonies about what and how Jesus makes our daily lives better, that can make a big difference.  By sharing with people how following Jesus on a daily basis has made our lives better, we help people see the immediate benefit vs that nebulus one of salvation down the road.  Even though those of us that are saved understand that the nebulus benefit down the road is truly the more important of the two, we have to keep in mind that we have to answer this question from their perspective, not ours.

Maybe a place to start is to spend some time reflecting on just how Jesus does make your daily life better.  It's hard to tell someone else about it until we can clearly articulate it to ourselves.  Give it a try!