“But of
that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the
time is. “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his
house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded
the doorkeeper to watch. “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of
the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster,
or in the morning— “lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
“And what I say to
you, I say to all: Watch!” Mark
13:32-37 NKJV
By
now I am sure you understand I consider it very important for us as believers
to do exactly as this passage commands; watch! Whenever I teach on this subject
I inevitably get questions relating to what should we be watching for and what
exactly will we see? My answers to those questions reveal my belief about the
origin of many of the events we will observe, and while many are aware that it
was God in His inspired Word who has foretold what will happen, the truth as I
see it is that most of the events we will see occur come from Satan himself
because he too, is watching.
The
truth is, nobody knows scripture better than Satan. After all, who has been
around to study it as long as he has? He quoted it when he tempted Jesus in the
wilderness, and he most assuredly uses it against us. So do you think with what
he knows about the end of the age, he wouldn't have a clue as to when God was
preparing to take us home? Satan knows
what God has in store for him, and when he believes the end times are
approaching it would make sense that he would do anything in his power to
release all the evil on this earth at his control in order to take as many down
with him as he could.
I
believe much of what we will see happen before the rapture is a direct result
of Satan increasing his efforts as he sees the day approaching. I truly believe
this is exactly what we can see right now in the world around us. So many
events are occurring on a daily basis that it simply seems unbelievable that we
could not be close to the time Jesus commanded us to watch for. Yet as believers, what do these times mean
for us and what does God expect from His children in these last days before the
rapture?
But as
for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older
men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; Titus 2:1-2 NKJV
Likewise,
exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a
pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence,
incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an
opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you Titus 2:6-8 NKJV
For the
grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that,
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in the present age, Titus
2:11-12 NKJV
Now
like most of us, when I see the word sober my first thoughts are about
drinking, and not being intoxicated, but if you look at the Greek you come up
with something a little more complex than that.
The word translated sober comes from the Greek word “sōphrōn” which means “of a
sound mind, sane, in one's senses, curbing one's desires and impulses,
self-controlled, temperate”. As you
read Titus, it seems clear that the issue of self-control applies to just about
every facet of a believer’s life, especially as it affects and influences what
others see when observing our words and deeds.
“The Church is full
of hypocrites!” Have you ever heard those words? Isn’t it amazing that believers are so
carefully observed and held to such a high standard? Of course not, yet somehow there are many who
ignore the fact that the world will watch us closely to see if what we are
trying to sell is really as life changing as we claim. If we don’t live up to the standard set forth
in the Word of God, we become liars and the world rightly considers us to be
hypocrites. In the believers life, being
“sober” includes being of a “sound mind” which would certainly include being
honest about how we choose to live out our faith.
“Let
your waist be girded and your lamps burning; “and you yourselves be like men
who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he
comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. “Blessed are those servants
whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you
that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and
serve them.” Luke 12:35-37 NKJV
In
this passage from Luke, Jesus explains what we are expected to do, and the
benefit we will receive if we choose to do so.
His desire for us can be summed up in just four words; working,
waiting, watching, rewarded.
Let’s briefly look at these expectations in order to better understand
what our Lord wants from us.
Working; “Let
your waist be girded”. Most of
us have seen pictures or images of the way people dressed in Jesus’ time, and in
truth, some in the Middle East still do.
Generally speaking, you wore an undergarment covered by an outer garment
of long, usually ankle length flowing material.
If one was to engage in physical labor, the common practice was to
“gird” your outer garment around your waist to facilitate the ease of movement
while working. When Jesus tells us to
“gird”, there are two results which become apparent. One, we are prepared to do His work, and
second, anyone who sees us will know we are working because we are dressed for
it. Our work is summed up nicely in this
passage from Peter, who also uses the word “gird”.
Therefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the
grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as
obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your
ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your
conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 NKJV
Waiting; “and
your lamps burning”. If we are
instructed to wait with our lamps burning, it follows that it is possible to
wait without our lamp burning. Obviously
it does no good at all to be waiting with a lamp that is not lit because you
can’t see who is coming, and they certainly can’t see you. First of all, when our spiritual lamp is lit,
not only will we be looking for our Lord to appear, we will recognize the
events which signify He is near.
Secondly, because our lamp is lit, others will see the light and we will
have an opportunity to glorify God by sharing the reason we are watching and
waiting.
“Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NKJV
Watching; “be
like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that
when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately”.
I
have always been somewhat amused by discussions concerning the question of will
we know when the rapture will occur? My
response has always been that why would Jesus spend so much time, and give so
many illustrations concerning watching, if He did not intend to allow us to see
and recognize the time of His appearing?
Understand I am not saying it is possible to predict the day it will happen,
but rather if we are watching and waiting for His return, just like these men
waiting for their master to come, we will see Him coming for us. Have you never been watching for a friend or
relative to come for a visit? Do you not
see them arrive and open the door and go out to greet them? That is what Jesus is telling us here, and I
firmly believe that any believer, who is faithfully watching for our Master to
come, will see Him as He appears and not be at all surprised when He does.
“Take
heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. “It is like a man
going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants,
and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. “Watch therefore,
for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at
midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—“lest, coming
suddenly, he find you sleeping. “And what I say to you, I say to all:
Watch!” Mark 13:33-37 NKJV
Rewarded; “Blessed
are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.
Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to
eat, and will come and serve them.”
Is this not the ultimate role reversal? Instead of the servants serving the master, as
a reward for watching diligently for His return, the Master assumes the role of
the servant and rewards His servants by serving them at the feast. Can you picture in your mind the Son of God,
Jesus Christ our Savior, sitting us down in Heaven at the Marriage Feast of the
Lamb and then girding up His royal robes and serving us our first meal in
Heaven? I can see many of us feeling
exactly as Peter did when Jesus went to wash his feet and protesting that He
should not do it. Yet this is exactly
the reward Jesus has promised we will receive if we follow His commandment to
watch for His return. There is, however,
an alternate reward for those who do not.
As
believers, servants of God the Father, we have been commanded to watch for His
appearing. We do that by girding
ourselves to work, to wait, to watch, and ultimately to receive our
reward. I don’t know about you, but I
choose to watch, and do.
And the
Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will
make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due
season? “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so
doing when he comes. Luke
12:42-43 NKJV
Keep
watching.
