Remaining Awake

²That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:³ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,⁴ And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:2-4)

Our Redeemer’s return to establish His Millennial Kingdom is such a glorious and hope-filled truth that it should be proclaimed from every church pulpit.  But instead of exhorting us to die to self, and prepare for the day when we will stand before the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ, we are being bombarded with messages encouraging us to walk after our own lusts.  Just visit The Museum of Idolatry on any given day to see the leavening that is taking place. 


Why is it that so few see the Kingdom truths so clearly while so many do not?  

We know from Scripture that God can cause people to go into a deep sleep:

For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (Isaiah 29:10)   Royce Powell delivers a powerful sermon about this at Disciples Call.

Scripture warns that believers can fall asleep, too.  In the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-10), Jesus tells us that while the Bridegroom tarried, all of the virgins slumbered and slept. The Latin word used here is katheudo.  It can mean to sleep literally and it can also mean to yield to sloth and sin or to be indifferent to one's salvation (Strong 2518).  It is interesting that it is in the imperfect tense, which refers to a continuing or repeated event or state (but I am not a biblical language scholar, so forgive me if I err).

Even the bride, who loves and longs for her Bridegroom in the Song of Solomon, is not immune to falling asleep:

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.  (Song of Solomon 5:1)

The race is long and I admit there are times when I am pulled away from His coming world into this earthly world.  One message that I find very encouraging comes from Cindy Ziegler, who speaks about when the bride’s spirit is willing (“my heart was awake”), but her flesh is weak (“I was asleep”).

We can also find strength in knowing that no matter what the masses may say, Scripture implores us to remain awake, alert, watching, and working for the Lord as we await the Bridegroom’s return:

³⁵Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:³⁶  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.³⁷And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.  (Mark 13:35-37)

⁵Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:5-7)  

¹⁰Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.¹¹And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. ¹²The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:10-12)