Ready for Christ's Coming - by Jim Tharp

But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 

But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. 

(Matthew 24:36-44, NRSV)

From the very hour in which our Lord Jesus Christ was caught up in His ascension to the Father, Christian believers everywhere have rejoiced in their hope of His Second Coming. The apostles watched Jesus ascend, and then after He was out of sight, angels came and wakened the disciples from their trance, saying Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11, NRSV).

Surely, Christ’s Second Coming is of the utmost importance for all believers. But we must also give attention to all that Jesus and His apostles said about our preparation for His coming.

We learn from Jesus and His apostles that the Second Coming will have two phases—He will come first to rapture (“catch away”) His Bride. The world and those not ready for His coming will not see Him. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:16-17, NKJV).

The second phase of the Second Coming will be a Revelation—He will return to the very place from which He ascended: to the Mount of Olives in a great earthquake. The prophet Zechariah predicted five centuries before Christ’s coming to earth as a Babe in the manger that He would return: On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south (Zechariah 14:4 NIV). Jesus Himself confirmed Zechariah’s prophecy by saying, For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. . . . Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:27, 30, NIV).

The earth to which Jesus returns in the second phase of His coming will be to one filled with tragedy and sorrow because of rejecting the Savior and believing the lies of the Antichrist. The apostle Paul predicted that those believers on earth living just before the rapture would be affected by the preliminary invasions of the evil spirits of the Antichrist: The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (II Thessalonians 2:9-12, NIV).

Four Components of New Covenant Praying - By Jim Tharp 1998

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:23-24, 26-28, NIV)

Having been intrigued by the prayer life of Jesus, the disciples pressed Him to share with them His secrets of prevailing prayer. In His final discourse on prayer, which came within the context of His Paraclete lessons, Jesus told His disciples that things would be different in their prayer life once the Holy Spirit came upon them. Let us see the four components of New Covenant praying as mentioned by Jesus in His last discourse.

Approaching the Father

"In that day," said Jesus, "you will no longer ask Me anything." The phrase "in that day" appears twice in this context, and it refers to the time when the Holy Spirit will come to influence believers, including their praying. When He said, "you will no longer ask Me anything," Jesus was reminding them that He would not be with them literally and visibly. With the Holy Spirit indwelling and guiding them, they would have no need to turn to Him literally as they had in the past. It would be to their advantage that He depart from them in the flesh in order that He might return to them in the Spirit. With the Holy Spirit in them, the Father and the Son would be approachable at all times and in all circumstances. Jesus assured them, "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (v.27). No apologies would be necessary in approaching the Father. As His redeemed children, bought by the precious blood of His only begotten Son, none of us are considered to be interrupting or intruding when we come to the Father in prayer. "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:14-16). The inspired writer argues here for an approach to the Father that is one of confidence because of our standing in Christ. When we pray, we are not approaching the Father as a stranger or an impostor but as a blood-bought child who is in favor because of Christ and what He did for us. Jesus emphasized boldness in prayer by both example and parables.