Scripture Reading: Matthew 24: 32-51
It was Tuesday evening. Jesus had left the temple to return to it no more. His last words to the people had been spoken. On the way His disciples called His attention to the temple, perhaps suggesting its magnificence and its solidity. It was indeed a wonderful building. But Jesus said, “There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
The little company moved out to the Mount of Olives and sat down. A deep solemnity filled their hearts. The disciples asked Him to tell them when the things He had foretold should come to pass. They had in mind three events — the destruction of the temple, the Lord’s final coming and the end of the world. He warned them first against being led astray by impostors. He bade them to be in readiness for whatever might come. The parable of the fig tree taught them to expect tribulations. The precise day and hour “knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father only.” The stupendous events would come unheralded. It would be as in Noah’s days. The flood came suddenly. Those who were ready entered the ark and were saved, but the rest perished. “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
The great lesson Jesus taught His disciples was in the word “Watch!” which sounds in every-recurring strokes in His discourse like a great bell. Questions as to when or how are discouraged, but they are always to watch. “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord cometh.”
We must be always watching — watching ourselves, lest we do wrong; watching our Guide, that we may follow Him closely and carefully; watching our duty, that we may always know it and do it; watching for danger, for on every hand danger lurks. It is not a safe world to live in — that is, it is not safe unless we watch, and unless we are in divine keeping. Satan is so wary, his approaches are so insidious and stealthy, and sin is so alluring and deceptive, that only sleepless vigilance can insure safety.
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