BEING READY FOR HIS RETURN
Matt. 24:36-44
Morning Meditation 12/18/16
Verses 36-44 say, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For 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, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But 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. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
There have been a lot of date setters in recent years. Everyone of them has been disappointed and the ones who follow their teaching have been disillusioned. It is obvious in verse 36 that date setting is contrary to what Jesus taught with regard to His return. It plainly says, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven . . .” Of course all those who set dates will argue that they are not fine tuning down to the “day and hour.” But any kind of date setting is forbidden in this verse.
It is not wrong to anticipate the nearness of His return. It is not wrong to take action to be prepared for His return. Verse 44 says, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” The word “ready” translates “hetoimos” and means “to be prepared..” So to be prepared for His return means to get one’s life in order so that that day will not catch us as the flood in Noah’s day caught those who were destroyed.
First of all, there is the readiness of salvation. If a person is not saved, he is not ready for the return of Jesus. Paul tells the Church at Thessalonica about the aspect of His return of which I now speak. 1 Thess. 4:13-17, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” One of the first things Paul does in this passage is to identify the ones for whom the Lord is coming. He says,”For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again . . .” This is the key. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). The gospel is defined in Scripture as the death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-4). So in the light of this, Paul is saying that Jesus is coming for those who believe the gospel. They have been saved and have something to look forward to. If you are one of those who are stressed out by the times in which we live, set your spiritual eyes on the promise of His return. That will comfort and rejuvenate in this hour of distress (1 Thess. 4:18).
Paul says that the return of the Lord is a truth that will help us face life after we bury our loved ones. Paul says because of His return we are not to “sorrow as others . . . which have no hope” (vs 13). So the Lord’s return reduces the degree of sorrow experienced at the death of a loved one. He goes on the explain why. At the return of Christ He will resurrect the “dead in Christ” first. Next he says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds . . .” The words “caught up” translate “harpazo” and mean, “to seize, carry off by force, to snatch out or away.” It is a future passive indicative verb. The future tense means that Paul was pointing them to a future event. The passive voice means that believers at that future event would not be the actors. They would be acted upon. The passive voice is where the subject is acted upon. When the Lord comes in the rapture He will snatch His children up into the clouds with Him. He doesn’t come and speak to them and say something like, “would you like to go with me?” Every Christian who believes the Bible is anxiously awaiting His return. It is called the blessed hope (Titus 2:13). Salvation prepares us to be in the rapture.
The words “Caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” explain four things. First, we will be together with our loved ones at His return. Second, we will be in the clouds with them which tells us where. Third, we will be caught up to meet the Lord tells us the goal of the event. And fourth, the words “so shall we ever be with the Lord” tell us that there will never be a future separation from Him. This takes care of any punishment of the saved after the Judgment Seat of Christ. I say that for the benefit of those who believe that there is some future punishment for saved people who sin after they are saved.
Our text describes the things that will be going on at the time of His return. It will be as it was in Noah’s day. They were eating and drinking. Have you noticed how many restaurants there are today? Eating is one of the biggest pastimes going today. The reference in this passage to drinking is not talking about water! One of the major problems in our society today is the consumption of alcohol. Then there is the dope that has man’s brain so dazed that he is unable to seriously consider his destiny. The words “marrying and giving in marriage” is not talking about the normal. It is talking about the breakdown of the home. A man told me one time that when he and his wife married that he told her that they would try it and if it didn’t work they could always divorce and go their separate ways. Marriage is a divine institution. We have a responsibility to God to stay with the original mate. When God created Eve from the rib of Adam, He did not make him an extra in case he wasn’t satisfied!
The words “And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away . . .” mean that they had rejected the warning. This is a statement that implies responsibility. There is no responsibility for ignorance (at least in this case) unless we have rejected the thing that would remove that ignorance. They were willingly ignorant. Do I have proof of this? God sent Enoch as a preacher who preached to those before Noah. Jude 1:14-15 says, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Enoch was a prophet, not only of the events of the flood, but also of the return of the Lord in our day. 2 Peter 2:5 says, “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” This verse says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He warned the people of his day of the impending doom. There was only one way of escape and they no doubt laughed at him for building this hugh ark on dry land. But after the flood waters began to rise, they weren’t laughing. They were begging. But it was too late.
Verse 43 of our text says, “But 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. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
This verse teaches that one who is an informed Christian can save his house from the judgment that will follow the rapture. We must live Second Coming truth. When we do this is will change the way we live: 1 John 3:3 says, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” When we do it will make soul winners out of us. Our text is saying this when it says we can prevent our house from being broken up. We are told in verses 40-41 that two will be in the bed, one will be taken, and the other left. I ask you “Who was taken,” and “Who was left?” What is the subject of this passage? Is it not His return? Well the first phase of His return is the rapture. The next thing on the Lord’s prophetic calendar is the catching away of the Saints.
The question we need to ask ourselves is are we ready? Salvation will get you ready for the rapture. It will get your friends ready for the rapture, if they are saved. If not, we must take the message of salvation to them. It is our responsibility to pray for them and witness to them of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
