Have you ever wondered what was going through the disciples’ minds in Matthew 24 (v.3b) when they asked the Lord, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Do we ever wonder about Christ’s second coming, and are we looking forward to it?
By reading through this chapter, you will see that Jesus went into great detail with what we will see and hear, throughout the earth, before His return. How do we prepare during these challenging and exciting times? Throughout this chapter one of the first things Jesus said is to not be deceived. He repeats Himself multiple times as a warning, to all of us, to not be misled. When the Lord repeats Himself over and over we want to pay close attention, and we should not take this warning lightly.
In Matthew 24, Jesus goes on to talk to the disciples about rumors of wars, Christians being hated for His name’s sake, there will be offense, people will betray and hate one another, the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel), and much more. We can learn so much from this chapter, and I recommend everyone read it a few times and even study it. The Lord is painting a picture for us, so we will know what kind of things to expect before His second coming.
After you have taken the time to soak everything in from reading Matthew 24, I want to bring you to the final book of the Bible, Revelation. Of all the 66 books of the Bible, this book says in chapter 1 verse 3, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
Every book in the Bible is important to read and study, but the book of Revelation highlights a blessing for all of us who are willing to read, hear, and keep the words of this prophecy and the things written in it. A lot of us might skip this book since it can appear to be very overwhelming. Do not be intimidated. Don’t skip it. Some things you will understand, and some things will be confusing. Either way, the reading of it is important, and we can learn so much about the end times and the Lord’s second coming by doing so.
Remember, you were born for this specific time. How exciting of a time we live in. God has equipped you for this time in your life. Be encouraged and let’s push forward; the victory is already ours because of what the Lord has done for us on Calvary. What’s another way to prepare for these challenging and exciting times? We need to start digging deeper into the Word of God. We need to start studying it more then we have ever done before. Not in a legalistic way, but in a way that will feed our personal relationship with Jesus and help us grow in our faith.
Jesus warns us more than once in Matthew 24 to not be deceived. Why would He caution us so many times if it wasn’t important for us to know about this? We need to continue to grow in our faith, our personal relationship with Jesus, and reading the Bible; these things will help us not be deceived. Remember when Satan tempted Jesus three times in the desert (Matthew 4)? One of those times Satan manipulated Scripture to try to trick Jesus. As believers we too are seeing the Bible being corrupted by people in leadership, as they wear sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15). They are not preaching the Word of God but perverting it with their own views. This is a form of deception. We need to not be misled by them, and reading and studying the Bible will help us to know what is of God and what is not of Him.
We can prepare for the end times and the Lord’s return by growing our personal walk with Jesus, studying the Word of God, and asking the Lord for an increase in discernment to not be deceived. We can also prepare by coming together as a body of Christ in unity. Let’s put our differences aside and work together. We need everyone to participate, so we can battle our challenges in life together and grow closer to the Lord. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (NIV). Let’s sharpen each other by encouraging, uplifting, and comforting one another, a great way to prepare our hearts for the Lord’s return. We are not alone; we are one with Christ.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references in the book are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
