Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?

“WE STUDY THE END TIMES SO THAT WE WILL LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT IS OUR

LAST”

Howard Buck

DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? It is time for His return!!!

God has made it very clear that He will not tell us the time of His return, for the

church (rapture)

Yet everyone wants to know!!The disciples, they asked before the cross:

Matt. 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the

sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”His Response:

24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the

Father alone..

And, they asked after the cross:

Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are

restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own

authority; 

Plainly, it is a God thing and we just aren’t to know the actual date!!

But, what we can know, and are

encouraged to know is the season:

Matt. 24:32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 

33 So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door

34 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place  

In this study your teachers have concluded that

the branch is tender and the tree is putting

forth its leaves marks the 7 year period,

Daniel’s 70th week

Building up to that is the signs:People claiming to be Christ

Wars and rumors of wars

Nation against nation

Famine and earthquakes

Then comes tribulation which we believe

marks the time of the 7 year tribulation period

Jesus called these signs “birth pangs” and we

have stated that while present since the days

of the disciples, they will increase in

intensity and frequency as the

branches become tender (start of the trib.)

We also stated that there are two very key

signs that will come about during the birth pangs:

The re-gathering of the Jews to Israel

The reclaiming of Jerusalem

As we have stated, these signs are the

most significant and clearly point to

what should be an imminent return

of Christ for His church and the

beginning of the 7 year tribulation

period

The generation alive at that time will

see all of the signs fulfilled..

In relation to the charts and teachings, what

age are we living in today?

The “church age”

What comes next?

The rapture

What event happens on earth after the rapture?

The tribulation

Where is the church during this time?

HEAVEN..

How many signs need to be fulfilled before

the rapture?

NONE, NADA, ZERO

We should all have this down pat by now!!!

Since we believe that we are probably living in

the last days, with the rapture around the

corner let’s discuss what needs to happen in

our lives in the meantime

In his book The Second Coming,

John MacArthur suggests four

“essential virtues” that Christians need to

“cultivate, while we wait”..

Humility

Alertness

Readiness

Faithfulness

HUMILITY: It takes humility to admit we don’t know the date and time of His return (plus, what would the world be like

IF we know exactly when He was to return)

It takes humility to live as if His return is today

Jesus is our example:

Mark 13:32 “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only

the Father”

He submitted to the Fathers will blocking the date from

His mind..

In all things, Jesus submitted to God the Father’s will

John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who

sent Me.

6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are

pleasing to Him.” 

Shall we do any less??

Jesus is our example but what is humility anyway?

Humility: modesty or respectfulness; the quality of being modest

or respectful

Quality:a characteristic of somebody or something

Characteristic:a feature that makes somebody or something

recognizable

If we put this all together:

J-MAC is suggesting that we are to be recognized as a people possessing a characteristic which

causes us to display modesty and respectability as we wait for His return

Notice the key, we are not only to possess HUMILITY, we are to be recognized for it!!

ALERTNESS:

Matt. 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 

38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 

39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be..

eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage

Why do you think Jesus mentions these things, are they sinful? After all this was the most sinful and wicked

people ever on the earth

No, His point is that they were not paying attention and were therefore caught off guard

They lived in “spiritual apathy” (JM)

The entire time Noah was building the ark he preached repentance but no one listened..

It will be this way prior to the rapture and again prior to Christ’s return

Apathetic Christians will be caught off guard when the rapture happens

The unbelievers will be left behind in bewilderment

At the end of the tribulation, Christ will gather His elect and again the unbelievers will stand utterly bewildered

Don’t be caught apathetic:

Matt. 24:42 “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming..

READINESS:

Matt. 24:43 “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Why do you think Jesus uses this comparison of a thief to the return of the Messiah?

His return is secret and it will be sudden, just like a thief..

he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Here Jesus clearly states that the wise householder is ALERT, READY and PREPARED

For us we need:• To be in the word to draw closer and obtain a better

understanding of our God• To watch the signs as they are unfolding• To warn believers to be ready• To witness to nonbelievers before it is to late..

FAITHFULNESS:

Matt. 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 

46 “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

47 “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions..

The “master” is Jesus

“Servants” are faithful believers

“Possessions” are those things God entrusts us with such as time and talent

And, when He comes for us we will give an account of how we handled what He gave us:

Rom. 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 

11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Since we are held accountable, why wouldn’t we live each day as if it were the last??

Would you agree that if we live:

Humbly

Alert

Ready

Faithfully..

That God will be pleased with us

And our lives will be a witness to the lost

Then why not be humble, alert, ready, and faithful EVERY DAY??

Jan. 17, 2012: These loop structures are made of superheated plasma, just one of which is the size of several Earths. With its ability to capture the Sun in amazing detail, NASA's SDO spacecraft observed it all in extreme ultraviolet light

Speaking of signs in the heavens

DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS???