Only Those Who Wash Their Robes In The Blood Of The Lamb Will Be Ready For The Hour Of His Coming But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32) We Know That The Hour - youtube/watch?v=W6epIj3vTCM What a powerful reminder from the Lord. No man knows the hour of the coming of Jesus Christ. Although this is fact established by the Bible, the Lord has not left us without any information. He has provided signs that will foretell that He is coming soon. Make no mistake the signs are foretelling that the moment is nearing. Examine carefully the state of our world today. The love of men has waxed cold. The radical Muslim group ISIS is causing major problems for Christians and others in Syria and Iraq. Wars in other parts of the world just demonstrate the extent of selfishness that exists in this earth. The Bible reminds us that the state of the world prior to the second coming of Jesus would be similar to that of people who lived in the period before the flood. The Bible said that the heart of these people was “evil continually”. Do you know what it means to be living in an area where all the thoughts of all the people are evil continually? My friend; while it is important to understand the signs that will foretell the second coming of Jesus, it is more important to make our calling and election sure. Instead of focusing so much on what is happening in the world around us, we would be focusing on fortifying our minds with the word of truth. We should be focusing on surrendering every single area of our lives to the total control of the Holy Spirit. Only those of us who have allowed the Holy Spirit to take full control of every single area of our lives will be ready to meet Jesus when He comes the second time. Please bear “in mind” that no one knows the day or the hour when the son of man will come. Only the Father knows that time. This same Jesus, compassionate, tender, is coming again. On the Mount of Olives he told his disciples the signs that will precede his coming. But the day and the hour of his coming he has not revealed. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is God’s mystery. The whole world is full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security. Men are putting far off the coming of the Lord. They laugh at warnings. The proud boast is made, “All things continue as they were from the beginning.” “Tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.” We will go deeper into pleasure-loving. But Christ says, “Behold, I come as a thief.” At the very time when the world is asking in scorn, “Where is the promise of his coming?” the signs are fulfilling. While they cry, “Peace and safety,” sudden destruction is coming. When the scorner, the rejecter of truth, has become presumptuous; when the routine of work in the various money-making lines is carried on without regard to principle; when the student is eagerly seeking knowledge of everything but his Bible, Christ comes as a thief. The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure-lovers are still crowding to theatres, horse-races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation’s hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied, and entranced until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy forever shut. Christ is coming with clouds and great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved him, and kept his commandments and to take them to himself. He has not forgotten them nor his promise. There will be a re-linking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” A little longer and we shall see the King in his beauty, and he will present us “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” Wherefore, when he gave the signs of his coming, he said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (The Watchman, October 3, 1905, - Ellen G. White) The exact day and hour of Christ’s coming have not been revealed. The Saviour told his disciples that he himself could not make known the hour of his second appearing. But he mentioned certain events by which they might know when his coming was near. The signs in the sun, moon, and stars have been fulfilled. Since that time earthquakes, tempests, tidal waves, pestilence, and famine have multiplied. The most awful destructions, by fire and flood, are following one another in quick succession. The terrible disasters that are taking place from week to week speak to us in earnest tones of warning, declaring that the end is near, that something great and decisive will soon of necessity take place. Probationary time will not continue much longer. Now God is withdrawing his restraining hand from the earth. Long has he been speaking to men and women through the agency of his Holy Spirit; but they have not heeded the call. Now he is speaking to his people, and to the world, by his judgments. The time of these judgments is a time of mercy for those who have not yet had opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; his hand is still stretched out to save. Large numbers will be admitted to the fold of safety who in these last days will hear the truth for the first time. (Review and Herald, November 22, 1906, - Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 11:37:46 +0000