Why would Jesus take this gradual approach (making us people of the future little by little) instead of just saying the word and ending all evil and suffering right now?
He takes this approach because he wants our lives as free citizens of his kingdom to give everyone else a preview of the peace and joy he will create everywhere when he comes to rule. When they get a glimpse of what they are missing out on--love, joy, fulfillment that we have--they can join us willingly before God's grace period runs out. Then they become people of the future too, and they can draw others in.
Where do we see Jesus's glory dawning"? Isn't the world getting worse all the time?
We see glory dawning wherever Jesus reigns. Right now, that is inside of all of us who are inviting him to SYNC our life with his. His Holy Spirit goes to work inside us like an architect making a model of a building he has designed.
The model is puny compared to the reality, but it gives the idea, and it is proportional to the reality. If the real building will have three wings, the model has three wings. So the Spirit is shaping us, changing our attitudes and desires, giving us peace, love, and joy, turning us into miniature models of the future.
We can't do this to ourselves. It is happening at too deep a level in our sub-conscious. That also means we cannot take credit for it. The glory goes to God, who makes it happen in ways we do not even understand. We say, "SYNC me," and he goes to work.
God doesn't operate like a fairy godmother though--one "poof" and everything is changed. He brings us into the transformation process and lets us discover things at a pace we can handle. We speed things up as we trust him more and keep inviting him to work. That's why our basic campaign prayer ends with, "Bring it on!"
What is the point of making a daily "Vision Declaration" with the Jubilee Cards?
The Vision Declaration is:
I see myself as a person of the future. I see this day as a day to look forward to Christ’s glorious return and to live like it matters.
A Vision Declaration is a great defense against other things or other people who would like to define us. With the Declaration, we define ourselves.
As people in SYNC with Jesus, we are authorized to declare this central fact of the future--that the glory of Jesus is dawning on the earth. So go ahead and use your authority. Shape your world.
Notice that the Declaration does not say we are sincerely hoping the King will come. It doesn't even call on him to come. It simply assumes this fact about the future.
The sun will not come up tomorrow morning because we think it will. It will come up regardless of what we think. That is the same way Jesus will come back, and our Vision Declaration is simply telling the truth about it.
The Declaration also says that we will live like the fact of his return matters to us. We live under the influence of his transforming power, and as we do, his glory dawns on earth. We are to embody more and more of this fantastic future so others can be clued in to what Christ does when people say, "SYNC me!"
Does this mean we are supposed to try to be as perfect as the future will be?
When people have seen the trailer for a movie, have they seen the movie? No, but they know what kind of a movie it will be. They've got a glimpse of part of it.
That's what we give people--a glimpse of some great things to come. And we don't have to be perfect to do that. We just have to be on the right track, moving in the right direction as Christ's aura transforms us gradually.
Perfectionists beware! Don't focus on trying to make yourself a perfect trailer for God's movie. If you try harder to be more joyful, it becomes a huge burden. If you then beat yourself up for not being joyful enough, that's even worse.
Instead of focusing on self-measurement, focus on the King, his return, his campaign, and his kingdom. Then your joy level will take care of itself, and you will do just fine as a movie trailer.
Does this mean that this Jesus-centered vision will cause Christians to be pushy and divisive as they work to establish their vision?
This vision, if properly understood, does not require us to engineer or force anything. We embody the future, but we don't try to legislate it. Above all, we don't kill for it (though we may die for it). We do not kid ourselves into thinking we are going to create heaven on earth. We leave that for Jesus to do later.
For the time being, we accept his promise to demonstrate through us some of heaven on earth so that others can see it, be drawn to it, and be blessed by it. We are pottery on exhibit, not potters who mold other people's lives. We are ambassadors, not governors.
Won’t this view of Jesus bringing in utopia make Christians lazy, undisciplined, and soft? Won’t they say their weaknesses don’t matter much because Jesus will fix them all when he comes?
Just the opposite. The thought of Jesus bringing in the perfect future has a huge impact on us in at least two specific areas--purity and toughness.
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. (1 John 3.2-3)
For instance, we all know that there is no impurity in the kingdom Jesus will reign over. Can anyone seriously think that this means we had better indulge in as much pornography as we can right now because we won't have it later? The thought of the purity of Jesus's reign motivates us powerfully to be pure now. Impurity doesn't belong where Jesus is, and he is in us already.
As for toughness, the Bible tells us
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12.2).
The joy set before Jesus was his vision of the future. That gave him the endurance necessary to carry his cross and to die for us.
Jesus's enemies thought they would eliminate his vision for the future by shaming and executing him. They should have realized that those who try to stop Jesus and his vision of the future have no future themselves.
We who embrace Jesus's vision do have a future. This future gives us some things to do in the present. We invite him to start the purification process in us, and we keep our eyes on Jesus. It's hard to sit still when the fire of Jesus's vision lights us.
When will Christ return, and what else has to happen first?
We have only been given the last few pages of the story of the world, however it is enough to know how it turns out. We are not told how long it will take or what happens between the page we are on today and the end.
It is not our job to do a lot of guess work, trying to figure all that out. Our job is to live our ordinary lives today in SYNC with the certainties we see on the final pages. We live like everything around us is temporary, and the peace Christ brings is permanent.
Why didn't Jesus bring in an age of glory? Where is it?
Although the established powers rejected and killed him, Jesus did not take revenge on them after God the Father raised him from the grave. He did not force the age of glory to start then. Instead he announced a grace period so that the people already in his "kingdom" could invite others to join them, living with him as their King.
During the grace period, he is not personally visible on earth, but his power for good is. He has injected all the citizens of his "kingdom" with his Holy Spirit, who changes and empowers them in ways that defy human explanation. As Christ reigns over his citizens, their lives become small samples of the peace, joy, and goodness that will be typical of the whole world after he returns.
Right now Jesus is holding back. He is only the king of the willing. Others are allowed to ruin life on earth, grab for all they can, cause pain and suffering, and kid themselves that they are getting away with it. That will all change when the grace period runs out. Their days are numbered.
We don't know how long they have, but we do know that when the King of kings shows up in person and enforces his rule, they are history. God's original intentions for the reign of Jesus will be totally fulfilled then.
How will Jesus "enforce his rule" when he returns? Violently?
Jesus used a non-violent strategy during his first period on earth, and he taught his followers to use it. But he will come back armed and dangerous, intent on taking power.
His weapons will not be tanks or angels or an army of earthly followers but, can you believe it, his tongue! It is "the sword of his mouth" (Rev. 19.15, 21). When his mouth says, "You're dead," his enemies drop dead. No missiles required. As he spoke the world into being at the beginning, he will speak his enemies into non-being at the end.
It's only a matter of time, and Vision Season helps us look forward to it--a new world perfectly and permanently connected, healed, and blessed. Vision Season is the light at the end of the tunnel, and what a light it is!