"Are we in the last days" pt. 2

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the Angels of Heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah 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 Noah 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."

Matthew 24: 34-39

Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of Man cometh.

Matthew 24: 44

"Are you ready?"

I had shared, in the previous post, that the events Jesus described to His Disciples in Matthew 24, primarily takes place in the Great Tribulation. Even though He will deal with Israel, and the world with Judgement, His Grace is still evident. This time of Judgement, is also the last opportunities for repentance. For God so loved the world, that even in His Judgement, His Hand is extended to those who accept,and repent.

The signs of these times described, as I have shared, have appeared, throughout history, time and again. Evil progressively growing worse, to the point where it is perceived as, decent, acceptable,and even normal behavior. The good, ethical,and moral behavior is now looked at as evil. What's wrong is right, and what's right is wrong. The world is doing what's right, in their own eyes. Progressive political policies undermine the moral fabric of our society, situational ethics guide business practices,at the expense of people. Anarchy on the rise, and disregard for the law, unless it caters to"progressive"special interest groups. The deceitful misinterpretation of the" separation of Church and State" has been taken to the extremes. All with disregard to the Christian heritage,values, and foundation of our country.

Over the last 60 years, there has been subtle attacks against Christianity. Removing prayer from schools,and government, drugs, abortion, alcohol,the break down of the family structure,unwed and teenage promiscuity, the "coming out" of homosexuality, and the list goes on. All these tools of the devil, that directly go against the Word of God, has become blatantly open and aggressive, in not only our society, but worldwide.

I don't say all this as a political commentary, but as an observation of the spiritual climate of today. If the people of Noah's day would have been aware, of their spiritual depravity, expressed in the immorality of the accepted norms of their society, they would have heeded the message, and gotten into the ark. Or, did they think, they had more time, to change. They were not ready.

Are we in the last days? Those days began, with the time of Christ, and will be fulfilled, with His Second Coming. Jesus warned His Disciples, not to be deceived by the many false Christs, and false prophets,that will come, and show great signs and wonders, during these times. The time of His Coming ,when they don't expect it, He tells them to be ready. How are we to be ready?

As Jesus taught in the parables in these chapters of Matthew, the faithful and wise servant, is blessed, when his Lord returns, and finds him doing, what He instructed the servant to do(Mt. 24). The message in the two parables,in chapter 25, also tells us to be faithful, wise and prepared. It is the Lord Himself, doing the preparing, "with the washing of water by the Word"(Eph 5: 25-27), as we are faithful. My heart isn't looking for a sign, I'm looking for Him. Be prepared, in season and out, keep fresh oil in your lamp. If I may echo the words of John the Baptist, when asked who he was, he replied,"a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the Way of the Lord.."(Jn 1:23). Are we in the last days? More so now, than ever before. Maybe, as were the people in the days of Noah, people today might be thinking they have plenty of time. But the Lord sent Noah with a message, the same message today, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the Day of Salvation"(2 Cor 6:2). Accepting, placing, and keeping our faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross. That's the only way to prepare, for the last days, to be ready. "Are you ready?"