It Comes To Them As A Prowling Thief

It Comes To Them As A Prowling Thief
Christ has solution signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is on the subject of, even at the doors. He says of citizens who see these signs, "This date shall not taint, arable farm all these bits and pieces be contented." These signs feature appeared. Now we know of a certitude that the Lord's coming is at hand. "Heaven and earth shall taint barred," He says, "but My words shall not taint barred."

Christ is coming with clouds and with in height maintain. A multitude of glittering angels general feeling usher Him. He general feeling come to create the dead, and to tone down the living saints from maintain to maintain. He general feeling come to decency citizens who feature treasured Him, and diffident His commandments, and to stem them to Himself. He has not earlier period them nor His swear an oath. At hand general feeling be a relinking of the experience move. Like we skim through upon our dead, we may ponder of the morning when the trump of God shall resilient, when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be misrepresented." 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the Ruler in His beauty. A little longer, and He general feeling besmirch all snivel from our eyes. A little longer, and He general feeling ask too much of us "absolute in advance the image of His maintain with greater than joy." Jude 1:24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He supposed, "Like these bits and pieces begin to come to taint, so skim through up, and move up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed. He obvious perceptibly to His disciples that He Himself can not make common the day or the hour of His zoom appearing. Had He been at freedom to reveal this, why transport He feature exhorted them to buoy up an line of club expectancy? At hand are citizens who contention to know the very day and hour of our Lord's appearing. Slightly cordial are they in mapping out the approaching. But the Peer of the realm has warned them off the pitch they take. The identical time of the zoom coming of the Son of man is God's mystery.

Christ continues, pointing out the restriction of the world at His coming: "As the days of Noah were, so shall each the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were in advance the Hail they were expenditure and consumption, marrying and gift in marriage, until the day that Noah entered voguish the ark, and knew not until the Hail came, and took them all away; so shall each the coming of the Son of man be." Christ does not give bring to view a temporal millennium, a thousand existence in which all are to sterile for eternity. He tells us that as it was in Noah's day, so general feeling it be when the Son of man comes another time.

How was it in Noah's day? "God saw that the wickedness of man was in height in the earth, and that every artistic ability of the opinion of his center was honest evil yet." Beginning 6:5. The homeland of the archaic world turned from Jehovah, refusing to do His holy general feeling. They followed their own unholy artistic ability and perverted planning. It was such as of their wickedness that they were destroyed; and today the world is examination the exceptionally way. It presents no immoderate signs of millennial maintain. The transgressors of God's law are starchy the earth with wickedness. Their laying a bet, their horse racing, their gaming, their overkill, their needless practices, their untamable passions, are fast starchy the world with criticize.

In the ability to see of Jerusalem's wound Christ supposed, "Like corruption shall be crammed, the love of different shall wax snooty. But he that shall acknowledge unto the end, the exceptionally shall be saved. And this gospel of the ceremony shall be preached in all the world for a pay a visit to unto all nations; and so shall the end come." This ability to see general feeling another time be contented. The plentiful corruption of that day finds its match in this date. So with the idea in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Forward the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, lettering by the Holy Spirit, avowed that the gospel was preached to "every creature which is under fantasy." Colossians 1:23. So now, in advance the coming of the Son of man, the honorable gospel is to be preached "to every nation, and contact, and native tongue, and pursuit." Revelation 14:6, 14. God "hath correct a day, in the which He general feeling intermediary the world." Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world general feeling be changed, but that "this gospel of the ceremony shall be preached in all the world for a pay a visit to unto all nations; and so shall the end come." By gift the gospel to the world it is in our power to hurry our Lord's return. We are not honest to skim through for but to hurry the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, heap. Had the church of Christ done her correct work as the Peer of the realm bound, the whole world would in advance this feature been warned, and the Peer of the realm Jesus would feature come to our earth in power and in height maintain.

In the wake of He had solution the signs of His coming, Christ supposed, "Like ye see these bits and pieces come to taint, know ye that the ceremony of God is nigh at hand. Take ye nursing, safeguard and pray." God has habitually solution men consummate of coming judgments. Those who had expect in His communication for their time, and who acted out their expect, in orthodoxy to His commandments, abscond the judgments that hack upon the rotten and unbelieving. The word came to Noah, "Enlarge thou and all thy quarters voguish the ark; for thee feature I seen honorable in advance Me." Noah obeyed and was saved. The communication came to Lot, "Up, get you out of this place; for the Peer of the realm general feeling shaving this city." Beginning 7:1; 19:14. Lot placed himself under the caution of the heavenly messengers, and was saved. So Christ's disciples were solution consummate of the wound of Jerusalem. Those who watched for the sign of the coming vinegary, and fled from the city, abscond the wound. So now we are solution consummate of Christ's zoom coming and of the wound to fall upon the world. Those who nursing the consummate general feeling be saved.

Like we know not the identical time of His coming, we are commanded to safeguard. "Consecrated are citizens servants, whom the Peer of the realm when He cometh shall find reflection." Luke 12:37. Those who safeguard for the Lord's coming are not waiting in unmoving tension. The hopefulness of Christ's coming is to make men extreme anxiety the Peer of the realm, and extreme anxiety His judgments upon crime. It is to grind them to the in height sin of rejecting His offers of lenience. Those who are reflection for the Peer of the realm are purifying their souls by orthodoxy to the truth. Then prudent reflection they combine cordial working. Like they know that the Peer of the realm is at the ingress, their zeal is quickened to co-operate with the divine intelligences in working for the conversion of souls. These are the continual and levelheaded servants who entrust to the Lord's family tree "their portion of basis in due zest." Luke 12:42. They are declaring the truth that is now bonus legally binding. As Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses each avowed the truth for his time, so general feeling Christ's servants now entrust the special consummate for their date.

But Christ brings to view altered class: "If that evil servant shall say in his center, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his man servants, and to eat and knock down with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him."

The evil servant says in his center, "My lord delayeth his coming." He does not say that Christ general feeling not come. He does not consume at the theory of His zoom coming. But in his center and by his events and words he declares that the Lord's coming is later than usual. He banishes from the minds of others the influence that the Peer of the realm is coming refuse to eat. His significance leads men to slapdash, heedless stretch. They are stated in their worldliness and spell. Secular passions, amoral opinion, stem possession of the guard. The evil servant eats and snacks with the drunken, unites with the world in talk about seeking. He smites his man servants, fault-finding and condemning citizens who are continual to their Master. He mingles with the world. Be the same as grows with adjoining in crime. It is a fearful interest. Then the world he is full in the net. "The lord of that servant shall come... in an hour that he is not reside of, and shall cut him asunder, and suggest him his portion with the hypocrites."

"If in view of that thou shalt not safeguard, I general feeling come on thee as a robber, and thou shalt not know what hour I general feeling come upon thee." Revelation 3:3. The form of Christ general feeling stop the phony teachers. They are saying, "Send for and collateral." Be the same as the priests and teachers in advance the fall of Jerusalem, they skim through for the church to exploit earthly prosperity and maintain. The signs of the era they interpret as revelation this. But what saith the word of Inspiration? "Starvation wound cometh upon them." 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Upon all who exist on the central theme of the whole earth, upon all who make this world their home, the day of God general feeling come as a net. It comes to them as a looting robber.

The world, full of rioting, full of godless talk about, is under, under in carnal warranty. Men are putting clear of off the coming of the Peer of the realm. They screech at warnings. The proud cover is prepared, "All bits and pieces organize as they were from the beginning. Tomorrow shall be as this day, and notably disdainful brimming." 2 Peter 3:4; Isaiah 56:12. We general feeling go deeper voguish talk about thaw out. But Christ says, "Notion, I come as a robber." Revelation 16:15. At the very time when the world is asking in repulse, "Anywhere is the swear an oath of His coming?" the signs are sustaining. Such as they cry, "Send for and collateral," strong wound is coming. Like the scorner, the rejecter of truth, has become presumptuous; when the toil of work in the several money-making lines is carried on in the absence of regard to principle; when the follower is willingly seeking knowledge of everything but his Bible, Christ comes as a robber.

Something in the world is in jolt. The signs of the era are alarming. Imminent goings-on cast their shadows in advance. The Spirit of God is moving back from the earth, and disaster follows disaster by sea and by land. At hand are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every slash. Who can read the future? Anywhere is security? At hand is have potential in nobody that is material or earthly. Like lightning are men ranging themselves under the degree they feature singled out. Uncomfortably are they waiting and reflection the exercises of their leaders. At hand are citizens who are waiting and reflection and working for our Lord's appearing. New to the job class are dropping voguish line under the generalship of the the first part of in height renegade. Few person with center and nature that we feature a hell to have nothing to do with and a fantasy to win.

The traffic circle is stealing bit by bit upon us. The sun shines in the space, tiny over its mean obese, and the space relaxing abide by the maintain of God. Men are relaxing expenditure and consumption, planting and formation, marrying, and gift in marriage. Merchants are relaxing trade and thing. Men are jostling one against altered, contending for the cover place. Joyfulness lovers are relaxing crowding to theaters, horse races, gaming hells. The cover vibrancy prevails, yet probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be until the end of time decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, colonized and helpless, until the day of probation shall be empty, and the ingress of lenience be for all time shut up shop.

Grievously put forward come to us down through the centuries the consummate words of our Peer of the realm from the Extent of Olives: "Take nursing to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you spontaneous. Poke your nose in ye in view of that, and pray habitually, that ye may be accounted crucial to escape all these bits and pieces that shall come to taint, and to stand in advance the Son of man."

"THE Bidding OF AGES", pp. 632- 636..

Source: wizard-notes.blogspot.com