Be Alert!

Mike here....

Sorry, it has been so long since I posted. I was sick for a good two weeks and am now better but carving the time out of my life to post has been a big challenge.

I was reading Mark 13 today. A good chapter to read no doubt.

I was impressed by a few things. The first is that Christ and the disciples were walking out of the temple and the disciples were commenting on how beautiful the buildings were and Christ responds with a prophesy that they would all be destroyed. Well he was right it was all destroyed.

I also took note of four verses in the middle of the chapter. Here they are.

Mark 13:24-27 (New American Standard Bible)

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Return of Christ

24"But in those days, after that tribulation, ^(A)THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT,

25^(B)AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

26"Then they will see ^(C)THE SON OF MAN ^(D)COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.

27"And then He will send forth the angels, and ^(E)will gather together His elect from the four winds, ^(F)from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

So much seems to be made of when, within the time line of unfulfilled prophecy, that Christ will take believers out of this world. This passage seems to make it clear, it is after the tribulation. Feel free to read the entire chapter to see the signs and characteristics of the tribulation.

All good stuff for sure, but my favorite is found at the end of the chapter.

35"Therefore, ^(AA)be on the alert--for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^(AB)when the rooster crows, or ^(AC)in the morning--

36in case he should come suddenly and find you ^(AD)asleep.

37"What I say to you I say to all, '^(AE)Be on the alert!'"

Christ warns that we won't know the specific time but uses two analogies to explain that Disciples of Christ should be alert and prepared for his return.

Now, the concept of being asleep can be taken literally but I believe this concept is more of being spiritually and mentally unaware, or taken by surprise.

Well, I know Christ was right with His first prophecy within this chapter of Mark, I have no reason to doubt He will be 100% correct on the elements that we know have not yet been fulfilled. If you have any questions about who Christ is or what he has done for us please feel free to comment here or email us at the70thweek@gmail.com.

BE ON THE ALERT!

Blessing,

Mike