Be Prepared

Lamps Trimmed and Full

Baden Powell gave us a great motto when he taught all boy scouts to “Be Prepared”. Jesus told us this too. In Matthew 26:1-13 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’  “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’  “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’  “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

What is He talking about here?

This is what He is talking about.  In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Paul tells us “ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

It’s popularly called – “The Rapture”. It is coming and it is coming soon. Just for once in history, the vast majority of the prophets are agreed about something and that is that Jesus is coming again to collect His Bride very soon. Jesus himself told us that we will not know exactly when but that we should always ‘be prepared’ by having our ‘lamps full; wicks trimmed; ready for the masters return’.

Jesus is coming soon. He has told many of the prophets and one or two have even been ‘taken up’ to see what lies ahead for us and to hear from His lips the warning that He is coming again very soon. One or two debatable points revolve around whether or not every Bible prophecy regarding the return has been fulfilled. The Gospel has been preached in every land; to every nation. Not by any one person but the Gospel has been preached nevertheless.

I am not saying anything other than to get ready and to be prepared. Do not be like the traveller standing around waiting for the train to arrive to take him to his destination. No – in all things carry on preparing other people. Spread the Gospel anywhere you can spread it. The Lord will continue to bring people across your paths who still need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. The fields are still ‘white unto harvest’ and this is a harvest season right now.

As we don’t know when He will return, Jesus needs us to continue working for His Kingdom. As Reinhard Bonnke put it, we must continue to ‘plunder hell so as to populate heaven’.

Yet we must also be prepared for the trumpet blast and for Jesus to come to collect us.