The last days of history – Part 9

The Day And The Hour No One Knows Cont.
No one can predict by Scripture or science the exact day of Jesus’ return. Jesus is teaching that preparation, not calculation, is needed.

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.” (Mark13: 33, 34)

Months of planning go into a wedding, the birth of a baby, a career change, a speaking engagement and the purchase of a home. Do you place the same importance on preparing for Christ’s return, the most important event in your life? Its results will last for eternity. You dare not postpone your preparations, because you do not know when His return will occur. The way to prepare is to study God’s Word and live by its instructions each day. Only then will you be ready.

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (Mat 24:42)
“you know not what hour.” Christ’s warning that His disciples must always be ready must be understood as referring to His return from heaven to take church saints out of the world, i.e., the Rapture (see article on The Rapture). (1) Jesus explicitly states that His coming for the saints living before the tribulation will be at an unexpected time and without warning. He declares that they not only “know not” the time, but that He will return at a time when they “think not the son of man cometh” (v. 44). This clearly points to an element of surprise, amazement and unexpectedness for the faithful at this particular return of Christ. This is sometimes referred to as the first stage of Christ’s second coming. (2) With regard to Christ’s coming with power and glory to judge the world after the tribulation (Mat24: 30; Rev19: 11-21), His coming will be expected anticipated and foreseen (Luke21: 28; Mat24: 33, see article on The Great Tribulation). The events and signs during the tribulation will create an attitude of certainty and expectancy for tribulation saints, not the attitude of surprise that the present-day church saints will have at the time of the Rapture (see v. 44; John14: 3). Christ’s coming after the tribulation is sometimes regarded as the second stage of Christ’s second coming.

Watch and Pray (Mk 13:33)

From the fact that the time of His Second Coming is not revealed, Jesus draws an important conclusion: our duty is to “watch and pray” (Mark13: 33). The event itself is certain. Jesus’ warning means that it is also imminent, that is, it could happen at any time. The Second Coming is understood to follow the Tribulation, while the Rapture is to come before it. The Second Coming will be preceded by certain prophetic signs, and to that extent, its timing will be known, but the Rapture could happen at any time without warning. So, for all the end-time events, readiness is the key. Watchfulness prepares the believer, enabling him to see whatever signs may precede an event.

Watching means living in an attitude of confident expectation (Luke12: 36; Rom8: 25; Rev22: 20), on the one hand feeling a constant desire to see Jesus (Phil3: 20; 1 Pet 1:8), and on the other hand, being patiently active in the life of good works to which He has called us (Eph2: 10). The hope that we rely on does not lead us to make frantic inquiries into God’s schedule. Instead, it is our foundation for living day by day in obedience to the Lord.

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