Matt 24:42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
If there is a Word the Lord has for us today, I believe it is the Word above. Watch and be ready. In an hour that you think not, the Son of man cometh.
That and this really stirs my spirit today:
Matt 24:36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
We are in the "days before the flood" today. And our Lord tells us that just exactly as it was in the days of Noe so shall it be when the Lord comes. How did things go down in Noe's day? Noe entered the ark THEN the flood came.
There is a day coming when those who are counted worthy in this world will enter their "ark" and then once again the flood will come. How can we be 100% sure this will happen? The Lord God has spoken the Words Himself. Just as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be when the Lord comes back for us.
As I am writing this, the Lord just dropped another interesting distinction into my mind. Here it is:
Mark 1333Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
When we talk about the Son of man coming back to earth, some people tell us its the second coming and not the rapture. They are wrong. Notice the wording in the scripture above as well as the parallel descriptions in Luke and Matt. The Lord left "his house." See that? What is the Lord's house? Where does the Lord live here on earth? Answer.......in us. We are the house of God. When the Son of man returns He is returning to and for US. We are His house. Notice the Lord does not say He is coming back to the entire world. Notice He does not say He is coming back for "them." He says He is coming back to His house and His servants. That would be us friends.
And thus we have another piece of irrefutable proof in support of the pre-tribulation rapture. Noah and Lot were removed before the destruction of their day. They were physically removed to safety. The bible says that Noah in particular was lifted up "high above the earth."
Genesis 7:17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth ...
| For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. |
Where will our place of safety be in the rapture? Where will we meet the Lord? In the clouds....and where is that? High above the earth. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of man returns.
What is the Lord saying to the churches today? Watch and be ready. Pray in obedience to the Word given to us in Luke 21:36 that all of us who believe may be counted worthy of the escape from all that is surely coming so we can stand before the Son of man.
Be patient, and be ready. Be ready to stay and ready to go. I expect the Lord to return for us any day now. I pray that the Lord will give us His strength and patience to live this life torn between the need to stay here and press on with our work while we await our Redeemer from heaven.
Keep the faith, grace and peace
