In our reading for today Jesus tells his disciples: "About that day and hour [of the coming of the Son of Man] no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father"(Matthew 24:36). The fact that Jesus forbids speculation as to the exact time of the end, however, has not inhibited guesswork about God's intentions on this score. From the day that Jesus' resurrection appearances ceased until the present, Christians, moved by the same pervasive longing, have asked the same question again and again—When will we see Him again?
And there is still no answer to that question. Early Christians anticipated the Lord's immediate return. Later Christians saw the great calamities of history as a sign that he is coming very soon. Modern Christians look at a world in turmoil and conclude that the return of the Lord Jesus must be long overdue. But like his coming the first time, his return will be a sudden and unpredictable event; "as the days of Noah were . . . before the flood," the risen Christ puts it, so the world will be going about its worldly business and then all at once suddenly . . . what?
According to our reading the "parousia"—the return of Christ—will reveal circumstances that have heretofore been hidden. Two men will be out working in the field together, one will be "taken" and the other left. Two women will be grinding meal together; they share the same occupation and look alike, but God knows the difference. One is taken the other is left behind (Matthew 24:40-41). We might assume that the ones who are "taken" are those who have gotten right with the Lord, been "saved" or whatever. But is this really what the parable means?
Many Jews in Jesus' time, and this included many Pharisees—whose doctrines in the gospel of Matthew are much like those of Jesus—believed that on the last day the wicked would be annihilated the righteous would be left in possession of a renewed creation over which the LORD would reign—what Jesus called "the Kingdom of God." Remember the beatitude that says—"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). So consider this--Who are the righteous in the parable? Are they those who are "taken" or those who remain to "inherit the earth" at the Lord's return?
This passage from Matthew has often been used to underpin an expectation of the so-called "Rapture"—the latest evangelical craze--but that would be a mistake. The primary text for the "rapture" is 1 Thessalonians 4:15ff. I Thessalonians is the very earliest letter we have from the hand of St. Paul, and it was written in part to reassure a church that was worrying about what would happen to the dead. Will they share in the return of Christ? St. Paul affirms that yes, on the last day the dead in Christ will rise first and will be caught up into the clouds to join the returning Lord. Then those who are alive at Christ's return will join the resurrected dead "in the air," a place between earth and sky. And what will happen then? What will be the fate of the non-Christian dead, the "left behind"? Writing in I Corinthians 15:50-54, where he has received a fuller revelation on the subject, Paul says that at the Lord's return the living will be transformed into a closer resemblance to Christ. But in his scenario there is no mention of the Lord's actual descent to the earth, and there is no room for anything like the millennial rule of the Messiah such as St. John describes in Revelation 20:4-6. It is worth noting that Paul never again mentions the "rapture" in any of his later writings.
And none of this speculation has any place in Jesus' own teaching. In Matthew's gospel, the manner as well as the time of the Son of Man's return remains a profound mystery, known only to the Father. The New Testament writers are united in affirming that the risen and ascended Lord will return, but each describes that return using different images. It is in fact an "unimaginable" event, one which exists beyond history and cannot be effectively described.
The only sound advice we have in this regard is this—"Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." Useless and time-consuming speculations are forbidden. Breaking and entering seems to have been as much of a problem in New Testament times as it is in ours. The image the Lord's return as like a "thief in the night" appears again and again in the New Testament. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:4.) And the householder's attitude of watchful preparedness is commended in the light of what will be a sudden, unpredictable turn of events. As servants of the Master we have been put in charge. There is more than enough for us to do before his return. There is no time left for calculations about the time or the manner of the Lord's return. When it happens we will know that it has.
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