Are You Ready and Watching?

Jesus spoke to several disciples about the end times. "For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit." Mark 13:8-11

 

Look around you—just like always in the history of the earth there are earthquakes in various places…famines…and wars. Be on guard—be prepared. Christians will suffer persecution—and arrest. But the Holy Spirit will be there for us…giving us words to say. Good promise for us to hang onto—especially if there is a flogging involved. According to Old Testament guidance on punishment… If the guilty person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes. If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes. Deuteronomy 25:2-3 NIV. In a similar way, Jesus was flogged after His trial, before His crucifixion. Thirty-nine lashes were administered, so as not to exceed the forty lashes requirement. It seems an excess—an inhumane punishment.

 

The one thing that hasn’t happened—The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. Even this is a debated issue…that either the Gospel was preached in all the world before the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD or that there are still people who still haven’t heard the Gospel—mostly in the 10 and 40 degrees northern latitude area that includes part of Africa, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, China, Japan, North and South Korea, the Philippians, Vietnam, India, Oman, and all the countries in-between which are in that 10/40 window. Either way…only God the Father knows the time and the hour of Jesus’ return—and of the end of the age.

 

Prayer ~ Holy Spirit, please give us wisdom to understand the end times as it applies to our lives. Only God the Father knows when the “end times” will occur. Thank you for enlightening us and may we apply to our lives on an individual basis what we’re learning. Help us to be prepared for anything that could happen—sooner or later.

© 2015 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.

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