Be ready
Matthew 24:44 - The time and date should not be important to us; Jesus wants us to be ready at all times.
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
Matthew 24:44 NIV
Eschatology: any system of doctrines concerning last, or final, matters, as death, the Judgment, the future state, etc. Also see: Revelation et al…
Here in Matthew is another glimpse behind the curtain of the End Time, as explained by Jesus to the disciples on the Mount of Olives before His betrayal, trial, scourging, and crucifixion. At this point, Jesus is telling the disciples the signs to look for before His return at a day and hour that not even He knows — only the Father knows (Matthew 24:10).
Jesus is telling His followers (which of course includes us) to be on constant watch for His coming. The signs that He speaks of seem somewhat contradictory. We’re not sure (from these verses in Matthew as well as other prophecies of the Bible) if the Second Coming of Jesus will come at an unexpected time or if it is predicted, if it “just happens” or if it occurs during a worldwide calamity, and whether we meet Him in some heavenly realm (“caught up in the air” as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) or if He comes to earth with the saints (“Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” - Zechariah 14:5).
This is part of the reason I get so confused with any study of eschatology, and I know I’m not the only one! Fortunately, there are (and have been) many Bible commentators through the millennia who have given these quandaries more thought than my limited brain is capable of producing.
From Enduring Word comes this description of the dilemma and a way of resolving it:
ii. William Barclay describes one aspect of the difficulty here: “It is in two sections and they seem to contradict each other. The first (verses 32-35) seem to indicate that, as a man can tell by the signs of nature when summer is on the way, so he can tell by the signs of the world when the Second Coming is on the way… The second section (verses 36-41) says quite definitely that no one knows the time of the Second Coming, not the angels, not even Jesus himself, but only God; and that it will come upon men with the suddenness of a rainstorm out of a blue sky.”
iii. The dilemma is resolved by seeing that there are actually two second comings. One is in the air, for the church — commonly known as the rapture. The other is to the world, coming with the church, commonly known as the Second Coming of Jesus. The “contradictions” in Matthew 24 (and much of the rest of prophecy) are often solved by seeing there are really references to “two” returns of Jesus.
Now, there’s no word here on whether these two Second Comings happen simultaneously or are separated in time; it’s not important to God, who is outside of both space and time. The time and date should not be important to us, either; Jesus wants us to be ready at all times.
c. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect: We must not escape the emphasis. We must be ready, because His coming for us is without warning. Jesus follows with a few parables to drive home this point.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer is reprinted from Ministry Matters for November 22, 2013, authored by Kasey Hitt:
God, You tell us to live with open eyes, for You are coming into this world and we're to watch for Your arrival.
So many had given up watching and were unaware when You entered our world the first time as a baby. You're coming back and we don't want to be unaware again, Jesus. Since we don't know the day or hour, we confess that it's so easy to go about the ordinary business of life and forget You. Forgive us for when we live with our eyes closed—closed to Your promise of returning, closed to Your Spirit's invitations each day until You come again.
We pause this morning, this Advent season, to ask You to awaken us—awaken our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. With eyes wide open, we silently look around and take in the scene of where we are, who is with us in this place, our own presence here.
(~30 seconds of silent observation)
We now close our eyes and remember Your promise to return and put all things right. We allow our longing for You to be stirred within us.
(~30 seconds of silence)
Give us grace to prepare a way for You in our hearts, our community and our world.
Come Lord Jesus, Amen.
I guess I don’t see a contradiction and I don’t interpret it that way. But either way, I am more concerned that I’m on the watch then when it is.
Over dinner I can tell you why I don’t see this as a contradiction