2 Peter 3:12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
or
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
or
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
You get the point. Let us consider another interesting fact about watching today. In nautical terms watchstanding is well known. To keep the ship running on course without incident a member of the crew always has to be on watch alert for dangers or malfunctions. In the Army, Marines etc soldiers stand watch over their camp to ensure they are not overrun by the enemy. Nobody considers this an odd practice or questions it. What is interesting is when the Lord God tells us to watch for His coming, and we tell people we are going to do it the veins pop out on their neck, their faces turn red with anger and they spit on us. Kind of an odd reaction don't you think? Where does all the hatred come from? The Lord gives us our instructions very clearly here:
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33Take 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.
So what's the problem? The problem is the people of this world hate the idea of us escaping this world because this world is all they have. The enemy also despises the idea of us escaping his grasp because once we leave this earth he can no longer prevent us from receiving our divine inheritance which he thinks he is entitled to instead of us. If we knew nothing else but the fact that there is a seething hatred for the pre-tribulation escape of the Church that fact alone is enough for us to take a hard look at it. In wartime every soldier knows that the enemy does not defend targets that are worth nothing. So, when aircraft flew over a city and started taking intense anti-aircraft fire they knew they were over a target that is worth something. So it is with the pre-tribulation coming of the Lord for His Church. This world hates it and takes shots at it every chance they get. Those who belong to this world yet call themselves Christians also attack this idea as "escapist." The enemy hates the pre-trib coming of the Lord for His Church as well for the reasons we just explained.
The bottom line here is really simple. The Lord gave us a clear, simple command: Keep watch for His return, all the time. That means morning noon and night every day without stopping. We kind of roughly expect the Lord at any time but during these high watch seasons we are putting forth an extra effort to respect and honor the Word of the Lord by increasing our awareness and readiness to meet Him.
Matt 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
grace and peace
