The Day And The Hour

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wondered how Jesus and the Father are One, yet Jesus apparently has no idea when He’ll be returning. Years of Sunday School classes and sermons always taught me that no one knows, not even Jesus, so don’t even bother looking into it. Well, here I am nearing age 35 and I’ve finally sat down and deliberately looked into the matter for myself. I tell you honestly friend, the more I look, the more clearly I see the false doctrines of men that infiltrate pulpits and classrooms all across this nation. We must rise up and seek the truths of God’s Word on our own! No longer can we simply say, “well, I was always told…” – we are accountable to search out the mysteries of God for ourselves. So, with that being said, here are the results that I found, that I believe are truth. I encourage you to dig into this yourself – don’t just take my word for it! Look these things up and see what the Spirit will say to YOU. Take ownership of what you know and let what you believe be rooted so deeply within you that no man, no event, no thing can shake it loose!

So I pose this question to you, “Does Jesus know the day and the hour of His second coming?”

Matthew 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?"

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

Mark 13:4 - "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?"

Mark 13:32 – “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Note that in both Matthew and Mark, Jesus tells the disciples the many signs that will signal and usher in His second coming, yet according to the verse, He apparently doesn’t know the exact hour it will happen. Right? Was Jesus really ignorant of the time of His own second coming? Lets look at the word used in both passages that is translated as "know", which is the Greek word "eido". The key lies within the main definition of “eido” that was understood to mean “cannot tell”.

For an example to further this point, let’s look at Paul speaking in 1 Corinthians 2:2. “For I determined to know (eido) nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” In this verse, Paul is using the exact same word to say that his only desire is to make known or tell of, Jesus. He is saying that he “cannot tell” of anything but Jesus. We know that Paul wasn’t saying, “I’m ignorant of anything else but Jesus”. That would be ludicrous, as we know he was a well-educated man. He was simply saying that Jesus was the only thing worth telling anyone about!

So, with this in mind, could it be that in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, Jesus is actually saying, “But of that day or hour no one will make known or tell of, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

I personally believe, that when looking at the word “know” in light of the original text, Jesus is not saying that He’s ignorant of the hour of His second coming, but rather, He simply cannot reveal it or declare it - neither can the angels nor you and I. To put it in elementary terms, Jesus will not part the skies and yell, "Here I am!" nor will the angels start a choir to sing a song to announce His return either. The job, if you will, is reserved for the Father alone to announce the very hour of His Son’s return. It is not that I cannot “perceive” when that hour is coming, necessarily, but it is not my position to “announce” it at the appointed time.

To quickly address what I believe validates and explains this point of view, let’s look at John 12:27-29.

“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered.”

I believe that this is saying, just as God “glorified” and declared from the heavens Jesus’ first mission upon the earth, He will “glorify it again” upon His return. The Alpha and Omega Himself will thunder from heaven and “make known” Jesus’ second coming! It will not be a quiet and “secret” event!

Now I want to be careful to explain that this does not insinuate that we’re not able to know the season of His return and share this with others. In fact, I’m saying just the opposite. Perhaps, as we watch the Jewish calendar and keep our eyes on the signs in the heavens, we can even know the day and the hour. (After all, God told Noah, as precise as just one week prior, that the floods were coming!) It is simply not my place to “announce to the ends of the earth” Jesus’ actual return. It is however our responsibility to be watchmen and warn others of His coming. At the appointed time, the Father will thunder it from heaven and every eye will see! Come Lord Jesus – we’re watching… we’re waiting.

(Thanks to Michael Scheifler for doing much of the research to uncover many of these truths)