Luke 19:28-31

Here we find our Lord on His way up to Jerusalem stopping only a short distance from His destination in Bethphage and Bethany for preparations to be made for His entrance. The way needed to be prepared so that upon entrance to the city people would know that He was presenting Himself as the Messiah.

As His disciples today, we too should be preparing for His returning entrance – this time returning not as a babe born in a manger but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We find in Scripture:

7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." Rev 22:7 (NIV)

12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev 22:12-13 (NIV)

When Jesus returns He will no longer be cloaked with humanity but with glory. Man will fall prostrate as though dead at His awesome sight. The beloved disciple John writes the following description and his ensuing action upon the sight of it:

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Rev 1:12-17 (NIV)

Preparedness of the saints for Jesus’ sure return is preached throughout God’s Word. We find in 2 Peter:

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13 (NIV)

“Oh that I may be roused out of my slumber, and be watchful and ready against the coming of my Bridegroom...Even the wise virgins fell asleep. Let this be a warning to me, O Lord. Set thou a guard before my eyes, ears, and other faculties, lest the world again should enter through these avenues of the heart; if the spark be not speedily extinguished, it will soon break out into a flame: thus sin is of a progressive nature, and its venom spreads very quickly and very wide, unless it be stopped and opposed in time. Watch, therefore, over this unsteady heart of mine, O Thou Keeper of Israel; that as soon as it begins to wander from Thee, I may be alarmed to flee from sin as from a serpent. Give me grace to look upon every hour as my last; so that being ever wisely upon my guard I may meet Thee with joy when my time is run out, whenever it shall please Thee to call me hence.” K. H. Von Bogatzky

If there is one doctrine I have preached more than another, it is the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints even to the end. C . H. Spurgeon

To be prepared to die is to be prepared to live. To be ready for eternity is in the best sense to be ready for time. Who is so fit to live on earth as the man who is fit to live in heaven? C. H. Spurgeon

“The sin of our times is the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” Dorothy Sayers