Only God, the Father, knows when Jesus will return. Therefore Jesus tells us to be alert because it is going to come unexpectedly like the days of Noah – “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
To be counted worthy you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Because on the day that God pours out His wrath on the whole earth, only those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will have the ability to stand.
Jesus gives two parables, the ten virgins and the three servants, to describe the kingdom of heaven. Both illustrate that we need to be watchful and prepared for Jesus’ return. In the three servants parable, Jesus makes the point that He wants us to be good stewards of what He has given us. The Lord expects us to use our given time, gifts, and talents to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. God could have chosen any way to advance the gospel, but He chose to use us, His disciples. Therefore, do the work of the Lord, then He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
Jesus explains the final judgment – ”When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” The righteous will ask, When did we do all these things? Jesus will respond, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”
However, for those on the left hand who do not belong to Jesus, He will say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels… And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Tomorrow Jesus is betrayed by Judas. Keep reading.
(Mark 13:32-37, Matthew 24:36-51, Luke 21:34-38, Matthew 25:1-46)
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Chronological Bible in Layman's Terms 