Still Here?

Introduction: The Morning After

Another rapture prediction has passed. Another chart, another date, another disappointment. And yet here we are — still here, the day after.

At AsAThief.com, we’re not surprised. Jesus never told us to set dates. He told us to watch. In fact, He warned us there would be two kinds of believers who miss His coming — both for opposite reasons.

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Matthew 24: “Not Soon”

In Matthew 24:48–51, Jesus describes the evil servant:

• “My Lord delayeth His coming.”
• He isn’t watching because he thinks it’s not soon.
• His complacency leads him to live carelessly, and judgment comes when he least expects it.

This group underestimates the nearness. They under-shoot.

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Matthew 25: “Before It Gets Bad”

In the very next chapter, Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins.

• Five were wise, with lamps full of oil.
• Five were foolish, letting their lamps run out.

Why? Because they assumed the Bridegroom would arrive before the night got too dark. They weren’t prepared for delay. They thought, “He’s coming before it gets bad.”

This group overestimates the timing. They over-shoot.

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Two Errors, One Warning

Put together, the message is clear:

• Matthew 24 = Not Soon → careless, unwatchful.
• Matthew 25 = Before It Gets Bad → presumptuous, unprepared.

Both miss the Bridegroom. Both are shut out.

But the true watchers avoid both errors. We don’t say “not soon.” We don’t say “before it gets bad.” We stay steady. We endure. We keep our lamps full until the cry goes out: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!”

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Watching Means Knowing

Jesus said in Revelation 3:3: “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

But that means the opposite is true:

• If we do watch, He will not come upon us as a thief.
• That day will not overtake us like a thief (1 Thess. 5:4).
• We will see the abomination of desolation and know the countdown has begun (Matt. 24:15).

Watching doesn’t make us date-setters. It makes us faithful.

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Looking For and Hastening

We are not shrinking back, we are looking ahead with anticipation.

• 2 Peter 3:12 — “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved…”
• Hebrews 12:28–29 — “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire.”

The heavens may burn. The earth may shake. But we will remain, because we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

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Conclusion: Still Here, Still Watching

So if you woke up today after another failed rapture prediction — don’t despair. Don’t let your lamp go out. Don’t crash in disappointment.

Instead, take Jesus’ words seriously:

• Don’t say, “Not soon.”
• Don’t say, “Before it gets bad.”
• Say instead: “I will watch. I will endure. I will keep my lamp full until the end.”

Because the true watchers won’t be fooled. The day won’t overtake us like a thief. And when the midnight cry goes forth, we will be ready, lamps burning, hearts steady, waiting for the Bridegroom.

At AsAThief.com, that’s our calling: to keep watching, keep preparing, keep enduring — until the day when the King comes and the voice of heaven thunders:

“It is done.”