“Let us hold fast the confession of [our] hope without wavering, for He who promised [is] faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as [is] the manner of some, but exhorting [one another], and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 NKJV
Have you ever taken a road trip with small children and heard those famous words, “are we there yet”? I remember well taking our first vacation with my children driving over a thousand miles to visit my parents and hearing that phrase for most of the trip. So I used that opportunity to teach my daughters how to watch for the road signs to help answer that question, and it didn't take long for them to concentrate on watching for the signs rather than asking me how much farther we had to go.
It's funny though how that experience taught me something about the coming rapture and Jesus' command to watch for the signs of His return. One of the first things my daughters noticed is that there are no signs telling how far it is to San Diego to be found in Washington. The roadsigns did not begin to appear until we got much closer, and then, the closer we got the more often we saw them. By the time we reached Los Angeles you could see a sign almost every fifteen minutes telling us how close we were.
Now with that thought in mind, might I ask you a question? How many signs of Jesus' return have you seen in the last few years and are those signs decreasing or increasing? You see, even those who don't watch are at the point where they are asking what in the world is going on in the world today. The signs of Jesus' return are coming faster and faster almost to the point where it is hard to keep up with them all. Do you think that might mean we are getting close to “arriving” at our eternal destination?
As we turned onto the final street where my parents lived, we would go over the instructions for how they were to act during our visit. “Be on your best behavior, don't tear the place up, be polite, ask when you want something, remember this is not your house, etc”. We all have done that, yet have you ever thought of what we should do as we approach the rapture of the Church? When I thought of that the passage from Hebrews came to mind and as I read it I was struck by the similarities between what it says and those road trips we would take as a family. So let's look at what this passage says a little closer this morning.
“Hold fast”. Might that translate be patient? It's a long trip but eventually we will get where we are going because our Father has told us so. Many of us have waited a very long time to see the days we are now living in and the closer we get the more impatient we become. Hold fast because the signs are coming so quickly that it can't be much longer before we go.
“Stir up love and good works”. Be on your best behavior? As we approach our final destination, we have the opportunity to share about our faith and give an explanation of what the world is going through. How much more will the world pay attention if we are are seen as a body of believers that are concerned with loving others and doing good works rather than being selfish and self centered.
“Not forsaking the assembling together”. We are family. When one of my daughters misbehaved we didn't leave her by the side of the road and move on. Over the years we have had occasion to hear people tell us how well behaved our girls were, and I must admit that made us feel good about the decisions we made as parents. I believe the most important decision was to attend church regularly so as a family we could meet and form relationships with other believers. Good or bad, what we experienced within the body as we grew as a family helped us form the foundations of our faith which are apparent today. We not only learn from our own experiences, but also the experiences of others.
“Exhorting one another”. We won't learn much if we don't meet together with other believers and also use that time to encourage and lend support to the family we are. The word translated “exhort” in this version is also translated “encourage” and “beseech” in other versions. As I studied this verse I looked to see how this word is used in other passages in the Bible and came to the conclusion that we are being told to “strongly encourage” each other. The word for exhort in the Greek is “parakaleo” and here are a few of those other passages using the same word.
“Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”
Titus 1:9 NKJV
“Preach the word! Be ready in season [and] out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”
2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV
“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;”
1 Thessalonians 4:1 NKJV
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”
Ephesians 4:1 NKJV
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service.”
Romans 12:1 NKJV
One other thing I noticed is that most often this word is also used in the context of our behavior as believers. I think it's important to understand that God is very concerned with how we witness to the world by our actions, and He expects us to strongly encourage others in the body to “love and good works”.
“And so much the more as you see the Day approaching”. Are we there yet? We have all heard that question, and in this case the answer most believers who watch would give is “yes”! We should expect the rapture of the Church at any time, so now more than ever we need to be encouraging each other. Sharing what we see with other believers is a sure way to wake up those who might be slow to see just where we are in our journey home. How soon? I certainly can't say, but I do know this; we are almost there!
That said, whenever the subject of the signs of the rapture come up, there are sure to be those who protest that we can never know when that time has arrived. So I thought I would share a portion of an article by Jack Kelley which addresses that position as well as any I have ever read.
No One Knows The Day Or The Hour
Now we’ll look at that other popular phrase, “No one knows the day or the hour”.
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man“ (Matt. 24:36-37).
Let’s back up a few verses to make sure we have the proper context here. After the Great Tribulation ends (Matt. 24:29) there will be various signs in the heavens. The sun and moon will go dark and the stars will fall from the sky. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear and all the nations will mourn. After that they’ll see Him coming in the clouds with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30). From both the context and the passage itself it’s clear that the day and hour the Lord was referring to in Matt. 24:36-37 is the 2nd Coming .
A few verses later, the Lord repeated the same thought, again in the context of the 2nd Coming.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matt. 24:42-44)
The Lord does not come to break into Satan’s domain at the rapture. He calls us out of it. And another few verses later.
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 24:50-51)
There’s no way this can refer to the rapture because the things He described will not be done to unbelievers at the rapture. He’s speaking of the judgments that follow the 2nd Coming.
Then, for the fourth time in 28 verses the Lord said that believers on Earth at the time of the 2nd Coming will not know the day or hour of His return.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matt. 25:13)
This one is in the context of the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.
In previous studies I’ve shown that this parable can’t be about the church. The Church is the Bride, not a bridesmaid, there’s only one bride, not 10, and the banquet follows the wedding, it doesn’t precede it. There’s no way a newly married bride could be excluded from her own wedding banquet by a husband who claims he doesn’t know her. The parable is about tribulation survivors, 5 of whom are saved and enter the Kingdom and 5 who are not and don’t.
What’s The Point?
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”. (2 Tim. 4:8)
I’ve searched the Scriptures in vain trying to find either of the above phrases used in connection with the Rapture. But I can’t find a single verse that does so. As I’ve shown they all point to the Second Coming and they are all directed toward Tribulation survivors, not the Church.
What I did find is that the Lord rebuked the religious leaders of His time for not expecting Him. He criticized the Pharisees for not being able to read the signs of the times (Matt. 16:2-4). We’re admonished to be aware as well. For example, the Lord commanded us to understand Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy (Matt. 24:15). Paul warned us not to let events leading up to the Day of the Lord take us by surprise (1 Thes. 5:4), and as we see above He promised that the Lord would award a crown to those who longed for His appearing. And why shouldn’t we long for His appearing? After all, the rapture of the Church is one of the most exciting things our Creator has ever done for His followers. It’s not for nothing that we call it our blessed hope. Therefore, encourage each other with these words. Selah 09-05-09
https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/no-one-knows-the-day-or-the-hour-2/
The Bible, in my humble opinion, makes it perfectly clear that if we watch for the signs Jesus promised would come, we will know His return is near. It is my firm belief that these signs are occurring before our very eyes at the present time and our appointment to meet with Jesus in the air could happen at any time. Those who have made the choice to accept His gift of eternal life will go to be with Him forever for eternity. If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today. Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him. You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
Keep watching.
