Watch Yourselves

Luke 21:

34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

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Watch yourselves! A warning of apocalypse.

“Be on guard,” states the King James, with the same Greek word where Jesus warns to ‘beware of false prophets.’ And in case you missed it, Jesus reiterates the warning. “Stay awake;” “keep on alert,” the King James Version warns. Matthew records Jesus using these warnings together as one.

[ctt title=”‘Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.’ – Mark 13:33″ tweet=”Do the cares of this life obscure the Light of eternal life? Watch yourselves!” coverup=”Kj6Z5″]

Who does Jesus warn?

21st century readers could easily dismiss this. Jesus is just preaching to the people of His day. The Temple will be destroyed and Israel will be destroyed. And that’s the end of it.

Not quite. Although these events of which Jesus warned did take place, as is so often the case, prophecy also applies to other times. Just because you and I live in a different place and a later time does not exclude us from the truth.

Jesus warns of impending disaster: ” and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” How often over time does this apply to so many.

[ctt title=”For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.- Luke 21:35″ tweet=”Disaster prophesied by Jesus: not just for a forgotten time centuries past.” coverup=”1nRD9″]

Not just Jerusalem. A disaster of the scope of Sodom and Gomorrah comes more to mind. (Lot was on watch. Only Lot sought to obey the Lord by fleeing sin.)

Jesus does not speak of only ancient Judea, Samaria and Galilee which Rome would destroy later. The Lord warns, “all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”

Do those who ignored the warnings of Noah also come to your mind?

Judgment!

We don’t like it, the thought of being judged by another. Yet a sovereign God surely rules in righteousness and will judge the living and the dead! We prefer to see Jesus as our humble example of living to love God. Jesus invites us to think of God as Father. Jesus challenges us to love others.

Yet He often warned of a judgment to come, a judgment with eternal consequence. Here is just one more example of the Almighty authority of Christ Jesus (which could be easily dismissed).

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The Son of Man

Allow me to isolate what Jesus warns.

“… But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength… to stand before the Son of Man.”

Judgment! Jesus clearly warns the He will be our judge. And you will not stand in your own strength, but in His.

Jesus IS the Son of Man! Jesus also clearly states for all with ears to hear:

“I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30

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Revelation 14:14-16

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud,

“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

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To be continued…