Read Matt 24:29–51
Mat 24:36-44 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (37) For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (38) For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, (39) and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (40) Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. (41) Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. (42) Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. (43) But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. (44) Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Boy Scout motto is “Be prepared.” Well Christians should take some stock in that saying as Jesus tells us to be ready. One of the ways you can be ready and prepared is to pay attention to several key lessons here in chapter 24 of Matthew. One is many will come saying they are Jesus, or the Christ, or they have been anointed with the Spirit of Christ and they are fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus’ second coming. Jesus tells us everyone will know when he returns. It will be like lightning flashing from east to west and there will be a loud trumpet everyone will hear and then you’ll see him descending from the clouds with all his angels. There is no secret coming. If you don’t hear and see these things with everyone else, it isn’t Jesus.

Two, no one knows the day or the hour and while Jesus doesn’t explicitly say it this idiom, this phrase includes any time. So if anyone says they have figured out the code in the Bible or has a special revelation from God, know they are from Satan. Don’t believe them. The last day will seem like nothing special is going on. Like the day of the flood, the unbelievers will be swept away and the believers will be left behind, just as Noah and his family were left behind. There will be two people and the angels will gather up the unbelievers to the valley of decision, the place of judgment. The believers will be left behind to be transformed into their immortal bodies and be gathered with the resurrected believers with Christ in the air.

So be prepared and don’t let false prophets fool you. Be certain of what you believe and who you trust for your salvation. Make sure your faith is in Jesus, his promise of eternal life, forgiveness and salvation on account of his life, death and resurrection. Be busy living out that Christian faith in the free gift of the Father’s love for Jesus’ sake in showing mercy and pity to those around you. For that is how your Father in heaven treats you.

Heavenly Father, grant us such faith that we are not fooled by false prophets being led into unbelief and sin, but that we are always ready, being active in your Word with your holy people and be found living out lives of mercy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.