"“Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
30And then at last, the fsign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.33In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.34I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.35Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
36“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Jesus’ Return Will Be Sudden
Matt 24:37-41; cp. Luke 17:26-27, 34-35
37“When the Son of Man greturns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.38In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.39People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.
40“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.41Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming
Matt 24:42-51 // Luke 12:39-48
42“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.43Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.44You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
45“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.46If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.47I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.48But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’49and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?50The master will return unannounced and unexpected,51and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hhypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
According to this passage, and to Christ Himself, not even Christ knew the exact time He would be returning, but He did guarantee that it would not be at an expected time, but instead like a burglar sneaking into one's house. Considering this passage, it seems more like the Bible guarantees Judgement Day wouldn't be today, a day when it was widely (and falsely) predicted.
No, the rapture did not take place today, but that does not mean that it won't ever take place. The Bible is clear that Christ will someday return to judge us. That day may not have been May 21, 2011, but as far as anyone knows could be tomorrow or next week or a day hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years from now. All we know is that it is coming and that the judge is standing at the door (James 5:9), and that I are to live our lives in a way that is Holy and pleasing to the Lord in expectation of that day.
I went to see Pirate's of the Caribbean today and Captain Jack Sparrow had some insightful words when it comes to knowing the hour of one's death. WARNING: May contain spoilers* As several crews raced to find the Fountain of Youth, a conversation between Black Beard and Captain Jack Sparrow brought up the question of whether or not it is preferable to know the hour of one's death. Capt. Jack ultimately decides that he prefers not to know the hour of his death, and his reasoning fits right in with God's reasoning for not allowing us to know the hour of Christ's return. Capt. Jack states that not knowing will allow him to live fully because he'll never know which moment will be his last. Many believers of the May 21st Judgement Day gave up everything and prepared for judgement day being today. GOD WANTS US TO LIVE EVERYDAY PREPARED. HE WANTS US TO FULLY LIVE OUT OUR FAITH AND KNOWS THAT WE WON'T DO THAT IF WE KNOW THE HOUR OF HIS RETURN.
I would like to end this post with a reminder of why the Bible is my guide. It is Spirit-breathed, not just made up words of one man or a certain group of men. Without it, there is no truth, for truth must be universal and not subject to the biases of men. Without it, men can make up anything they want and lead people to believe it. Without it, it is simply one word against another and anything goes; morality would not exist. And why do I believe that the Christian Bible is God-breathed and not simply man made, but not other religious texts? Because the Christian Bible contains no biases towards any group of people. According to Galations 3:28, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." There is no division among groups of people. Everyone is listed as a sinner, for as it says in Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And EVERYONE is given the opportunity be saved through Christ Jesus for John 3:16 says that,“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." These words are from Christ's own mouth. The only condition for salvation is that we believe Him, that we have faith in Him. This is not the case with any religious text that was created by man with a personal agenda. Only God's agenda is for the benefit of ALL people.
God bless and may you live in His truth!
