Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY -- BE READY!
"Sometime this weekend," I informed my son, "we'll drive out to the disc golf course and play a round."
"When this weekend?" he asked.
"I don’t know," I said. "It depends on how my work goes."
"Well, Dad, whenever we go, I'll be ready," he smiled.
Sometimes we look forward to coming events without knowing exactly when they will happen. We just know we need to be ready for the day whenever it comes. The unknown day may involve a fun activity, like a round of disc golf with my son. Often, however, more serious issues are involved, such as the restaurant owner who knows the health inspector could show up any day.
What about the date of Christ's Second Coming? Is there any way to know when that will be? You may recall how radio preacher Harold Camping predicted the end of the world to be May 21, 2011 and when that didn't happen he rescheduled Christ's arrival for October 21, 2011. Who knows how many more times he'll hit the Judgment Day reset button. This wasn't the first time that someone has presumed to know when the Last Day will arrive, nor will it be the last. Some are a bit more cautious, however, predicting the year rather than the exact date of Christ's return. Dates which leaders of the Jehovah's Witnesses have set for the last year include: 1874, 1878, 1881, 1910, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1975, and 1984.
The Bible is very clear. No one but God knows the day of Christ's Second Coming. He's coming when we least expect it (Cf. Acts 1:7; 2 Peter 3:10; Matthew 24:42; Matthew 24:36).
Since we don't know either the day or the year of Jesus' coming, we need to stay ready every day. We stay ready as we look in repentant faith to the sacrifice Jesus made for all on Calvary's cross. In Jesus we're freely and fully forgiven, and therefore "good to go," no matter when He returns.
