«That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords» (l Timothy 6:14, 15).
PAUL CHALLENGES TIMOTHY to keep his commitment, free from all reproof, without blemish and blameless to await the glorious manifestation of the second coming of Christ.
Various words present us with the advent of Christ. «Appearing» is used here, in the sense of the enthronement of an emperor. When the Lord comes, he will appear as the King of kings to permanently establish His kingdom.
On October 22, 1844, 177 years ago, a group anxiously awaited the Lord’s return. Ellen G. White recounts in Early Writings that Jesus did not come to earth, as some hoped He would, to «purify the sanctuary» by cleansing the earth with fire. Their calculation of prophetic periods was correct, and Jesus entered the Most Holy Place to purify the heavenly Sanctuary at the end of time. Their mistake was not understanding what the Sanctuary was, nor the nature of its purification.
Jesus regarded those who had been disappointed with the deepest compassion. He showed them that this earth is not the sanctuary, but that He had to enter the Most Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary to make atonement for His people and to receive the kingdom from His Father; then He would return to earth and take them to dwell with Him forever.
The San Juan del Salvamento Lighthouse (1884), known as the lighthouse of the end of the world, is located at the southern tip of the American continent and is the first lighthouse in southern waters.
The addition of the word «Salvamento» (or rescue) was included during the construction of the lighthouse, in order to show its purpose: to help and save castaways. The end-of-the-world lighthouse operated until October 1, 1902, the day the New Year Lighthouse was built in a higher and more visible area.
Like the lighthouse, we can only illuminate by the light that comes from the Sun of righteousness, and the reason for our existence is to save the castaways from the sea of sin.
Renew your commitment today. Live blamelessly and without spot, waiting for the blessed and sovereign King and Lord who will appear, manifest Himself, and make Himself known.
There will be no more castaways to save, and the light of the lighthouse at the end of the world will no longer be necessary, because the world will have come to an end; there will be no more need for light because the Lord will illuminate and reign for ever and ever.
