“Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). 

This is a rather unusual devotional because it is not necessarily written for believers, nor is it helpful for anyone alive today. Explanations will follow.

Did you play hide-and-seek as a child? When I was in high school, I disliked Phys Ed so much that I cut class for weeks, hiding behind lockers and in “secret places,” with a posse of friends who would warn me about approaching gym teachers. Talk about seeking! They wanted my pelt on their belt! Yes, they caught me when I peeked out from behind a locker and THE COACH pointed to me and shouted, “YOU!” It was scary, to say the least.

Hide-and-seek usually begins with a countdown, after which the seeker shouts, “Ready or not, here I come!” The physical return of Jesus Christ will be like that. God has His secret countdown: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). But that countdown doesn’t concern you or me at the moment.

There are two “comings” of Jesus Christ: First, for His bride and body, the church, when He will appear in the clouds to take all true believers out of this world before a time of testing and tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16 – 18); Then, to bring an end to this time of testing and establish His kingdom, when “He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). The only preparation that is needed to avoid the time of trouble is to get saved; Jesus does the rest of the work. In a sense, there is no need for discernment in our case. Sadly, unbelievers at that point will remain in sin and be judged (2 Thessalonians 2:9 – 12). It is those who live during that time who need to discern between false Christs and the real Jesus, although there are lessons for us to learn today from this passage.

In Matthew 24, Jesus, having just pronounced judgment on unbelieving Jerusalem while hinting at His return, explains to His disciples what the end times will be like. His first exhortation is a warning that many will claim to be the Christ (Vv. 4 – 5). In the middle of His discourse, He again raises the specter of false Messiahs (Vv. 23 – 28). Jesus makes two things clear about His physical return to Earth: 1) It will be painfully obvious — He will need no introduction, nor can He be sought (Vv. 23, 26 – 28, 30); and 2) It will be unexpected (Vv. 42 – 44). We can therefore know that anyone claiming to be the Christ or “a” Christ, or claiming to have seen Christ, is at best deceived, at worst a liar.

Since the time of Jesus, false messiahs and prophets have appeared, fizzled, and disappeared. From Theudas (Acts 5:36), to Simon (Acts 8:9 – 10), to Lord Maitreya, to Charles Manson, and wandering vagabonds — from William Miller, to Ellen G. White, to Charles Taze Russell, Benjamin Creme, and Harold Camping, false messiahs and prophets have “fulfilled” or “predicted” Jesus’ return (See V. 44). Therefore, we need to be discerning and not misled as we wait for Christ to come and get us at any moment. “Therefore be ye also ready,” for here He comes, ready or not!

Alan is editor of Lifestyles Over 50 (Thrive Media) and contributor to the Allentown, PA, Morning Call. He is also an adult Sunday school teacher and Bible study leader. Passionate about reviving theology and church methodology, and being a senior citizen!