The Precepts Concerning the End

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for all that you do. We thank you, Lord, that we can worship and praise your glorious name, knowing that one day when we get to heaven, our life will be filled with the worship and praise of Almighty God. Until that time, Lord, may we be filled with praise on earth for all the glorious things that you have done for us, in us, through us, and to us. In Jesus' name, amen. If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 21.

Luke chapter 21, as we continue our study, our last emphasis on the return of the king and his coming again. We have been looking at this for several weeks. The great Olivet discourse, the sermon on the return of the king, as Christ talks about his coming again, and he talks to us in great detail about his arrival. It's also in Matthew 24, 25, as well as Mark chapter 13. And Christ talks to us about his coming again. He wants us to know not everything about his arrival, but everything we need to know concerning his coming again.

So whatever he wants us to know, it's recorded in Scripture. That's always a good thing, because if we want to know about it, all we have to do is study God's holy word. And it strikes me that as we embark on the holiday season, which is just a few weeks away, you know, that we embark on a season where virtually the whole world is involved in some sort of Christmas activity. They might not call it Christmas. They might call it a holiday, a winter holiday, whatever they may call it. But there is a great exchange of gifts around the world.

There's nothing like the Christmas season where people will buy gifts, exchange gifts, and give them to their friends, and even sometimes to their enemies, because that's what we do at Christmas. And yet, as I think about that, there's coming a day in the history of the world that will be a greater celebration than even our Christmas celebration is. At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of the Messiah. We as Christians understand why we celebrate Christmas. Most people in the world don't understand that, but needless to say, they still engage in the giving and exchange of gifts.

But there's coming a day when the world will celebrate an event way beyond what we celebrate at Christmas. It's recorded in the book of Revelation, the 11th chapter. Let me read it to you, because it's not in the Olivet Discourse that Christ gives us, but Christ does give us more information concerning the end.

In Revelation chapter 11, there are two witnesses, one like Moses, one like Elijah, who will be instrumental in spreading the gospel during the tribulation period. The Bible says this in verse number four, these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that shall stand before the Lord of the earth.

And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone would desire to harm them in this manner, he must be killed. So they can't be killed. If you want to kill them, fire comes out of their mouth and you're incinerated. So they can't die. Amazing. These have the power to shut up the sky in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying. And they have the power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire.

Wow. Can you imagine that? They can smite the earth with any plague they desire at any time they desire. They can make sure it never rains for as long as they engage in these plagues, they, they have control over what's going on on the earth. And then it says in verse seven, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. That's the antichrist. Somehow he's going to make war with them. He's going to overcome them.

He's going to slay them. We're safe. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. That's Jerusalem. So their bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem. And those verse nine from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.

So they're going to be slayed by the beast. They will lay in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days for all the world to see how they're going to see it. Satellite TV, YouTube, cell phones, computers, but the whole world's going to see these two men, these two prophets of God laying in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. Verse nine, I'm sorry, verse 10. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make Mary and they will send gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

In other words, during the tribulation, when these two witnesses are finally slayed, all those who dwell upon the earth, that is all the unbelievers, they are going to exchange gifts.

They are so excited that these two individuals are dead that they're going to exchange gifts with one another. This is their celebration. Finally, they have been freed from these two witnesses who have brought torment to them and to this world.

And now that they're dead, now that the beast has slayed them, they will now exchange gifts in celebration of their death. The whole world will be engaged in that. And then it says, and after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them and they stood on their feet. Oh, I just wish I could be there to see it. And great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. Of course, there would be great fear. They're engaged in this celebration. They're engaged in this worldwide party over the death of these two witnesses.

They're laying in the streets for three and a half days because it's a three and a half day celebration. The whole world sees it. The whole world is ecstatic over the death. And all of a sudden, the Lord God breeds life into them and they stand up. Can you imagine the fear having seen what they have already done by incinerating all those who try to kill them? Now they're raised from the dead and they stand up. And it says these words, and they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here.

And they went up into heaven in the cloud and their enemies beheld them. The whole world will see this. Everybody will see it. There'll be newspaper people there. There'll be news anchors there and they'll be reporting on the death of these two individuals. And they'll be talking about the fact that there's this worldwide celebration. We're free and everybody's happy and everybody will be dancing in the streets and there'll be great joy about all the world. And somebody from ABC news or from CNN or some news station will be there and they'll be reporting all this and all of a sudden they'll stand up and everybody will see it.

And a loud voice will come out of heaven, come up here and they will ascend up into the clouds and everybody will see it. That is just an amazing event. And the Bible goes on to say these words. And in that hour, there was a great earthquake and a 10th of the city fell and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Some people believe that this is the time that the Jews are the ones who give glory to the God of heaven and this is when they begin to flee Jerusalem and go into the wilderness based on what Revelation 12 has to say.

All that to say this, that there's coming a celebration in the world that far surpasses our Christmas celebration. It's a celebration of these two witnesses who die because they spoke the truth. They lived the truth. They preached the truth and the beast will overcome them. But the Lord God will have the final say. Everything that Jesus says in the Olivet discourse is not everything pertaining to his coming again.

When you read the book of Revelation, Revelation 6 to 19, it parallels Matthew 24, Mark 13, and of course, Luke chapter 21. And the parallels are quite significant. And we've gone through that with you just in brief detail because we can't cover everything concerning the end because there's not enough days of the week to cover everything pertaining the end and the coming of the King and all that surrounds that. But we've helped you look at the predictions surrounding the end, the persecution that will happen at the end, the great peril that will take place at the end, which is the abomination of desolation, which is a sign to tell you the end is coming.

And then the presence of Christ himself will be that sign when the sun and the moon grow dark and the stars begin to fall from the sky and the world becomes pitch black and then the glory of the Lord appears. Then we looked at the parable concerning the end and today some principles that surround you and me concerning the end, some precepts that God gives us, some things we need to understand to help us as we face the end. This is what Jesus says as he concludes the sermon.

Now, it's interesting to note that Mark, Luke, and Matthew conclude sort of the same, but yet points of emphasis are different. So you have to understand all that's involved in terms of understanding what's happening. So we'll take you to Matthew and help you understand that. But let's look and see what Luke says in Luke chapter 21, verse number 34 to 36. Be on guard that your hearts may not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life. And that day come on you suddenly like a trap for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of the earth.

But keep on the alert at all times praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the son of man. Christ concludes his sermon with these instructions. He concludes them by helping his men to understand and all Christians at any age to understand four basic principles. Four things you need to get. I'll give you four words this morning that will help you. Watchfulness, holiness, witness, and faithfulness. It all begins with watchfulness, readiness, alertness.

Be on your guard, he says. Be vigilant, he says down in verse number 36. But keep on the alert at all times. The Bible is replete with instructions, replete with precepts about our vigilance. First Corinthians 16, 13.

Be on the alert, be vigilant. First Peter chapter 5 verse number 8. Peter says be vigilant. Your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Be on guard, Peter says in second Peter chapter 3.

Be on guard for yourselves. Even in the old testament it says guard your heart, watch out for your heart. Everything that tells us is about being ready, being watchful, being alert, being vigilant. Make sure you guard that which has been entrusted to you. Make sure you are always on the alert. It's a military term. It's a military term that means to stand at your post and be on guard at all times. We can never afford to enter into spiritual slumber. Can't afford to do that. In fact over in first Thessalonians chapter 5.

Paul would say these words. First Thessalonians chapter 5. He says verse 1. Now as to the times and the epics brethren you have no need of anything to be written to you for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. Three times the scripture tells us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Be on guard, be alert, be watchful. While they are saying peace and safety then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pains. But a woman with child and they shall not escape.

But you brethren are not in darkness that the day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of light nor of darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do but let us be alert and sober. Again Paul gives that same instruction. Be alert, be sober. It's that military term. That's why the bible says we are soldiers in God's army.

That's why Paul said in second Timothy chapter 2. No good soldier entangles himself in the affairs of this world. You can't afford to do that. You can't afford to be weighed down by the cares of the world, by the things in the world. You always got to be at your post. You've always got to be alert. You can't afford to go to sleep. You got to be awake. You got to be watchful. That's the command that Christ gives. It says over in Luke chapter 12. Christ has already said something toward this. Luke chapter 12 verse number 35.

Be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps alight and be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will gird himself to serve and have them recline at the table and will come up and wait on them whether he comes in the second watch or even in the third and finds them so blessed are those slaves.

And be sure of that 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 for the son of man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. Again Christ has already told them be ready, be alert, be on guard, be watchful. He comes. You must be prepared. You must be awake. In Mark's account, in Mark chapter 13, this is how Mark concludes his Olivet Discourse. Take heed, keep on the alert for you do not know when the appointed time is.

It is like a man away on a journey who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore be on the alert for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing or in the morning, lest he comes suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to all be on the alert. Says it again. What I say to you, I say to everybody, be awake, be watchful, be ready, be on guard, be alert for the son of man comes at an hour that no one knows.

Can we know the epic? Can we know the time arena? Yes we can. How do we know that? Because we know and understand the abomination of desolation. Christ has already said, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, when you see the abomination of desolation, know that Israel's desolation is at hand. Flee and run. When you do that, you know you have three and a half years left based on what the book of Daniel tells us, based on what the book of Revelation tells us. So you know you have around three and a half years left.

You're able to see these things. You're able to understand these things. When you see the two witnesses die and rise again, and you see the world having a party, you can begin to see that you're getting toward the end. So you can know the approximate time, but no man knows the day, nor does any man know the hour. Stand awake. Be alert. Listen to what Matthew says in Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood, they were eating, and they were drinking, and they were marrying, and given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. Now imagine this. Jesus says, listen, before I come again, it's going to be like the days of Noah.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness. I know some of you have gone to see the modern day movie Noah. It's just so wrong. I mean, in there Noah was a warrior. Noah wasn't a warrior. He was a preacher of righteousness, okay? And he preached for 120 years. He built a boat in the middle of a desert where there was no water, and there were no trees. That's why it took him 120 years. But he would preach the gospel for 120 years. He would preach about what? The impending judgment of God coming upon an unbelieving world.

It was all about the coming wrath of God. It was all about the coming judgment of God. It was all about the righteousness of God. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He did it for 120 years. He was mocked. He was made fun of. Christ says that when the Son of Man comes, it will be just like that.

Just like that. In other words, people will be doing everything as usual. They will be marrying. They will be given in marriage. They will be drinking. They will be eating. They will be doing everything normal. They will be unfazed by the call to judgment. Now think about this. Think about this. He's already at the end of the Olivet Discourse as he was in Luke and as he is in Mark. So he's already talked about the birth pangs. He's already talked about the abomination of desolation. He's already talked about the events surrounding the end times.

If you go and you parallel that with the book of Revelation, you realize that all hell has broken loose on the earth. But in spite of all that, the world is still indifferent to the message of the gospel. In spite of all the judgment upon the earth, the world will still carry on business as usual. In spite of all the earthquakes, in spite of all the pestilence, in spite of all the famine, business as usual. How do we know that? Jesus said so. As it was in the days of Noah, so will be in the coming of the Son of Man.

People just aren't going to care enough to repent because they love their sin. They just love their sin so much. They don't want to be saved from their sin. They don't want to repent from their sin. So Christ goes on to say, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. So shall the coming of the Son of Man be. They will not know. How will they not know? How will they not know? John 1 10. Christ is the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world. So every man that comes into the world has been enlightened by God because he is the true light.

But John 3 tells us that they will not come to the light because they love darkness rather than the light. Why is it people don't get saved? They love the darkness. They love their sin. Romans 1, Romans 2 tell us that everything that man needs to know about God has been revealed to him. And what man does is suppress the truth. He suppresses the truth because he doesn't want to be accountable to the God of truth. Man doesn't want to be held accountable for his life. So he suppresses the truth. He loves the sin.

He engages in that sin. And so when people come and preach the righteousness of God, preach about the judgment of God, they will not listen because they love their sin so much. They will carry on as usual. They will marry. They will be given a marriage. They will eat. They will drink. They will do what they always do because they just don't care enough to repent. It's like it wasn't the days of Noah. Noah preached. Nobody was saved. Only eight souls were saved. That was Noah and his family. Door was shut.

The flood came and they all, all perished. The Bible says it took them all away. Verse 40. Then there shall be two men in the field. One will be taken. Taken where? Into judgment. And one will be left. To do what? To go into the millennial kingdom. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken. One will be left. One will be taken into judgment. One will be left to enter the kingdom of God. So he's telling us about the end. He's telling about this time right here when the son of man comes and what's going to happen when he comes, everything will be business as usual.

In spite of all the horrific judgments upon the earth, man just doesn't care enough to repent. They love their sin so much. And when Christ comes, what's going to happen? What happens here is it's not on our chart, but there's the Matthew 25, the sheep goat judgment where the sheep are placed on his right. The goats on his left, the goats go into eternal damnation and the sheep enter into what is commonly called the millennial kingdom for a thousand years. Will Christ himself will reign. Jews and Gentiles will go into that kingdom.

They will have children. There will be millions and millions of people over those thousands of years. And Christ will rule and reign. We will rule and reign with him during that time in glorified bodies. We will have glorified bodies in that kingdom. And that means we'll be able to go and come as we wish. We can walk through doors. We can go from one end of the universe to the next in a split second, just like Jesus himself did in his glorified body.

And so that's going to be an amazing time. All that to say is that when the son of man comes, the unbelievers will carry on as usual. So Christ says in these words, in verse 42, therefore be on the alert for you do not know which day your Lord is coming, but be sure of this, that at the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

For this reason, you'd be ready to, for the son of man is coming in an hour when you do not think you will. He's coming in an hour that you're not going to think he's going to come. That's when he arrives. So Jesus says, be watchful, be ready, be on guard, be alert.

Is it really 10 after 10? Wow, man, you guys going to be here a long time. Sorry about that. And then it says this, he says in verse 45, who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom the master put in charge of the household to give them their food 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 at that evil slave says in his heart, my master is not coming for a long time and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with the drunkards.

The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him at an hour, which he does not know. And she'll cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. Weeping shall be there and gnashing of teeth. In other words, he'll be dashed and cast into eternal torment. Christ says, be watchful, be on the alert.

You see, the world is indifferent to the things of God. The world is irresponsible when it comes to the things of God. But the people of God, the children of God, stand alert, stand ready, stand watching, always on guard because they are soldiers in the army of God. Be watchful. Watchfulness is the key word. Listen, watchfulness encourages number two, holiness.

Holiness. Look what it says. Back to Luke 21, be on guard that your hearts may not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life. Listen, be on guard, be, be awake so that you don't become burdened down with sin. Now, this becomes a very crucial element to Christ's message. You've got to remember when Christ is giving the sermon on the Mount of Olives, the Olivet Discourse, all the disciples are there, right? That includes Judas. Judas is there. Judas is not a believer, but of all the believers, everybody thinks he's the most committed believer.

Okay? Remember that? Of all the believers, everybody thinks he's the most committed believer. That's why he is the treasurer of the group. Everybody trusts Judas. That's why he handles the money. So Judas is on that Mount and Christ is saying, be on guard, stand awake, be ready, be watchful so that you don't become overwhelmed, weighed down in drunkenness and dissipation. That you don't be weighed down by the worries and cares of this life. But he says this, listen carefully. He says, that, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.

So listen, Jesus is saying, be holy. Don't be overburdened by sin. Because if you are, that day will come upon you like a trap. In other words, if you engage in these activities and they become a part of your lifestyle and that's who you are, you will be in that trap and you will be judged along with all those people who dwell upon the face of the earth. So the call is to holiness. That's why the Bible says, whoever has this hope in him, purifies himself as he himself is pure.

Watchfulness encourages holiness. It stirs me, it motivates me to live a holy life. And Christ is telling his men, listen, you've got to be careful that you're not weighed down with sin. Because if you're being weighed down by sin, you're going to be caught in that trap. And that trap is designed for the unbeliever. It doesn't mean that as a believer, you don't sin because you do sin. We all sin. It's not about not sinning. It's about being overburdened with sin, weighed down by sin. This phrase, the worries of this life, same phrase that Jesus used in Mark 4, Luke 8, Matthew 13 in the parable of the sower and the soil to describe the thorny soil, the soil that jumps on the Jesus bandwagon.

But because of the worries of this life, it chokes out the word. They do not bring forth fruit because there's not been a true repentance, but they look like they have jumped on the Jesus bandwagon and are Christians because they received the word with joy. You see, most of Christ's ministry was about warning people who thought they were his followers, but in reality, they were not to help them understand the reality of their lives. That's what Jesus, I believe, is doing right here on the Mount of Olives because Judas is right there.

This is a warning to Judas. This is a warning. It's like when you preach in your church, you're preaching to the people in your church, you're encouraging them to live holy life. But listen, if you're living a life that's filled with dissipation, being weighed down by drunkenness, being weighed down with the cares of this world, guess what? You'll be caught in a trap and you will fall by the wayside. You would have deceived yourself. Folks, this is crucial to understand in the church today, in the modern evangelical church today, because all the people that are caught in the cares of this world.

That's why over in Romans, Romans chapter 13, Paul says these words, verse 11, and this do knowing the time that is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now, salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. You got to wake out of your sleep. You got to awake from your slumber. You got to be watchful. You got to be ready. You got to be on guard. The night is almost pure, is gone. And the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.

Paul saying the exact same thing here that Jesus was saying there on the Mount of Olives by helping to understand, listen, you got to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, awake from your sleep. Don't engage in sinful behavior. Why? Because that engagement in sinful behavior, if it keeps on going on, you tell everybody that your confession is fictitious. Got to be careful about that. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. So you make no provision for the lust of the flesh. So Christ is saying, watchfulness, be ready, be on the alert, be on guard because watchfulness always encourages holiness, holiness, be on the alert.

And then he says these words back to Luke chapter 21, he says, for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. Now we've told you before, that's the phrase used in the book of Revelation 12 times to describe the unbeliever. The trap that's going to come is going to come upon those who dwell upon the face of the earth. Katoi koutos is the word. Earth dwellers. It's a word that deals with permanence. That is earth is my permanent home. For us, earth is not a permanent home. Heaven is our home.

That's where we're going. But for the earth dwellers, this is all there is. They live for what is here. They live for the permanency of this earth. They live for everything round about them. So this is the word witness, witness. Listen, if watchfulness encourages holiness, then holiness is that which simply energizes witness. Those who develop on the face of the earth, we have to tell them the truth. We have to explain to them the truth. Judgment is coming. The impending judgment of God is coming.

And we need to warn people, as Noah warned people, as the two witnesses in the book of Revelation warned people, as Paul said, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Listen, I don't know what church you've been to or what church you come from, but you know, the candy cotton messages that people give to make people feel good when they come, make them feel comfortable when they sit down. You know, those things are all out of the pit of hell because God wants us to understand the impending judgment.

It's the fear of God and knowing who he is. It's the holiness of God and knowing what he stands for, which brings us to a place where we repent of our sin and turn to the true and living God. And we need to make sure that we warn people that if they continue down this path, they will face the eternal judgment of almighty God. That is the most loving message you can give to somebody. Listen, for you to come to church and not be confronted on your sin is the most hateful message a preacher could preach.

Think about that for you to come to church and not be confronted on your sin, not be convicted by the spirit of God. The word of God not open is the most hateful message. Any preacher could preach because it's going to deter you from coming to faith. It's going to keep you from understanding the truth and you will die in your sins. The most loving message someone could give you and say, look, you're about to enter the fire. I'm going to snatch you out of the fire. I'm going to rescue you. We are in the rescuing business, rescuing the perishing.

People are about to face eternal torment. We, we are preaching the gospel to them. We are telling them, you need to give your life to Christ. You need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You need to repent from your sins and follow Christ. That should be the cry of every one of us. Listen, we're not, we're not telling people that you're going to come to Christ because it's going to help your marriage. He's going to build every broken relationship that you've encountered. That's not why Jesus came.

I was, I was telling our leaders this past week, my wife, my daughter, and I, when we go to walk in the morning, we listened to this KSGN radio station and we listened to it all the time. And they come on and they say some of the most silly things you've ever heard of. And the lady gets on, she goes, you know, Jesus came to heal every broken relationship you've ever encountered. I'm like, wow, really? And Anna's walked with me. She said, well, dad, this girl, this girl, she's wacko. I said, well, she is wacko because that means to say that, that if I'm listening to this and I got a broken marriage and I'm going to give my life to Christ because he's going to heal my broken marriage.

And if he doesn't boy, what's wrong with God? How can we heal my broken marriage? How can we heal my broken relationships? Jesus didn't come to heal everything that you have in your life is broken. He came to save you from himself. He came to save you from eternal damnation. He came to save you from your sin. That's why he came. And he got these people on the radio and in churches writing books about all these things that just don't even matter. And people in modern day Christianity, just sucking those things up and reading them.

And they've missed the message. These people are going to burn in eternal torment. If we don't tell them who he is, who's going to tell the truth. Who's going to speak the truth. Watchfulness encourages holiness. Holiness is that which energizes witness and witness is that which enables faithfulness. Christ says this.

He says, but keep on the alert at all times praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place and to stand before the son of man. Can you imagine to be able to stand before the son of man? Moses fell before the living God. John fell before the living God. Isaiah fell before the living God, but you and I will stand before the living God. How can that be? Because we are clothed in his righteousness. His righteousness has been imputed to us. And it's all about praying that we will be able to escape all these things.

And maybe this is a case for a pre-tribulational rapture. I don't know. It could be. But the fact of the matter is, is that we've got to remain faithful to the end, standing strong to the end, that we might be able to stand with Christ at the end. And that requires faithfulness to the ministry, faithfulness to the master, faithfulness to all that he's called us to accomplish. And Christ wants to conclude his sermon by helping his men to understand you've got to be ready. You've got to stand alert.

You've got to be awake. Can't afford to sleep. Can't afford to slumber. Stand alert, stand awake. And then, and then make sure that you're not weighed down with all drunkenness and dissipation and the worries of this life. Because if you are, you're going to be caught in the trap, caught in the trap that will come to all those who dwell upon the earth. Therefore, to make sure you're right with Christ, that you might be able to stand with him when he arrives, when he comes again. In the book of Revelation, the 14th chapter, we have the 144,000 witnesses standing on top of Mount Zion.

Verse one, and I looked and behold, the lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000. 144,000 what? Those that are 144,000 Jewish evangelists that back in Revelation chapter seven were saved. Revelation chapter six says, based on all the terrors that come upon the earth for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? Who can stand? And then he goes right into chapter seven and says there's 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from every tribe that will end up standing on Mount Zion with the lamb that was slain.

They'll stand. That means they made it all the way to the end. They escaped that which was coming upon the world, and they're able to stand all the way to the end. It says this, and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chased. They are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes.

These have been purchased from among men, firstfruits of God and to the lamb, and no lie was found in their mouth, and they are blameless. Who is able to stand? Number one, the undefiled.

Number two, the undeterred. They followed the lamb wherever he went. Number three, the unequaled. They were purchased by God by his blood. The uncompromising. There was no lie found in their mouth. They were unblemished. They were blameless because they were clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and they stand with him at the end. It's coming a time when Jesus is going to come again. Are we ready? Are you ready? Are you that person who is standing alert, on guard, watchful, knowing that he could come at any moment?

And for us, it would be the rapture of the church because there's nothing else that has to be accomplished before Jesus comes to take us home to be with him. Are you ready? Are you living a holy life? Are you vigilant? Are you holy? Are you the kind of person that shares with others that they don't experience the trap that's going to come upon all those who dwell upon the earth, that you may one day be able to stand with the King of kings and Lord of lords? Vance Havner, that great preacher from years ago, used to say, I am not looking for a sign.

I am listening for a sound. What sound? The shout, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God. That's us. We're not looking for a sign. Signs for us are irrelevant. We're listening for the sound. What will the sound be? Maybe it'll be come up here. That's the way it was in Revelation 11 for the two witnesses. The voice came out of heaven, come up here. Maybe it's the same sound that John heard in Revelation chapter four when he was caught up into heaven and the same voice came, come up here.

Maybe that will be the voice of the Lord. Maybe that will be the sound we're listening for. But when I hear it, I'm going to know it. And so are you, if you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the joy of your word, the truth that's there. We pray, Lord, that we would live in the light of your coming again. We pray that we would tell other people about the impending judgment of God that will come upon this whole world and that we might live in a life that really honors the King.

That's our prayer in Jesus' name.