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Luke 12:33-40
Authorized (King James) Version
33 Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. 34 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. 35 “Be prepared—all dressed and ready— 36 for your Lord’s return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 There will be great joy for those who are ready and waiting for his return. He himself will seat them and put on a waiter’s uniform and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come at nine o’clock at night—or even at midnight. But whenever he comes, there will be joy for his servants who are ready! 39 “Everyone would be ready for him if they knew the exact hour of his return—just as they would be ready for a thief if they knew when he was coming. 40 So be ready all the time. For I, the Messiah,[a] will come when least expected.”
The Holy Spirit said,
"Be Aware, Because You're Gonna Prepare"
Staying Aware Of The Rapture Will Make You Prepare For The Rapture
Luke 21:34-36
Authorized (King James) Version {paraphrased}
34 {Jesus said} And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 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.
The Lord Jesus in this Scripture passage, among many others in the Bible, reveals to us what to do to make the Rapture, and what will make us miss it. I want to focus only on this passage today.
For the one who will make the Rapture, it is a mindset that gets us to heaven in the Rapture. It is a heart condition in the one who will miss it. In verse 34, the Lord Jesus tells us that the person who will miss the Rapture, is one whose heart becomes overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life. The Lord says next, that the Rapture come upon the person with that heart condition, at unawares, like a trap!
In verse 36, the Lord Jesus shows us who will make the Rapture. In this verse, the Lord Jesus commands us to watch and pray so that we will make the Rapture, and to stand before Him on that day. It is the person who keeps their mind stayed on Jesus' return that will make the Rapture. That's what they mean by "being ready" (Matthew 24:43-47) and to "watch and pray".
Now, let's break it down. I want to use other Versions of the Bible to make you understand what the Lord Jesus means when He says in verse 34, to the one who will make the Rapture, to, "...take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting..." and "come upon you unawares". Also, in verse 36, what the Lord Jesus means by "Watch ye therefore". So let's begin.
Luke 21:34-36
New Living Translation
34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”
We see from the New Living Translation, that what the Lord Jesus means in verse 34 by "...take heed to yourselves", is, "Watch out!". And what the Lord Jesus means by "hearts overcharged", is "dulled". Dulled hearts. Hearts dulled from being aware of the Rapture by the evil of life. In verse 36, what the Lord Jesus means by "Watch ye therefore", is, "Keep alert at all times". Got it? Let's try another Version.
Luke 21:34-36
The Voice 34
So be careful. Guard your hearts. They can be made heavy with moral laxity, with drunkenness, with the hassles of daily life. Then the day I’ve been telling you about might catch you unaware and trap you. 35 Because it’s coming—nobody on earth will escape it. 36 So you have to stay alert, praying that you’ll be able to escape the coming trials so you can stand tall in the presence of the Son of Man.
Got it? Be careful and guard your hearts from getting heavy with moral laxity, drunkenness and with the hassles of daily life. People like that will miss the Rapture because instead of keeping alert and praying for Jesus to return, they have that heart condition.
What is surfeiting?
We know what getting drunk is and also what it means to worry about the daily hassles of life, such as money, food, clothes and a home. From the other two Versions above, The New Living Translation (NLT) and the Voice Bible Version (Voice), surfeiting means (NLT) "carousing" and in the Voice Version, it means "moral laxity". Let's define these words.
Define Surfeiting
surfeit [ˈsərfət]
VERB surfeiting (present participle)
cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess. "I am surfeited with shopping"
synonyms: satiate · gorge · overfeed · overfill · glut · cram · stuff · overindulge · fill · sicken · nauseate archaic consume too much of something. "he never surfeited on rich wine"
Surfeiting means to overindulge, as in at a party a man says "I was overserved, man!". Overindulgence or gluttony.
Define Carousing
carouse [kəˈrouz]
VERB carousing (present participle)
drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way. "they danced and caroused until the drink ran out" ·
[more] synonyms: drink and make merry · go on a drinking bout · go on a binge · binge · binge-drink · overindulge · drink heavily/freely · go on a pub crawl · bar-hop · go on a spree · have a party · revel · celebrate · feast · enjoy oneself · have a good time · roister · [more]
Carousing means "to party".
Define Moral Laxity
moral laxity moral laxity moral laxity; loose living moral laxity loose living
Related Synonyms for moral laxity laxity moral
Moral laxity means to be passive to your convictions. A person knows that they should be watching for Jesus' return, but instead, they begin to party and fight in the world because they're impatient.
Hebrews 12:1-4 Living Bible 1 Since we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards; and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God. 3 If you want to keep from becoming fainthearted and weary, think about his patience as sinful men did such terrible things to him. 4 After all, you have never yet struggled against sin and temptation until you sweat great drops of blood.
A Promise from the Lord Jesus Christ About Being Patient To Possess Your Crown Of Eternal Life By Staying Aware Of The Rapture
Revelation 3:10, 11
Authorized (King James) Version
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Here's a command from the Apostle Paul about overindulgence, or, excess with wine.
Ephesians 5:17-19
Authorized (King James) Version
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Instead of overindulging at parties on alcohol (because alcohol will make you want more, called excess), be filled with the Spirit and party at church on the Word and praise! Speak to yourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord. That's how you party in Church instead of overindulge on drugs and alcohol, because, in God's Presence is fulness of joy!
The euphoria people seek with drugs, alcohol and sex, is found in the Presence of God. "In thy presence is fulness of joy". People are looking for love in all the wrong places.
Psalm 16:10-11
Authorized (King James) Version
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
How do we make the Rapture? Watch for the Lord's return and pray to Jesus to be found worthy of it. Keep alert at all times for the Lord to return. Keep your mind stayed on the return of the Lord Jesus. Keep thinking that the Lord's return will come unannounced at any moment.
In Luke 21:35, Jesus says that the Rapture will come like a trap upon everyone on earth at that time when it happens. This includes both those who watch for it, and those who don't because no ones knows when it's going to happen.
For the one caught up in the cares of this life, or, covetousness, which is idolatry, the Rapture will trap him in unawareness because he is not keeping aware of it to come unnanounced at any moment.
For the one one watching for the Rapture and keeping busy in Church to prepare for it, the Rapture will trap that one as well in awareness of it because we don't know what hour He will come. The Rapture is a trap. Will you be ready for it by keeping watch and keeping your clothes washed?
So one is aware and the other is unaware. But both don't know when. That's the trap. Keep your mind stayed on Jesus. Be aware that it will come unnanounced at any moment, and like Peter said,
2 Peter 3:14
Living Bible
14 Dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen and for him to come, try hard to live without sinning; and be at peace with everyone so that he will be pleased with you when he returns.
Only people who live like that are aware of Jesus' return. People that are passive and partying, will be doing that when Jesus returns,
Matthew 24:48-51
Living Bible 48
“But if you are evil and say to yourself, ‘My Lord won’t be coming for a while,’ 49 and begin oppressing your fellow servants, partying and getting drunk, 50 your Lord will arrive unannounced and unexpected, 51 and severely whip you and send you off to the judgment of the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Got it? The Lord is saying in Luke 21:34-36 that the one who makes it in the Rapture, is the one that KEEPS AWARE of His return to come unnanounced at any minute. And the one who won't make the Rapture, forgets about the Rapture and starts to party and overindulge.
The Rapture will trap the forgetful one in unawareness. The Rapture will trap the one who parties in church on the Spirit and the Word, in awareness and preparation. Jesus is coming fast as lightning and leaving fast as lightning on a unsuspecting world. Keep aware and stay sober in church, and you'll make it!
Isaiah 26:2-4
Authorized (King James) Version {Paraphrased}
2 Open ye the gates {of the New Jerusalem}, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth {the redeemed of the Lord from Israel and the Gentile nations} may enter in. 3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee {to save him in the Rapture}. 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength {against the hassles of daily life that will make us miss the Rapture}
When you stay focused on the return of the Lord, it will not come upon you unaware. Like the goodman of the house; the house owner, didn't know what time the thief would come. So he stayed up past midnight to be ready for the thief to break in and spare his house. Jesus said to be ready like that for the Rapture. That's what he means to watch and be alert. Those who watch and be alert, will not miss the Rapture because they are ready for Jesus to come, though they don't know what time that He will come. Be aware of Christ's return and do what pleases Him so that He can trap you in awareness when He comes.
Matthew 24:43-51
Authorized (King James) Version
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus is coming in the Rapture at an hour that we don't know. So watch and be ready at at all times. This means to be in a constant state of awareness. The mental state of those who will make the rapture, is called "awareness". This is why the Lord is talking to us by prophecy today, dreams and visions about the Rapture. See, He is making us AWARE so that we keep watch and stop partying!
In Luke 21:34-36, the Lord Jesus describes the passive and unaware heart condition that the fool will be in when He returns. Instead of, as Peter commands us to do, trying to please the Lord by not sinning and being at peace with everyone. As the Lord Jesus says, they are overindulging, drunk (or on drugs), and focusing on the cares of this life.
There is a parable that Jesus taught (also in Dr. Luke's Gospel), in Luke 12:13-21 about coveting. It describes, in other words, the same heart condition of the fool in Luke 21:34-36. Surfeiting, drunkenness and worry about the cares of this life, is another way of saying that you live your life like the fool in Luke 12:13-21.
Luke 12:13-21
Authorized (King James) Version
13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
My point in using this scripture passage, Luke 12:13-21, is to add it to Luke 21:34-36 and to sum up the foolishness of both characters in these passages with one word. Their lives were both in bondage to what the Lord Jesus calls the sin of "coveting" (Luke 12:15). See the common denominators between the two characters who lose to the Lord in life in these two passages? Surfeiting. Carousing. Worry. Living your life. Success. An abundance of goods. To covet is to live your life instead of living in awareness of the Rapture in Church.
Now my next point is idolatry. Read the following passage written by the Apostle Paul, which says that coveting is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
Authorized (King James) Version
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Now, my final point is to use Revelation 21:5-8 to show you that idolaters end up in the second death, which is, not hell, but the Lake of Fire FOREVER!!!
Revelation 21:5-8
Authorized (King James) Version
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Exodus 20:1-17
Authorized (King James) Version
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Hell is not a place. You think hell is the blazes of the Lake of Fire. Don't get mixed up. Read the Bible to know the truth. Hell is a demon that follows death.
Revelation 6:7-9
Authorized (King James) Version
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Hell will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Hell is NOT the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:14
Authorized (King James) Version
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Why is the Lake of Fire the second death?
Because it is eternal separation from the joyful and peaceful Presence of God in the blazes of the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, or, sulphur. Sounds like molten lava...
The first death is sin. Sin separates us from the Presence of God in this life.
Romans 3:23
Authorized (King James) Version
23 for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 6:23
Authorized (King James) Version
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To get out of the blazes of damnation and the Lake of Fire, receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. I close with Romans chapter 10.
HOW TO GET SAVED BY FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
Romans 10
Living Bible
10 Dear brothers, the longing of my heart and my prayer is that the Jewish people might be saved. 2 I know what enthusiasm they have for the honor of God, but it is misdirected zeal. 3 For they don’t understand that Christ has died to make them right with God. Instead they are trying to make themselves good enough to gain God’s favor by keeping the Jewish laws and customs, but that is not God’s way of salvation. 4 They don’t understand that Christ gives to those who trust in him everything they are trying to get by keeping his laws. He ends all of that. 5 For Moses wrote that if a person could be perfectly good and hold out against temptation all his life and never sin once, only then could he be pardoned and saved. 6 But the salvation that comes through faith says, “You don’t need to search the heavens to find Christ and bring him down to help you,” and, 7 “You don’t need to go among the dead to bring Christ back to life again.” 8 For salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is what we preach—is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. 9 For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation.[a] 11 For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. 13 Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 14 But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them unless someone sends him? That is what the Scriptures are talking about when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel of peace with God and bring glad tidings of good things.”[b] In other words, how welcome are those who come preaching God’s Good News! 16 But not everyone who hears the Good News has welcomed it, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed me when I told them?”[c] 17 Yet faith comes from listening to this Good News—the Good News about Christ. 18 But what about the Jews? Have they heard God’s Word? Yes, for it has gone wherever they are; the Good News has been told to the ends of the earth. 19 And did they understand that God would give his salvation to others if they refused to take it[d]? Yes, for even back in the time of Moses, God had said that he would make his people jealous and try to wake them up by giving his salvation to the foolish heathen nations. 20 And later on Isaiah said boldly that God would be found by people who weren’t even looking for him.[e] 21 In the meantime, he keeps on reaching out his hands to the Jews, but they keep arguing[f] and refusing to come.
Got it? Once you're saved by faith in Christ (see verses 9 and 10), next, you gotta keep aware of the Rapture and live to please the Lord Jesus because He's coming unnanounced!
2 Peter 3
Living Bible
1-2 This is my second letter to you, dear brothers, and in both of them I have tried to remind you—if you will let me—about facts you already know: facts you learned from the holy prophets and from us apostles who brought you the words of our Lord and Savior. 3 First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will come scoffers who will do every wrong they can think of and laugh at the truth. 4 This will be their line of argument: “So Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? He’ll never come! Why, as far back as anyone can remember, everything has remained exactly as it was since the first day of creation.” 5-6 They deliberately forget this fact: that God did destroy the world with a mighty flood long after he had made the heavens by the word of his command and had used the waters to form the earth and surround it. 7 And God has commanded that the earth and the heavens be stored away for a great bonfire at the judgment day, when all ungodly men will perish. 8 But don’t forget this, dear friends, that a day or a thousand years from now is like tomorrow to the Lord. 9 He isn’t really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent. 10 The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up. 11 And so since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living! 12 You should look forward to that day and hurry it along—the day when God will set the heavens on fire, and the heavenly bodies will melt and disappear in flames. 13 But we are looking forward to God’s promise of new heavens and a new earth afterwards, where there will be only goodness.[a] 14 Dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen and for him to come, try hard to live without sinning; and be at peace with everyone so that he will be pleased with you when he returns. 15-16 And remember why he is waiting. He is giving us time to get his message of salvation out to others. Our wise and beloved brother Paul has talked about these same things in many of his letters. Some of his comments are not easy to understand, and there are people who are deliberately stupid, and always demand some unusual interpretation—they have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other parts of the Scripture—and the result is disaster for them. 17 I am warning you ahead of time, dear brothers, so that you can watch out and not be carried away by the mistakes of these wicked men, lest you yourselves become mixed up too. 18 But grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be all glory and splendid honor, both now and forevermore. Good-bye.
Peter
Footnotes 2 Peter 3:13 where there will be only goodness, literally, “wherein righteousness dwells.”
I want leave you with a Scripture passage that the Holy Spirit gave me about preparing for the Rapture. Let me tell you how it happened and you will see how the Holy Spirit talks to us with the Bible in Bible study.
I was going to Post Luke 21:34-36 for a paragraph in this Post. I remembered the book, Luke. I remembered the verses, 34 thru 36. But I couldn't remember the chapter. I knew it had a number 2 in it. So I typed out Luke 12:34-36. I got the chapters mixed up. It was chapter two one (21), not chapter one two (12). Look at what the Holy Spirit said about,
How To Make It In The Rapture
Luke 12:34-36
Living Bible
34 Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. 35 “Be prepared—all dressed and ready— 36 for your Lord’s return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks.
Sweet...
How To Make It In The Rapture
The Holy Spirit said,
"Be Aware, Because You're Gonna Prepare"
Staying Aware Of The Rapture Will Make You Prepare For The Rapture
"Leaving On My Mind" (Steve Brock)