Matthew 24
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 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. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Jesus will return, but no one knows the time, although some try to set dates.
In the last days the love of many will grow cold. The person that persists in his sin, will not receive mercy, but the one who confesses and forsakes his sin will receive forgiveness and mercy.
In Noah’s day they saw the ark being built, but it didn’t interest them. They carried on in their sexual perversions. It was like today, where the internet is a cursed thing, and many Christians fall into sin because of it. They look at the cursed pornography and sexual perversions and even defile their wives and children with it. All these things point to His speedy return, but the Gospel must still be preached to the ends of the world.
Finally, when the rain came down, the people cried for help from Noah. But Noah replied that he could not open the door, for he hadn’t locked it – God did. When God had locked the door, you cannot do anything anymore. A certain girl heard the Gospel often, but she hardened her heart and went and flirted with boys and had an illegitimate child. When she was in hospital, and was dying of AIDS, she called for a pastor. When the preacher came, she couldn’t speak and soon became unconscious. God had shut the door.
Moody, before he preached, reminded himself that Jesus could return before the end of his sermon. Do you live such a life daily, knowing that Jesus could return before the end of the day?
Even if two are married, His coming could be the dividing line, where the one is taken and the other left. A person of the world and a child of God cannot be intimately bonded together. Even a carnal and spiritual Christian cannot have a close relationship.
In Philippians Paul writes how he puts his all into it, so that he might attain to “the resurrection out of the dead”.
Jesus is coming at an hour when you will not expect Him. No one knows when He will return, but what we do know is that he will come at a time when we will not expect Him to return. Be prepared at all times, lest you be left behind, for there will be no time to make your life right when the trumpet sounds.
In Noah’s day even the animals had more sense than the people. Make sure you’re in the ark, which is Jesus, when He returns.