February 18, 2026

We were beginning the second day of our long drive from our home in New York to my mother’s home in Clearwater, Florida, and the questions had begun.

“Are we almost there, Daddy?” And, “How much longer, Daddy?”

“Girls” I said, in an attempt to divert their attention, “the first one to spot a palm tree, an alligator, or aa wild boar gets aa quarter!”

“What’s a wild bore,” one asked, and then, “I have to go to the bathroom!”

Those road trips can seem interminable, and for mommy, who cares for the children while daddy suffered back pain from sitting immobile behind the wheel for hours at a time, the desire to reach the destination is no less important than it is to the children. So when one of them says, “I can’t wait,” we silently echo the sentiment. But we remain silent, not because we have learned patience, but because it’s futile to complain. And, isn’t there something in the Bible about rejoicing in all things?

That particular trip was to cheer up my recently widowed mother. The plan was to take her on our first visit to the Magic Kingdom, at the recently opened Walt Disney World. It really did seem magic back in the days when Walt Disney himself was dedicated to providing good clean family entertainment, rather than management’s efforts today to pander to the worse that is in us.

After we parked the car for free in one of their enormous parking lots, and rode the tram to the ferry, we finally reached the ticket booths. An adult ticket book, with coupons for two of each of the rides, classified “A” through “E,” sold for just seven dollars and fifty cents, that’s right, “$7.50, and we would have no long lines to wait in before getting on the “E” rides, such as The Jungle Cruise Boat Ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Captain Nemo’s Submarine. I can’t remember whether the Swiss Family Tree House was a “C” or “D” coupon, but it was well worth the visit.

Sadly, it seems that Disneyworld, like the real world around us, has experienced its own decline, and some realize it’s because there has been a change in management’s vision.

We only need to check our Bibles to ascertain the truth. There has been a universal decline in the morals, character, and spirituality of the human race. And in spite of those champions of evolution, who argue that the human race will evolve to a point of perfection, we only need to look around our own cities and towns to see the problems, much less at the crazy dictators who rattle their nuclear weapons, and encourage annihilation of those they consider their enemies, especially us Christians and Jews. You can see it in the lack of character of those who rule kingdoms and govern nations, as well as in corporate officers, and even in those who oversee many of our religious institutions.

Yes, there’s been a serious decline in the character of world leaders, but that’s because there has been a serious decline in the spirituality of the people of the world who select and support those leaders, and that is a sad fulfillment of biblical prophecy. For Jesus warned,

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” 

Matthew 24:12

On the other hand, there has not been a decline in the wisdom, power, and the love of our Creator and the God of the universe:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8

It’s understandable that believers in Christ will fret over the decline in morality and the flourishing of sin and crime, because it poses a real threat to their lives and to the future of our nation. But taking the long view, we are to rejoice in all things, even this. Why? Because it’s evidence that the Lord’s return is far closer, perhaps imminent.

Why is The Father holding off Christ’s return? One reasons is to provide opportunity for everyone to be saved who wants to be saved—perhaps you! Saved from what? Judgment for the sins you’ve committed, cleansing from the guilt you bear, pardon from the penalties you face, and eternal blessing in heaven because of God’s grace on everyone who believes.

We Christians know these facts, but we tend to forget them. And we are not unlike our two little girls, all those years ago, who repeatedly asked, “Are we almost there?” Is Jesus coming soon?

In the fifth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church, he reminded us:

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.”

I Thess. 5:1

“Brethren?” That’s we who have received Jesus as Savior. Those other people—though they may follow some priest, rabbi, or other religious leader, and though they may faithfully attend religious gatherings, pray to their gods, give money, or even give their bodies to be burned—they are not “brethren.” They are deluded if they imagine that they might reach heaven as the result of giving money or performing an occasional act of generosity or kindness. Unless they confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus, and believe in their hearts that God has raised him from the dead, they are not born again, saved, one of the brethren, and heaven bound.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

So Paul is writing to us, his brothers and sisters in Christ, and while those in this lost and dying world are welcome to read Paul’s inspired letter, it won’t profit them unless they make Jesus their personal Savior and Lord.

These words are for we who walk by faith, and not by sight.

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.”

I Thessalonians 5:1

Hey, wait! He states that he doesn’t need to write these things for us. Why?

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”

I Thessalonians 5:2

I get what he means by “…the day of the Lord.” That’s the moment in the future when Jesus Christ keeps the promise he made to his disciples, after his resurrection from the dead, and just prior to his ascension to heaven, when he rose into the clouds, right before their eyes. Jesus told them that he would return to this earth to take every believer, dead or alive. to heaven.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.”

I Thessalonians 4:16-17

Do you remember now? Now do you “know perfectly”?

Our little girls wouldn’t have understood if I’d told them we still had 500 miles to go, or that we still had to drive through the states of South Carolina, Georgia, and half the length of Florida. But at least we knew when we began our journey, just as you know when you began your walk with God. And Joy and I trusted that we would ultimately arrive at my mothers, just as you will know when you hear the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, that you are almost home.

Jesus told his disciples that they were not to know the day and hour of his return:

It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power.”

Acts 1:7

Jesus told us that he would come like a thief in the night; that is, with stealth, and unseen by men and women whose eyes are darkened by sin. In consequence, we need always to be ready, careful to avoid sin and to seek forgiveness when we fall into it. But those things are like spiritual maintenance. They’re what we do every day, like preparing meals or washing dishes, paying bills, or filling the gas tank. Jesus expects more, for the last thing he told us was:

But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me…..”

Acts 1:8

Jesus told a parable that warned us to be ready at any time for his return:

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.”

Matthew 24:44

It’s okay to observe the times and the seasons if it causes you to be prepared. But don’t be a spiritual “clock watcher.” Stop asking, “Are we almost there,” or “When will we get there?” Instead,

…comfort yourselves together, and edify (build up) one another.”

I Thessalonians 5:11

Okay, you are free to paraphrase the words of the beloved disciple at the end of The Revelation.

“Please hurry, Daddy!”

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Revelation 22:20