There are two common misunderstandings about the time of Christ’s return.
1. Some say they have no idea when Christ will come back to earth. This may be true if they are completely ignorant of the Bible, but if one examines scripture there are numerous signs given to indicate the approaching return of Christ. The world may be clueless but not God’s children. “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (1 Thess. 5:4-5). Jesus gave a long list of signs to watch for so that His followers would not be taken by surprise. After telling His disciples what to look for He said, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates” (Mark 13:28-29). Jesus is saying you don’t have to a rocket scientist to understand when the season is changing, bud and blooms and so forth give evidence. Likewise, Christians can look at the prophetic signs and understand the time or season of Christ’s return is near. So when says “I have no idea when Christ will return,” they are confessing their lack of understanding of Biblical truth. They are uninformed, but others are misinformed.
2. Perhaps you have known of an overly zealous student of prophecy who thinks they have figured out exactly when Christ is coming back. They erroneously think they know precisely the day of the Lord’s return. Jesus said, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). It is going to be impossible for anyone to determine the exact day of Christ’s return – no one know that day, not even Jesus!
So these are the two misunderstandings about Christ’s return. They are two extremes, one says, “I have no idea when He’s coming,” the other says, “I know exactly when He’s coming.” Both of these are wrong.
But when is Jesus returning? And what can we know?
Here is the truth as I understand scripture. As Christians who prayerfully study the scripture we can know the season or general time frame of Christ’s return, but we’ll never know the exact day or hour of His coming.
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