“knowing this beforehand, be on your guard . . .”
“Be on guard,
(The Gospel According to Luke 21: 34-36 NASB)
so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life,
and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
But keep on the alert at all times,
praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place,
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The apostle Simon Peter wrote these words, “knowing this beforehand, be on your guard . . .” paraphrasing the words of the Messiah, the Savior & the Son of God.
We are given this warning to caution us, to keep our minds focused, so that we are able to be strengthened to escape and then to stand before the Lord during His Judgment.
In this world, if we become sick, normally one of two actions occur:
- We fight our sickness with every over-the-counter medication we can self-prescribe ourselves. &/OR
- We go to the doctor and allow the skilled physician to guide us to healing.
It is a fact, I live here. Yes, I am one who does “dwell on the face of all the earth.”
You too, live here. Yes, you, who are one who does also “dwell on the face of all the earth.”
Here “on the face of all the earth” is where we live together.
Thus, since we do (dwell on earth), we sense the sickness, the depravation & the degradation that permeates the earth & all the inhabitants.
Now, maybe we are reading this and think:
‘I do not sense the heavy weight of this earthly sin-sickness, and this does not describe me.’
However, sin does surround us, those who “dwell on the face of all the earth.”
Truly, we who live and breathe cannot walk the face of the earth and remain untouched by all the evilness of the prince of this world—Satan.
- The depravation.
- The squandering.
- The extravagance.
- The indulgence.
- The debauchery.
- The decadence.
- The intoxicating drunkenness.
- The anxiety-driven worry of the world.
May Christians beware because the Word of God tells us—
“Children, it is the last hour;
(The First Letter of John 2: 18 NASB)
and just as you heard that antichrist is coming,
even now many antichrists have appeared;
from this we know that it is the last hour.”
We are living in “the last hour” & “last days” because the Bible tells us so. We who Believe cannot love the things of this world because this is exactly what Jesus is describing when He speaks about the earth where we dwell.
Jesus—the Son of Man—the Messiah—the Son of God cautions the children of God—
“Be on guard.”
In studying The Gospel According to Luke, I discovered that one-third of this biblical text is dominated by the crucifixion of Jesus. When I learned this, I began to wonder why.
Why would the Holy Spirit lead a physician, one called to become a disciple of Christ Jesus, to devote so much to the death of the Savior?
The Answer—
When Jesus Christ willingly died upon the cross of Calvary, He took upon Himself the sins of the world!
The Answer—
When Jesus Christ willingly gave his life (for us), He made The Way for us to receive God’s Amazing Grace—His Salvation!
The Answer—
When Jesus Christ stretched out His arms and feet and willingly allowed the Roman soldiers to drive the spikes into His body, and when He subjected Himself to this horrendous & cruel death (death on a cross), JESUS DID THIS SO WE MIGHT RECEIVE HIM!
Through his training as a physician, Dr. Luke understood the implication, the torture, the pain that would have been felt throughout Jesus’ body when He was crucified. Thus, the Holy Spirit led the apostle Luke to devote one-third of this Gospel to—EXACTLY WHAT JESUS ENDURED FOR US!
Luke records Jesus’ words for us who dwell here upon the earth.
“Be on guard.”
We read in God’s Word how the apostle Simon Peter was so much like us: impetuous & sinful.
Nevertheless, when given the choice to follow Jesus, to become a fisher of men, Simon Peter laid down his earthly fishing nets, walked away from his boat & FOLLOWED JESUS!
Simon Peter was led by the Holy Spirit to record in his second letter a prophecy of “A New Heaven and Earth.”
Simon Peter recorded:
- How the Lord will come,
- How the elements of the earth will be destroyed &
- How we are to dwell here on earth as we await—THE DAY OF THE LORD.
Simon Peter ended his second letter with the cautionary words of the Savior & Lord Jesus Christ, with words written to those who BELIEVED IN JESUS!
“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand,
(The Second Letter of Peter 3: 17-18 NASB)
be on your guard
so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men
and fall from your own steadfastness,
but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To Him be the glory,
both now and to the day of eternity.
Amen.”
Since we cannot change yesterday. &
Since we can only walk forward into today, this day the Lord has given to us. &
Since we have been given the Truth beforehand, we are told the way we are to walk.
- We are instructed to grow in grace.
- We are cautioned to not fall away from the faith.
THE LORD
(The Gospel According to Luke 21: 36 NASB)
reminds the children of God—
“But keep on the alert at all times,
praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place,
and to stand before the Son of Man.”