END TIMES: Daily Reading Plan #4
Matthew 24:36-51
""But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
In verse 42, Jesus now arrives at His main point about His return as judge and king (Matthew 24:3). It will come unexpectedly, as the flood did in Noah's day (Genesis 6:5-8). Before being swept away, the people then were just going about their daily lives as if nothing would ever change. Then they were gone (Matthew 24:37-39). In that same way, Christ's return will be unexpected. The signs will be clear (Matthew 24:27-31), but only when they occur, at which point it will be too late to react.
Pointedly, Christ made it clear that no person can claim to know the time of His return (Matthew 24:36). Absolutely every prediction that gives a date of the second coming is based on false premises.
That leaves only one option for those who want to be ready: His followers must "stay awake" all the time. Of course, Jesus is not speaking literally, suggesting one should avoid actual sleep. Instead, He is telling them to live in a state of awareness. Believers should never lapse into the false notion that what happens in this life, from day to day, is all that will ever happen (2 Peter 3:3-7; James 4:13-14). Wakeful believers remember that this life is temporary, and the next life is eternal. The next life can begin without warning.
Far too many people live only for today or for the days before this life ends. They put off dealing with the reality of God's judgment and eternity as if they are sleeping through the alarm. The opportunity to trust in Christ for salvation is limited to the length of one's life before death (Hebrews 9:27) or the return of Christ (Revelation 19:11-15). In either case, the time is short. By the time a person knows their moment has come, their choice has already been made.
Reflection Questions
- What do these verses say about the end times?
- What do these verses call you to take to heart regarding how you live your life?
