PROVE YOURSELF READY FOR JEHOVAH'S DAY

"Prove yourselves ready, because an hour  that you do not think  to be it, the Son of man is coming." -Matthew 24:44.


IT WILL be a day of battle and fury, of anguish and distress, of darkness and desolation.  Jehovah's  "great and fear-inspiring day" is certain to come upon this wicked system of things, even as the Flood drowned the wicked world in Noah's day.  There is not escaping it.  Yet, "everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe."  (Joel 2:30-32; Amos 5:18-20)  God will destroy his enemies and save his people.  With a sense of urgency, the prophet Zephaniah declares:  "The great day of Jehovah is near, and there is  a hurrying of it very much."  (Zephaniah 1:14) When, though, will this divine judgment be executed?

"Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father," said Jesus. (Matthew 24:36) Since we do not know the precise time, it is vital that we take to heart the words of our year text for 2004:  "Keep on the watch . . .Prove yourselves ready." -Matthew 24:42, 44.

Indicating how suddenly those who are ready will be gathered to safety while others will be forsaken, Jesus said:  "Two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned."  (Matthew 24:40, 41.)  At that critical stage, what will be our personal situation?  Will we be ready, or will that day catch us off guard?   Much depends on the measures we take now.  To prove ourselves ready for Jehovah's day requires that we avoid a certain attitude prevalent to day, that we resist falling into a particular spiritual state, and that we shun certain life-styles. 

Next time: Avoid a Complacent Attitude

The Watchtower, 2003