When will the Messiah come?

We have been told that no one will know when the Second Coming will take place not even the angels in heaven. Of course, that does not stop people from trying to predict when it will occur. When their prophecy does not take place they claim they made a mistake with one of their calculations and change the date.
In conversations with people over the years, I have heard many people say it is going to happen soon or that they wish it would happen soon. I have had people tell me that it could happen this year or even tomorrow.
It cannot happen until after certain prophecies take place. The Gathering of the lost ten tribes and the Jews returning to Jerusalem. The Temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt. The Mark of the Beast law must be passed. The battle of Armageddon must take place. A "great Earthquake" that will shake the whole Earth. There must be a tribulation that the entire world goes through. Along with these events, there are many other prophecies that must come to pass before the coming of the Messiah will take place.
Along with these beliefs, there are many people who fear for the destruction of the Earth or mankind that do not fit with the prophecies of the Bible. There is a feeling of pending doom that many people seem to feel is coming. It is always interesting to hear someone predict the ending of the world but then those things never take place.
Look at how many people there are that are afraid there will be a meteor hit the earth or that "Global Warming" will be the end the world. Many people outside of Christianity believe the end is coming.
The Mayan calendar came to an end back in 2012 so people assumed that this meant it was the end of the world. Many people would state that the ancient people must have known what was going to happen in the future. Interestingly enough, these same people do not believe in the Bible. There were ancient people who knew what was going to happen and they did write about it and it is in the Bible. We should believe them.
It is written in the Bible that the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Personally, I believe it will come as a thief in the night because there will be so many difficulties and hardships that people will not be looking for the signs of the times. Everyone will be spending their time trying to survive and that will take their focus from God.
Putting this work together, I have noticed that there are many times that the Second Coming is referred to as coming as a thief in the night. The more I have studied these things the more it seems that we are expected to watch for the signs of the times so that we can be prepared so we will be able to endure them. In Matthew 24: 42 - 44, Jesus says:

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

In this verse, Jesus is telling us to be prepared because we don't know when He will come. Other verses in the Bible that state that the Second Coming will come as a thief in the night.

Luke 12: 36 - 40
1 Thessalonians 5: 2
2 Peter 3: 10
Revelation 3: 3
Revelation 16: 15

We are warned that if we do not watch that the coming of the Messiah will upon us as a thief in the night. These verses also state that "blessed is he that watcheth".

Parable of the Fig Tree

Jesus also stated that we may not know when the all this is to take place but that we can and should watch for the signs so we will know that it is close. He taught the parable of the fig tree to his disciples in
Matthew 24: 32 - 33:

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh;
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

Parable of the Ten Virgins

The reason it is important to know that it is coming is because then we can be prepared for it. Jesus Taught about the Parable of the Ten Virgins to advise us of how important it will be to be prepared and that those who are not prepared will not be allowed to be at the "wedding."

Matthew 25: 1 - 13
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 That that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said until the wise, Give us of your oil: for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying Not so; lest there be not enough from us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."

In Revelation 3: 3 is probably the best verse to sum up what is expected of us:
"Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

We are specifically told to watch, repent and endure and that if we do not then He will come as a thief in the night. Again, this implies that we will not be prepared and that is not a good thing.
Jesus also talked about the Second Coming to be similar to the flood because the people were warned by Noah but rejected his warning and by so doing were unprepared when the flood came. More about the flood and the similarities to the second coming in the next chapter.