Be a boy scout

[B-A-C]

Back in my Jr high school days,... ah... how long ago was that now? Back in those days being a boy scout was more popular.
But the motto of the Boy Scouts is "Be Prepared". The obvious question was... "for what?". The honest answer was... "For anything".

It seems most of my life I've had jobs that required me to be prepared. Many of you know I was a fireman for many years.
We slept in the fire stations. Not far from the fire engines. The fire engines were full of gas, water tanks full of water. Fire hoses all
folded and ready to go. Air tanks were full of air. We slept with bunker pants pulled down over our boots. In case an alarm came in while we were sleeping, all
we had to do was step into our boot and yank our pants up. We were usually on the back of the truck rolling out the station in less than 30
or 40 seconds.

Even today, I tend to be a creature of habit, I have the coffee machine already setup with coffee in it, it automatically start making coffee at 6am.
My cell phone is next to the bed with the alarm set for 6:10. I already have the clothes picked out that I'm going to work tomorrow.
They are on the back of the chair at the end of the bed.

... so... what does all of this have to do with the Bible?

The new testament is full of dozens of verses like these?


Matt 24:42; "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
Matt 25:13; "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Mark 13:35; "Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—
Mark 13:37; "What I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'"
Acts 20:31; "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
1 Cor 16:13; Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Eph 6:18; With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
1 Thes 5:6; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
Luke 11:35; "Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.

Why would there be so many verses telling Christians to be alert, be awake, be sober?

1 Pet 4:7; The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
Rev 16:15; ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")

What does this mean? I can never take a nap? The Bible says Jesus is coming like a thief in the night a few times, what does that mean?

Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
1Thes 5:2; For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

It seems thieves come when you are least expecting it. When you are least prepared. Hopefully when you are either asleep or not at home.
All of these verses seem to be pointing to a time when Jesus is coming back.

Matt 24:27; "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Who is the "Son of Man"? Jesus of course.

1 Cor 15:52; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

How fast is lightning? Have you ever seen it flash across the sky? How long is the twinkling of an eye? Have you ever blinked?

 

[B-A-C]

Matt 24:36; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Matt 24:37; "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matt 24:38; "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,
Matt 24:39; and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt 24:40; "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:41; "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:42; "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Life goes on... every morning the sun rises, and every evening it goes on. Life never changed, it's always the same... or is it?

2 Pet 3:3; Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
2 Pet 3:4; and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

The world doesn't believe Jesus is coming back. In fact they don't believe in Jesus at all.

Matt 24:44; "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matt 24:45; "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
Matt 24:46; "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
Matt 24:47; "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Matt 24:48; ''But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
Matt 24:49; and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
Matt 24:50; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
Matt 24:51; and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What will you be doing when Jesus returns? For some people it seems they are living on the edge, life is a gamble.
They only berate people and abuse on even days of the month. They only go out and get drunk on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Hopefully Jesus won't come back on one of "those" days.

I am often asked, "are these verses about the rapture or the second coming?" The honest truth is... I don't know. But I know He is coming back.
The real question is... will we be ready? These passages aren't only about when He comes back, but even about where your life is when you die.
What if you died tonight? Would you be ready?

Luke 17:28; "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
Luke 17:29; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:30; "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 17:31; "On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.
Luke 17:32; "Remember Lot's wife.
Luke 17:33; "Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Luke 17:34; "I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
Luke 17:35; "There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.
Luke 17:36; ["Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."]

Remember the 10 virgins. 5 were taken, 5 were left. Five of them went back to the store to buy oil. But we need to be ready, don't go back down into your house.
Don't go back into your field. You won't have time. You only have a second, a flash of lightning, a blink of an eye. Be ready, be alert, be awake.

Remember Lot's wife...
Gen 19:26; But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Don't stop and turn around. There is no time for remorse, or reminiscing. If you love this world that much, you might not like heaven.
But honestly... ask yourself... "Am I prepared"? Are you a boy scout?

 

[B-A-C]

1 Thes 4:14; For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1 Thes 4:15; For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thes 4:16; For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
1 Thes 4:17; Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
1 Thes 4:18; Therefore comfort one another with these words.

.. are you ready?

 

[Dave M]

1 Thes 4:16; For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

this verse is very interesting verse that I just recently had a eye opener about. the word HIMSELF seems to me to suggest that this is what all the versus are talking about when they say like a thief in the night. That Christ could come at any time. Here Christ seems to come with out all the saints in heaven, . And he stays in the air, i. So as you say BAC but more importantly :smile: as the bible says, we better be ready, great bible study!! Just the other day I was out with some friends, and one of them half joking said he was going to wait until he was in Hospice, that he was not ready yet to give his life to Jesus. This is exactly the stuff the bible warns us about yet most are blind to it, what a privileged to be able to see with spiritual eyes.

1 Thessalonians 4 -16, 17
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Now in other parts of scripture Christ second coming is described as clearing out all of heaven to come with him,
Matthew 24:31
And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.