Are you ready for the end? How bad do you think things will get before Jesus returns?
In Matthew 24:3-14, the disciples asked Jesus when the world would end. Jesus answered first thing, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” He went on to warn of coming famines, wars, pestilences, and earthquakes. Then He said that these are the beginning of sorrows. The beginning? That’s not easy to hear. Nor was what He said after that. Jesus went on to say that they would be hated and killed for His name sake.
Jesus spoke of betrayals and false prophets who will deceive many people. He said that wickedness would increase and love would decrease. But then He said that those who endure until the end, shall be saved. The Gospel must be preached throughout all of the world and then the end will come.
In the Gospel of Mark 13:32-33, Jesus said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” Jesus is speaking about the end of the world in this passage too. Again we see the phrase “take heed”. Heed means to beware, Jesus is giving a warning.
The timing is not as important as the preparedness. Christ will return, that’s not the question. The question is, will the Church be ready? Jesus said, “Watch and Pray”.
To watch means to look, pay attention, be sober, vigilant, and attentive. We are told to awake and walk circumspectly in diligence. To redeem the time because the days are evil. Be wise and aware of God’s will. (Ephesians 5:14-21)
In Matthew 24:42-51, Jesus said His return would be as a thief, unexpected. The Apostle Paul told the Church that we should know perfectly, the day of the Lord will be as a thief and since we walk in the Light, that day will not overtake us. We know Jesus is coming, so we remain sober and watch. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10) In 1 Peter 4:7 we read, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
Who is Jesus returning for?- His Church. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) As His Church, we watch together, by submitting to each other in accountability. (Ephesians 5:21) We do not forsake our meeting together, we read in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Jesus also instructed us to pray. Another passage we see Jesus giving instruction to watch and pray is in Mark 14:38, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.”
Jesus knows our flesh is weak, we need the Holy Spirit in order to endure and to resist temptations. This is why we pray, we need help! (1 Corinthians 10:13, Galatians 5:16 & 5:25, Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, James 4:7-8)
Jesus is coming! It’s not a question of if, nor is it a question of when. The question is, are you ready?
Whether it be the end of the world or the end of your own life, are you ready? If you have not repented and placed your faith in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and give you eternal life with Him, you are in danger of eternal punishment in a horrible place called hell. Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
I pray that you do not go there. More importantly Jesus does not want you to go to hell. He came to die on the cross and rise from the dead, so you would not have to go to hell. Jesus came to rescue souls from hell. If you do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, I exhort you to follow this link and learn how to be saved. https://in-times-like-these.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
In Times Like These 