Are you ‘looking’ for the Lord?

The Word I want to focus on is ‘looking for’ (prosdechomai in Greek). The primary verse I get this from is

Titus 2:11-13

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for [prosdechomai] that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

The context of the passage is how a Christian should be living their lives, as you can see in the passage – we should be living a life that: denies ungodliness, denies wordly lusts, lives righteously and is looking for that blessed hope (which is the glorious appearing of our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.) Now it can be proved that the appearing equates to the rapture by comparing various scriptures but that is another subject. So what does it mean to be ‘looking for’ (prosdechomai)? Does it mean in Greek what it means in English? Yes it does but it is also used for the idea of receiving / accepting someone coming from someplace, when you consider it, that makes it even more emphatic

Luke 12:35-37 sums it up perfectly:

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

And ye yourselves like unto men that wait [prosdechomai] for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Christs instruction to his followers was to be like men that wait for their Lord so that when He returns they are ready (they are dressed and have lights burning) to join Him / receive Him immediately. He even goes on to promise blessing to those servants who, when He comes, He finds them looking for Him – ready to go.

Other passages that use prosdechomai in this way are :

Acts 23:21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for [prosdechomai] a promise from thee.

Luke 23:51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited [prosdechomai] for the kingdom of God.

Luke 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for [prosdechomai] redemption in Jerusalem.

St. Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for (prosdechomai) the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

Jude 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for [prosdechomai] the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Now the question you must ask (but already know the answer to) is – does a person look for something that is not coming yet? If you are standing at a bus stop waiting for the number 33 bus do you look for it when you know that the number 28 comes first? No! You wait until 28 has gone then you start to look – knowing it comes next. You may look for 28 as a sign that 33 is coming soon but you are waiting for the appearing of the number 33 to take you to your destination. If you were expecting the number 28 to come and go so you could start looking for the 33 you will not be ready if the 33 comes first and might even miss it.

So, if you do not believe that the Lord comes for His church until the antichrist appears first are you looking for the glorious appearing of Christ or waiting for Antichrist? If Christ comes first will you be immediately ready for Him?