Watch and Pray
“Watch and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
In this verse, Jesus is teaching on the coming Great Tribulation which will happen in the not to distant future. The Great Tribulation will be God’s final judgment on a world that has rejected Him and His loving offer of Salvation through Calvary. His Mercy and Grace have called out to a lost and dying world from the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Most of mankind has rejected the Lord and gone their own way. The Great Tribulation will bring God’s judgment and will result in the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Christians, we are admonished to watch and pray. The signs of His soon return are all around us. It seems like the world, in general, has chosen its own way with the inevitable result being the confusion and lawlessness that we see going on around us. Romans Chapter 1 tells us about the downward spiral that comes when people, and nations, do not honor and seek after the Lord and His way. The result is given to us in the twenty-eighth verse.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things that are not convenient (not fitting)” (Romans 1:28).
I heard one prophecy teacher say that it seems like recently there was an evil released in this world that has not been here before and that that evil is increasing. I agree! Much of what’s going on today defies logical thinking. This is a sign that things are heading toward the judgment the Lord spoke about regarding the evil that pervades our world, and that which has increased greatly, and that which holds lost souls in bondage. Satan knows his time is short. We must watch and pray.
The Lord Jesus, in our introductory verse, is also speaking of the Rapture of the church when He talked about escaping “all these things that shall come to pass.” The Rapture will happen prior to the Great Tribulation. Christians, alive at the time, will be “caught up” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17) to be with the Lord. The Lord warned us not to be deceived by false teachings and by what may be going on around us. This is a particularly important warning for the times we live in today. We must pray for discernment and judge everything we hear by the Word of God. The Apostle Paul warned us about the dangerous, evil times, that will come upon the world in the last days.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…” (The Apostle Paul – 2 Timothy 3:1a).
We are living in the last days. We must heed what the Lord said about being “accounted worthy.” Faith in Christ and Him crucified is the criteria, the only criteria, that will cause the Lord to account us worthy. It is what He accomplished on the Cross, and our faith anchored in His sacrificial death, that will make us ready for the Rapture. The Lord is telling us that the Great Tribulation is a decided future event and that all those that harken to His voice and come His way, will be saved. If death comes prior to the Rapture, we can know that we will immediately come into His presence upon passing, and if we are alive at the time of the Rapture, we will be caught up to be with the Lord prior to the judgment that is coming on a world that has rejected the love He has shown us in the gift of His Son.
“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
Always Remember,
God Loves You!
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