By Moses Wafula
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethen, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness."
These are a sample of the verses mentioned in the bible referring to the times and seasons before the Lord raptures the church. When I speak of the church, I mean all who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior!
Another post I’ve written, which correlates to this one is: “False Labor.” 1 Thessalonians 5:3, speaks of a woman in labor pains. Today, the world is in a lot of fear for the things coming on the earth! Brace yourself, Jesus told us, “these are the beginning of sorrows.” False labor is speaking lies and deceptions the enemy will use to shake the world. Jesus says don’t believe the lies nor the people coming in His name because they are false Christs and false prophets leading people to destruction. A pregnant woman is the analogy for the times we are in currently! All of a sudden the pain grips her. There is a lot of anguish, pain, wishing it was over. When will it be over already! Some women have said, this is one of the worse feeling pains a woman can experience; child birth. During the times of the pregnancy, 9 months, a woman gets prepared for the day she believes is coming. She is given some time frame and what the signs will be with labor, meaning it will close to the time baby is ready.
So it is with the Day of the Lord. The bible says we do not know the day nor the hour, not even Jesus nor the angels know but only God The Father! The Lord tells us however, we can know the signs of the times or seasons when it is knocking at the door! The Day the Believer’s are taken out of here at once to be with the Lord forever! For example, we will not know one season from the next; earthquakes in many different places; pestilences or we could say viruses and more. The word tells us, that Day will come upon us as ‘a thief in the night,’ sudden destruction!
But God always warns us and particularly his children first! We are not just to sit idly by and wait but to be busy doing the work of the Father! Sharing, ministering, caring, loving and yes even warning those to change their minds about Jesus! He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world! We are to prepare our hearts and minds even our bodies for that Day.
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
In preparing for the wedding day, a couple has so much to do! The bride and groom each have different functions or preparations. For example, the bride is preparing her body and heart and the groom is also preparing where to bring the wife to their home.
John 14:1-4, Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know."
The picture Jesus paints for us, is that the believer’s after His resurrection, are the bride and He Himself is the groom! He went back to Heaven, to prepare for our arrivals. That Day referred in scripture (1 Thessalonians) is the Day Jesus is coming back to get us and take us home!
Matthew 6:20, "but lay up for yourselves treasurers in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."