eschatological tension

In The Presence of the Future, George Eldon Ladd writes the following regarding the tension between the signs which precede the coming of the Lord and the sudden nature of His coming.

... its primary purpose an ethical objective: to exhort to watchfulness and readiness for the end. ... Jesus was not interested in depicting eschatological conditions but in preparing men for the day of judgment. This ethical concern conditioned Jesus' proclamation of the time of the eschatological event. This is where the Gospels leave us ... Logically, for many, this appears contradictory, but it is a tension with an ethical purpose --to make date-setting impossible and therefore to demand constant readiness.

In regard to the signs of these end times, Kim Riddlebarger adds, "the tribulation the church will face throughout this present evil age are not signs of God's indifference or impotence in coming to their aid. These signs guarantee that Jesus Christ is coming to end this present age. The despair of humanity and the tumult of the earth cry out together for the redemption of all creation. The groaning of the earth tells us that all is not right and that God must intervene to undo the consequences of human sinfulness."

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