A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 69
To the church in Sardis, Jesus issued a warning with His wake-up call that carried serious, eternal consequences if it was ignored.
“Now wake up! Strengthen what you still have before it dies! For I have not found any of your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember then what you were given and what you were taught. Hold to those things and repent. **If you refuse to wake up, then I will come to you like a thief, and you will have no idea of the hour of my coming.”—**Revelation 3:2-3 (PHILLIPS)
This is a warning to all of us, especially now because we are closer to the Lord’s return than any generation that lived before us.
Paul emphasized this in his first letter to the Thessalonians:
“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that **the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. **For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”—1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NKJV)
During His earthly ministry, Jesus also emphasized the importance of staying alert and watchful in anticipation of His return, and He gave us a glimpse into the terrible consequences of not being ready to meet the Lord when He returns.
“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you’ll know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door. I tell all of you with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
“No one knows when that day and hour will come—neither the heavenly angels nor the Son, but only the Father, because just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. They were unaware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man appears. At that time, two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left behind. Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left behind.
“So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting.
“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others their food at the right time? How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
“But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master has been delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks, that servant’s master will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know. Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”—Matthew 24:32-51 (ISV)
In Luke, Jesus used the symbolism of the parable of the ten virgins to urge his disciples to “Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit.” This should remind all of us of the tragic story of the foolish virgins who were not ready to meet their Bridegroom when He came, and so they lost everything they had been waiting for.
“Be prepared, and keep your lamps lit. You are also to be like people who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door for him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will prepare himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and he will come up and serve them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
“But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think He will.”
Peter said, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will take a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the other slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accordance with his will, will receive many blows, but the one who did not know it, and committed acts deserving of a beating, will receive only a few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”—Luke 12:35-48 (NASB)
Complacency seems to be the spirit of this age in which we are living. People have deceived themselves into believing that things will always continue on just as they are. They have believed the false doctrine that *everyone *in the Church will be rescued from the Great Tribulation in a pre-tribulation rapture—those who are ready to meet the Lord, along with those who are not. There are some in the Church who are living their lives as if they will never have to face the Lord to account for their actions, and they are convincing others to follow their self-destructive paths. Peter addressed this in his second epistle, reminding believers that failure to be prepared for the Lord’s return could cost us our positions in the Kingdom of God.
“First of all you must understand this: In the last days mockers will come and, following their own desires, will ridicule us by saying, ‘What happened to the Messiah’s promise to return? Ever since our ancestors died, everything continues as it did from the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately ignore the fact that long ago the heavens existed and the earth was formed by God’s word out of water and with water, by which the world at that time was deluged with water and destroyed. Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.
“Don’t forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some people understand slowness, but is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to find room for repentence. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will disappear with a roaring sound, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be exposed.
“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, think of the kind of holy and godly people you ought to be as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire. But in keeping with his promise, we are looking forward to new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault. Think of our Lord’s patience as facilitating salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. He speaks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, leading to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures.
“And so, dear friends, since you already know these things, continuously be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of lawless people. Otherwise, you may fall from your secure position. Instead, continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah. Glory belongs to him both now and on that eternal day! Amen.”—2 Peter 3:3-18 (ISV)
Over and over, we are exhorted and implored to be prepared for the Lord’s return. This is not optional. We must make ourselves ready to meet the Lord when He returns, or we will suffer eternal consequences. Eternal rewards will be lost, along with positions of authority and responsibility in the Kingdom of God. These priceless prizes of the high calling of God will be lost forever.
On the other hand, if we make ourselves ready to meet the Heavenly Bridegroom when He comes for us, then we may be accounted worthy to escape the trials of the Great Tribulation period and to be among those who stand before the Son of Man in Revelation 7:9.
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”—Luke 21:36 (NKJV)
If we stay alert and watchful, and prepare ourselves to meet the heavenly Bridegroom when He comes, then we may qualify to be included with the wise virgins who are invited in to participate with the Lord in the great wedding celebration.
“the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.”—Matthew 25:10 (NKJV)
Preparation is necessary before the Bridegroom returns. This is our responsibility. It is required if we are to have any hope of being included among those who will forever experience the incredible honor and glorious reality of eternal life as the Bride of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.”—Revelation 19:7 (NASB)
We cannot afford to ignore this or put this off for a more convenient time. Jesus warns us in His message to the church in Sardis that if we do not wake up, His coming will catch us completely by surprise, and we will have all of eternity to regret our choices.
“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.”—Revelation 16:15 (AMP)
