“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye KNOW NOT (capitals mine) when the time is.”

Mark 13:32-33

“Verily, I say unto you, that this generation SHALL NOT (capitals mine) pass, till all these things be done.”

Mark 13:30

The Bible is VERY clear!: No one will know the exact hour or the day in which Jesus will return. The angels in heaven won’t know. Jesus Himself did not know. Only God will know. However, we are told to be on the watch for the various signs that Jesus prophesied would happen in a very specific time period and THAT generation which witnessed all the things He said coming to fruition would not pass away until all these things happened.

What are the things Jesus said would happen in the Last days? In what is known as The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and 25) Jesus outlines to His disciples all the things which must happen on earth before He returns. These were such things as the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (which occurred approximately 40 years after He said it would); deceit; wars; rumors of wars; famines; earthquakes; pestilence; a falling away of the church; false prophets, etc. Yes, many of these events have already happened throughout the past 2,000 years BUT the intensity and increasing global convergence of this happening today now that the Jews are back in their land of Israel takes us back to His Promise that “…this generation shall not pass away, till all these things be done.”

Of course, the very first thing Jesus warned the disciples (and us) about was deceit in the Last Days would increase. As we get closer to His Return at the Rapture to “snatch” the true Believers off the earth BEFORE God unleashes His Wrath:

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation (Tribulation), which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

Revelation 3:10

I find it interesting that many people ignore these prophecies with the argument that it has all happened before therefore this does not mean we are in the Last Days. Here I must correct them! The Jews had never returned to their land which until 1948 was believed to be impossible. We had never had a world war with nuclear abilities to destroy the entire world. Science will tell you that the number and intensity of  earthquakes has been rising exponentially. There are many studies showing the religiosity is weakening today as never before, especially among the younger generation. I could go on and on but the fact remains that ALL these things are converging at a time like never before and they are today doing so exponentially so that there is a very limited time before the intensity and frequency of all together could easily end our civilization.

While there are many statements in the Bible as to when Jesus will Return at Armageddon so we will know THAT date (the anti-christ will have authority for 3 1/2 years, 42 months, 1,290 days – Revelation 13:5), but His Return at the Rapture of the Church is an unknown. Since even Satan doesn’t know, he will do anything he can to DECEIVE all as to when it will come so they will not be watchful as instructed by God. How does Satan deceive?

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep (died), ALL THINGS CONTINUE AS THEY WERE FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION (capitals mine). For this they willingly are ignorant of…”

2 Peter 3:3-5

Of course as I have told many people, the one thing that will absolutely guarantee these are the times foretold in the Bible that has not yet happened (other than the Return of Jesus Christ at Armageddon) is the Rapture of the True Believers to heaven. If we are alive at the time of the Rapture and ARE NOT Raptured, it will be too late to escape the coming Tribulation that will devastate the earth.

Think about it! If you were alive during the days of Noah and you saw him building an ark and he warned you it was going to rain and flood the earth, would you wait until AFTER it started raining and Noah and his family were already locked in the boat to ask for forgiveness? Or, if you were in Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot told you to get out before the hail and brimstone fell, would you wait until after he and his family left and it started getting nasty outside that you would think about leaving? It may NOT be too late to be saved after the Rapture but you will go through much pain and torment (and maybe even death) for your beliefs. Personally, I would rather go with the Believers. Jesus did tell us believers would know the general time period:

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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.”

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4.

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 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. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

Matthew 24:42-44

Hopefully, by now you see my message is that no one knows the hour or the day of Jesus’s return. But, we are also told to be watchful based on His prophecies regarding the events that will lead up to His return. In fact, we are specifically told there would be signs in the heavens that will distress the nations of the unbelieving world:

“And there will be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations; with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.”

Luke 21:25

What are these signs in the heavens? Thankfully Believers will know the End is near while “scoffers” will blame climate change, liberal or conservative politics, etc.

The signs and prophecies that Jesus has given to us comforts me like nothing else I have seen in my life. Being able to understand them and, hopefully, share them with you gives me a great deal of comfort knowing that if even one person is saved from reading this blog, my time was well spent. It is why I try to follow His command, and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.”

May God Bless you as we await His SOON Return.