Swift, Sudden

Matthew 24:38-42 “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
 
OUR Lord is very much to the point, isn’t it? First, if you doubt the Great Flood, know Jesus spoke of it as an historical event. It was one of God’s several nation judgments to cleanse sin. Jesus warned that many people will ignore the gospel’s saving warnings just as people ignored Noah’s warnings. One day, as suddenly as the flood came to engulf the earth, Jesus will come to “flood” the earth with the full knowledge of God. “Listen. Know the signs. Repent. Be ready!” urges the Lord.
   Verses 41-42 may seem to be a reference to a rapture – a theology that teaches the saved will be taken out of the world before a Great Tribulation. But Jesus is simply making a point that some will be ready for him and others will not. Yes, Christians who are alive at his coming will rise to meet Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Then Paul mirrored Jesus’ words as he continued in 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  
          Yes, it’s straightforward. Be ready for the Day of the Lord. You know he’s coming. “When?” is not important. “Who?” and “Why?” is what we must know, so we will be prepared in God’s time to join our Lord in Heaven.