In verses 34 and 35 the Lord says, “And take heed to yourselves lest at some time your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare; for it will come in upon all those dwelling on the face of all the earth.” The Greek word rendered “dissipation” indicates a drunken hangover. The phrase “dissipation and drunkenness” refers to indulgence in the enjoyment of eating and drinking.
The Lord’s word here is similar to that in 17:27: “They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” The generation of Noah was characterized by the indulgence of the lustful self. Dissipation and drunkenness in 21:34 refer to the indulgence of the lustful self in the excess of the enjoyment of eating and drinking. The Lord’s word concerning dissipation, drunkenness, and anxieties of life may be considered the concluding word of His message about these things recorded in chapters twelve, fourteen, and sixteen through eighteen.
Those who indulge their lust in eating and drinking and who are weighed down with the anxieties of life will become stupefied by their enjoyment and anxiety. Suddenly, unexpectedly, “that day” will come upon them as a snare, as a net cast over them. This snare will come upon all those dwelling on the face of all the earth.
As an elderly man, I can testify that the trend, or the tide, among mankind has changed a great deal over the years. Dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxiety of life have never been as prevailing as they are today. On the one hand, people are struggling for enjoyment; on the other hand, they are suffering from anxiety. Dissipation, drunkenness, and anxiety lead to different kinds of disease. This country is very good, but consider how many people are struggling to indulge their lusts. Many are competing with others to have better cars and houses. But as they struggle for enjoyment, they suffer from the anxiety of life. As a result, that day will come upon them as a snare.
In 21:36 the Lord says, “But be watchful, at every time beseeching, that you may prevail to escape all these things which are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” To prevail here is to have strength and ability. The strength and ability to escape the great tribulation come from watchfulness and beseeching.
The word “escape” in 21:36 signifies being taken, raptured, before the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), which will be a severe trial upon the whole inhabited earth (Rev. 3:10; Luke 17:34-36). To be thus raptured is to be kept “out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). Furthermore “all these things” are the things of the great tribulation. To stand before the Son of Man corresponds to the standing of those in Revelation 14:1. It indicates that the raptured overcomers will stand before the Savior on Mount Zion in the heavens before the great tribulation (see Rev. 12:5-6, 14).
In verse 36 the Man-Savior charges us to be watchful. Instead of being stupefied or drugged, we need to be vigilant. Furthermore, at every time we need to beseech. This is not to pray in a general way; it is to pray in a particular way that we may prevail to escape the things that are about to take place. As we have pointed out, to prevail in this way is to have the strength and ability to escape the great tribulation. We should not be caught in the trend of today’s world. Instead, we need to escape this trend. The strength and ability to escape come from being watchful and from beseeching. If we pray in a particular way, we shall prevail to escape all the things that are about to take place.
We have seen that to escape the things that are about to take place is to be raptured before the great tribulation. This is also to be kept out of the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole inhabited earth to try those who dwell on the earth. Hence, the Lord’s word in 21:36 is the fulfillment of the promise He gives to the church in Philadelphia: “Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). “Trial” here undoubtedly denotes the great tribulation, as indicated by the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets with the seven bowls (Rev. 8:13—9:21; 11:14-15; 15:1; 16:1-2). This trial may also include the supernatural calamities of the sixth seal and the first four trumpets.
In Revelation 3:10 the Lord promises the recovered church, the church in Philadelphia, that He will keep her out of the hour of trial. He will keep her not only out of the trial, but also out of the hour of trial, because she has kept the word of the Lord’s endurance. This promise of the Lord, like that in Luke 21:36, indicates that the saints who have kept the word of the Lord’s endurance will be raptured before the great trial. This implies that those who have not kept the word of His endurance will be left in the trial.