Tag Second Coming

WATCHMAN’S REPORT: DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?

Allen Frederick Leave a comment

We plan as though time were ours to command, confidently declaring, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.” Yet, as James reminds us, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Our lives are but a mist that appears briefly and then vanishes. Instead of presuming on the future, we should humbly say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13–15)

This truth calls us to acknowledge that God is sovereign over all time, and our plans must always be submitted to His will. In a world that grips the illusion of control and endless tomorrows, Scripture confronts us with the sobering reality that our days are numbered and the night is nearly over.

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

The Midnight Hour and the Illusion of Tomorrow

Every night we lie down assuming we will rise again. We set alarms with confidence. We plan tomorrow as if tomorrow is guaranteed. But the Word shatters that illusion with sobering clarity. Paul writes, “Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)

The language is urgent. Not casual. Not optional. High time. The moment to wake up is not later. It is now.

Jesus told a parable that feels painfully relevant in this hour. Ten virgins. Ten lamps. Ten people who believed they had more time than they did. All ten slept. But at midnight—the hour no one expected—a cry pierced the darkness: “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6)

Five were ready. Five were not. And when the door shut, it did not reopen.

There will be no “do over,” no second chances, and no overtime granted—just the sound of a closing door.

Jesus presses the point even further: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44)

We do not get to choose the hour. We only get to choose whether we are awake when it comes.

And if the midnight cry feels distant, look around—the signs are already shouting.

The Signs of the Times: A World Drifting Toward Midnight

Jesus rebuked His generation for knowing the weather better than the spiritual climate: “You can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Luke 12:56)

But today the signs are not subtle. They are loud, global, and accelerating.

  • Wars and rumors of wars fill the daily news.
  • Nations align in patterns that echo ancient prophecy.
  • Economies tremble under instability.
  • Violence, corruption, and deception rise like floodwaters.
  • The love of many grows cold.
  • The Church, in many places, sleeps with its lamp half-empty.

Paul’s words ring louder than ever: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand.” (Romans 13:12)
Far spent. Not beginning. Not halfway. Far spent. The Watchman sees a world drifting toward a prophetic midnight while the Church hits the spiritual snooze button.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come…” (2 Timothy 3:1)

The Trumpet That Will Interrupt Every Tomorrow

Paul describes a moment that will interrupt every plan, every schedule, every assumption of “tomorrow”: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52)

There will be no warning siren. No countdown. No five-minute delay. Just a trumpet. A transformation. And a final dividing line between the ready and the unready.

Jesus said it plainly: “At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 24:44)

The Watchman hears the faint echo of that trumpet reverberating through the shaking of nations. The world is not winding down randomly—it is moving toward an appointed hour.

The Prophetic Burden of This Moment

This report is not prediction. It is pattern. It is Scripture. It is the convergence of signs Jesus told us to watch for. The Watchman bears the weight of this moment because the world is rearranging itself into prophetic patterns, the Church is distracted by comfort and routine, believers are living as if the midnight cry is centuries away, and a spiritual drowsiness is settling over people who once burned brightly.

The shaking in the nations is not random—it is a divine alarm clock.

The Call to the Remnant: Wake Up and Trim Your Lamp

The midnight cry will not wait for anyone to finish getting ready. Scripture calls us to watchfulness, sobriety, and readiness. Paul writes, “Let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Jesus warns, “Blessed is that servant whom his master will find watching.” (Luke 12:37)

This is the hour to examine the oil in our lamps, to strengthen what remains, to guard our hearts, to walk in repentance, to cultivate intimacy with Christ, and to resist the spiritual drowsiness of the age. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. And the trumpet is closer than we think.

Benediction: A Call to Stand Awake in the Light

May the Lord awaken every sleeping heart and steady every trembling one. May His light break through the fog of distraction and call us into the clarity of His presence. May He strengthen the weary, revive the watchful, and stir the embers of every lamp that has grown dim. May the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps teach us to walk as children of the day—sober, alert, and anchored in hope. And may His peace guard our hearts as we wait for the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Closing Prayer

Father, we come before You with humility, acknowledging that our days are in Your hands. Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Awaken us from spiritual sleep and open our eyes to the lateness of the hour. Strengthen us to walk in repentance, purity, and readiness. Fill our lamps with the oil of Your Spirit so that when the midnight cry sounds, we will rise with joy and not with fear. Keep our lamps burning until the trumpet sounds. Keep us watchful, steadfast, and faithful as we seek Your face while it is still called today. In the name of Jesus, our soon-coming King, Amen.

Left Behind

Allen Frederick 3 Comments

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A View from the Nest

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor

Insight from the Journey across the Sky


“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. Matthew 24:42

Television
Image by videocrab via Flickr

Television stations across the U.S. began broadcasting Friday June 12 exclusively in digital, and millions of unprepared Americans scrambled for a signal.

Despite a year-long effort by the government, broadcasters and cable operators to warn people of the digital-TV switch, about 2.8 million households remained completely unprepared, according to Nielsen Co. Older Americans were more prepared than the national average, Nielsen found, but younger people and African-American and Hispanic households continued to lag behind.

Most Americans weren’t affected by the digital switch because they subscribe to cable or satellite TV services, which weren’t affected. An estimated 20 million U.S. households relied exclusively on free, over-the-air TV a year ago and had to either buy a new digital TV or get converter boxes for older TVs.

Procrastinators flooded call centers with requests for the government coupons. Nearly 31 million coupons had already been redeemed, but requests for coupons continued to pour in. On Thursday, the day before the change-over date, the government received 319,990 requests.

The switch was originally scheduled for February but was postponed to June 12 after Congress and the Obama administration worried millions of Americans weren’t ready.  For those who were not ready their televisions went black. They could no longer receive a signal, there was no longer any communication between their television set and the broadcast towers. They had run out of time.

When it comes to television not meeting a deadline is not the end of the world but there is a coming change-over that is exactly that… the end of the world! Will you be ready? Will you be prepared? Will you heed the warnings? Or will you, like so many analog television users, be left behind?

Take some time to contemplate that question because this is not the first time warnings were sounded and people refused to heed them. Even when it meant a possible loss of life. I recall Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of that disaster. Although warned well in advance of landfall, many New Orleans residents did not prepare to evacuate the city and suffered enormous hardships once the storm reached land. Perhaps they too thought the storm would be delayed, or someone from the government would come along and carry them to safety. That did not happen and they had to weather the storm on their own. Some even refused rescue when rescue finally arrived.

Human nature being what it is, we all have a tendency to put off until tomorrow what should be done today. I am guilty of waiting until the last minute to get certain things done. I surely can find other things to do when it comes time to do the things I dislike doing. Of course some of my procrastination is planned and purposeful, like waiting till the last minute to pay taxes. J Anyway there are some warnings that should never be ignored, and the one warning that is a matter of life and death is the soon coming return of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

His first trip to this “third rock from the sun” was to bring the message of salvation to everyone who would heed his call, His next trip is not going to be so pleasant. He is not coming to die again on a cross but to bring judgment to those who have yet to react to the salvation message sent over 2000 years ago. Just like in the days of Noah, when all the wickedness the people were engaged in finally reached the point where God said enough was enough, He sent judgment from heaven to deal with the problem.


For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:38-42

It just seemed like another day, things had remained much like they had for many years and even though Noah was building a huge boat, and warning of a soon coming flood, most people apparently did not take Noah seriously. They thought he was out of his mind. They paid no attention until it started to rain, and than I am not sure they gave it much thought until the water started to rise and not stop.

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