“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.“[Matthew 24:36]
This is a verse Jesus taught when He was asked about the end of the age by His disciples. Despite this teaching, people have been making predictions about the return of Jesus since the Millerites in the 1840’s, including picking a specific day. I bring this up because a pastor in Africa said that he had a dream in which Jesus would return on September 23rd. When that date passed, he admitted to using the wrong calendar and that the new date was October 6th, and furthermore, he was a “billion percent sure” of the date.Today is October 17th. Prophecy is a serious matter, and it makes Christianity look foolish when someone violates the above verse. Having said that, however, Jesus also teaches us to keep watch:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” [Matthew 24:42]
So how are we to handle the imperative to keep watch, and yet to not predict the exact date? Following is my home-grown understanding. It is clear that one should not, in fact cannot, predict the ‘hour’ or ‘day’ of Christ’s return. But it may be possible to predict the ‘week’, or perhaps the ‘month’, or even the ‘season’ of His return. I say this because Jesus has provided signs to look for, many of which are listed in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25 (plus other gospels).
I have SO much more that I could say about these times, but for now I will conclude with what Jesus told His disciples about the signs regarding the end of the age:
“He told them this parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.’“
[Luke 21:29-31] And whatever you do, don’t bring disrepute to Christianity, as the African pastor did. Instead, be ready, because the kingdom of God is near.
Blessings,
–Keith