He is talking about being vigilant about our own spiritual state, as well as being circumspect and spiritually awake as we go through life. Instead, His instruction is to watch ourselves, which is what " take heed to yourselves" suggests. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.Ĭlearly, Jesus' message is not an admonition to watch world events so that we will know when He will return. Verses 34-35 provide the context for Jesus' command to "watch":īut take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. We cannot understand verse 36 until we know what preceded it. Verse 36 begins, "Watch therefore," signaling that it concludes or summarizes previous material. Even without examining the underlying Greek, we can tell from the context that Jesus has something else in mind. In fact, the Greek word translated "watch" has nothing to do with looking at events or keeping world news under close observation. But does this assumption agree with Scripture? The underlying assumption is that God wants us to have our finger on the pulse of the news, and this knowledge-combined with prayer-will make us worthy to escape all those prophesied things. A tremendous amount of effort is put into commenting on world events and tying them into biblical prophecy.
This interpretation has led to a cottage industry of sorts within the greater church of God. The common paraphrase of this command is "watch world news, so that as you begin to see prophecy unfold, you can escape the horrors of the Tribulation." One oft-quoted "watching" verse is Luke 21:36: "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." It is frequently interpreted to mean that we should be closely watching current events so we know how close we are to Christ's return. Why is such watching important? What does it have to do with Christ returning as "a thief in the night?" It is tied closely with our Savior's return, yet it has little to do with physical observation. "Watch" in such instances does not mean what many think it means. Though it may vary slightly from verse to verse, numerous instructions are given to " watch, because the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (emphasis ours throughout). In the parables, prophecies, and epistles, a phrase is used frequently with regard to the Day of the Lord and the return of Jesus Christ. We watch events in the world continue to churn seemingly out of control, but we do not see many key prophecies being fulfilled. We might scan the horizon for any clue to how and when the end-time prophecies will be fulfilled and Christ will return. What Does Jesus Mean by the Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 24:32)?Īs we slide further into the time of the end, and the bright summer days continue to be spiritually dark, it is common for us to look around for an indicator of how long it will be until Jesus Christ returns.
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