Revelation 1:7 “Look,
he is coming with the clouds,’ and “every eye will see him, even those who
pierced him”; and all peoples on the earth “will mourn because of him.” So
shall it be! Amen. (NIV)
The Bible tells the story of the 10 young virgins who went
out to meet the Bridegroom. 5 of them were considered as foolish and the other
5 were wise. The foolish ones took with them their lamps, but did not take
enough oil to keep them lit, while the wise ones came prepared and had brought
extra. The Bridegroom did not come right away, so they all were tired and went
to sleep. All of a sudden, there was a loud sound announcing the coming of the
Bridegroom. The foolish virgins’ lamps had gone dark and there was nothing to
light their way, but the wise ones still had oil to refill theirs. The foolish
virgins asked the wise ones to share their oil with them, but the wise virgins
told them no because there may not be enough for them to have. So the foolish
virgins left to go purchase some more oil, but while they were gone, the
Bridegroom came, took the wise virgins with Him and shut the door. Upon the
return of the foolish virgins, they knocked on the door in order to be accepted
in, but the Lord told them that He did not know them and their request was
denied. Matthew 25:1-13.
Many of us are asleep in the church and are not ready for the
return of Christ just as the foolish virgins. Yes, we go week after week, but
we have failed to be prepared and our lights will eventually go out. If you
take notice in the parable, the virgins all met up at the same place just as we
do when we come together at church, but attending church does not mean that we
are ready just as the foolish virgins weren’t when the Lord came. They got
caught in the ritual of attendance and the “once saved always saved” syndrome,
but when the Lord came to get them, they had work undone and therefore, they were
loss.
See, many of us have gotten caught up in believing that once
we accepted Jesus into our hearts, that our work is done, while failing to
realize that the work had just begun once we got the promotion. However, we
must remain true to God, repent of our sins, and tell others about His return.
It is not enough just to live a good life and act as if heaven is already here.
We must lead souls to Jesus and repentance for God wishes for none of us to be
lost.
Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that we do not
have to constantly repent of our sins. Although Salvation is a free gift, we
must daily repent of our sins. Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline. So be earnest and repent. These are the words of the Lord to
the Laodicea Church which is us. He didn’t say that once you accepted Him as
Savior, you no longer had to confess your sins. After all, these letters in
Revelation were specifically written to the “church”.
We must also sound the alarm that Jesus is coming soon and
that we are not on this earth to stay. We must stop bypassing this message as
if it was the plague or just mentioning it when someone dies. On any given day,
you can hear a message on getting bigger houses, better jobs, newer cars,
bigger buildings, but where are the messages of preparation for Jesus’ return?
Do people even know what to look for in signs that are right in front of their
eyes? Have we prepared them to recognize the events that will and are taking
place, so that they can be prepared and prepare others for the Lord’s return?
Luke 21:7-28 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things
happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” He
replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many
will come in my name, claiming, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” Do not
follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These
things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” Then he said
to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There
will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and
fearful events and great signs from heaven. “But before all this, they will
seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put in
prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of
my name… I
encourage you to read this in your bibles all the way to the end so that God
will open your understanding to Jesus’ second coming.
Many people have heard of the rapture and about the Lord
delivering them from various calamities, but they couldn’t tell you when, what
or have biblical knowledge as to what that really means. One may ask, if the
saints of God are going to be raptured before the end comes, then what about
the people that are being killed EVERY DAY in other countries who are
Christians? Why haven’t they been raptured because their being martyred is a
definite sign of the end quickly approaching. It seems that until it affects
those in the United States is only when it becomes more personal at times. This
doesn’t mean that we don’t care, but we must be prayerful and keep in mind that
people in other countries are encountering DAILY persecution for their
Christian beliefs just as the apostles did for theirs and eventually were
killed.
I encourage you to talk with your spiritual leaders and
request that they speak on the end times, so that you can be prepared. Also, do
studying on your own and keep up with the news not only in this country, but
abroad. Whenever you see events taking place in Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia,
Russia and other countries as well as the United States, you are witnessing
prophetic history and God is warning His people to wake up because His coming
is soon. God bless you and I will continue to blog on end-time topics
throughout the year.
