Tuesday, January 24

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Matthew 24:26-44
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

The Bible is very clear in teaching that the second coming of Jesus will be surprising. We simply cannot and will not know the day or the hour of his return. But throughout history many, many people have sought to remove the surprise from the return of Christ.

In the second century A.D. a self-proclaimed prophet named Montanus rose to prominence in Asia Minor. Montanus prophesied that Christ’s second coming was so near that all true believers should quit everything, even marriage, to prepare for his return.

He was wrong.

In the year 999, at the end of the first millennium, when the world was caught up in a kind of “millennial fever” Pope Sylvester II delivered what he claimed would be the “last mass of history” on New Year’s Eve.

He was wrong.

In the 1840’s a Baptist preacher from Vermont named William Miller used what he called “millennial arithmetic” to calculate that Christ would return on October 22, 1844. His movement grew to well over a million followers and some people actually sold their farms or let their fields go unharvested that year in expectation of the Lord’s return and the end of history. But October 22 came and went and William Miller was wrong.

And it goes on still today!

Harpers Magazine reported a few years ago that since 1914 the Jehovah’s Witnesses have predicted 7 different specific dates for the coming of the apocalypse – and it hasn’t happened.

Then there was that guy with all the billboards last year…

But what did Jesus actually say?

Matthew 24:26-44

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."

So what is the correct, Biblically informed answer to the question, “When will Jesus return?”

All together now: “We don’t know!” 

But Jesus does give us some information!. In Matthew 24 he seems to offer several conditions for his return.

Matthew 24:2
“I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Here Jesus is referring to the great Temple of Jerusalem, the very center of Jewish religious life. It was absolutely unimaginable that the Temple would ever, ever be torn down. But historians tell us that in 70 AD (Jesus was speaking in about 30 AD) the Roman army sacked Jerusalem and utterly destroyed the Temple. Many believe, therefore, that this condition has already been met.

Matthew 24:9
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear…”

Jesus seems to say that before he returns that his followers will face persecution because of their faith. Furthermore he says that many false prophets will come and will confuse many people. We know that within just a few years of Jesus’ ascension into heaven, his followers began to face severe persecution and that persecution has continued throughout the 2000 years since that time. Even today followers of Jesus are being persecuted in various parts of the world. Many believe, therefore, that this condition has been met.

Matthew 24:14
“And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Jesus says that, before he returns, the gospel must be preached to the gentile world. Within 30 years of his death and resurrection the Apostle Paul took the gospel into the gentile world, and in Colossians 1:23 writes,

"This is a gospel that you have heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven…" 

There are many who believe that this condition has already been met.

Now, it is also true that some believe that while each of these conditions has been met in the past, that there are still events that must take place in the future before Jesus returns. Many, many books have been written on subjects like the “great tribulation,” the “rapture of the church,” and the “millennial kingdom of Christ,” seeking to understand and explain what will take place and when.

But it seems to me that the thrust of Jesus’ own words is simply this: “I am coming soon, so hang on and be prepared!”

My parents are fond of beginning the day by reminding each other of the nearness of Jesus’ return. At some point after breakfast, one will say to the other, “Today could be the day!”

How would it change your perspective to begin each day with that expectation and hope?

Today could be the day!

Pastor Brian Coffey