<p>12:36 <i>And be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks</i>- See on Lk. 17:31. How we respond to the Lord now is how we will respond at His return. Those who open to Him immediately will be saved. The wise virgins go immediately and are thereby accepted, whereas the foolish delay their response. The implication is surely that those who are ready to drop all and go when He knocks, will be saved. Our reaction in that split second of knowing &lsquo;He&rsquo;s back&rsquo; will determine our eternal destiny; it will effectively be our self-judgment. And yet in this life too, the figure of the Lord knocking at our door is used to describe our response to Jesus in this life (Rev. 3:20). If there is no immediacy of response now, there will not be then.<br />The faithful watching for the Lord's return are here described as men waiting for their master to <i>return</i> from a wedding. But Christ's coming is also described as His coming <i>to</i> the wedding to marry the faithful. This difference may simply indicate that metaphor cannot be pressed too strictly or literally in the process of Biblical interpretation.</p>