MATTHEW 24
44. You also must be ready therefore; for the Son of man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
How do we prepare for the coming of the Lord?
2 Peter 3:14 So beloved, since you are expecting these things, be eager to be found by Him at His coming without spot or blemish, and at peace – in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. Amp. C.
He is telling us to pay attention to all that would be upsetting to us. We are to be at peace and not let things mar our spirit. How do we do this? We have no power within ourselves. We all need the power of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 16:15 Lo, I am going to come like a thief! Blessed – happy, to be envied is he who stays awake and alert and who guards his clothes so that he may not be naked and have the shame of being seen exposed. Amp. C.
Here is another scripture where the Lord is going to come in a sudden manner when he is not expected. Though we should live as if He were coming today. We should be living with a pure heart whether He is coming or not. It is our place to be living in His peace and without spot. That is part of serving Him. He cannot flow through a vessel that is clogged up with fear and anxiety. We are to be at rest.
There is only one way for us to be at rest and ready for His coming. That is only through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to be clothed with the Spirit as it says in Chapter 3 of 1st Corinthians and Chapter 8 of Romans.
There is a teaching that the Holy Spirit will be taken out of this earth when the rapture of the Church occurs. That is when evil will be unleashed because the Holy Spirit’s presence is what is restraining the Anti-Christ.
Then why is Revelation 16:15 right before the 7th Vial is poured out? This is the very end. Verse 16 is Armageddon and 17 says, “it is done, it is all over.” Most of the Church believes this teaching and this proves it is false.
The Lord would not tell us to guard our clothes any other way than the Holy Spirit. He says in Matthew 24:31 that the angels will gather His elect. That is what we are to be ready for. We are to be caught up in the Spirit with Him always seated with Him in the heavenly realm where we are safely in His presence, Ephesians 2:5-6 and Revelation 12:12. That is a spiritual rapture and needs the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Word of God stresses over and over that we are to have Truth in our hearts. Falsehood and error are headed for the lake of fire. Without the Belt of Truth our Armor of God is not complete. We are sanctified by Truth, John 17:17. How can we then be ready when He comes?
John 14:17 The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to his heart), because it does not see Him, not know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you constantly and will be with you. Amp. C.