“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke 12:35-40
Thieves don’t leave signs. Jesus was asked about these signs of His coming.
Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us,” they said. “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?” Jesus answered, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am the Christ!’ They will fool many people.
“You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me. At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies. Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people. Because evil will grow, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come. Matthew 24:3-14
Here are the signs that people will think herald Jesus’ return:
- War
- Famine
- Earthquakes
- Persecution
- False prophets
- The growth of evil
Others look at Matthew 24:14 and believe once we preach to every nation then Jesus will come back. Haven’t we? Hasn’t a missionary traveled to each nation in the world? Was Jesus only talking here about borders? When Jesus made this statement, only one nation had effectively been reached with the Gospel—Israel. The time it would take for every nation to be reached would take thousands of years. There is easily a missionary in every country now.
It’s safe to say we’re closer now to the end times then they were when Jesus spoke. Seconds are always ticking off the clock.
So we don’t know when, but we should live as if it were today. (see also Luke 17:20-37)
No one knows when Jesus will return, so do not accept any date or prediction no matter how convincing the numbers, math or logic seems to be. When it happens, it happens.