Are You
Ready for the Second Coming?
(Part 2) – God's Perfect
Timing
God's
Timing – Second Coming
____________________________
“No one knows
about that day or hour, not even
the angels in Heaven, nor the
Son, but only the
Father.” (Matthew 24:36)
People who wish to silence any
excitement that Jesus may return
very soon use this verse as an
“intellectual refuge.”
Many Christians interpret this
verse to say, “No one [will
ever] know the day or hour,”
but Jesus said, “No one
knows [at this time] the day or
hour.”
A few days before Jesus ascended
to Heaven, the disciples asked
Him, “ ‘Lord, are
you at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?’ He
said to them: ‘It is not for
you to know the times or dates
the Father has set by his own
authority.’ ” (Acts 1:6,7) What did Jesus
mean by these words? Did
Jesus mean, “no one will
ever know the times and dates
which the Father has set,”
or did Jesus mean, “future
times and dates the Father sets
could not be revealed at
that time?”
The latter meaning is correct
because the Father has revealed
times and dates in the prophecies
of Daniel and Revelation. What
would have happened to the
disciples if Jesus had explained
how the little horn in Daniel
7 would persecute the saints
for more than a thousand years?
What would have happened if Jesus
had told the disciples He
would judge mankind in
about two thousand years? This
knowledge would have destroyed
early Christians and the
Christian movement. This is why
Jesus said on another
occasion, “I have much
more to say to you, more than you
can now bear. But when He, the
Spirit of truth, comes, He will
guide you into all
truth.” (John 16:12,13)
With God, the time for truth is
as important as truth itself.
When the time is right, He
releases truth. No one
can discover something before the
Father permits it. For
example, thousands of years ago,
the Father foreknew that we would
use light bulbs, airplanes,
automobiles, antibiotics,
refrigeration, and computers in
the 21st century. He also
foreknew the supporting
infrastructures that would be
necessary before each
of these discoveries could
thrive. Therefore, He began
releasing truth about the
physical sciences in little
packets over time so that more
complex discoveries could occur
later on in an orderly way. The
Father has blessed mankind
tremendously during the past two
centuries through this dramatic
increase in knowledge.
God also releases more truth
about Himself, His plans, and His
ways when the time is
right. For example, God hid
many secrets in the books of
Daniel and Revelation until
“the appointed time of the
end” arrives. (Daniel 12:4,9) Because we have
arrived at the appointed time,
the Father has unsealed these
mysterious books because the
time for their fulfillment has
come. This is a prophetic
mechanism that never fails:
On or about the time of
fulfillment, God ensures that
students of His Word discover
“present truth.” For
example, this process explains
why and how the wise men found
Baby Jesus!
After the apostle Paul converted
to follow Jesus, Paul was
overjoyed when God explained a
mystery that had been hidden for
ages! Notice Paul’s
words: “Surely you have
heard about the administration of
God’s grace that was given
to me for you, that is, the
mystery made known to me by
revelation, as I have
already written briefly. . .
Although I am less than the least
of all God’s people, this
grace was given me: To preach to
the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ, and to make
plain to everyone the
administration of this
mystery, which for
ages past was kept hidden in
God, who created all
things.” (Ephesians 3:2,3, 8,9 italics
mine) The mystery that had been
kept hidden for ages past
was, “that through the
gospel the Gentiles are
heirs together with Israel,
members together of one body,
and sharers together in the
promise in Christ
Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6, italics mine)
When the time came for
“present truth” (a
truth which had been hidden from
Israel) to unfold in Paul’s
day, God revealed it.
Unfortunately, Israel’s
leaders rejected “present
truth” because of
traditions, arrogance, and
ignorance. Given what Paul wrote,
we know today that from the
beginning of time the Father
planned that a time would come
when there would be no
distinction between Jews and
Gentiles. The Jews refused to
“present truth” and
refused to understand that in
Christ there is only one body of
people. This truth became one of
many that separated Christianity
from Judaism.
Like Israel’s leaders, many
Christians use Matthew 24:36 to support
their tradition, arrogance, and
ignorance. They think that Matthew 24:36 is true
forever, but this is not the
case! God has unsealed the book
of Daniel revealing four rules of
interpretation. There are
eighteen prophetic time periods
in apocalyptic prophecy and the
Bible tells everyone willing to
listen that Jesus will appear on
the 1,335th day of the Great
Tribulation. Gabriel said to
Daniel: “Blessed is the
one who waits for and
reaches the end of the 1,335
days [the last day of the
Great Tribulation]. As for
you [Daniel], go your way
till the end [of life]. You
will rest [in the grave],
and then at the end of the [1,335] days
you will rise to receive your
allotted inheritance.” (Daniel 12:12,13, insertions mine)
Gabriel’s statement
perfectly aligns with Jesus’
testimony. He said: “And
this is the will of Him who sent
me, that I shall lose none of all
that He has given me, but
raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:39, italics mine)
When Jesus said that no one knew
the day and hour of His return
in Matthew 24:36, He spoke the
truth for that time. Now, the
Father has revealed more
truth about the times
and dates which He set by His own
authority, so Jesus’ return
(Daniel 12:4,9) is no longer a
secret. Of course, currently no
one knows when the 1,335th day of
the Great Tribulation will occur,
but it will be very easy to
calculate after “Day
One” of the Great
Tribulation begins. The whole
world will recognize Day One when
it occurs. Jesus will cast
the censer in Revelation 8:5 down and
there will be peals of thunder,
flashes of lightning, rumblings,
and a global earthquake.
Shortly after, a meteoric
firestorm will burn a third of
the Earth. No one will be
able to ignore Day One.
One last point about the day and
hour of the Second Coming. The
Bible indicates that Jesus will
show up during the seventh bowl.
(Compare Revelation
16:17-21 with Revelation 6:12-17.) During the
seventh bowl, there will be a
great war called,
“Armageddon.”
Preparation for this war occurs
during the sixth bowl (Revelation
16:12-16). I understand
the battle of Armageddon will be
finished before the dead in
Christ are resurrected on the
last day, Day 1,335. The
devil will send three powerful
demons to visit the kings of the
Earth. These demons will tell the
kings that Jesus is on His way to
destroy them (the truth) and
their only hope for saving their
kingdoms is to unite their armies
under Lucifer’s command.
Together, they can destroy Jesus
and His army (the lie). There
will be a timely battle with
dramatic consequences (Revelation
19:11-21), but the
question remains, how can this
battle be completed by Day 1,334
if no one knows the day and hour
of Christ’s return?
“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.” (Matthew 24:37-39)
Jesus compared His return with
the days of Noah in a way that
many Christians do not grasp
because they do not understand
apocalyptic prophecy. They do not
appreciate the importance of the
eighteen prophetic time periods
given in Daniel and Revelation.
Consider Jesus’ words in
this passage and you will see
that Jesus does
not compare the
wickedness, violence, or
depravity of the antediluvians
with world conditions at the
Second Coming. Instead, Jesus
speaks about another matter
– timing!
God announced His plans regarding
the world’s upcoming
destruction through Noah. (Genesis 6:11-18; 2 Peter 2:5) In addition to
Noah’s pronouncements to the
antediluvians, his ark was a
visual monument that everyone
could see. It was a unusual
structure that drew attention to
a most unusual warning. Even
though they were forewarned, the
antediluvians did not know when
to enter the ark. As
the decades rolled by, they
became distracted and busy with
things that were not inherently
evil. In fact, Jesus used the
expression, “They were
eating, drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage” to
indicate the antediluvians were
doing the usual things that
people do. Jesus said
nothing about evil conduct
because it was the usual stuff
that went with life that kept the
antediluvians from checking on
the ark. They did not see the
animals enter the ark or hear God
say, “All aboard.” (Genesis 7:1) The
antediluvians became too busy to
go out of their way to check with
Noah to see if God had given
further instruction (present
truth).
The antediluvians did not know
that the great door of the ark
would be closed seven days before
the rain began. The parallel for
today is that God’s wrath is
coming upon the world again.
This time around, almost everyone
will be caught by surprise again.
Approximately two billion people
will soon perish during the first
two months of the Great
Tribulation and very few people
know about this. Billions of
people will be caught by surprise
just like millions of the
antediluvians who were doing the
usual, “eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in
marriage.”
I do not believe that everyone
who perished in Noah's flood or
everyone that perishes during the
first four trumpets will lose
eternal life because Jesus will
review each life and makes His
judgment based on each
person’s record. The lesson
we should learn from Noah’s
day is that the cares of this
life will shut off your spiritual
ears and eat up all of your
precious time. Present truth has
appeared and God’s Word is
speaking more clearly than ever
before. Pay attention!
“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.’
” (Matthew 24:40-42)
These verses magnify verses
37-39. Jesus indicates that
intimate associations do not
matter. Each person has to
prepare his own soul by reading
God’s Word, listening to the
Holy Spirit, watching Wake Up
America videos, and praying for
the wisdom to separate truth from
error. (I could not resist a
comment about the videos!) We
need to better understand the
Bible, especially the books of
Daniel and Revelation, because
they have so much to say!
Jesus will accomplish many
objectives during the Great
Tribulation and the better we
understand His plans and
purposes, the stronger our faith
and endurance will be when the
world descends into total chaos.
“But understand this: If the
owner of the house had known at
what time of night the thief was
coming, he would have kept watch
and 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.” (Matthew 24:43,44)
The issue is present truth. The
door of the ark was closed seven
days before rain began. If the
antediluvians had known this
fact, I am sure they would have
been more careful. For our day,
here is a fact that most
Christians do not know. The
Second Coming of Jesus is a
process that takes 1,335
days! Jesus is not talking
about Day 1,335 in this passage;
He is speaking about Day One. The
first events of the Great
Tribulation will catch the whole
world by surprise. Do not
become consumed with
“eating, drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage.”
Reserve time to study the Bible
and meditate. Say “no”
to things that you would like to
do, but really should not waste
the time doing. If your head is
in the Word, your heart will not
be in the world.
“Who then is the faithful
and wise servant, whom the master
has put in charge of the servants
in his household to give them
their food at the proper time? It
will be good for that servant
whose master finds him doing so
when he returns. I tell you the
truth, he will put him in charge
of all his possessions.
” (Matthew 24:45-47)
Watching and waiting for the Lord
to return is a way of life. Jesus
calls us to a higher level of joy
and happiness than the foolish
indulgences of this world can
offer. Increase the silence in
your life. Turn off the TV and
increase your free time. Turn off
work and pleasure. Provide
more money to do good things by
stopping spending on selfish
indulgences. Our daily
choices explain why one person
will be taken and the other is
left behind. Believers have a
commission that will bring a lot
of joy.
When properly understood, there
is no story more beautiful to
tell than the gospel of
Jesus. So, tell the story
and the Master will be pleased
that you were giving food to
those around you when He returns!
“But suppose that servant is
wicked and says to himself,
‘My master is staying away a
long time,’ and he then
begins to beat his fellow
servants and to eat and drink
with drunkards. The master of
that servant will come on a day
when he does not expect him and
at an hour he is not aware of. He
will cut him to pieces and assign
him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:47-51)
Point made. No commentary needed!
Larry Wilson
