Yes, I am not supposed to be sitting here typing this devotional, I am supposed to be in the presence of the Lord ... and walking around the glories of heaven along with every other believer who was supposed to be raptured away on May 21, 2011 at 6 p.m.
But ... I AM HERE ... ALONG WITH COUNTLESS BELIEVERS ... ON THE DAY AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD.
Mark 13: 32 - 37 Jesus says ... " But of that day and That hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take Ye Heed, watch and pray; for ye know what when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left His House, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning. Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH. "
The sad truth is, that this person who predicted the end of the world, has caused a stumbilng block to be placed infront of so many who were on the verge of seeking out the Lord, many stumbled over it with the attitude, "If this preacher was wrong, then the bible has to be wrong and if the bible is wrong then why would I need to worry about dying and going to hell or heaven?" The words of Jesus above say three thiings....ONE ...NOONE KNOWS THE TIME... Only God knows when He will be ready to end it all, there is no hidden codes in the bible to forewarn mankind of the impending end of this world, the forewarning has to come according to Jesus, gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch and a true servant will not contradict the WORD. So many have tried to use the Bible to their advantage for their fifteen minutes of personal fame...so many have failed...and so many are going to have to answer to God for their stupidity and self righteousness...it is our job as SERVANTS to keep watch and pray...to forewarn of the coming of Christ and to prepare those who are "unprepared" for His return, by revealing the truth about the good news of Christ and offering Hope until His return. This is the second thing He says in the verses above, Watch ye therefore: someone watching for an event will be steadfast and true, they would not take their eye off the prize, they would not try to out-stage the event by drawing attentiton to themselves or to something else, it is the coming event that should have them mezmerized...when someone wants to predict the end of the world they are robbing from God, they are preaching SELF and not the truth and if God is not recieving the Glory in the end result, then it is not of God. Remember when I said, "If this preacher was wrong..." look at the outcome...who is recieving the glory to the countless lost souls that are now more confused then ever....the father of confusion, that's who. And it is not God!
The final thing that Jesus says is " Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. " This is our forewarning, we cannot afford to sit back on our laurels and let things like this fall to the ground without doing something about it. We cannot "sleep" while the world of souls in need are starving for answers to their eternal state. This is what I would suggest for every believer out there to do... ONE...PRAY...pray that God will extend His hand of authority further into the hearts of His servants, to preach and teach the truth, to share the good news of the gospel, to seek out those unfortunate enough to have fallen prey to these side show entertainers and to lead them to Christ. TWO...TAKE HEED....Remember it is not OUR words that we speak on Sunday morning that will lead them to God, but His....it is not our teachings but HIS...it is not US but HIM .... let us take heed that we have been called to do His bidding not our own....and finnally, let us WATCH...because He is returning, let us keep our eyes set on the prize and therefore let us help others to be watchfull and continue to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
