Matthew 24:44

Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh. But often shall ye come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

After this again, that they may not ask about it, He added, "Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." He said not, "I know not," but, "ye know not." For when He had brought them well nigh to the very hour, and had placed them there, again He deters them from the inquiry, from a desire that they should be striving always. Therefore He saith, "Watch," showing that for the sake of this, He did not tell it.

"But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh."

For this intent He tells them not, in order that they may watch, that they may be always ready; therefore He saith, When ye look not for it, then He will come, desiring that they should be anxiously waiting, and continually in virtuous action.

But His meaning is like this: if the common sort of men knew when they were to die, they would surely strive earnestly at that hour.

In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, therefore He tells them not either the common hour, or the hour of each, desiring them to be ever looking for this, that they may be always striving. Wherefore He made the end of each man's life also uncertain.

After this, He openly calls Himself Lord, having nowhere spoken so distinctly. But here He seems to me also to put to shame the careless, that not even as much care as they that expect a thief have taken for their money, not even this much do these take for their own soul. For they indeed, when they expect it, watch, and suffer none of the things in their house to be carried off; but ye, although knowing that He will come, and come assuredly, continue not watching, saith He, and ready so as not to be carried away hence unprepared. So that the day cometh unto destruction for them that sleep. For as that man, if he had known, would have escaped, so also ye, if ye be ready, escape free.

He would have them ever ready, and therefore He says, Watch.

In this He rebukes such as have less care for their souls, than they have of guarding their money against an expected thief.

Having declared that of that hour knoweth no man, but the Father only, He shows that it was not expedient for the Apostles to know, that being ignorant they might live in perpetual expectation of His coming, and thus concluding the whole, He says, Watch therefore, &c. And He does not say, 'Because we know not,' but Because ye know not, showing that He Himself is not ignorant of the day of judgment.

And by the instance of the master of the household, He teaches more plainly why He keeps secret the day of the consummation.

(Ep. 199, 3.) He said this Watch, not to those only who heard Him speak at the time, but to those who came after them, and to us, and to all who shall be after us, until His second coming, for it touches all in a manner. That day comes to each one of us, when it comes to him to go out of the world, such as he shall be judged, and therefore ought every Christian to watch that the Lord's coming may not find him unprepared; and he will be unprepared for the day of His coming, whom the last day of his life shall find unprepared.

(non occ.) Foolish are all they, who either profess to know the day of the end of the world, when it is to come, or even the end of their own life, which no one can know unless he is illuminated by the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord willed that the final hour be unknown to us so that it might always be regarded with suspicion, so that since we cannot foresee it, we might prepare ourselves for it without ceasing. Therefore, my brothers, fix the eyes of your mind upon the condition of your mortality; prepare yourselves for the coming Judge through daily weeping and lamentation. And since certain death awaits all, do not think about the uncertain provision of temporal life. Let not the care of earthly things weigh you down. For however great the masses of gold and silver that surround the flesh, however precious the garments in which it is clothed, what is it other than flesh? Therefore do not consider what you have, but what you are. Do you wish to hear what you are? The prophet declares, saying: "Truly the people are grass." For if the people are not grass, where are those who celebrated with us the feast of blessed Felix's birthday a year ago, which we celebrate today? O how many and how great were the thoughts they had about provision for the present life, but when the moment of death crept upon them, they were suddenly found in those circumstances they had been unwilling to foresee, and they lost all the temporal things at once which, having been gathered together, they seemed to hold securely. If therefore the multitude of the human race that has passed flourished in the flesh through birth and withered to dust through death, it was evidently grass. Since therefore the hours flee with their moments, act, dearest brothers, so that they may be retained in the reward of good work. Hear what the wise Solomon says: "Whatever your hand is able to do, work at it earnestly, for there will be neither work, nor knowledge, nor reason, nor wisdom in the underworld, to which you are hastening." Since therefore we do not know the time of coming death, and after death we cannot work, it remains that before death we seize the time that has been granted. For thus, yes thus, death itself when it comes will be conquered, if before it comes it is always feared.

(Hom. in Ev. ii, 3.) To watch is to keep the eyes open, and looking out for the true light, to do and to observe that which one believes, to cast away the darkness of sloth and negligence.

(Hom. in Ev. xiii. 5.) Or, the thief breaks into the house through the neglect of the master of the house, when the spirit has slept upon its post of guard, and death has come in unawares into the dwelling house of our flesh, and finding the lord of the house sleeping, slays him; that is, the spirit, little providing for coming evils, is taken off unprepared, to punishment, by death. But if he had watched he would have been secure from the thief; that is, looking forward to the coming of the Judge, who takes our lives unawares, he would meet Him with penitence, and not perish impenitent. And the Lord would therefore have the last hour unknown, that it might always be in suspense, and that being unable to foresee it, we might never be unprepared for it.

. He bids us to keep vigil and to be ready, that is, to have stored up beforehand deeds of virtue so that when the Lord comes asking for the things that He wants, we will have them to give. See how He did not say, "I know not what hour the thief cometh," but "ye know not." A "thief’ is what He names the end of the world as well as the death of each person. He also implies here that His coming will be in the night. Just as the thief comes unnoticed, so will My coming be; therefore, be not indolent, but sober and vigilant. For if we knew when our end would be, we would strive to please God only on that day. But since we do not know, we are always vigilant in the deeds of virtue.

His teaching on the subject quite clearly consisted of three propositions. One, that He will certainly return. Two, that we cannot possibly find out when. Three, and that therefore we must always be ready for Him. Note the therefore. Only because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all moments. Our Lord repeated this practical conclusion again and again, as if the promise of the return had been made for the sake of this conclusion alone.

Watch, watch, is the burden of His advice. I shall come like a thief. You will not, I most solemnly assure you, you will not see Me approaching. If the householder had known at what time the burglar would arrive, he would have been ready for him. If the servant had known when his absent employer would come home, he would not have been found drunk in the kitchen. But they didn’t, nor will you. Therefore you must be ready at all times.

The point is surely simple enough. The schoolboy does not know which part of his Virgil lesson he will be made to translate. That is why he must be prepared to translate any passage. The sentry does not know at what time an enemy will attack, or an officer inspect his post. That is why he must keep awake all the time.

The return is wholly unpredictable. There will be wars and rumors of wars, and all kinds of catastrophes, as there always are. Things will be, in that sense, normal, the hour before the heavens roll up like a scroll. You cannot guess it. If you could, one chief purpose for which it was foretold would be frustrated. And God’s purposes are not so easily frustrated as that. One’s ears should be closed against any future William Miller in advance. The folly of listening to him at all is almost equal to the folly of believing him. He couldn’t know what he pretends, or thinks he knows.

Of this folly George MacDonald has written well. Do those, he asks, who say, lo here or lo there are the signs of his coming, think to be too keen for him, and spy his approach? When he tells them to watch, lest he find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest he should succeed in coming like a thief. Obedience is the one key of life.

The doctrine of the second coming has failed, so far as we are concerned, if it does not make us realize that at every moment of every day in our lives Don’s question, ‘What if this present were the world’s last night?’...

What is important is not that we should always fear or hope about the end, but that we should always remember, always take it into account. An analogy may help here. A man of seventy need not be always feeling, much less talking, about his approaching death. But a wise man of seventy should always take it into account.