Luke 12:54-56--Interpreting the Time

Luke 12:54-56
English Standard Version
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Interpreting the Time
54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

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Our big theme for a while has been the reality of the coming day of the LORD, that is the day of judgment.  For some on that day, they will be praised and rewarded by their Master, but for many others it will be a day where they will stand as if naked and exposed before the one who is not only Creator and King, but Judge and Jury.  For their crimes of rebellion against God and His kingdom, they will be condemned to exile and an eternal life of torture and punishment.

This is probably an excerpt of what we know as the Olivet Discourse where Jesus talked much about the last days with His disciples before His death.  Just like we see the weather changing and know with a little advance warning that a storm is coming because this is the pattern of things that have happened in the past so we know how to read those patterns and predict with some level of certainty what will happen in the future, so it will be with the end times.  We should be able to understand the times and know when the end is near, not by reading the earth and sky, but by reading the Word of God and understanding what it has to tell us about what is going on around us--both in the kingdom of men and the kingdom of God.  We would be wise to understand the times and not be caught unprepared when Christ comes back to take some of us to be His Bride and executes judgment against others (as we talked about last time).  All the signs are there if we know how to read and interpret them through God's Word.