Monday, February 5, 2024

PT-4 "Alertness" (Matt. 24:37-42)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/5/2024 8:34 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  PT-4 “Alertness”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matt. 24:37-42

 

            Message of the verses:  37 "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39  and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

 

            I have been writing in the last few SD’s what the attitude and response that will prevail before the coming of the Son of Man.  This was displayed in the verses that speak of what went on in the days of Noah.  Now I want to quote from MacArthur’s commentary and pray that those who read this will pay special attention to what he writes:  “The previous signs, the abomination of desolation, the disruption of the heavenly bodies, and the preaching of God’s witnesses during the Tribulation will have no effect on the majority of men. (Italics added) They will see God’s signs but attribute them to natural causes or to supernatural causes apart from God.  They will hear His Word, in one instance supernaturally preached worldwide by an angel (Rev. 15:6-7), but they will respond with disdain or indifference.  They will heed neither warnings nor appeals from God up until the very moment the Son of Man appears to confront them in righteous judgment.”    This, to me, sounds just like what happened when Noah preached for 120 years, and then when he and his family got into the ark and then God shut the door which singled the end of the people’s time who were on earth as the witnessing was over, and will be over when the Lord returns.

 

            I have heard it said, and I believe it, that there will be the biggest harvest of souls that ever happened during the Tribulation period.  First of all we read of the 144,000 Jews who will come to Christ almost immediately after the Tribulation period begins.  There are also the two witnesses who will preach the gospel, and as mentioned there will be an angel in heaven who will preach the gospel, and then you couple that with those who become believers will also tell others the good news of the gospel.  With all of that said this time of the tribulation will be dominated not by belief but by unbelief, not by holiness but by wickedness, not by godliness but by ungodliness.  It will be epitomized by secularism and false religion, even as most of the world is today, but to an immeasurably worse degree.  One of the problems during the Tribulation period is that many, many believers will die for the cause of Christ.  I have read that three out of four believers will actually die for the cause of Christ during this time period.

 

            As mentioned this time period of the Tribulation will be similar to the days of Noah, which is one of the points that the Lord is making. 

 

            I will start this next section which begins with the following:  then there shall be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.  MacArthur then writes “Jesus is giving a figure parallel of the unbelievers of Noah’s day being taken away in judgment through the Flood.  When He returns, one will be taken to judgment and the other will be left to enter the kingdom.  This is the same separation (46).  The ones left will be Christ’s sheep, His redeemed people whom He will preserve to reign with Him during the Millennium.”

 

            One more comment from the quote from Peter’s sermon on Pentecost where he said in Acts 2:20-21 “20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (ESV).  In this final moment when the King comes to establish His kingdom, some people will turn to Christ in sincere faith and be redeemed.  They will be set apart as the Lord’s sheep by the angels and will inherit the kingdom prepared for them.

 

            2/5/2024 9:19 AM

 

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