Articles
Be On The Alert
Be On The Alert
As Jesus talks about his coming, he makes a stern warning.
31 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32 " But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Mark 13:31-32).
He WILL return and that will bring the great day of the judgment of God. (2 Cor. 5:10; John 5:28-29; Romans 2:16; 14:10; etc.).
We ALL then will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. There is no avoiding this. There will be no acceptable excuses. We will stand either having been forgiven because of our trust in Jesus, or condemned because of our sins.
We know from this that the day is coming, but we are also informed that we, none of us, know the day or hour. Men have been making guesses and trying all manner of creative bible study in order to figure out what Jesus says no one knows! Hence Jesus’ application of this lack of knowledge about WHEN is simply to be prepared.
33 "Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. (Mark 13:33)
35 "Therefore, be on the alert-- for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning—(Mark 13:35)
37 "And what I say to you I say to all, ' Be on the alert!'" (Mark 13:37).
Our problem is that we have had nearly 2000 years of being on the alert. The days have multiplied. There have been around 730,000 DAYS since Jesus warned us. For us who have reached the 70-year marker in our lives, we have personally experienced over 25,000 days. Day after day. We become numb to the danger. Such numbness produces lack of concern and hence a lack of preparedness in our lives.
It will happen. Will you be found ready and waiting, or asleep? Are you alert?
Hugh DeLong
