BY AL BUCHANAN
The last time that I gave a sermon here was actually four weeks ago. As you know, we had two guest speakers in the interim. But four weeks ago I gave the last message here and it was titled Watch And Pray and I said that it would be Part I, because I wasn’t able to get through the material. So today is going to be Part II. Since we do have at least one guest here and I know probably there are at least some listening in who did not hear the first message, I will take some time to briefly recap the material we covered then and hopefully be able to cover the remainder of the material today.
I’d like to begin in Matthew 24. As you remember, we spent much of the time in
chapter 24 and we’re going to spend quite a little time there again today. Matthew chapter 24. As I mentioned last time, this is probably
one of, if not the, most familiar chapters in the Bible to individuals in the
In chapter 24 and in verse 3, it states
Matthew 24:3. Now as He sat
on the
And we saw last time that there were four of them. If we go to Mark 13 verse 3, we’ll see that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew who actually asked this question of Christ. And, as we mentioned last time, Peter, James, and John were the three key disciples that accompanied Christ on almost every significant event. He would take the three with Him. In this case, Andrew is present at this time. But
Matthew 24:3b. the disciples
came to Him [that is, came to Christ] privately, saying, “Tell us, when will
these things be?
And He had just talked about the
Matthew 24:3 cont. when will
these things be? And what will be
the sign
And we pointed out last time that this is singular. This is a sign, the sign.
Matthew 24:3 cont. what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the age?”
And when we get down to verse 14, I’m going to talk a little bit more than I did last time about that sign apparently that He is referring to there.
But this is a subject, as we mentioned last time, that’s
very much on the minds of many people in the
Now remember last time that we mentioned three things that we need to be cognizant of when we go through this chapter. One we already mentioned that the question was asked by those four disciples and His response was to those four disciples. It was to them. And to a great extent, I think, they represented all of us. And His response to them was as if He was responding to all of us. The other thing that we need to take note of is the time setting that this was just two days before His death. Remember you go to Matthew chapter 26 first part, Mark 14 the very first verse, it tells you that that it’s two days until the Passover on which He would die. So that’s the time setting. And then the third thing that we need to realize is that His response in Matthew goes all the way through chapter 25. So it’s all what He said in Matthew 25 is included in His response to this question.
As we pointed out last time there, most of us focus in on the prophetic statements that He makes in this chapter. Actually probably more content involves instruction to the disciples rather than information about events that’s going to happen in the future. He instructs them as to what they should be doing as they consider this material.
So He gave this two days, then, before His death. He gave this response. I’d like to jump forward, which we did not do the time before. Jump forward forty-five days and notice what He said. This is in Acts 1 verses 6 and 7. Hold your place there. Let’s go to Acts chapter 1. Now, how did I come to forty-five days? It’s two days before the Passover. It was three days from the time He died on Passover till He was resurrected from the dead. So beginning on the Sunday following the Sabbath in which He was resurrected, He spent forty days with the disciples, which takes us to forty-five days. Acts chapter 1 and in verse 6.
Acts 1:6. Therefore, when
they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord,
Now this would have been on the fortieth day, I believe, of the forty that He spent with them.
Acts 1:6b. “Lord will You at
this time restore the kingdom to
So, He’s about to ascend back to His Father and the last ten days of the fifty between Wave Sheaf Sunday morning and Pentecost, He would be back at the throne of God with His Father. They would have ten days remaining until Pentecost. And so He’s just told them that not many days from then that they were going to be receiving the Holy Spirit. So they’re asking
Acts 1:6 cont. will You at
this time restore the kingdom to
And I’d ask all of us to just listen to this very simple, straightforward response to that question.
Acts 1:7. And He said to
them, “It is not for you to know times and seasons which the Father has
put in His own authority.
“It’s not for you to know.” No matter how much you would want to know, “it’s not for you to know.” It wasn’t for them to know then and I think when we’re finished today we’re going to see a statement that He made a little bit later in this response to them that takes it right up to us today saying, “You can’t know. You cannot know.”
Now many people have been putting a great deal of effort into trying to determine when Jesus Christ is going to return. I understand the desire to know. I fully understand that. And as I was talking with someone just recently, up till about thirty years ago, I was doing the very same thing. Back in the late seventies, I was spending a great deal of time myself trying to figure out the prophecies, trying to determine when and where and how and all of these things. I wanted to know.
So I understand the desire, but I would ask all of us, all
of you listening in, I’d ask you to just listen to the Head of the Church and
what He is instructing us regarding this.
Very simple statements that He makes.
“You can’t know. You can’t know.” And “it’s not for you to know these
things.” Now He’s going again to address
this again later in His response in Matthew 24 and it’s a very similar response
to their question here: “Will You at
this time restore the kingdom to
Now let’s go back. Let’s go on to verse 3 here and read that again.
Matthew 24:3. Now as He sat
on the
Verse 4.
Matthew 24:4. And Jesus
answered and said to them:
That is to the four. And I think it’s very applicable to us today.
Matthew 24:4b. “Take heed
that no one deceives you.
And we pointed out last time that He puts a great deal of emphasis on His instruction concerning deception and warning them, “Don’t be deceived.”
Verse 5.
Matthew 24:5. “For many will
come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ [but they] will deceive many.
And I mentioned last time that a person who is himself deceived will not realize in passing on certain information that he is deceiving others. And this can actually happen. In other words, someone can actually present information to you that can be very deceptive; he himself not intending it to be so at all, but he himself being sincerely deceived. And I mentioned last time and I want to emphasize this again: the greatest possibility for deception comes from someone in whom you trust. In whom you have developed a certain level of trust that is the person that you’re most vulnerable to being deceived by. So just think about that. Just think about that.
Verse 6 and I don’t want to spend a lot of time. Just give a summary here. Verse 6 through 8.
Matthew 24:6. “And you will
hear of wars and rumors of wars. See
that you are not troubled; for all these
things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7) “For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will
be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8) “All these are the beginning of sorrows.
We pointed out last time that this word “sorrows” in the Greek means the pain of labor. This is a kind of pain that’s compared to the experience a woman goes through in the birthing process.
In Romans 8 verse 22—please don’t turn there—it states
Romans 8:22. For we know
that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
And so the process that we’re going through in the experiences on this earth—and He enumerates several here—result in discomfort likened to a woman going through the birthing process. Now, as I mentioned before, I don’t know this personally, but from what I have observed in this birthing process, one thing that is very consistent from one to the next is that these pains come in a regular—once they start—in most cases a regular fashion.
In other words, many of the problems on this earth—you’ve heard the term—are cyclical. Even the bad weather cycles tend to be in cycles. You’ll have the flooding like we’ve had. We won’t have it again for several years. Then it’ll come back. You’ll have it again. And so on. It’s been cyclical like that. Other things are the same way. They are cyclical. A nation goes through, when a nation forms and begins, it’ll go through a process of development. And then it peaks and generally goes through then the process of decline. It’s a cyclical thing. It’s almost predictable how things will develop in many cases.
The pain of childbirth is regular. Once it starts, it keeps coming. And it keeps coming. And it keeps coming with greater and greater intensity until the birth occurs. And some of those birth pangs right at the last are so severe that it’s almost unbearable at times, almost unbearable.
And perhaps that’s what He’s meaning here. That the experiences that all of humanity experience on this earth are like child pains. They’re cyclical, but they’ve grown in intensity and they become more and more intense as we get toward the end.
Then verses 9 and 10.
Matthew 24:9. “Then they
will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all
nations for My name’s sake. 10) “And
then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
And certainly we have seen this happen. This word “offended” means to be led astray or into sin, fall away from the truth. And so we’ve seen this happen in our day. And as I mentioned the first time—I believe I did—I mentioned that perhaps this has happened repeatedly in Church history down through time. I don’t know. But certainly we’ve seen it happen. And it appeared that it happened at the end of the New Testament Era of the Church.
Then verse 11.
Matthew 24:11. “Then many
false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
“Many false prophets,” Christ said. This is Head of the Church now telling us that “Many false prophets will rise up and [will] deceive many.” Now He had said earlier in Matthew 7 verse 15, He said
Matthew 7:15. “Beware of
false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ravenous wolves.
“They come to you.” Many have come to us in such a manner to obtain our trust. They come to us with certain words that seem very attractive but are deceptive.
Now remember in Acts 20 verse 30 where Paul gathered the elders together and he gave them certain instruction and he said there after his departure that savage wolves would come in and so forth. And then he said, “From among yourselves.”
Acts
We have individuals today that are saying misleading things. We have one individual who claims he is a prophet of God. Claims to be a prophet of God. He claims to be one of the two witnesses. Brethren, he’s been saying misleading things. Claiming to know when the 1335 days will begin right down to the day. Of course, he’s had to change that date. He was wrong with the first date. Now he’s changed to another one. But he claims to know this.
This right here should be a vivid red flag when anyone states that he knows a day because you see if you know when the 1335 days of Daniel 12 begin, you know the exact date of Christ’s return. You can’t know that. You cannot know that.
And so he’s saying misleading things. Now it’s my understanding that he’s been using some kind of google ads or something. In some manner he’s advertising his stuff and he has attracted a great deal of individuals who are college age that bought in to what he’s saying. There’s many of them. It’s just a shame.
But anyway, we need to be careful. He is saying to us, Jesus Christ the Head of the Church is saying, “Many will come.”
Matthew 24:11. “Then many
false prophets will rise up and [they will] deceive many.
Be aware of that! Just be aware of that! And again, anybody stating that they know when a date is in regards to Christ’s return, consider it a red flag. Consider it a red flag.
Verse 12.
Matthew 24:12. “And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
And we’ve discussed this the first time. I’m not going to spend time here today.
Verse 13.
Matthew 24:13. “But he who
endures to the end shall be saved.
So, all of us are required to endure the birth pangs. Paul made that clear again in Romans 8 just quoted a moment ago. No matter when we live from a short time after Christ stated these words until now, we’ve all experienced the birth pangs at different times down through history. No matter when we live!
When He stated these words, He knew that those four would not experience the end time events. He knew that. He knew they were going to live out their lives never having experienced the abomination that makes desolate. They would never see that. But the instruction was for them and that they would have to endure. They would have to endure what experiences that they would have, whatever was extant at the time in which they lived. He knew also that many people who would read these words later would never see it. So He’s giving instruction no matter when we live. Whether it’s prior to or at the time that the end time events are unfolding, we’re to listen up and listen to what He’s got to say. But we have to endure. Whatever it is, whenever we live, we endure it to the end, to the completion of our experience. And then we will be saved, it says.
Verse 14.
Matthew 24:14. “And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come.
And, as I’ve stated in the first part, this statement right here seems to be the only one that answers to “the sign” that they asked for. “What is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” It’s this.
Now one thing that I’d like to take note of here that I
didn’t point out before—hold your place there and go to 1 Corinthians 15 and
verse 1. Here the apostle Paul is going
back now and refreshing the memory of those individuals in
1 Corinthians 15:1. Moreover,
brethren, I declare to you [or I remind you of] the gospel which I preached to
you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2) By which also you are saved, if you hold
fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3) For I delivered to you first of all that
which I also received: that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4) And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures,
Very much a part of the gospel! The fact that Jesus Christ came as our Savior
and died for us is good news! The fact
that He was resurrected from the dead is good news! He went on to talk about throughout the
remainder of this chapter, as a result of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the
dead, we too could look forward to a resurrection from the dead which is good
news! There is a great deal of
information. The fact that we are now
waiting for that resurrection, which if we are granted that, we will have an
opportunity to become part of the very Family of God as the very Bride of Jesus
Christ, which is good news! All of this
is good news and there’s much more that’s good news that does not involve the
But yet here in Matthew 24 it’s very specific and it says
Matthew 24:14. “And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come.
And, as we mentioned before, this word “end” here in the
Greek doesn’t mean an instantaneous end but rather a culmination, a
completion. And, as I mentioned then,
this culmination or completion can take place in a process. It will involve a process, not an
instantaneous thing. And so, when this sign
happens, it’s not right at the time of Christ’s return, but rather there’s a
process of the conclusion or completeness that must take place. So it’s very possible that this sign
has already occurred and that the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom in all
the world may have already occurred. And
we’re waiting now through this process of the end developing. I don’t know.
I’m just presenting that as a possibility. But it’s the only thing that He says that is
a clear sign and it even states here that
Matthew 24:14. “And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come.
So this is the sign that He’s talking about. The question is: Has it already occurred yet or not? That is the question.
Then very quickly verses 15 down through verse 31, we’ll just go over real fast.
Matthew 24:15. “Therefore
when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),
Luke 21 verse 20 makes it clear that it’s when
Matthew 24:16. “Then let
those who are in
So those that are in that part of the world need to very quickly get themselves out of harm’s way.
Matthew 24:17. “Let him who
is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18) “And let him who is in the field not go
back to get his clothes. 19) “But woe to
those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20) “And pray that your flight may not be in
winter or on the Sabbath. 21) “For then
there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of
the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
No doubt what is referred to as “Jacob’s trouble” here being referred to.
Matthew 24:22. “And unless
those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved;
No flesh on the earth would be saved unless these days are shortened.
Matthew 24:22b. [and] for
the elect’s sake those days [are] shortened.
Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think that this means that in order to preserve the saints from death that He intervenes. I don’t think that’s what this means. I think this means that there must be individuals and there must be lives preserved that live over into the Millennium for the elect to participate in the government that will rule over them. So there must be individuals that live over and “for the elect’s sake these days will be shortened” so that flesh will be preserved, so that they will not be snuffed out entirely.
Matthew 24:23. “Then if
anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is
the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24) “For false christs and false prophets
will rise and show great signs and wonders [so as] to deceive, if possible, even
the elect.
So again, the deception increases with intensity as well as we approach the end of the age.
Matthew 24:25. “See, I have
told you beforehand. 26) “Therefore if
they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ Do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ Do not
believe it. 27) “For as the lightning comes from the east
and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28) “For wherever the carcass is, there the
eagles will be gathered together. 29)
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and
the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30) “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31) ‘And He will send His angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So as those who remain alive are caught up into the clouds following those who are resurrected from the dead, He is collecting, gathering together, actually His Bride, those who will make up His Bride at this time.
Now this basically concludes Christ’s enumeration of events that will take place prior to His return. Then the remainder of what He gives is basically instruction. Now there were instructions already that we’ve seen at the beginning of chapter 24, but we’re going to see now even more.
Now as I did last time, I want to go to Luke 21 and verse 36. We’re approaching where we ended last time. Luke 21 and in verse 36, this is the conclusion. In Luke’s account, this is the concluding statement of His response to the four. Notice what He says.
Luke 21:36. “Watch
therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
It’s interesting referring back to the sermonette and Mr. Schmidt’s comments about Esther and the time that it took for her to prepare to stand before the king. And here individuals are going to stand before the King of the entire universe! The King of the earth will come as Lord of lords, King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s going to be individuals that will have an opportunity to stand before Him. Incredible! Absolutely incredible! And as he spoke about the need for Esther to prepare, he also spoke about how that we are to prepare for the weekly Sabbath. And certainly there is a connection between us needing—as he brought out—to prepare for this one thousand year Sabbath that is about to begin here on this earth. We are in, no doubt, the preparation day of the six thousand years. No doubt! How could we not be? We must be in the sixth day. And of all times for individuals who have lived on this earth, we should see the point and the need to be prepared and to be ready for this event when it takes place.
Now as I’ve mentioned before, it’s so hard for us to think in terms of the spiritual realm. There’s so little that we know about it. So little that we know about how to function in the spiritual realm. I mean show me Scriptures in the Bible that tell us and instruct us how to function in the spiritual realm. I don’t think you’ll find them. I haven’t found them. He gives us instructions now as to how we in this physical life can be preparing, certain things we can do in our physical lives to prepare in that way, but to make ourselves ready to stand before the Son, to function as His Bride in the spiritual realm is just beyond us, I think, being able to appreciate and to be able to even make ourselves ready for that. I think, as I pointed out before, that Jesus Christ in the sermon we heard just recently, Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith that He is the one who is seeing to it that we go through experiences on this earth that are working to make us ready, to make us ready and prepare to stand before Him. I don’t think it’s possible for us to sit down and plan out a strategy of things that we would do in making ourselves ready to function in the Family of God. Where would you start? What is it that you would start with? He gives us instruction as to what we should do as human beings now. And, boy, that’s about all we can handle! It’s about all we can handle to follow those instructions that apply to what we are to be doing now in our lives much less preparing our minds for functioning in the spiritual realm. But it’s a wonderful opportunity that we have! And He’s saying here that in order to experience it we are to watch and pray.
Let’s see. Where am I at here? I lost my place.
Let’s back up here to verse 20. I’m not going to read all of this. Verses 20 through 28 actually is just a parallel account of what we read in Matthew 24 of the end time events, the very last events happening before Christ’s return. Then in verse 29, notice what He says, verse 29 to 31.
Luke 21:29. Then He spoke to
them a parable: “Look at the fig tree,
and all the trees.
Not just the fig tree but look at all the trees.
Luke 21:30. “When they are
already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
Now as I said in the first part, when I look at these things I think of spring being near and spring being here. When I see the trees budding and this sort of thing happening, spring is near. And as I said before, when I see the magnolias blooming, I know it’s here. Winter’s past and now spring is here.
But He’s saying that you can see that. You know that. When you see that happening, when you see the flowers begin to bloom and the leaves popping out on the trees, you know that it’s near. It’s right there. We’re at the door of spring and summer.
Verse 31.
Luke 21:31. “So you
[likewise],
Notice this terminology again.
Luke 21:31b. when you see
these things happening, know that the
Know that the
Now back to Matthew 24 and in verse 32. So this is a parallel then to what we just read in Luke.
Matthew 24:32. “Now learn
this parable from the fig tree: when its
branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33) “So you also,
This is the reason why we’re going to read this parallel is to pick this up.
Matthew 24:33. “So you also,
when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the [very] doors!
So until you see all of them. You might see one. As I mentioned last time, those four when
they saw what happened in 70 AD, they probably thought that the abomination
that makes desolate was happening. They
probably thought that. There have been
other times that we’ve pointed to things and we think surely this is a
sign. But He’s saying, “When you see all
these things, when you see all of them happening, then you know that it is
near—at the very door!” The
Now clearly we are to observe world events. In other words, He wouldn’t have said this to us if He didn’t mean for us to be observing and looking and seeing what we can see about what’s happening around us. Clearly we are to be observing these world events. Then we’ll be able to recognize these things as they begin to unfold.
But it’s interesting—the title of the message is Watch And Pray—He concludes with instructions that we are to watch and pray. It’s interesting that where He is clearly instructing us to watch world events, He does not use the word “watch,” but rather He says “When you see, when you see.” But He goes on, then, to give a great deal of instruction. And we haven’t seen anywhere near all of it yet regarding the need for us to watch and pray. And I think many of us have read that in the past and we have thought that the watching has to do with watching world events. It doesn’t, Brethren. We’ll see that as we go through. It’s talking about something else entirely. And we’ll see that.
Now verse 34 of Luke 21. Let’s go back there. Luke 21 and in verse 34 and this, again, continuing to be instructions from the Head of the Church for us.
Luke 21:34. “But take heed
to yourselves,
“Take heed to yourselves.” Now He talked about earlier there, right after He began His response and He said—what did He say? “Take heed regarding false prophets. Take heed that no one deceives you. Take heed that no one deceives you.” Now He’s saying, “Take heed to yourselves.” So He’s going to begin to focus then on the need for individuals to be taking heed as to how we’re conducting our lives. No matter when we live, this would have been applicable to Peter, James, John, Andrew, to anybody who read it later, to us today.
Luke 21:34. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
And “that Day” for most everybody that’s heard what He said was the day of their death. For most everybody “that Day” that came on them unexpectedly was their death. It wasn’t Christ’s return. So many of the firstfruits from the New Testament era are already in the graves, waiting a resurrection from the dead. Their day came.
Luke 21:35. “For it will
come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Now verse 36. We read this already. I won’t need to read it again, but there in verse 36 it gives very clear instruction that there is potential for some to escape these things. There’s potential for certain ones to be able to escape all these things. And there’s also a potential for some to stand before the Son of God. But in each case, notice—let me go back and read this—what is required in order for that to happen.
Luke 21:36. “Watch therefore,
and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
In each case, those who will escape all these things, those who will stand before the Son of Man, have to be accounted worthy to do so. Not that they are worthy, but they have to be accounted worthy to be there and to stand before the Son of Man on that day. And to be accounted worthy to escape all these things and to stand before Christ, He makes it very clear that we must watch and pray. We must watch and pray. So I think it should be easy to see that it’s important for us to know what He’s talking about when He tells us that we are to be watching, that we are to be praying.
Now if He were telling us to watch world events, what would we have to do to be accounted worthy? I want you to think about this one. If He is telling us here that we are to watch world events, what would we have to do to be accounted worthy? We could subscribe to every news source that we possibly could, every magazine, every newspaper, get on the internet and search and find everything that we possibly could about what’s happening on this earth and would that be sufficient for us to be accounted worthy? Is that what He’s talking about? Can we satisfy this requirement by watching world events? Is that what He’s talking about or is there more that we are to do that’s including in this watching and praying?
Now when we put the three accounts together, Christ has much to say about the watching and the praying. And I want to take note of that as we go through this. Mark 13 now. Mark chapter 13, let’s notice what we read there. Mark 13 verse 32. So we’re past any recapping from last time into new material now. Mark 13 verse 32.
Mark
Now let’s continue to read. I’m going to come back to verse 32.
Mark
So this is taking us up to those individuals who is
approaching the end. He had just given
the parable now. He had just given the
parable about watching the trees. You
know when you see the trees budding you know that spring is near or summer’s
near. Likewise when you see all these
things, you know that the
Mark
So because we cannot know, we are to watch and pray. That’s what He’s telling us. “Watch and pray; for [or because] you do not know when the time is.” So since you don’t know and you can’t know, you are to watch and pray.
But let’s back up to this verse 32.
Mark
Now as I’ve said at some point in time, in order for anybody to be able to figure out that day and hour, then you have to render this statement no longer applicable. You have to render this invalid at this point. So somehow we got to reason that. If you can’t reason that, then you can’t know. You cannot know.
Now a question comes up here. Does Christ know now? I’ll ask this question. Does the Father know now? Did He know then when He made this statement? Think about this one.
Mark
So only the Father will make the determination as to when it is, but did He know then? Did He know then? I don’t know. I don’t have the answer. I’ll just present this to you.
You know the traditions of marriage that we’ve gone through
so many times are parallel—the traditions of marriage in the Jewish tradition
in Israel at the time of the writing of the Bible parallels the marriage of
Jesus Christ to the Church far more perfectly than our traditions in our
country. If we think about those things
when it mentions marriage in the Bible and compare it to the traditions in this
country, it doesn’t play out very well.
But when you compare it to the traditions in
And there, as you recall, a man and a woman would enter into an espousal period in which time the wife was to make herself ready for that particular husband. And the husband to be would send instructions through the friend of the bridegroom to his future bride as to what he expected of her and she would spend this time preparing herself for her role.
Now what we haven’t emphasized a whole lot is that during the same espousal period, what was the man doing? The husband to be? He was back at his father’s residence, usually. When the father had the typical spread of land, the children would end up living on that land. The man would go back to his father’s residence and he would there prepare a dwelling place for he and his future wife to dwell in. And he would proceed to prepare this building for them to live in while his bride to be is making herself ready to be his bride.
Now what is interesting about this is that the husband to be did not—he wasn’t the one that made the determination as to when the dwelling was completed. It was his father. His father would determine. “Okay, son, you’re properly prepared. Go and get your bride.” Now you understand why that would have been because a young man filled with the vim and vinegar and a young lady, they would rush this process as quickly as they could. And he’d throw that shack up real, real fast, no doubt. But his father would not permit that. He would require, the father would require his son to go through the proper steps to properly prepare.
Now with that in mind, let’s go to John 14. Hold your place in Mark. John 14 and let’s read this. Jesus Christ here speaking to His disciples on Passover evening prior to His death after He had given them the Passover symbols, John 14 verse 1.
John 14:1. “Let not your
heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2) “In My Father’s house [My Father’s
residence] are many mansions; if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
“I go.” Now, once again, it’s very hard for us to relate to the spiritual realm. I don’t know how this compares. I don’t know what it is He’s preparing. In the spiritual realm, He’s preparing a place for us. I doubt that He is building a building for us to reside in. I don’t think that at all, but you have to think this as it parallels to the spiritual realm and again we can’t get our minds around it fully. But what is He doing now? How is He preparing a place for His Bride which includes—if we understand it right—a hundred and forty-four thousand different individuals? He’s preparing a place for them.
John 14:3. “And if I go and
prepare a place for you,
Verse 3.
John 14:3b. I will come
again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
This is clearly a reference to His return to collect or assemble His Bride and that Bride is going to fill whatever role it is that He’s preparing for them. Ever how this plays out in the spiritual realm, this is being done. Now, if the parallel carries through that the Father is the one that determines when the preparation is complete and it’s ready, then I just want to ask a question: Did He know, did the Father know the date then? He might not have, but He is the one that determines. He’s the one that will make the determination as to when it is. And He will tell His Son, “Okay, it’s time to go get Your Bride.”
Is that what Christ is referring to here when He says, “Of that day and hour no one knows, [neither] the angels in heaven, nor the Son”—I don’t know when it’s going to be—“but only [My] Father” knows? Again, He may not have known that exact date then, but He’s the one that will determine and make it known.
Then verse 33 again, here in Mark 13 verse 33.
Mark
So this is instruction for those alive at the close of the age here. “Take heed, watch and pray; [because] you do not know” and you cannot know when it’s going to be. This is something we’re to do because we do not know. We cannot know. We’re to be doing this. We’re to be watching and praying.
Now back to Matthew 24 verse 36. It’s interesting here what it says. Matthew 24 verse 36 through verse 39.
Matthew 24:36. “But of that
day and hour no one knows, [no,] not even the angels of heaven, but My Father
only. 37) “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son
of Man be. 38) “For as in the days
before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39) “And did not know until the flood came
and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(Donna missed it. Donna says she fills that glass of water every time here and I never use it. So I just took a sip from it and she missed it. Ha, ha, ha. She’s clapping.)
Okay, this coming is likened to Noah. And why? How does that work? What is He talking about? Why does He go there?
Think about something. Noah knew that the flood was coming. God had given him that information. The flood was coming. Compare that to us knowing that the end of this age is coming. The tribulation is coming. The abomination that makes desolate is coming. These things are going to happen. They’re written in prophecy. They’re going to happen. And they’re going to happen right when they’re supposed to. So He’s likening it to that.
He, Noah, did not know when the flood was coming like us. He didn’t know. He really didn’t know, I don’t think, exactly how much time he had to get it done, but he knew he had to get it done. Now God instructed him as to what to do in order to escape the flood. He had to build the ark.
By the way, I just saw. Somebody sent me an e-mail just recently where somebody’s got a working replica now of the ark. The thing floats. It’s got the whole, everything partitioned off inside. It’s pretty neat. Anyway I got an e-mail of that. Anybody interested, maybe I can forward that to you. It’s interesting.
But our instruction to watch and pray is so that we can escape all these things. It’s interesting. So we’re given this instruction. Noah was given instruction. We were given instruction. Noah could not have known when the flood would come by watching conditions around him. He could not have known. No way he could have known. If he would have waited till the clouds began to form and the rains began to fall, it would have been too late. There’s no way he could have gotten the ark prepared. Observing events was not necessary for him to be prepared. Following God’s instructions was necessary. It was necessary for him to escape.
Back to Matthew 24 verse 40. Now this is interesting. I’m not sure entirely what to do with this, but let’s just take note of this. Matthew 24 verse 40.
Matthew 24:40. “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41) “Two women
will be grinding at the mill: one
will be taken and the other left. 42)
“Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
This word “taken” is paralambano in the Greek. It means to receive, to take near to oneself, to receive to oneself. It’s interesting that Scripture we just read in John 14 where Christ is going to come back and He’s going to “receive” us to Himself, same word, same word. It means that very same thing, “taken.”
So here, “two men will be in the field: one will be taken”—paralambano, received to Himself—“the other will be left.”
Now this is interesting. Turn to 1 Corinthians 7. Hold your place there. Turn to 1 Corinthians 7.
This word “left” means to send forth or away, let go from oneself. To send forth or away, let go from oneself.
1 Corinthians 7 verse 10.
1 Corinthians 7:10. Now to
the married I command, yet not I but
the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11) But even if she does depart, let her
remain unmarried or be reconciled to her
husband. And a husband is not to divorce
his wife. 12) But to the rest I, not the Lord,
say: if any brother has a wife who does
not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce
her. 13) And a woman who has a husband
who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce
him.
It’s interesting. These three words here where it’s rendered “divorce” is the same Greek word that rendered “left” here. Is there a connection?
Matthew 24:40. “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken [near] and the other [will be] left. 41) “Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42) “Watch, therefore, for you do not know
Once again, “Watch, therefore, for [because] you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” So the instruction is for us to watch. Perhaps in order to be accounted worthy to be “taken” and not “left.”
Matthew 25 verse 1. Now I think all of you know this is the parable of the ten virgins. And I’m certainly not going to go through today and try to explain that to you, but what I want to get to is the conclusion of it. At the conclusion of this parable about the ten virgins, He says, verse 13
Matthew 25:13. “Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is
coming.
So because we can’t know, we are to watch.
Back up in verse 10.
Matthew 25:10. “And while
they went to buy,
Now again, connect this with what we just read—some will be taken, the other left. This is talking about a marriage here. The Parable Of The Ten Virgins is all about a marriage.
Verse 10.
Matthew 25:10. “And while
they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in
Those who were ready, who were prepared went in.
Matthew 25:10b. with him to
the wedding and the door was shut.
So, some were taken near. Others were left.
Matthew 25:13. “Watch
therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour
Then chapter 24 verse 43 is a key verse here. Matthew 24 verse 43.
Matthew 24:43. “But know
this,
This is all part of His response here.
Matthew 24:43. “But know
this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come,
he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Now there’s about three—I think there’s three different words—at least three that are rendered “watch.” One has to do with staying awake and that’s the one that’s used most. It simply means stay awake, stay alert. And it is particularly connected with the military watches.
Now this word “hour” here in The King James Version is rendered
Matthew 24:43b. if the
goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
And that’s what this “hour” here means. It’s what watch of the night. If he knew when the thief was coming, he
would have watched. He would have been
awake during that watch period. Now the
military watches were set up. There were
four of them. The first ended at
Verse 44.
Matthew 24:44. “Therefore
you also be ready,
So we can’t know when it is. So we are to be watching at all times, in other words, and we are to be ready at all times. Clearly there’s a connection between being ready and watching.
Matthew 24:44b. for the Son
of Man is coming at an hour [when] you do not expect.
So the watching here in verse 43 is for the purpose of preventing a thief from breaking into our house. So if you knew when it was coming, you would have watched and not permitted that house to be broken into. It’s for the purpose of guarding and protecting what is inside the house.
Now let’s go to Mark chapter 13. Mark 13. I’m going to hustle here. Mark 13 and verse 32 this time. I think we read a couple of these before, but I’m going to continue reading on down.
Mark
Verse 32 of Mark 13.
Mark
So He’s likening it now to an individual going to a far country.
Mark 13:34b. who left his house
and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the
doorkeeper to watch.
Now a doorkeeper, what is the duty of a doorkeeper?
Let’s very quickly go to John 10. Hold your place there. Let’s go to John chapter 10 and verse 1.
John 10:1. “Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up
some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2) “But he who enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. 3) “To him
the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep
by name and leads them out.
So the doorkeeper has charge of the door or the gate or, in other words, the entry point. He has a responsibility to guard against someone getting into, and in that case of a doorkeeper of a sheepfold some animal even getting into it. But he had a responsibility to guard against someone getting into that sheepfold, an enemy or a thief, or some animal that could destroy. And it’s for the purpose of protecting the valuables inside. Whether it’s a sheepfold or whether it’s a house, the doorkeeper has a responsibility to protect and to guard.
Now verse 35 of Mark 13.
Mark
And here are those four watches.
Mark 13:35b. in the evening
[which ends at
So if we are not watching, we will be sleeping, in other words. This word simply means to remain awake, to remain alert to what’s happening.
Now if you remember, many of us referred to our state when the apostasy began with the Church, we referred to our state as being “asleep.” We were asleep. We weren’t cognizant of what was going on. We didn’t recognize it at first because we were spiritually sleeping. Many of us used those terms.
Verse 37, it goes on to say
Mark
So, all of us are to remain awake, to remain alert. All of us have been assigned the task then of a doorkeeper. We all have the task of a doorkeeper. All of us are to watch. God has entrusted each of us with information that is incredibly valuable and He’s instructed us to guard it, to not allow a thief to break in and take it from us. We’re to guard it. We’re to protect it no matter what the conditions are that are extant around us.
Now I want to go to a most critical section of Scripture—Matthew 26—as He, Jesus Christ Himself, is going to show us, tell us what this watching is all about and how it applied to Him when He was facing His death as a human being here on the earth. Matthew 26 and verse 36.
Matthew 26:36. Then Jesus
came with them to a place called
Now we’re going to see that He was watching and He was praying at this time.
Matthew 26:37. And He took
with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
It’s interesting that’s Peter, James, and John once again. On this critical period of time for Him, He’s got those three with Him.
Matthew 26:37b. and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
And we’ve gone into this before and tried to get our minds around a little bit at least of what He’s going through. It was incredible. He was under incredible stress at this time as a human being as He was facing up to His death.
And then verse 38.
Matthew 26:38. “Then He said
to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Now was He watching for Judas and the boys to come? No. That was going to happen and they were coming. But that’s not what He’s talking about here because let’s just watch and let’s just listen to what He says. Verse 39.
Matthew 26:39. He went a
little farther and [He] fell on His face, and [He] prayed, saying, “O My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me;
He was about to have to drink a cup that He did not want to drink. As a human being, He did not want to drink this cup. And He’s saying
Matthew 26:39b. “O My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I
will, but as You will.”
So He’s praying. He’s going to ask this three times. He’s going to pray three times to His Father and ask that this not have to happen, but He’s saying if it does, it does.
Matthew 26:40. Then He came
to the disciples and found them [not watching],
He found them asleep.
Matthew 26:40b. and [He]
said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41) “Watch and pray,
Notice here He’s going to tell us very clearly what He’s talking about.
Matthew 26:41. “Watch
and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
What was He struggling with here? He wasn’t wanting to follow through with what He knew He had to do. He wasn’t wanting to do it. And, He was, no doubt, tempted to cut and run here. As a human being, He wasn’t wanting to face up to what He was going to have to face up to. He wasn’t wanting to. And He was watching and praying so that He would not give in to the temptation to cut and run.
That’s what this is all about, Brethren. We are to be awake. We’re to be alert as to what would take us out of this picture. What is it that would take you out? What is it that would take me out? What is it that would be tempting enough for us to cut and run, to turn away from what God has clearly instructed that we have to stick with, that we are to endure to the very end? What is it? What is it that would tempt us to walk away?
Matthew 26:41. “Watch
and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
But as He very much knew
Matthew 26:41b. the flesh is weak.”
He said of Himself He could do nothing. It was the Father within Him that did the work. He trusted in the Father. He was praying to the Father. Now what’s the praying got to do? It’s very clear. Jesus Christ had a very intimate and a very personal relationship with His Father. And in this prayer, He was continuing and maintaining and sustaining that relationship with His Father. And that’s what His instruction to us it’s so important that we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, with the Father, as He is finishing us, as we’re going through the finishing process. It’s so important that we have this proper relationship with Him, that we are alert and awake and very much aware of what the temptations are and praying to the Father in an intimate way that He’ll provide us the help that we need to avoid giving in.
In 1 Peter 5 verse 8, let’s go there very quickly. 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, a very familiar Scripture. You may not know about this one particular word though. 1 Peter 5 verse 8.
1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be
vigilant;
Same Greek word that is rendered “watch,” which means stay awake.
1 Peter 5:8. Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
He is coming at us from all directions. On all levels we must remain awake and alert.
In Revelation 3 verse 11, Revelation 3 verse 11.
Revelation 3:11. “Behold, I
[come] quickly!
He said.
Revelation 3:11. “Behold, I
[come] quickly! Hold fast what you have,
that no one may take your crown.
It’s interesting how The Amplified renders that.
Revelation 3:11. “I am
coming quickly! Hold fast what you have
so that no one may rob you
If the thief knew what hour of the night that the—or the owner would know, the master would know what hour the thief would come, he would be watching during that time.
Revelation 3:11. “I am
coming quickly! Hold fast what you have,
Guard it! Protect it!
Revelation 3:11b. so that no
one may rob you and deprive you of your crown.
Jesus Christ was going through that battle. He knew we would be going through a battle of temptation and He’s telling us, “Guard. Guard what you have. Stay awake. Stay alert.”
We’ll end with Luke 21. Let’s go back and read that one more time. Luke 21 and in verse 36 where He said
Luke 21:36. “Watch
therefore,
And I think hopefully we got a little bit better idea of what He’s talking about there.
Luke 21:36. “Watch
therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Transcribed kb