A Reflection On The End Times

When I need to be ready for the future

Right after Jesus tells His disciples to watch for signs and to recognize them, to see and to know when the time of His coming is near, He tells them that He will come when they do not expect Him. What a curious mix of clarity and mystery! There will be signs and we should expect Him, but no one knows the day or the hour. What is Jesus trying to accomplish with so much teaching yet so little certainty?

Jesus wants us to be on guard. He wants us to be able to tell, generally speaking, what events signal the end. He has given us signs because He wants us to be ready. But He has given us ambiguous signs because He wants every generation to be ready. Readiness and a watchful eye are always the appropriate pose of the believer, in all times and in all places. Because of Jesus’ words, the expectation has been building throughout church history. That is exactly how He wants it. We are to wait and to watch—and to be ready at any time.

You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

Matthew 24:44