12/19/2008 04:53:00 PM
Jeffrey K Radt ("JRed")
No, not the new blockbuster film called The Watchmen from Hollywood, but those who are actively watching events around the world and seeing the fulfillment of Bible prophecy as well as the imminent return of Jesus Christ.
That got me thinking about the word "watch" and all the places where it shows up in the Bible. My investigation led me to one verse in particular from the Book of Luke.
Luke 21:36 - "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."
There's that whole pesky idea again of us having to always pray so that we may be counted worthy to escape what's about to be unleashed upon the world.
I'm still having a tough time trying to figure out what this all means, and if it in any way correlates to Jesus' admission that only few will make it since he will turn away many who thought they were secure, but that's a discussion for another day.
Anyway, back to Luke 21:36, I came across an excellent piece by The Berean. Through no effort of my own (other than by taking the time to read the analysis), it seems I found the answers I was looking for!
In our day, "watch" has lost much of its original power. Is there anything more passive than watching television? We live in a spectator nation. We watch movies, news, the markets, and sporting events. Watching has become an activity that puts us on the sidelines and not on the field of battle, an idea foreign to the original meaning of the word.
At the time of the King James translators, "watch" emphasized the carefulness, attention, and vigilance in the way a soldier kept alert for any sign of enemy movement. That's important for us to remember as students of prophecy.
A concept that has more meaning to us today can be found in the word "overcome." This word implies that we watch ourselves to spot our problems, do battle with them, and conquer them. "Overcome" better communicates the battle we have joined (Romans 12:21; 1 John 5:4-5; Revelation 21:7).
If we watch ourselves spiritually, we are not just watching our human nature, but doing battle with it. We are not just watching the world and its influences as they bombard us, but fighting against them. We are not just watching Satan's devices as they toy with us, but defending ourselves against them. In other words, "watch" as originally intended covers the entire process of overcoming that is our calling. We are to be identifying the problems, engaging them, and putting them to flight (Revelation 3:2; 16:15; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8).
Therefore, "overcome," more clearly than "watch," communicates to someone living today what Luke 21:36 says we should be doing as we near the end of the age. The premier end-time book, Revelation, repeatedly emphasizes that overcoming is "job one" for us (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 12:11; 21:7).
Luke 21:36 suggests that those who alertly overcome and pray always are those that may be counted worthy to escape and stand before Christ in God's Kingdom. In verse 36, Christ ties together all He has said throughout the chapter. If we do not neglect the spiritual (verses 34-35), and instead watch and pray always, we can "escape all these things" (verses 7-33) and enter God's Kingdom.
Luke 21 is a chapter about the end time, and in verse 36, we have spiritual instruction directly from Jesus to anyone living during that time. He is telling us how to escape the final effects of the turmoil that is ahead, and to enter God's Kingdom. This, therefore, becomes an extremely powerful verse in helping us to understand exactly what we should be concentrating on at this time. It is a roadmap to safety and salvation.
What if someone told us where to find two tickets, which if purchased by us, would grant us escape from the end-time tumult and entrance into God's Kingdom? What price would we pay? Two such "tickets" exist, and we have the wherewithal to purchase them. Luke 21:36 shows us the two tickets. One is the "watch/overcome" ticket and the other is the "pray always" ticket. If we choose to be lackadaisical about overcoming or prayer, are missing either ticket, or have only a partial ticket, we will likely be required to "buy" those same two tickets at a very dear price in the Tribulation.
The Bible states quite a few "formulas" for producing certain things. We need to understand that none of these formulas stands on its own. They fit into a whole that includes other factors supplied from other instruction found elsewhere in Scripture. However, there are formulas, and then, there are formulas. Those that Jesus gives tend to be "trunk of the tree" formulas. They must be our base, and then we can stack other instruction on them.
These "trunk of the tree" formulas not only form a foundation that supports everything else, but they also give direction and boundaries for what and how we can add to them. Once a builder lays a foundation for a small, three-bedroom house, it automatically limits what he can and cannot construct on it. Consequently, we cannot build a beautiful spiritual temple on the wrong foundation. Luke 21:36 is an integral part of the right foundation for those of us living at the end.
As we have seen, in Luke 21:36, Christ reveals that the roles of watching - - or paying careful attention to overcoming - - and praying always are vital to our Christian lives at this time.
Thanks Berean! I couldn't have said it any better myself! Amazing how God consistently leads us to the truth if we genuinely pursue it. His grace in providing this wisdom to me at a time when I have been craving it is a true blessing indeed!
Watch. Overcome. Pray.
December 19, 2008
The Watchmen
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2 Comments:
your Rapture plan is quite works based...I hear your confusion about what these passages are really saying - i have wondered the same, but presenting a works based method for avoiding the Tribulation is not inline with Jesus character....or maybe you think it is??? First clearly define "overcome" and "Pray always"....how many minutes a day qualifies one for the lift off? How well must we overcome in this world? Examples please. Was PAul then an overcomer when he continued sinning though he didnt want to....? What must we do to be overcomers aside form faith in Christ?? If we dont know what else God is looking for this could drive the most concerned Christain citizen to the crazy house dont ya think? i know this from experience... stressing about making it to the Rapture..and what happens if you have accepted Christ and are born again and dont go - if that were to happen - that person surely would never have any feeling of assurance in the trib....and I thought that “The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.” (1John 5:11-13). So either we are to know this or not....
I am not sure where you are going with all this - you say it is not a crisis of faith? Id say it sure sounds like one b/c how then do you know YOU get to go in the Rapture based on what you are putting forth......so its not sounding like the Blessed Hope if you are a Christian ( and i dont mean a nominal one) its sounds like a day that could be Terror filled.... how would that individual then proceed through the Trib so unclear about whether or no they are saved?...Just some more qws. to consider
Anonymous,
Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your perspective on this issue.
You make some excellent points. I'm just not sure that "watching" and "praying" is a "works-based" plan as you suggest. Let me explain.
I've always thought of watching and praying as two sides to the same coin in the Christian's life. More importantly, I've often viewed both as not being "works" as much as they are simply a "reflect action" in the believer's life.
Perhaps a better analogy is to say that watching/praying is to the Christian as breathing is to any other person - - you don't really choose to do either because they are absolutely necessary to your being. Does that make any sense?
I admit, I could be way off on that too, but that's just how I've always felt about it. You're right, I still have MANY questions, but merely having questions about such things does not mean we have a "crisis of faith" because, after all, I still believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I just want to seek after the truth of such unanswered concerns whatever that answer may be.
Thanks again for sharing. I will certainly take that under prayerful consideration as well. I hope you will continue to join me here in my pursuit of the truth.
YBIC,
Jeff (JRed)
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