Keeping Ready for the
Return of the Lord
By Lambert Dolphin
Our Sunday morning Forum Class at my church has just completed a four week
study of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24). In giving us this sweeping look
down through two millennia of history between his first and second advents,
Jesus highlighted the violent and turbulent course of the age we are living in.
Five times he
told his disciples to "Take heed."
(blepo,
"to beware, discerning,
to watch out"). The entire age would be filled with increasing deception and of
disinformation and misinformation arising from secular and religious sources
alike. Natural disasters, wars, famines and plagues were to be expected
anywhere, anytime.
The main predictive teaching in the Olivet Discourse culminates in a brief
description of the dramatic events which bring our age to a close. Then follows a short announcement of the dramatic return of earth's
Owner and King.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be
darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the sign
of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn,
and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory" (23:29-30)
James Boice comments on the main purpose of the
Olivet Discourse as follows.
"About half of Matthew 24 deals with signs that are not true signs of
Christ's return (vv. 4-26, 32-35). A very small section describes the return of
Christ itself (vv. 27-31). But a third of chapter 24 (vv. 36-51) and all of
chapter 25 (vv. 1-46), a total of sixty-two verses, warn us to get ready since
we do not know when that day of final reckoning will be. Or to put it yet
another way, Jesus stresses this single essential point with seven historical
references, verbal pictures or parables--four in this chapter and three in the
next. The application is clear: Are you watching? Are you ready for Jesus
Christ's return?" (The Gospel of Matthew, Baker
Books 2001. * )
Three parables by Jesus close this great discourse and they are each very
provocative. Reviewing the first of these parables in the sermons of Ray
Stedman--dating from 40 years ago--I was struck by the extraordinary relevance
of Ray's insights for the times in which we now live. Ray wrote,
"It is evident that the Lord now finished, for the most part, the
predictive part of his discourse. Except for a few details concerning the final
scene of the nations, there are no new events described in the rest of his
message.
But it is extremely important that we understand these parables,
for if we do not understand them we will not watch in the way he expects. And
if we do not watch we will be deceived and miss much, if not all, of the
exciting possibilities of the present hour. So let us listen carefully to his
parable of the household, verses 45-47:
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set
over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that
servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I say to you,
he will set him over all his possessions."
This parable is clearly for the instruction of those who are awaiting the
Lord's return. The master of the household is gone but he has entrusted certain
work to his steward until he returns. That work is primarily a ministry to the
rest of the household, and notably, "to give them their food at the proper
time."
It is clearly addressed to the disciples and to those who will follow in their
footsteps --footsteps of ministry, of feeding and shepherding the
Since this is the first parable in the series it probably points up the most
essential aspect of what it means to watch. The wise servant is given one major
and primary responsibility: to feed the household at the proper time. If this
is rightly done, the household will keep watching; if it is neglected, the
household will languish and starve, and will not be ready when the Lord
returns.
The task, therefore, of any leader within the church is to unfold the message
of the Bible. Every pastor should set a loaded table before his congregation,
not only that they might eat and grow, but also that they might learn from him
how to draw from the Scriptures for themselves the spiritual nourishment they
need. The Bible is wonderfully adapted to this purpose: there is milk for the
beginner, bread for the more advanced, and strong meat
to challenge and feed the mature. It is so designed that when books of the
Bible are taught through consecutively they will cover a wide variety of
subjects and yet keep truth marvelously in balance.
It is clearly
evident, therefore, that the supreme need of the church
during this time of waiting for its Lord is Bible study and knowledge. From this all else will
flow. The Bible is the revelation of things as they really are. It represents
the only truly realistic look at life that is available to man today. It is the
only instrument provided by God that is adequate to the task of producing
mature, well-adjusted, whole persons. That is the clear claim of 2 Timothy
3:16,17:
"All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Be careful that you do not conclude from this that the Bible itself is the food
for believers. It
is not the book but the Lord which the book reveals that is our food. Christ is found in the
Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. But Bible study alone can be most dull
and uninteresting if one does not expect the Spirit to take the words and from
them cause the living Christ to emerge. That explains why some Bible students
are such dull and dry people; they have concentrated on the Word alone, without
the Spirit. And yet it is impossible to know the Lord Jesus in the fullness of
his being without the revelation of the Word. We cannot neglect the Bible and
grow in Christ; but we can grow in the knowledge of Scripture and never feed
upon a risen Lord.
Imagine the joy of
that servant when his lord returns and finds him faithfully at the task he
assigned him. "Blessed is that servant," says Jesus.
The Greek word for "blessed" can also be translated "happy."
What a satisfying feeling it will be to know that he did his work well in the
eyes of the only one who counts. What shall be done for such a man? What the
Lord says next is truly amazing. Listen to it: "Truly, I say to you,
he will set him over all his possessions." In another place Jesus
said, "You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over
much" (Matthew 25:21). This is the invariable rule of the
When you consider who this master really is, it becomes almost incredible that
he should reward this servant by setting him over all his possessions. How much
is that? Well, Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:21-23:
"All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos
or Cephas or the world or life or death or the
present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is
God's."
There is a staggering thought in Paul's letter to the Ephesians which sums all
this up in the phrase, "the unsearchable riches of Christ."
Who can tell what boundless opportunities, what indescribable adventures of
service, what fabulous vistas of challenge, are involved in a phrase like that?
Surely one thing is clear: the commitment and labor required to fulfill the
ministry of teaching which the Lord has left for us to do will not be worthy to
be compared with what shall belong to a "faithful and wise
servant" when the Lord returns.
The Unfaithful Servant
Unfortunately not
every servant of the Lord proves to be wise and faithful. With the utter candor
that characterizes him, Jesus gives the negative side of the picture in verses
48-51:
"But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,'
and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken,
the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and
at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the
hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
It is evident that this servant has the same ministry committed to him as the
first one. He, too, is expected "to give them their food at the
proper time." The same storehouse of the Word is at his disposal
so that he too can feed the hungry of the household whenever they need it. The
health and welfare of the household is his responsibility and depends upon his
faithful ministry.
But this servant is different. When his lord does not come as soon as he
expects, he says to himself, "My master is delayed."
There is more than a hint here that the return of the Lord Jesus will be
delayed far beyond the expectations of men. The apostles expected him in the
first century, but he did not come. Now many centuries have gone by, and the
effect of that long delay has been what the Lord here predicts. Many who claim
to be his servants have given up hope of his return. The former bishop of the
Episcopal Church, James Pike, himself one who had given up such a hope, stated
that "only 24% of Episcopalians, by survey, believe it." The
effect of that lost hope is immediately apparent.
The
servant, says the Lord, begins to beat his fellow
servants, mistreat them, criticize and complain continually, neglect his
ministry, and indulge his appetites to the full. It is a vivid picture of what
happens, in one degree or another, when the expectation of the Lord's return is
abandoned. There is a precise sequence of failure that can be traced. First,
the hope of the Lord's return grows weak and eventually is lost.
Because
of this there is little motivation to the ministry of feeding the household,
and therefore it is neglected. When the Word is not taught the people grow
spiritually weak, and therefore full of weakness and carnality. This then manifests
itself in quarreling, injustices, and excesses of every sort, in which the
servant responsible for the feeding also joins.
It should be obvious from this that the fact of Christ's return is more
important as a doctrine of the church than may at first appear. As we have
already seen, it is an indicator of the degree to which the Lord's present
indwelling life is being experienced. If there is little desire for his
appearing, there is little concern to walk in the strength of his life. When
the hope of the Lord's return crumbles, then it is already apparent that the
experience of his life has largely ceased, if it existed at all. That is why
the Lord lays such stress upon this and underscores it as the primary cause for
the neglect of Bible teaching and the subsequent weakness of the church.
But though the servant has given up on the Lord's return,
that does not prevent the Lord from returning. Suddenly he appears at an
hour which the servant does not know and at a time when he does not expect him.
Undoubtedly this will be one of those occasions when the servant will say, "Lord,
Lord, have I not done mighty works in your name?" There may indeed
be other things he has done which he felt would be impressive to the Lord if he
returned. But it is all to no avail. He has specifically not done the one thing
the Lord required of him. He has been faithless to his commission. Therefore he
shall be punished and put where he belongs-with the hypocrites! He is himself a
hypocrite, for he has assumed the name of a faithful servant of the Lord, but
has proved false to his trust.
It is obvious from what our Lord says of this man, that he has never been a
true servant at all. His destiny is to be put in the place where men will weep
and gnash their teeth. Further on, in chapter 25, verse 30, the Lord describes
that place as "outer darkness." It is a place of
frustration and defiance. Men weep because of their lost opportunities; they
gnash their teeth out of bitter rage and defiance. It is not a pleasant
picture, but let us remember, it is the Lord Jesus
Christ who thus describes it to us.
A Demoralized Household
The Lord has
made crystal clear by this parable that it is a very serious thing to fail in
feeding the household of God. It is not because the man's personal failure has
a demoralizing effect upon the household. This has been most apparent in the
church. One of the haunting problems in the church today is its identity
crisis. In many places it seems to have lost the sense of what it was intended
to be. Instead of a body, with each one "members one of
another" and ministering to one another in love and concern, it
has become an organization operating various programs. Paul wrote to the
Galatians, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ" (Galatians 6:2). But today's Christians often touch each
others' lives on only the most superficial basis, and do not want to hear
another's problems because they "don't want to get involved."
This widespread ignorance of the church's true nature is directly traceable to
a lack of systematic Bible teaching. Many passages in the New Testament
epistles plainly detail the true nature of the church. Its "body
life" is clearly described and illustrated from actual experience. Its
supernatural endowment with spiritual gifts as the basis for all
its ministry is described in half a dozen places. Its unique power,
deriving from the presence of an indwelling and active Lord, is set before us
again and again. The way to the consistent exercise of spiritual power, making
its impact upon a decadent society, is detailed in many places.
Results of Biblical Ignorance
But how much does the average Christian know of this? The blunt answer is:
scarcely anything! The degree of biblical illiteracy, prevalent in churches, is beyond
belief. And the widespread effect, visible everywhere, is a powerless,
quarreling, materialistic church whose knowledge of its Lord's living presence
is almost nil, and whose hope of his soon return has long ago burned out into
gray embers.
The cause for this sterile mediocrity is, says Jesus, faithless and wicked
servants who have never assumed or have given up the task of feeding the
household at the proper time. He views this failure with the greatest
solemnity. There is a sobering word from Paul in I Corinthians 3:17: "If
any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy,
and that temple you are." Consequently we should not be surprised
to hear Jesus say that when the master of the house returns he will confront
the faithless servant and "will punish him, and put him with the
hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."
The Secrets of the Heart
In both of these cases, that of the faithful and that of the faithless servant,
it is evident that the return of Jesus Christ simply reveals what men have been
all the time. "Each man's work will become manifest,"
says Paul, "for the Day will disclose it" (1
Corinthians
C.S. Lewis said,
"God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere
openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He
does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks onto
the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right, but what is the
good of saying you're on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe
melting away like a dream and something else--something it never entered your
head to conceive--comes crashing in; something so beautiful to us and so
terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it
will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike
either irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It will
be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie
down, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for
choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have
chosen, whether we realize it or not. Now, today, in this moment, is our chance
to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will
not last forever; we must take it or leave it." (Mere Christianity)
More Notes from James Boice
on this section of Matthew 24
"An important contrast exists between the verses we looked at in the last
study and the opening verse of the section of Matthew 24 to which we now come.
It is the difference between "you know" in verse 33 and
"no one knows" in verse 36. What the disciples were to
know is that "when you see all these things" the end
will be "near, right at the door." "These things"
refer to the terrible characteristics of their age, and ours-false messiahs,
wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, apostasy, and false prophets. Having
seen these things, we should know that the return of Jesus Christ is near, even
at the door. That door could be flung open by Christ at any moment.
On the other hand, we do not know when Christ will return. When Jesus said, "No
one knows about that day or hour" (v. 36), he did not mean that
smart Bible teachers are nevertheless able to calculate the year or the decade.
Those who have tried to do so have always been wrong.
This deliberate contrast reinforces what I have been saying about this chapter,
namely: (1) that the return of Christ to gather his elect and judge the world
is yet future; (2) that we do not know when this will be; and that, therefore,
(3) we must keep watch and be ready, since we will be lost and perish if we do
not. Jesus said, "He who stands firm to the end will be saved"
(Matt.
Everything in this last discourse, even the prediction of the fall of
Let me make this point another way. About half of Matthew 24 deals with signs
that are not true signs of Christ's return (vv. 4-26, 32-35). A very small
section describes the return of Christ itself (vv. 27-31). But a third of
chapter 24 (vv. 36-51) and all of chapter 25 (vv. 1-46), a total of sixty-two
verses, warn us to get ready since we do not know when that day of final
reckoning will be. Or to put it yet another way, Jesus stresses this single
essential point with seven historical references, verbal pictures or
parables-four in this chapter and three in the next.
The application is clear: Are you watching? Are you ready for Jesus Christ's
return?
The Days of Noah
The first story Jesus uses to emphasize the suddenness of his coming and the
need to be ready for it is the destruction of the earth by the flood in the
days of Noah. This was a well-known example of God's judgment of wickedness,
and it is referred to quite naturally by Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah
(Isa. 54:9) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 14:14,20) and by New
Testament writers such as the author of Hebrews (Heb. 11:7) and Peter (1 Peter
3:20; 2 Peter 2:5).Jesus refers to it in verses 37-39.
The point of these verses is that the waters of the flood came suddenly and
that those who were not prepared drowned. But this also points to a world that
will be largely unbelieving at the time of Christ's return. I emphasize this
because some hold that Christ's kingdom will eventually triumph in the world.
This view is usually referred to as postmillennialism. The word millennium
refers to the reign of Christ (for a thousand years, if interpreted literally),
and postmillennialism means that Jesus will return only after his role has been
universally established. According to this view, Jesus reigns in and through
the church and will return only after the church's mission is fulfilled.
Postmillennialism was popular in former centuries when the supposedly "Christian
nations" were extending their colonial power. It is not as popular
today, when the West is in evident decline. True, the mission of the church
does not depend on Western Christianity, and a great growth of Christianity is
taking place today in the third world. But even when we turn from history and
restrict ourselves to explicit scriptural teaching, not much encourages us to
think in this falsely optimistic way. On the contrary, those who were taught by
Jesus say that there will be terrible wickedness and even widespread apostasy
in the church when Christ returns.
Peter wrote of the presence of false prophets in the last days, saying, "They
will secretly introduce destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1).
Again, "In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this
"coming" he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on
as it has since the beginning of creation'" (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Almost all of 2 Peter 2 and 3, two-thirds of the letter, describes the evil of
the final days.
Jude is almost entirely about such times, and the author seems to echo Peter
when he writes, "Remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ
foretold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers who
will follow their own ungodly desires.' These are the men who
divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit" (vv.
17-19).
Paul wrote, "The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Tim. 4: I). Or again, "There
will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but
denying its power"
(2 Tim. 3:1-5).
None of these passages teaches that we are to be pessimistic. We must preach
Christ everywhere, knowing that all whom God has elected to salvation will be
saved. Not one will be lost. But neither do these passages teach an
increasingly successful expansion of the gospel, still less a triumphant
expansion of organized Christianity throughout the world. Rather, they encourage
a faithful adherence to and preaching of the gospel in spite of the fact that
it will not be universally received and in spite of the fact that there will be
increasingly entrenched unbelief.
It is such a time Jesus envisioned when he told his disciples, "As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of
A Sudden Separation
The second picture Jesus paints to describe the nature of things at his return
is in verses 40 and 41. "Two men will be in the field; one will be
taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will
be taken and the other left." Here we find the idea of a sudden
separation. Two men working in a field would be coworkers. Two women working
with a hand mill would probably be closely related, most likely a mother and
daughter or two servants in the same household. Outwardly they would seem to be
in identical situations and even identical in their relationships to Christ,
but at his return one will be taken and the other left behind.
The verbs taken and left raise questions that Jesus does not answer in this
passage. Does taken mean taken away in judgment and left mean left behind to
prosper? That would not be an unreasonable way to understand these words. Or
does taken mean taken to heaven when the Lord returns in glory with his angels
and left mean being left behind on earth? Those who
believe in a sudden "rapture" of the saints before a final
return of Christ and the final judgment choose this second possibility.
It does seem clear that the idea of being taken to be with Christ at his return
best fits the chapter, since Jesus had earlier spoken of sending his angels to "gather
his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other" (v.
31). Yet the verses do not specify how this will happen, and they certainly do
not say when. The point is only that "persons most intimately
associated will be separated by that unexpected coming," as John
Broadus says.
That alone should encourage serious soul-searching. For one thing, it
demolishes any fond hope of universalism, the idea that in the end everyone
will be saved since God could never send anyone to hell. No one in the entire
Bible speaks of hell as much as Jesus. In fact, he does so in this very
chapter, saying in verse 51 that the servant who is found to have been
unfaithful when the master returns will be "cut.
. . to pieces" and assigned "a place with the hypocrites, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." In the next chapter "weeping
and gnashing of teeth" is joined to "darkness,"
"eternal fire," and "eternal punishment,"
meaning hell. When Jesus says that "one will be taken and the other
left," he means that not all will be saved. Many will be lost. Be sure
that you are not among those who perish when Jesus returns.
And there is
this point too: No one will be saved simply by being close to or even related
to another person who is a Christian. Salvation is not a hereditary matter. On
the contrary, you must believe on Jesus, and you must be ready.
The Need to Be Watching
The third of Jesus' illustrations is of a thief breaking into a house. "But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into" (v. 43).
This parable also teaches the sudden and unpredictable coming of the Lord and
is used this way in four other New Testament passages. Paul wrote, "The
day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying,
'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a
pregnant woman, and they will not escape" (1 Thess.
5:2-3). Peter said, "The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The
heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and
the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter
But the image of a thief adds two additional factors. First, it adds the matter
of value, since the thief comes to steal what is worthwhile. Almost everyone
values his or her possessions. No one is careless with money, cars, or jewelry.
That is why we lock these things up. We have safe-deposit boxes. We install
anti-theft devices and alarms on our cars. We insure especially valuable
possessions. If we take such great care about these items, things that will all
be lost to us or decay over time, shouldn't we take at least that much care
about things that are eternal? Shouldn't we be at least equally anxious for the
salvation of our souls?
Jesus said on an earlier occasion, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his
soul?" (Matt. 16:26). Obviously, it will be no good at all. Such a
person will have lost the only thing that really matters, and in the end he
will lose the world as well.
Second, the picture of the thief emphasizes the necessity of being watchful. "Since
no one knows at what time, or during what 'watch,' the thief might strike,
constant vigilance is required," says D. A. Carson.
The
need to watch is explicitly stated both in the verse that precedes the words
about the thief and in the one that follows. "Therefore keep watch,
because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (v. 42)
and, "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him" (v. 44).
Are you
keeping watch? Are you ready?
The Need to Be Ready
Each of these pictures is alike in stressing the sudden nature and
unpredictability of Christ's return, but each also adds its own unique
elements. The picture of the flood reminds us that many persons will be lost.
The picture of the two men working in the fields and the two women grinding at
the mill points to a radical separation and reminds us
that we are not saved by knowing or being close to a believer. The picture of
the thief reminds us that our souls are valuable and that it is simple prudence
for us to be ready.
What about this next picture. The contrast between the two
servants? This picture provides an explanation of what being ready
means. Being ready means loving, trusting, and waiting for
Jesus Christ, of course. The faithful servant is faithful because he is
expecting his Lord's return. But it also has to do with faithful service, that is, continuing to carry out what Jesus has
left us in this world to do. We find the same idea in two of the three parables
in chapter 25. In one parable faithfulness is demonstrated by the wise use of
the talents Christ has given (Matt. 25:14-30). In the other it is seen in
selfless service to those who are hungry or thirsty or have other pressing
needs (Matt. 25:31-46).
How are we to evaluate the service of these two men? Not much is said about the
good servant, only that he gave the other servants their food at the proper
time. Jesus may be thinking of spiritual food and of the service of ministers
in teaching the Bible. On the other hand, a great deal is said about the bad
servant. His service is marked by three vices.
1. Carelessness. He neglects his work because, he says, "My master
is staying away a long time" (v. 48). This reminds us of 2 Peter
3:4, which I referred to earlier: "They will say, 'Where is this
"coming" he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on
as it has since the beginning of creation"" It always seems
like that to unbelievers. Jesus has not returned yet, so they are careless.
But, says Peter, they "deliberately forget" that God
judged the world in ancient times by water and that he has promised to do so
again by fire at the final day (vv. 5-7). Besides, "with the Lord a
day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (v.
8). What seems delayed to us is not a delay with him. Therefore, says Peter, "Be
on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men
and fall from your secure position" (v. 17).
2. Cruelty. The second vice of the wicked servant is cruelty to his fellow
servants, because he began "to beat" them (v. 49). This
is like the Pharisees whom Jesus said would pursue, flog, kill, and crucify his
servants (Matt.
3. Carousing. Finally, the Lord denounces the wicked servant for his carousing,
noting that he has begun "to eat and drink with drunkards"
(v. 49). He is behaving like those living in the days of Noah who were "eating
and drinking" and
"knew nothing about what would happen
until the flood came and took them all away" (vv. 38-39).
The passage says of the good servant only that it will be good for him when his
master returns. But of the bad servant it says, "The master of that
servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not
aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (vv. 50-51).
Are You Ready?
There is an old
fable in which three apprentice devils were talking to Satan. The first one
said, "I will tell people there is no God." Satan replied, "That
will not fool many; because they know there is a God." The second
devil said, "I will tell them there is no hell." Satan said, "You
will never fool many that way, because they know there
is a hell." The third said, "I will tell people there is no
hurry." Satan said, "Go, and you will ruin millions."
Lord Shaftesbury, the great English social reformer
of the nineteenth century (1801-1885), is reported to have said on one
occasion, "I do not think that in the last forty years I have ever
lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by the thought of our Lord's
return." The anticipation of Jesus' return' must have been one of the
strongest influences behind Shaftesbury's efforts to
assist the poor and advance the cause of foreign missions. Shaftesbury
expected to meet Jesus face to face, and he watched for him. He was ready for
his master to come.
So I ask again; even as Jesus asks over and over again in these chapters: Are
you ready for his return? Are you watching? To be ready when Jesus returns
means salvation; not to be ready is to perish."
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