Judgement Day: Predictable, or Not?

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 24:32-51

The message here is a little mixed. Jesus first says that the signs mentioned earlier in the chapter will point to the coming of Jesus, so they wise or observant might see His coming. But then immediately afterward He says that it is impossible to know the day of His coming, that not even He knows when it will be. I think, maybe, it means that nobody can really know whether we’ve gotten to that worst suffering imaginable or not. How can we tell if it is ever going to get worse or not? All we can know is that Jesus WILL give us the strength to endure whatever it is.

Jesus also emphasizes the importance of living the right way every single day. We have no way of knowing when death or judgement is coming. It could be tomorrow, 15 years from now, or 50 years from now. But you don’t want to be caught off guard. The old saying is to live every day like it’s your last. Don’t put off an apology or forgiveness until tomorrow, because tomorrow you might not be here to do it. Whatever the right thing is, do it NOW.

Because if judgement day comes and you are living like a hypocrite, putting of reformation until it’s convenient for you, Jesus makes it pretty clear that you will be treated like a non-believer. And honestly, if Jesus’s message is really and truly working in your heart, you want to be the best kind of person, right away! Jesus treats the hypocrites like non-Christians because they are non-Christians at heart. Becoming a Christian means changing your way of life, not just your words.