Know Your Warning Signs!
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will <the destruction of the Temple> happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”’ (Matthew 24:3)
Heat exhaustion (getting woozy and lightheaded) is a warning, to stop working in the hot sun, go drink water, and sit in the shade or the AC and rest. It is the body’s way of saying ‘be on the lookout, or else’. If one ignores the warning of heat exhaustion or does not learn what to watch out for, it can lead to heat stroke which can cause severe injury to the body resulting in a permanent disability or even death. You need not go into heat exhaustion to stop working; you know the warning signs ahead of time so you can work smartly and get things done before reaching that point of having the warning signs come into play. One can be prepared by having water handy, a place in the shade to rest, or doors unlocked to quickly get into the AC to cool down.
In the beginning of Matthew 24, Jesus is approached by His disciples about the splendor of the Temple and of Jerusalem’s buildings. He responds by telling them all that they see will be torn asunder, nothing will be left standing. Obviously, this disturbed the disciples enough that they were dwelling on it when Jesus and His followers arrived at the Mount of Olives to rest, as they asked Him what this meant, when it would occur, and would this be a sign of His return, or of the End Times beginning.
The rest of Matthew 24 (24:4-51) is Jesus providing the ‘warning signs’ to prepare His people what to look for to be ready to act when the End Times (and His 2nd Coming) are approaching. He speaks throughout this chapter of many false prophets and teachers who claim to ‘know’ Jesus, or even claim to be Jesus Himself, but are not of Him. If you study God’s Word, communicate with Him through prayer continually, and fellowship with other Believers regularly, you’ll know this and won’t be ignorant when these charlatans cross your path.
There will be tensions between nations, wars, natural disasters, famines, plagues, and other calamities that will occur. Being in tune with the Holy Spirit, though, you will understand that these are not End Times occurrences but things that happen leading up to the End Times. Be prepared for them, to live through them, and to use those times to bring people to a relationship with Christ.
Eventually the persecution of the True Church will occur, and many who are not rooted in the Faith will turn away from it, perhaps entire congregations will turn away from the Lord toward a more secular and ‘safe and approved’ message (which we see today, unfortunately). People will turn toward the religion of ‘self’, and be greedy and self-serving instead of being generous and outgoing. Will you continue to stand for Jesus when all others in your circle turn away from you?
Jesus gives us signs to look for in order to be prepared for, the Holy Place’s desecration by the presence of the one causing ‘desolation by the abomination’ (24:15), which many believe will occur when the new Temple is built on the Temple Mount; the blossoming of the fig tree (Israel) which many believe started in 1948 with its reconstitution (24:32), a prelude to His calling of His people with the trumpet call that many refer to as the Rapture, and days of despair and distress, where even mothers and their babies will not be spared from the horrors that will come (24:19-22).
In all of this, however, we must be prepared to go through these times of despair, and not turn away from those who seek the knowledge and love of Christ. It would be easier to turn our backs and sequester ourselves in our community of Believers, but Jesus wants us to continue to be outward in sharing the Gospel. The doors of the Church must be open to those who want to enter – especially for sheep in wolves’ clothing , but we also must be diligent in our watchfulness of wolves in sheep’s clothing and keep them out. This can only be done through the discernment of the Holy Spirit.
The warnings of heat exhaustion is not to stop us from working but to be aware of when we may get ourselves into trouble and prepare ourselves to be better suited in working through and handling hot conditions; the warnings of Jesus are the same, not to stop us from working but to prevent us from getting into trouble and prepare ourselves to be better suited in working through and handling the ‘hot’ problems and issues we will face and are facing as we get closer to the End Times. As stated before, we may not yet be in the End Times and they may not be close, but they are one day closer in arriving than they were yesterday, and tomorrow will be one day closer than they are today.
