Matt 24:42-44
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
So you awake! Some alarming and heavy reading this morning or evening, depending on when you logged in. Never before in the history of the church or even the history of mankind has there been an anticipation, for the second coming of the Lord. The recent earthquakes will for sure sell more books and get people talking. Several times in Jewish history it was thought that the abomination of desolation (Matt 24:15)was being fulfilled—most notably during the days of the Maccabees when Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king, ordered that an altar to the Greek god Zeus be constructed in the temple (167 b.c.). He also decreed that swine and other unclean animals were to be sacrificed there, that the Sabbath was to be profaned, and that circumcision was to be abolished. But Jesus clarifies that the complete fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy will be found in (1) the Roman destruction of the temple in a.d. 70 and (2) the image of the Antichrist being set up in the last days (cf. 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:14). Jesus moves from describing events leading to his coming to our attitudes in preparing for his coming. The disciple are questioning Jesus as to when this will all take place and he gives them this answer. 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. We can talk about the tribulation and when we will be raptured all day but, the key is to be ready. I always say Pray for pre but prepare for post. The bible is clear we will experience a world that is in decay and filled with evil. We are to be aware of the times and not fear but, prepare and be awake knowing the time is near. How has Satan placed fear in you? In what way is he luring you into a state of panic. We are in danger of not being aware of the times we are living in. So today I say be ready, stay alert and be watchful for the Son of Man is coming to establish his Kingdom on earth.
In Him,
Pastor Joe
