Standing firm in the faith calls for knowing not only the challenges we face now, but those we will encounter in the future. Through the Bible we can. Over a third of the Bible is prophecy—we’re warned about what is coming. There’s a lot of debate and confusion over Bible prophecy—especially the end of the age events in the Bible. This uncertainty leads us to often throw up our hands and avoid the topic. We avoid it because it seems difficult or because there’s division.
I’d argue that the perceived difficulty and division is something we’ve created and not a result of the Bible itself. If we were to just read the text for what it plainly says—it’s not as hard as we make it.
One of the ways that we justify our avoidance of the topic, and the perceived difficulty is due to Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 24:36. Jesus said, “But about that day or hour [of the end of the age] no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
There’s no doubt you’ve heard this or even said it yourself—no one can know when the end of the age will come. No one can know when Jesus will return. If Jesus didn’t even know, then certainly, we can’t know. It’s absolutely true! Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. So, does that mean we should avoid the topic? Does it mean we can’t know details about the end times? Does it mean that we can’t know if we’re near the end of the age?
We seem to believe Jesus’ words mean that there is no way we can know anything about the conclusion of this age therefore we should avoid it, but if we read the context of what Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 and 25, He gave an overwhelming list of signs of His return and of the end of the age. He also gave several instructions of how we should live in response to those signs. It seems like even though Jesus said we couldn’t know the day or the hour—He felt there was a lot we could and should know.
And if we read just a few verses above Jesus saying, “no one knows the day or the hour,” we find Jesus clearly saying that we should be able to recognize the season of the end of the age.
Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. – Matthew 24:32-33
Did you catch that? Four verses before we read Jesus say, “No one know the day or hour,” He says just as we can tell the changing seasons from the leaves on trees, so should we be able to recognize the season of the end of the age by the signs He told us.
He told those signs for a reason.
Much of the Bible is prophecy for a reason.
No, we can’t know the hour, but we can know the season.
This article first appeared in Jake’s syndicated column Stand Firm & Live Epic as published in The Baptist Trumpet and other publications. After three months the articles are adapted and published here. To read the articles at release subscribe here.
Executive Director of Stand Firm and lead pastor of Epic Church NWA in Springdale, AR and multiple award-winning author, Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Former regular contributor to the Baptist Press and WND News with popular conservative voices such as Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Greg Laurie, Ben Schapiro, Joel Richardson, and others. He now is a weekly contributor for Israel, Islam, and the End Times and Armageddon News. He has authored books such as the, award-winning Spiritual Prepper from WND Books. Award-winning devotional books, Invincibleand For Uncertain Times, he authored the ground-breaking children’s book, Jesus and His White Horse from CrossLink Publishing. He is also a regular guest on national and international radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his weekly live streaming program Talking Stand Firm and weekly podcast Stand Firm Parents.
