In our world, people want to be “in the know.” They are fascinated with information about people and events. People are always giving their opinion on what others did and why they did it. In Christian circles, there has always been a quest to know when Jesus will return to earth to take God’s children home. The first recorded time was the year 500 by Hippolytus of Rome, a noted theologian of his time. There are recorded predictions from the years 500 – 2029. Some were by entire church groups. The Mormons predicted 1891, Catholic Apostolic 1901, Jehovah’s Witness 1914, the preacher Jack Van Impe predicted 2012, and the psychic Jeane Dixon predicted 2020. Of course, it is evident none of these were correct. Neither will those who give dates in the future be correct. Why? Because the Bible is clear that only God himself knows when Jesus will return. In Mark 13:32, Jesus is speaking to Peter, James, and John. They are asking questions about the end of time. When we come to verse 32, Jesus gives them the answer to the age-old question of when He will return. His answer is no one knows but the Father.
Mark 13:32 “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
In I Thessalonians 5:2, Paul says Jesus will come as a thief in the night. In other words, it will be sudden! If you were expecting a thief, you would be ready. You would notify the police, provide your evidence, and they would be waiting. Knowing not when a thief may come, we need to get ready and stay ready. We are prepared with an alarm system, locked doors, and we even have weapons available. However, since no one knows when Jesus will come, we need to get ready and stay ready.
I Thessalonians 5:1 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
In I Thessalonians 5:5, Paul reminds us there will be many who are deceived in their sins. They live in comfort with no fear of eternal damnation. They are having a good time living life for their own desires. They have no thought of pleasing God or of Jesus’ return. There are also many who believe He is coming again, but think they have plenty of time to get ready. They are like those who break traffic laws and think they will never get caught until they see the blue light in the rear-view mirror. In verses 4 and 5, we are reminded that we are not children of the darkness. We have seen and experienced the light of Jesus in our lives. We are to be ready at any moment for His coming, or for death to take us from this world.
I Thessalonians 5:3-5 “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”
It has always amazed me how we pick and choose who we will listen to and how we respond to information. Many see doctors every day. We use them because they are trained in their field. When my father had cancer, we followed every directive the doctor gave. We ask questions and sometimes still did not understand all the ramifications of the disease, but because this was his field of knowledge, we still followed the directions. When we talked with the doctor, we ask him to give us an idea of what to expect and when to expect it. It would have been stupid to ask for information and then not follow it. After all, it was costing money to get that information. Yet so many receive God’s information and don’t follow it. They fail to realize there are consequences both eternal and on this earth for our actions. There is a cost to not following what God has laid out in His word.
Let me ask you a question? If only God knows when He will send His Son to gather His follower’s home, why do we not stay ready and watching? Why are we not excited and preparing as if we had an important guest coming to our home? Think about it, God knows, and it may be today.
