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Post by watchful on Feb 22, 2022 8:12:54 GMT -5
Mat 24:42-46
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?
It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
(in other words, we get a sense here and elsewhere that watching and being ready means being found by the Lord still on duty when He comes, alert and sober, watching unto prayer, not neglecting the faith, keeping our lamps burning, staying in the saddle)
Mat 25:8-15
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. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.
To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.......
Mat 24:36
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Act 1:7-8
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
1Th 5:1-2
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
(in other words we will not know beforehand - since He comes when we don’t expect and it is not given to us to know beforehand)
1Th 5:4-6
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
(in other words we are in the faith, on duty, awake and not asleep at the wheel.....this is not talking about having to accurately predict beforehand when He is coming).
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Post by watchful on Feb 24, 2022 13:14:00 GMT -5
Here's a further little accompanying study on what it means to watch. (pardon me if this is a repeat post, I cant' remember if I already posted it somewhere else on this site.) Watching Pro 8:34Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
The word for "watching" here conveys the sense of being awake, of being alert and watching and as we can see in this verse it is also related to hearing from and waiting on the Lord. www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h8245/kjv/wlc/0-1/2Ch 23:6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.(sense of watching/waiting at His gates, ministering unto the Lord and watching to see what He will say or do, how He will lead, etc, like a servant standing by waiting upon the will of the Master.) Mar 14:37-38 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. Luk 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant (same Greek word for “watch”); because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour1Th 5:4-6 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.So what I glean is that the gist of it is that the word for "watch" in scripture has to do with being spiritually awake, sober and vigilant as in prayerful and waiting on the Lord in prayer, from what I have found. If we are remaining awake, engaged, eyes on the Lord, watching unto prayer, we will be ready for His return at any time and not caught sleeping. For example, the parable of the virgins has them all falling asleep, as in not being watchful, as time dragged on waiting for the bridegroom. The message being conveyed by this word “watch” is that we are to stay awake and watching/waiting at the doorpost, keeping our eyes on the Lord, waiting for Him, waiting to hear what He would speak to us, or see what He would show us or how He would lead us. Sometimes we may not hear much from the Lord for long seasons when He seems to be gone and far away, and in those times it is harder to stay "awake" and keep waiting for Him in prayer. At such times the Lord is developing perseverance in us. It's also another way in which He tests us. Never give up.
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