James emphasizes patience five times, suggesting that it is a capstone of saintly character, encompassing long-suffering, forbearance, and self-restraint.

We must develop an active, God-given restraint and constancy in endurance while facing trials and waiting for Christ's return, trusting that God will provide.

We will know Christ's return is near when we see the events He mentions earlier in the chapter begin to occur. Verse 33 provides the key to His parable.

Because the exact time of Christ's return is not known, we must always be ready, as though His return is imminent. Those not prepared will be blindsided.

Only the Father knows the precise time of Christ's return, but the message to all Christians is to be vigilant and busy overcoming that we may see Him in glory.

The sanctification process requires us to cooperate with God in order to produce Christian works and character, preparing us for the Kingdom of God.

Jesus does not specify in so many words what we are to watch. The evidence points to the fact that watching has everything to do with spiritual preparation.

The World War II generation witnessed the horror of nuclear war and therefore begins the time of 'if time were not cut short, no flesh would be saved alive.'

The Olivet Prophecy foretells a gathering of eagles or vultures in anticipation of God's judgment. Will they mistake us for the nearly-dead?

When the end-time signs begin to be fulfilled, the time for long-term spiritual growth will be over. So Jesus commands us, 'Therefore you also be ready.'

At Christ's return, a separation will take place between the righteous and the wicked. However, a secret rapture is nowhere contemplated in Scripture.

We must make sure that our understanding and interpretation of natural disasters and heavenly spectacles align with what the Bible says about them.

As this world keeps on turning, more people become skeptical about the return of Jesus. The Bible, however, insists that He will come again and quickly.

Many are woefully ignorant biblically. Christ warned that no one will know the day or hour of His return, and that many will try to deceive about this event.

Christ's second coming is described as being like 'a thief in the night.' Here is what it means for Christians living in the end times.

We have been warned to keep alert, watching for the return of our Savior, not living in careless ease. We should be sobered by the degenerating state of the world.

At the end of a seven year cycle, the seventh year on the Hebrew calendar, was the year of release when the Law was publicly and solemnly read.

Jesus' statement that 'Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together' is a warning that He will judge those who resist Him.

Jesus teaches His disciples to be ready at all times for His return. We show how well prepared we are by the quality of our service to the brethren.

The Seventh Trumpet is a call to assemble, a call to battle, and announces the arrival of a new ruler, Jesus Christ, separating the wheat from the tares.

We scour the prophecies for any overlooked clue that might guide us through these times of turmoil. Yet, the details we seek remain hidden—for good reason.

Jesus gave the Parable of the Ten Virgins to encourage His disciples to be watchful and to make preparations for His return and the end of the age.

Though Christ has warned us to be aware of the times, we need to be more alert to how we are living. End-time events should lead us to repentance.

The world will experience the ultimate 'shock and awe campaign' at the second coming of Christ. When these events start, they will occur at meteoric speed.

God's selecting a particular candidate does not necessarily mean He has given America a reprieve from the results of her sins. We still need a sense of urgency.

Our challenge in the wake of the terrible things we witness now is to retain confidence that God is in control, even though our faith will be sorely tested.

We would like to know what is going to happen relative to prophecy, yet Jesus stresses that each of us has an important work to accomplish.

We cannot allow ourselves to become surfeited with the world's distractions, being lulled off to sleep as the foolish virgins, wasting our precious time.

Two of Daniel's prophecies differ by 75 days, perhaps paralleling the 75 dramatic days between the resurrections of Lazarus and Jesus Christ.

The references to trumpets suggest an announcement of a specific event or an alarm of what is to follow. Typically, the events themselves are figurative trumpet blasts.

God gives His elect two unknown deadlines: Christ's return and the Christian's lifespan. They focus His people on becoming spiritually rich toward God.

God's people do a disservice to the cause of truth when they allow the media-hype to trigger a false hope about Jesus Christ's return being imminent.

Peter warns of scoffers in the church, apostate tares, devoid of God's spirit, ridiculing the doctrine that Christ would return or doctrines of judgment.

We do not know how long the project (our sanctification process) will take. Each day is critical in doing our part to be of the same mind as God.

The events in Matthew 24 parallel the six seals of Revelation 6 and the seventh seal of Revelation 7, showing a definite chronological progression.

The 75-day period surrounding Christ's death saw numerous remarkable fulfillments of prophecy. The closing days of this age will be similarly eventful.

Sodomites were industrious people, but they cared nothing for God, mirroring the worst aspects of modern Israel. We need to make sure that we live soberly.

It is far more important for God's called-out ones to be ready than to know the time of Christ's return, an event to which even He is not privy.

To watch world events but to ignore our spiritual progress and overcoming is a foolish and futile exercise. We need to watch how we conduct ourselves.

We should know the Bible's prophecies and be watching world events. But our focus on prophecy should not come at the expense of doctrine and Christian living.

Before the flood, Satan had attempted to corrupt mankind, probably through massive demonic possession. The same demonic threat will occur at the end-time.

Studying prophecy is good, but doctrine and Christian living are far more necessary and helpful to our practicing and growing in God's way of life now.

Some of us, facing the stress of the times, may simply be going through the motions but losing every vestige of faith. We must strengthen our convictions.

God's people have an obligation to awaken out of their complacency, realizing that their allotted time for repenting and overcoming is drawing to its close.

In the unsettling letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus paints a picture of Himself in relation to the church that reveals His people care about other things.

Any prophetic speculation, accurate or not, is useless unless it is promotes diligence in living godly lives, eagerly preparing for the return of Christ.

Doubting that Christ will return has always been problematic for the faithful weak as well as a tool of the heretics denying the second coming of Christ.

The "last days" began with Christ's resurrection, when Satan was formally deposed as ruler of earth. God made His kingdom available at that time.

We must become leaders in our own families, protecting them from the curses that are already falling on our nation. We have the obligation to fear God.