Preparing for the End of the World by Russell M. Stendal

Author:Russell M. Stendal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aneko Press
Published: 2016-01-06T23:50:42+00:00

Chapter 5

Staying Awake

1 Thessalonians 5

(5:1) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

(5:2) For ye know well that the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night.

(5:3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

False teachers are even now proclaiming peace and safety. They teach that the universal church (including even the lukewarm churches) will soon be raptured and thus there is nothing to worry about. They teach that we can relax because the battle is over. They cite the promises of God involving Israel and the church as if God were a slick sales agent making real estate deals and Jesus a shyster lawyer getting unrepentant criminals off the hook. They say “Peace and safety” to those who are still mired in iniquity. In the short term, this makes people happy; in the long term, however, there may be a terrible price to pay.

All of God’s covenants are conditional on God’s people being faithful and obedient. Whether or not our hearts are clean is of monumental importance as the day of the Lord approaches. Those who are in darkness will never see that day coming until they are taken by the Lord “as a thief in the night.”

(5:4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should take you as a thief.

(5:5) Ye are all the sons of light, and the sons of the day; we are not of the night, nor of the darkness.

Those who are of the darkness (even within Israel and the church) will be taken as a thief – that is, that day will take them with the shock and surprise of a thief invading their homes in the hours of darkness. If we are the sons of light, the sons of the day, then even though we will not know the day nor the hour in advance, we will know enough about the times and the seasons to know that the Lord could come at any time. We are closer now than ever. Now is the time to lift up our heads. Now is the time to look up and pay attention to what God is doing and not get distracted by other, lesser things.

It will avail us nothing to have intellectual understanding of the Scriptures and even of the time and the season that we are now living in, if our hearts are not clean. Whoever has a clean heart and is dedicated to pleasing the Lord will be saved from the wrath to come, even if they don’t understand all the prophetic details of what is about to happen. Those who have clean hearts will receive direct revelation from God.

Jesus said that if we keep his commandments, we are his friends. He gave us only one new commandment: that we are to love one another even as he has loved us.

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