It would be hard for the Bible to be clearer about anything than this fact: no one knows when Jesus is going to come back. There is a lot about the Second Coming that remains shrouded in mystery, but God has made it clear that this mystery will not be revealed until the moment the trumpet sounds. In spite of the unequivocal and adamant assertions of Jesus that no one knows the day or the hour of his return, people continue to be fooled by those who announce that they have either received some kind of new revelation or gotten a new insight into the Scriptures that renders Jesus’ words null and void. From Edgar Whisenant in 1988 to the failed and embarrassing predictions of the late Harold Camping more recently, the parade of false prophets has continued.
But the Word is clear as crystal. There are some things that we can know today about the end. We know that as time goes on, deceivers will arise and the world will grow more evil. We know that one day, Jesus Christ will ride from heaven to assert his authority over all the world and that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. And we know that it could happen today. We know THAT Jesus will return as King of kings and Lord of lords, but we do not know when. I don’t. You don’t. No one does.
And that is the way Jesus wants it. I would direct your attention to a parable that Jesus told near the end of his time here on earth, just before his arrest and crucifixion. He wanted to prepare his disciples for what lay ahead.
The Ten Virgins: Matthew 25:1-13
Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus told a story about 10 young women who were betrothed for marriage – five of whom were wise and five who were foolish. They were awaiting the arrival of their bridegrooms, and the five wise women had flasks of oil to keep their lamps lit. But the others were not prepared. I do not have time today to go into the wedding traditions of the day, and those details are not really germane to the point. Five were ready, five were not. Five were wise; five were fools.
When the bridegrooms came, the wise virgins were ready and rejoiced, but the foolish virgins were left out of the marriage feast. It is easy to over-interpret a parable. This is not about the timing of events of the end-times or anything like that. A parable is told to make a particular point and the point of this one could not be clearer. Jesus states it directly. He says, in verse 13:
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Keep watch. Be ready. O Bride of Christ, Church of the Living God, we have a marriage feast prepared for us. One day, the Bridegroom will come to take us to that feast that we might rejoice with him. But we do not know the day he will come, or the hour. I don’t know if I will even be alive when he comes, or if I will go to him when my life is over. But I know that Jesus is coming one day and my duty today is to prepare, to watch and wait, to hope, and to look up for our bridegroom’s appearing. We are to keep our lamps ready, our souls prepared and our hearts expectant.
Father, some days I love this world and some days I long for that day, the day when the bridegroom comes. Purify and strengthen me that I might be ready on that day, whenever it is.
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