Matthew 24
“See, I have told you beforehand.”(v25)
These words of our Lord Jesus reminded me of what God had decalred through Prophet Isaiah,
“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure’”
Isaiah 46: 9 – 10
Truly, God came in the flesh as Jesus Christ to declare the Kingdom of God, and to declare the things to come in the end of age; and truly, we are indeed very blessed to have come to know the True God who had prepared us to face these end days.
Are we prepared and ready to welcome this day? Or do we fear and dread the 2nd coming of our Lord?
Bible Passage: Matthew 24
Gloom And Doom?
We often call to mind this chapter whenever we talk about the end times, and therefore we are very familiar about the signs of the end times spoken by our Lord.
But let us ask ourselves these few questions as we read this chapter again:
1) Do we still believe that the world will come to an end?
2) Do we believe we are living in the Last Days?
3) Do we live like we are in the Last Days?
We may have heard of so many sermons regarding the Judgement Day since day one of our lives as Christians, but it seems that we can’t really feel that there is going to be a day when all things on earth will come to an end. Especially living in Singapore, we hardly experience any natural disaster; and most of us have not gone through any war. So it is not easy for us to imagine that our lives and all things on earth can come to a terrible end as how the Bible has revealed to us.
But with many news about other places meeting with horrifying natural disasters and constant wars among nations, we can actually see that what our Lord had told us are coming to pass. The 2nd coming of our Lord is definitely approaching fast.
As of today, I hope all of us can feel the ‘heat’ of the Last Days approaching, but are we living a life that manifests our conviction regarding the truth about the Last Days? Not only we must put in more effort in our spiritual nurture, in our pursuit of holiness, but also we must not forget to reach out to the lost of the world, to save them from the wrath of God that we know is bound to be poured out upon the sinners on earth.
Do we remember how our Lord rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees of their hypocricy regarding the signs of the times?
He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
Matthew 16: 2 – 3
What To Do?
Our Lord said, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (v13)
Yes we need endurance to stand firm in the faith we have in Christ, for He had already told us all these testing times will surely come before we can meet our Lord in the air, and thence into eternal bliss with Him, our Bridegroom.
Our Lord also alerted us, “Take heed that no one decieves you.”(v4)
Deceptions will surely come our way, to pull us from the bosom of our Lord, so we need to be on our guard against false Christs and false doctrines. For this, we need to constantly rely on the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, to defend ourselves against falsehoods.
That was why our Lord assured us, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (v35)
Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever; therefore His words are faithful and true. His Word is not only faithful in His promises; His Word is also a light that reveals the dangerous deceptions of the devil.
And then our Lord also urged us, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (v42)
Yes we must watch! Be on our spiritual toes always, and never slack or slumber under the lullabies of the world, whose god is the devil.
May we all stand firm in His Word and prepare for His coming, and may the grace of God continue to abide with us.
Shalom!
7 Comments
PS
Thank you for the timely reminder of “the ‘heat’ of the Last Days approaching”. Elder Peter had forewarned us that God is going to destroy the world by fire in His second coming.
God made an everlasting covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:15-16 that “I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never will the water become a flood to destroy all life.”
A silly question: What is the value of God’s promise that He will not destroy the world with water when He can destroy it with other elements or means?
Elder Peter prophesied that God is doing it by fire (2 Pet 3:7).
Does it make God’s promise in Gen 9:5-16 an empty promise?
When the rainbow arches across the sky, what does it remind us?
kepha
PS, that is not a silly question! It requires an intelligent answer (LOL).
The promise not to destroy the world again with water points to God’s patience with sinners. The promise is prefixed with “although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen 8:22). In fact, even the flood itself was sent after much longsuffering (1 Pet 3:20). God is consistent in this – He is slow to anger (Neh 9:17; Nah 1:3), he doesn’t destroy without first warning man and giving them time to repent.
Hence Peter’s warning of impending destruction with fire tells us that when our sinfulness reaches the same extent of Noah’s time, though we deserve a flood, God will yet endure. But when our sins EXCEED that of Noah’s time, when we deserve fire, that’s another story! But in all this, Peter reminds us of God’s longsuffering towards us, the loving patience that pushes back our punishment, till our sin forces fire upon our world (2 Pet 3:4-10)
appleofHiseye
When the rainbow arches across the sky, it reminds me that His grace is sufficient for us, and to count my blessings more…
PS
Hi Kepha and appleofHiseye,
Thk u for the intelligent answers. Indeed i learn much. Just share my little thoughts. Do correct me if they sound silly.
The rainbow highlights the sovereignty of God. He created the heavens and earth and He has the absolute right to destroy it when it goes against His holiness (Gen 6:5-7 and 17, 7:14).
The rainbow is a reminder that God has destroyed all the flesh that moved on earth once(Gen 7:22)
The rainbow is a warning that God can bring His will to pass. He is coming again. Take heed.
It is a great blessing that Peter had warned us that this time God is using fire.
Every time there is a rainbow. we are being reminded that “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 2:11-12)
Matthew 24:45-46 reminds that besides our own personal spiritual well being, we are to be faithful and wise servants in the Master’s house.
Matthew 24:44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Next time when there is a rainbow in the sky. Take heed. Don’t play play. Lord Jesus is coming again (Rev 22:20)
(The bible is the testimony of God. Generations after generations, we know the reason for the existence of the rainbow from the bible. Gen 9:12 and 16)
kepha
Though we should take warning from the great flood. let’s not associate the rainbow with warning in a direct manner.
Rather than vilifying the rainbow, let it remain a thing of beauty.
Let the rainbow be what the Word of God says it is – a promise, a sign of God’s gracious covenant.
Whenever we see the rainbow, remember that God does not forget to be patient with us, and that He is waiting lovingly for us to repent.
YK
God continue to warn us to be alert & watchful. Be prepared for the last day to come. Wait happily, patiently. There should not be sadness as we will be going to our Father’s house where He has prepared for us. Only those are not ready will be troubled when last day come.
God wants our answers “Yes, Father. We are all ready.” when he comes next time.
appleofHiseye
I agree, God does continously remind us to be alert and watchful. A preacher spoke a sermon about pursuing after the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Though it’s a sermon topic we would all be quite familiar with, it’s a really good reminder to keep on growing. At this point of our life, we may be feeling complacent. We might feel like, Oh, I believe in the True Church and I’ve got the Holy Spirit the passport to heaven. I’m saved! But a passport needs to be constantly renewed. And it’s important to be filled with the Holy Spirit..how? Bear the 9 aspects of the fruit of the spirit. Wherever we are along our journey of life, if we want to have this full confidence that we can enter into heaven, then it’s important to be prepared. Keep growing. Keep praying. Keep on bearing the fruit of the spirit and remember that joy is a fruit, that’s why we can patiently wait-see, it’s just one fruit with 9 aspects. I hope to say that one day… “Yes, Father. I am ready.”