When Jesus warns…
In this article we will see how serious Jesus was (and is) when warning His people about what is coming in the dark days before His return. This isn’t to make you feel guilty or to give you “one more thing to do.” Rather, this brief article comes with the serious intention of helping you prepare for and be victorious in the crisis that has already begun.
When Jesus warns you about something, it’s wise to pay attention
Jesus’ first warning about the end-times is this:
Watch out that no one deceives you. Matthew 24:4; Luke 21:8
We must first understand that we are in the last days and Christians like you (and me) can be deceived. This fact alone should be enough to sober us up. However, as if that simple warning were not enough, Jesus continues warning us:
For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. Matthew 24:21
Unequaled from the beginning of the world.
Never to be equaled again.
Pretty strong words, spoken by the Author and Finisher, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He knows whereof He speaks!
So how do we prepare for the great distress that Jesus spoke of?
It is certainly not by:
*Storing up guns (although some may own a gun to protect family and property)
*Storing up survival food (although some may have enough food to last 2-3 weeks)
*Having all your end-time charts in place (although we must understand Scriptural end-time basics)
*Watching the “right” media or voting for the “right” people
Carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life
Jesus gave this warning in Luke 21, verses 34 through 36.
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34
Many of us notice the words “carousing” and “drunkenness” and say, “that’s not me,” and we skip over the rest of the passage. That is a mistake. In fact, Peter warns against the same thing.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 [emphasis added]
What is this drunkenness that both Jesus and Peter warn about?
This warning is about a time coming when believers’ hearts and minds will be loaded down with distractions, fear, anxiety, stress, inner conflict, even to the extent that we will lose our focus on His Presence, promises, and prayer. We will have no intimacy. We will have no revelation.
Truthfully, because we don’t pray, many believers may not even know what this is all referring to right now.
Lack of devotion to Jesus in this hour steals our intimacy with Him and leaves us wide open to the enemy and sets us up for the ultimate trap.
For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21:35
The ultimate trap of course is falling into the hands of the beast of Revelation and taking his mark. You see, Satan is setting the world up for this event right now.—and he has a plan for your life. That plan is to lure each of us away from what is true, what brings life, and what will give us power to overcome him, which is a life of worshipping, in Spirit and in truth, the One true God. Falling into Satan’s trap seems sudden, but it’s not; it happens after years of neglect.
Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36
Jesus’ solution
So just how do we prepare for the great distress that Jesus warns us about? He gives us His simple solution:
Watch and pray.
Watch and pray that you may be able to escape…and stand. To stand before the Son of Man takes some practice. That is where prayer comes in and that is where having a strong end-time faith comes in.
Are you part of a praying church or fiery house of prayer? Are you part of a church or group that has a clear and easy to understand end-time vision? If not, you are like most Christian churches in America. And that’s a problem. Fewer and fewer churches even offer one corporate prayer time per week. And without a life of prayer, none of the end-time promises given to believers are laid hold of.
Does prayer have to be hard, boring and excruciating? It is if you do it out of duty. Or if all you do is mumble off the things you want God to do for you.
Prayer is meant to be enjoyable and delightful. Really!
We will be writing more about this “enjoyable and delightful prayer” in the future, because this is the key to embracing Jesus’ admonition to “watch and pray.” May we all be found watching and praying for Jesus’ return!
