Most of you have experienced the
surprise, or even shock, of an unexpected knock at the door. One time, many years ago, it was a stranger
holding our big, white cat, Snowball, limp in his arms. It brought sadness to our young family. Another time, I opened the door to our son-in-law,
whom we thought was still in Viet Nam
I was reading
in Matthew 24 where the disciples
asked Jesus what the signs of the end times were. Jesus went on to tell them in verses 4-31
about the terrible things that will happen on this earth. He ends this with a spectacular statement: “So
it is with you: When you see all these things, you'll know he's at the door.” Matthew
24:33 (MSG) What
does this mean; it doesn’t say he’s knocking at the door? It could mean different things; perhaps he is
ready to open that door and take all the believers with him [the Rapture of the
church] or it could mean you’ve had your chance to accept Jesus as your Savior
and the end of time as we know it is about to take place. This could be an experience of great joy, or
it could be a horrifying experience.
Let me explain the difference
in these two things. First, the
great joy part. When Jesus opens that
door and tells us he has come to take us with him, this is what is going to
happen. “It
will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet
is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and all the
Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that
will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new
bodies too. For our earthly bodies, the ones
we have now that can die, must be transformed into heavenly bodies that cannot
perish but will live forever.”
When it says, ‘all the
Christians’, it doesn’t mean ‘all those who think they are Christians’ because they
go to church once in a while, or they believe in God (so does the devil). It means those who have asked forgiveness for
their sins and invited Jesus into their heart, as their Lord and Savior.
Second: When Jesus opens
that door and the end has come, if you are not a believer, you will be headed
for the White Throne Judgment! “And
I saw a great white throne and the one who sat upon it, from whose face the
earth and sky fled away, but they found no place to hide. I saw
the dead, great and small, standing before God; and the Books were opened,
including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things
written in The Books, each according to the deeds he had done. The
oceans surrendered the bodies buried in them; and the earth and the underworld
gave up the dead in them. Each was judged according to his deeds. And
Death and Hell were thrown into the
Your name was written in the Book
of Life before you were born. “You
saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every
moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16 (NLT ) Your
name can also be blotted out of the Book of Life. “Erase their names from the Book of Life;
don’t let them be counted among the righteous.” Psalm 69:28 (NLT )
So, today is the day to prepare
for that knock at the door. How do you
do that? Let’s go to the book of
Jesus is knocking at the door
of your heart and he loves you and wants to come in. That is called, ‘being Born Again’. You’ll become a new person and live a blessed
life. If you don’t like the person that
you are now, this is the time to give yourself to God. You will never regret it.
“So it is with you: When
you see all these things, you'll know he's at the door.” 
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