“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” – Psalm 122:1
In 1780, a strange darkness fell over New England in the middle of the day. The Connecticut legislature was in session when the sky went black. Some members, convinced that Judgment Day had arrived, wanted to adjourn immediately. But Colonel Abraham Davenport stood and said, “I am against adjournment. The Day of Judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.” They brought candles, and the legislature continued its work.
This is the posture of Christian watchfulness. We live as people expecting Christ’s return while faithfully doing the work in front of us. The Old Testament believers counted toward a Messiah they’d never seen. We count toward a return we haven’t witnessed. Both groups marked time through worship, and somehow, each gathering brought salvation closer.
Psalm 122: Jerusalem as Rehearsal
When David’s choir sang about going up to Jerusalem, they were describing a journey to meet God at the address he’d given them. Jerusalem was where God had promised to dwell with his people. The psalm captures the anticipation: “Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” The verb tense looks forward, even while describing the journey itself.
For the Israelite, each pilgrimage to Jerusalem was practice for something bigger. They were rehearsing for the day when God would fully establish his kingdom, when the nations would stream to Zion, when peace would finally settle over the city. They didn’t know that day would require a crucifixion outside those very gates. But their faithful gathering shaped them into people who could recognize the Messiah when he arrived, teaching in their temple courts.
Isaiah 2:1-5: The Nations’ Turn
Isaiah expanded the worship circle. What David experienced with his tribe, all nations would experience “in the last days.” The prophet saw a day when Jerusalem would become the teaching center for the whole world, when the Lord himself would arbitrate international disputes, when weapons would be recycled into farm equipment.
Notice the motivation in verse 3: “He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” The nations come to Jerusalem for instruction in God’s Word. Right worship flows from right understanding of Scripture, which produces right living, which produces right relationships, which produces peace. The order matters. You can’t skip to peace without going through the house of God first.
For Israelites reading Isaiah, this raised the stakes on their obedience. Every time they gathered to hear God’s Word, they were participating in something that would eventually include everyone. Their local faithfulness had global implications. They were the first students in a school that would eventually admit all nations.
Matthew 24:36-44: The Son’s Surprising Schedule
Jesus took the “last days” language and bent it around himself. Yes, there’s a day coming. No, you won’t see it coming. The certainty and uncertainty live together. He compared his return to Noah’s flood because normal life would continue right up until the moment everything changed. People eating, drinking, marrying. Ordinary moments interrupted by kingdom arrival.
The two men in the field, the two women grinding grain. One taken, one left. A dividing line runs through every ordinary moment. Some are ready. Some aren’t. The difference isn’t visible from the outside. You can’t tell by looking who’s been watching.
Here’s where the Old Testament pattern of faithful expectation pays off. The Israelites had been training in anticipation for centuries. They knew how to live with expectation without knowing the schedule. Jesus was calling his disciples into that same rhythm. Keep watching. Stay ready. Let the pattern of gathering around God’s Word train you in alert patience.
Romans 13:11-14: Nearer Than When You Started
Paul gave the early church a theology of the shrinking gap. “Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Every day ticked off the calendar brings Christ’s return one day closer. The traveler knows his destination is approaching with each passing mile.
Paul connected this immediately to how believers live. Wake up. Put on armor. Walk in daylight behavior. Stop making plans for sin. Instead, “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.” The language echoes baptism, that public declaration of faith where a believer identifies completely with Christ’s death and resurrection. When you gather with your church, you’re living out what your baptism declared. You’re getting ready for the wedding feast by practicing faithful obedience now.
This is where the two worship cycles converge. The Old Testament saints prepared for Messiah’s arrival by learning holiness through the law. We prepare for Messiah’s return by learning holiness through the Spirit as we sit under the preached Word and encourage one another. Different sides of the incarnation, same preparation program. Our regular gathering teaches us to live as though Christ could arrive today, because he could, and simultaneously to live as though we have our whole lives, because we might.
Conclusion: Rehearsing Forever
So what do we do with this? We gather faithfully. We open our Bibles together. We sing. We pray. We encourage one another toward holiness. We remember Christ’s death when we observe the Lord’s Supper. We do this week after week, like Colonel Davenport calling for candles.
When you sing a psalm, you’re joining a song that started with David and hasn’t stopped yet. When you hear Isaiah preached, you’re listening as someone who lives partially inside his “last days” vision. When you remember Christ’s death at the Lord’s Table, you’re counting down to his return. When your pastor calls you to holiness, you’re preparing for a battle that ends in a wedding.
The church service you’ll attend this week is preparation for the eternal worship that’s coming. The difference between then and now? The “nearer than when we believed” gap will finally close. The thin veil will tear. The watching will be over because the Watchman will have arrived.
Until then, we keep the rhythm. We mark time by gathering. We live between memory and hope. And every week, salvation is nearer than the week before.
Points to Ponder
- How does regular church attendance change the way you view ordinary time? Do you see the weekdays differently when they’re bookended by Sunday gathering?
- The Old Testament believers didn’t know the details of how Messiah would come, yet they stayed faithful. What does your church life look like when you hold together certainty about Christ’s return with uncertainty about timing?
- Paul connects the nearness of salvation to practical holiness. What would change about your Monday if you truly believed that this might be the week Christ returns?
- Jerusalem was the meeting place where God gave his address. Where and how do you encounter God’s presence when your church gathers? What makes corporate worship different from private devotion?
- The passages connect faithful worship to peace, both personal and cosmic. How does your church practice being peacemakers as part of preparing for the Prince of Peace?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are the one Old Testament believers waited for and the one we wait to see return. Thank you for placing us in this long line of watchers, these centuries of believers who marked time by anticipating you. Train us through our faithful gathering to recognize you when you appear. Shape our lives by your Word so that we look like people who expect a King’s arrival. Help us to live in the tension of patient urgency, ready at any moment, faithful for the long haul. Let our Sunday worship overflow into Monday holiness. Keep our lamps filled, our eyes open, our hearts expectant. Transform us by your Spirit, that when you appear, we’ll be ready for the occasion. We join with your church across all ages in saying: Come, Lord Jesus. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Amen.
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” – Romans 13:11
Josh Cehulik 