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Chapter 32 - Wedding Feast
Luke 12:38-40
38 And [kai] if [ean] he shall come [erchomai] in [en] the second [deuteros] watch [phulake] , or [kai] come [erchomai] in [en] the third [tritos] watch [phulake] , and [kai] find [heurisko] them so [houto] , blessed [makarios] are [eisi] those [ekeinos] servants [doulos] .
39 And [de] this [touto] know [ginosko] , that [hoti] if [ei] the goodman of the house [oikodespotes] had known [eido] what [poios] hour [hora] the thief [kleptes] would come [erchomai] , [an] he would have watched [gregoreuo] , and [kai] [an] not [ou] have suffered [aphiemi] his [autos] house [oikos] to be broken through [diorusso] .
40 Be [ginomai] ye [humeis] therefore [oun] ready [hetoimos] also [kai] : for [hoti] [hos] the Son [huios] of man [anthropos] cometh [erchomai] at an hour [hora] when ye think [dokeo] not [ou] . KJV-Interlinear
38 'Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 'And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 'You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.' NASB
The phenomenal extent of the blessing comes only to those who wait patiently, and maintain their spiritual alertness. All others will lose out on this special blessing. The uncertainty of Christ's return is to help us know that, we do not know all of the unfolding of history which is in the Divine Decrees.
Certainly back then, no one even had an inkling of the Church Age, let alone the date of the Second Advent. We have a little better advantage in that we live in the Church Age, but we do not know when it will conclude. We do not know the year, the month, the day, the hour, nor even the moment of the Rapture.
For His own reasons, God keeps that a closely guarded secret. No one will ever know of it. No one will ever guess it. Certainly over the years there are those who speculate as to the signs of our times. But again, we are in the Church Age. A dispensation which is never mentioned in the Old Testament. Therefore all the prophecy in the Old Testament applies to the Age of Israel, none of it ever applies to the Church Age.
In our dispensation there is but one prophecy, and that is of the Rapture. Date unknown. We do have signs of event trends, and we can look back at the last 1900 years plus and see how man has moved across the globe, and how the four spheres of power have evolved within our age, but these are just that - historical trends, not prophecy.
So God reminds us now, just as He reminded them back then, do not try to guess that which is un-guessable, but instead concentrate on that which makes you ready for His return. And on that which will qualify you for those phenomenal blessings from God.
Once when we were going over the Levitical Feast schedule, we took note of the timing of the feasts and of the historical events associated with them. The Cross took place at the Passover Feast. The Church Age began with the giving of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost Feast just fifty days later. The next feast on the schedule is the Feast of Trumpets, which is on the first of October. That feast is associated with the calling back of all Gods people.
This is associated with two things. First at the Second Advent once Christ has destroyed all evil, then the call will go out to all surviving believers across the planet. That is one application of the Feast of Trumpets. But there is a second application, and that is the Rapture.
So will the Rapture occur on the first of October of some year? Probably not. Remember that our calendar is not precise. It has evolved over the last couple of thousand years (with a couple of adjustments), so we do not know the exact date of Gods calendar. Also, since we know that the seven years period of the Tribulation will be a shortened seven years, then we cannot just look at the possible date for the Second Advent and back track seven years to the Rapture.
Third, the Feast is a celebration of that calling. Thus the calling celebrates an event which has already occurred. The calling occurs and then the feast takes place to celebrate it. So you can get all caught up in speculation, but you will never know nor even guess the date. Regardless of the events in history, in the Middle East, in Europe, even across the globe what with the dramatic rise in knowledge, earthquakes and such. All of these are simply trends and they might indicate that we are getting close, but then we have been getting closer to the date of the Rapture for 1974 years now. It may not even occur for another hundred years, in which case none of us alive today, will live to see it. We will all be gone.
It is enough of a comfort to know that it will in fact occur, but knowing the time is of no importance.
Thus the parable. We do not know the time of the Masters return. We will all face the late watches, that is, there will be times in our lives when it is difficult to be patient. Life's pressures get to us and we could easily get discouraged. But don't get discouraged. Be patient, and consistent with your study and let God take care of all the details.
The night watch was broken up into four watches. The first evening watch was from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The second watch was from 9 p.m. until midnight. The third watch was from midnight until 3 a.m., and the last or fourth watch went from 3 a.m. until 6 a.m., when the dawn broke.
The return would not occur during the wedding feast which would certainly be held in the evening during the first watch. But it might occur during the second or third watch, or even the last watch when is very late and staying up and waiting in full preparedness is more difficult.
If God told us the date, then who would get ready. If God stated in the Bible that the Rapture would occur on the 15th of September in the year 2118 A.D., then who among us would prepare? Probably fewer than even now. But since the date is not known, and since the date is perpetually imminent, then there is additional incentive to prepare, and to remain so.
The head of the house if he knew when the thief was coming would be ready, even if the head of the house was unworthy. But the blessings are for those who are worthy. Thus we do not anticipate the date. We do not organize our lives on speculated dates, but we organize our lives based on sound doctrine in the soul. Thus prepared, we will receive the greatest blessings that anyone can ever imagine. Now here is your homework for the evening, and even perhaps for many other evenings when times get tough for you.
Into everyone's life difficulties arise. Often times we focus on our problems and that even keeps us from a good nights sleep, so applying all of the characteristics of God - His sinless perfection, His ability to do anything with all legitimacy and honesty, then dream in your dreams the possibilities that might be available to you, if God were to become your faithful and loyal servant forever. Keep your dreams clean now!
You do not earn that blessing, you do not deserve that blessing, but as we have already seen, Jesus Christ will reverse roles with you in eternity, but only if you are completely faithful throughout the rest of your life. So now what are the possibilities?
And one more thing before we leave this parable. I know that there will be those who will scoff at this concept, even though Jesus Himself stated it. But Moses had the opportunity of a lifetime, and that was to be Pharaoh.
He would have had the world at his feet, the wealth of Pharaoh and power and more. By todays standards, he would have been a multi-trillionaire, but he turned his back on that for something of greater value, Heb. 11:24-26. What do you suppose that was?
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