The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Providence College
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Biblical and Theological/Are These the Last Days?

Are These the Last Days?

Expect Him to return. He said He will come back. He will do it. But obey Him by staying alert for His return.

Written by Brent Niedeergall | Thursday, February 11, 2021

God doesn’t want us prognosticating, but God does have something He wants us to do, no matter what time we’re living in. We don’t know how soon the end will be. But the beauty of this parable from Jesus is that it tells us what to do whether the end is minutes or centuries from now. We have the same command as the doorkeeper in the parable. Our instructions to be alert means we should be faithfully performing our service for the Lord. 

 

One of the “joys” of training to become a soldier in the United States Army is pulling what’s called fireguard duty. The Army used to house soldiers in wooden barracks with wood-burning stoves. So soldiers would rotate shifts through the night to make sure the place didn’t burn down. Even though there’s not so much of a need to keep watch for fires the Army has kept the tradition. Fire guard duty has simply become guard duty to build discipline and a way to work in some extra cleaning time. New fireguards quickly learn their first general order: “I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.” As a fireguard, you are on guard. Your job is to watch. To stay alert. And you’d better not let a drill sergeant catch you sleeping on the job or you’re going to be doing some serious pushups. Vigilance is required. 

The military isn’t alone in requiring vigilance. The Lord Jesus called for this same discipline from His followers in a parable found in Mark 13.  

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark 13:32–37).

Jesus not only foretold the destruction of Jerusalem that would take place in A.D. 70. He also addresses them about the end times—the end of the age when there will be a rebuilt temple during the tribulation. Jesus foretells a time when the antichrist, “the abomination of desolation,” will desecrate the rebuilt temple. There will be terrible persecution against Israel during this time. People will be living in the last days. Yet Jesus warns his followers not to try and set a date for when the end times will begin. You’re not going to pinpoint the end times events on your calendar. Jesus said He (and this is the Lord Jesus we’re talking about) doesn’t even know. Jesus, in His humanity, voluntarily accepted the limitation in his own knowledge of when the end times would occur. Jesus doesn’t know. The angels don’t know. Whatever tumult and turmoil you might see going on around you, you’re just not going to be able to watch the news and say, “This is it. The end is here.” 

Read More

Related Posts:

  • God Has Found You Faithful
  • How Sheep Get Saved: Jesus as the Door, the Good Shepherd,…
  • The Business of the Kingdom of God
  • How to Preach Parables
  • The Bridegroom

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Providence College
Belhaven University

Archives

Books

Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian - by Danny Olinger

Special

God is Holy
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donations
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Important:

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Special

Letter of Jude
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts
Providence Christian College - visit

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2023 The Aquila Report · Log in