The End of All Things is At Hand (1 Peter 4:7) | Minimalist Typography | Red White and Black | Orthodox Christian Art Poster

The hymn to the Bridegroom sung at every Bridegroom Matins during Holy Week* likens sleep to lack of sobriety, to drunkenness essentially, which St Peter elaborates in his first epistle: "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7). And he would know—he was one of the apostles Christ admonished for sleeping in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was betrayed**. Let us not betray the Lord and enter into temptation by slumbering when we should be keeping vigil and preparing for His return.

* Behold, the Bridegroom cometh in the middle of the night,/ and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching,/ but unworthy is he whom He shall find in slothfulness./ Beware, therefore, O my soul,/ and be not overcome by sleep,/ lest thou be given over to death/ and shut out from the Kingdom./ But return to soberness and cry aloud:/ Holy, Holy, Holy, art Thou, O God,// Through the Theotokos have mercy on us.

** Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, [a]if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour [b]is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.” (Matthew 26:36-46)