Car Alarms and Trumpets
It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. I Corinthians 15:52-53 (New Living Translation, NLT)
Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” II Peter 3:3-4 (New Living Translation, NLT)
Have you ever noticed how no one really pays any attention to car alarms anymore? Yes, the sound is annoying and, if it is your car, it is an embarrassment, but nobody gets alarmed at car alarms. For whatever reason, whether by technical glitch or human error, car alarms often go off when there is no one trying to steal the car or break into it. Because of this, the alarm sound has become commonplace and no one treats them as the warning signal they are intended to be. In other words, the alarms are ignored.
Peter warned of this kind of attitude about the return of the Lord. We are living in the exact days he wrote about. Just like the car alarms, people’s ears have become deaf to the warning that Jesus is coming soon. For two thousand years, people have proclaimed that Jesus is coming soon to get His church. Because years have passed and we are still here, people have become apathetic, even unbelieving, about the catching away of the church. And that is exactly what Peter was talking about.
“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:36-42 (New Living Translation, NLT)
Noah was called by God to build a huge boat at a time when there had never even been any rain on the earth. It took 100 years to build it, and as he built, Noah warned the people of the flood to come. They scoffed and made fun of him, going about their lives as if everything was normal. Only when the rains came and it was too late, did they believe what he said. Their unbelief and apathy toward the warnings resulted in their deaths.
The Scriptures have long been telling of the return of Jesus- first to get His church (the rapture) and then at the end of the great tribulation to set up His millenial reign. In recent years, the warnings have been coming more frequently as preachers are being prompted by the Holy Spirit to talk more and more about the return of the Lord. Do not be apathetic and miss out on the catching away. Those who miss the rapture will be left to experience the great tribulation, a time of cataclysmic trouble unlike anything the world has ever seen. The Word tells us to stay prepared and watching for Jesus so we can escape what is to come.
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.” Luke 21:36 (NKJV)
Stay in the Word, pray, and be alert to the signs of the times. Live right and stay ever ready to see Jesus. And the next time you are at Walmart or some other place and you hear that random car alarm, look up and remind yourself that the trumpet will soon sound and we will be with the Lord forever.
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If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible declares thatyou will not be caught up to Jesus with the church and you will be doomed to experience the great tribulation. However, the good news is that you can change your situation by accepting Jesus. To know you are going to heaven and will be spared from the great tribulation, you can pray a simple prayer to accept Jesus into your heart and life. Click on “The Most Important Thing” page of our website for a prayer you can say. Do it right now. Don’t put it off- Jesus is coming sooner than you think.
