Shema Living During End Times #16
Watch & Pray #16
Remember, I have told you ahead of time. (Matthew 24:25)
As Jesus nears the close of declaring His prophecies regarding the end times and His second coming, His concluding word after sharing of the Great Tribulation—a time that will be like no other the previous world’s generations have ever seen, Jesus asserts, Remember, I have told you ahead of time. In short, Jesus avows, as consistently seen throughout the scriptural revelation, that what God the Father prophesied through the prophets and His Son is true and will happen. It is guaranteed!
This prophetic announcing of what God is going to do before it occurs in earth reality is a constant thread in Scripture:
*God tells Abraham in Genesis 15:13, Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. This comes to pass is recorded in Exodus 12:41 when the people of Israel leave Egypt. (Keep in mind this word to Abram was given before he and Sarah had a son!)
*The LORD tells Moses at the burning bush, that as a sign of what God is going to do through Him in delivering His people out of bondage would be his returning back to the same mountain in which God had called him. He replied, “Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God at this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12) God’s word, spoken in advance, comes to fruition in Exodus 24.
*This is a consistent theme through the prophets as they speak to Israel of God’s future plans of sending a Messiah and all the details of His birth, life, and death come to pass through Christ Jesus. (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-7; Genesis 3:15; Psalm 22:1; 34:20; 41:9; 118:22)
Jesus, continues in this same vein of His Father while with us on earth and then after His resurrection:
*Jesus speaks to Nathaniel of seeing him ahead of time under the fig tree. (John 1:48)
*Jesus foretells of His death, burial, and resurrection to the disciples... multiple times! (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34)
*Jesus speaks of the future persecution and martyrdom that will happen to the disciples. (John 16:4)
*Christ addresses Peter of his future “sifting” from the evil one but that He has prayed for him as well as his upcoming denial of Jesus that Peter refuses to believe will happen. (Luke 22:31-34)
*Jesus tells the disciples when they inquire about where to prepare the Passover of what they will encounter and who they are to look for and follow…it happened just as Jesus had told them beforehand. (Matthew 26:17-18)
*When Jesus is recruiting Ananias and telling where to go in order to heal Saul/Paul of blindness and baptize him, Jesus tells Ananias where he is and of His choosing of Saul and the future road that awaits of what he will have to suffer for Jesus’ sake. (Acts 9:16)
*After a three-peat vision of unclean animals, the Spirit tells Peter of three men coming to his house and gives instructions to go with them immediately when they arrive. (Acts 10:19-21)
We can easily see, from a myriad of Scripture moments throughout the Old Testament and the multiple times from the life of our Lord the foretelling of what is “around the corner”…each and every time the prophetic word came true. So, when Jesus now says in Matthew 24 with details concerning future end time events, assuring that what He has predicted will come to fruition, what should be our response? First, believe. Second, from that trust position, be diligent to “Watch and pray” because if Jesus has spoken of what will happen and how best to respond to those happenings, the probability of them occurring is 100%
Moreover, as Jesus emphasizes the call to “Remember…” one must receive His instruction as a vital necessity. “Remember” indicates to “Behold” or to “Pay attention.” The verb, written as an imperative requires that as followers of Christ that being alert is a non-negotiable and responding as Jesus instructs when these events begin to happen demands an immediate response to flee, work to save one’s life, and remain faithful in the day of great deceit from false Christs and prophets.
Our Father, we receive the call to “Remember” Your words of prophecy as an indicator of You being the Truth. The biblical testimony resonates with a strong chord of Your honest track record with accurate and complete fulfillment of what You declare will be happening in the future. Empower us to align peacefully and totally with Your instruction and guidance in the final days prior to Your second advent. In Jesus’ name, amen.
