Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are (eagerly, constantly and patiently ) waiting for and expecting Him.
- Heb 9:28 (AMP)
We all know that Jesus is coming back some day. And I believe it is much sooner than we all think, so we need to be ready. It is our responsibility to be prepared. God has given us everything we need. He has put His own spirit within us when we were born again. He has given us His written Word. He has given us teachers, preachers, pastors, evangelists, apostles and prophets to help us learn how to live by faith and be consecrated to God, how to walk in the spirit and how to operate in the power of God. But we must decide to make those things the priority in our lives.
By expecting the return of Jesus we need to spend time studying and meditating the scriptures about Jesus coming and praying for the coming of Jesus (Psalm 122:6). We are praying for the return of Jesus.
Though God has not disclosed the exact day or hour according to the Bible, if we are alert, we will know the season of His return. In fact Jesus Himself said in Matt. 24:37-39 that His coming would be like the flood in Noah’s day.
In Noah’s day the people refused to prepare themselves for the coming flood because they were caught up with the affairs of this life The people were eating and drinking and making merry going about their natural business and not expecting anything unusual, they did not realize judgment had come upon them until they were swept away in it.(Matt 24:37-39) The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17).
But Noah was not caught by surprise. He had expected the flood and been building the ark for years. He did not know the hour or the day, but he knew it was coming and he was ready. That is how we are supposed to be. We are to be aware of the season. (I Thess 5:1-6) If we are watching and in tune with the Holy Spirit, we won’t be in the dark. We will not be caught by surprise. We will not be unaware at the time of Jesus coming.
(Matt 25:1-13) This parable of the 10 virgins is a lesson on the need to be ready for the Lord’s return. It was not until the foolish five maidens actually heard the shout that they decided to get ready. “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” Those who are not ready will have no time to prepare once the Lord comes. Just as with the 5 foolish maidens there will be no second chances. The Lord will make a separation. Not everyone who cries unto Him, “Lord, Lord” will enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt 7:21). The true possessors of Christ would be separated from mere professors of faith in Christ (Matt 24:31-46).
(Matt 24:44-45) The Lord kindly, but seriously pointed out the urgent need to be ready for His return. In the same way that a thief comes when people are the least prepared, so our Lord will return, in a time when people are not looking for Him. This is not because our Lord desires to surprise everyone and see how many He can catch unprepared. On the contrary, this very prophesy is urging us to be watchful so we will be prepared. Jesus gave these signs of the end times to help us to be prepared. He is prophesying that there will be a condition of apathy in the latter days (Matt 24:12) that will lead to lull even the faithful to sleep if they do not take heed to His words.
When it comes to being ready and dedicating ourselves to the Lord, we are the only ones who can make that decision to do it. First we need to be born again by making Jesus the Lord of our life. Stay in the word of God as it keeps our faith strong to overcome every evil that comes against us. Satan, whose mission is to steal, kill and destroy cannot catch us off guard if we are ready and when we resist him, he will flee from us. We need to be constant in prayer (Rom 12:12) we can maintain fellowship with our Heavenly Father and be tuned to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obey the promptings in our spirit, so we can avoid the pitfalls and traps of the devil. As we give God first place in our lives He will keep us under His shadow of protection in these last days.
We can say as Paul said in 2 Tim 4:7,8 – I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Preoccupation with the affairs of this life can dull us to the spiritual realm (2 Tim 2:3-4). We need to focus our attention and our affection on the things of God instead of the things of this world (Col 3:2).
We don’t need to fear the coming of the Lord or choose to disbelieve it because we cannot comprehend it. God’s plans are always good. They always turn out right. It will be a glorious time. He ordained it years ago. It is a perfect plan (Acts 17:31) God has notified us both through His written word and by His spirit within us that Jesus is coming back for us. It is a divine appointment (Acts 27:25).
Jesus said in Matt 24:36, “At that appointed time, He will catch away those of us who are prepared for His coming and take us to heaven with Him to celebrate for 7 years. Then He will bring us back with Him, when He comes to reign over the earth.
After all, this world is not our home. It is not our final destination. We are just sojourning here, looking forward to the time when we are in the glory and at home with the Lord.
As we remember that, we don’t get entangled in this world’s affairs.
And as we pray and look forward to His coming and to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9) it really will happen.
