CAN WE KNOW WE ARE AT THE END OF TIME?
03.09.2003, Bible Fellowship Outreach of Greater Washington, DC.
Most who claim to believe the Bible will tell you that we cannot possibly be at the end of time. They might say we cannot know much about Christ's return other than that it will come as a thief in the night, so it's wrong to look into the matter any further. Others, looking at the unstable situation in the Middle East, might say that the end is indeed drawing near but there are certain political events that must happen first before we will officially be living in the "end times." But practically everyone would say that we really can't know when the end will be, and that the end certainly isn't now.
One reason why most believe this is that countless people have attempted to predict the end of the world. But since the world is still here, obviously, they have been wrong. Since hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people over the past 2000 years have fervently believed that Christ was about to return in their day and were wrong, then obviously, the thought is, we can't know when He is about the return. That certainly sounds reasonable.
To add to this, some who have predicted Christ's return have claimed to receive special insight in one way or another. They've said that God gave them the understanding that Christ was about to return. Since it's true that God must grant understanding in His Word, they had a plausible argument. But they, too, have always been wrong. So if all these people have been wrong, it seems the unmistakable conclusion is that we clearly can't know.
On top of that, the larger portion of those who claimed Christ was about to return have turned out to be kooks, cults and false prophets. All kinds of crazy ideas and elaborate schemes have been hyped to prove that the end was imminent. While this isn't true in every case, it certainly has been the rule rather than the exception. So all the more is there reason to reject the notion that we are at the end of time, because we just can't seem to know when that will be. Any time someone else comes along with a new date for Christ's return and the end of the world, it's now quickly dismissed with a wave of the hand. The boy has cried wolf too many times to be believed. So the majority of rational people today are convinced it is futile to consider the timing of Christ's return and the end of the world, and those who do are obviously out in left field engaging in heresy. This has become the official position of those who are in places of spiritual authority and of the general populace alike. Experience points to the fact that we cannot know when the end of the world will come. Furthermore, there is a verse in the Bible that strongly appears to support this conclusion. We read in Mark 13:33:
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for you* know not when the time is.
But does all of this settle the matter? Haven't we just proven that we can't know we are at the end of time without any question? As we will see, that conclusion is only partly true.
Concluding that we can't know much, if anything, about the timing of Christ's return based upon the failure rate of others is rational thinking according to human wisdom, which many believe to be the ultimate authority. Since everyone who has predicted the end of time over the centuries has been wrong, and since we're living in a day in which we've been flooded with a deluge of bogus claims that Doomsday is around the corner (even in Hollywood movies), it seems completely logical not to consider it any longer. Based on experience and precedence, the track record is dismal. There is a zero success rate.
However, despite the reasonableness of this conclusion and the isolated verses that can be quoted to prove it, if we study the Bible carefully, allowing the Bible alone to guide our thinking (by harmonizing the verses that speak on the subject of the end), we actually find that some will know when the end will occur. The fact alone that the Bible gives us so much information concerning the end suggests that at least some will know when it is approaching, otherwise what is the purpose for that information in the Bible? Otherwise, God is giving us that information needlessly because no one will actually understand it. And we know that God does nothing needlessly, if we truly believe the Bible. True, the Bible does teach that most people cannot or will not know when the end is so that it will come upon them suddenly as a thief in the night. That is in the Bible. And those who insist no one can know anything about it demonstrate by their own words that they themselves cannot know, because they refuse to look into it more carefully. But even though a multitude of people have failed to accurately pinpoint the timing of Christ's return and the end of the world, it does not therefore prove that no one will know about it just prior to when it actually arrives. As illogical as that may seem to the human mind, it is just not the case. It simply means that some who have rightly and eagerly been looking for the end to come were not given the proper understanding by God at the time because the world was not about to end.
Consider this verse:
And he turned him unto [his] disciples, and said privately, Blessed [are] the eyes which see the things that you* see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you* see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear those things which you* hear, and have not heard [them]. Luke 10:23-24
What this verse is teaching is that no one, even believers, can understand the mysteries of the Bible except and until God is pleased to reveal them -- according to His good pleasure and timing. God's Truth is a mystery to men that continually requires God to reveal it. It doesn't mean people won't desire to know. It doesn't mean many might not seek to understand or perhaps be convinced they understand, when, in fact, they do not. It simply means that God must reveal it before it is correctly understood. In the immediate context of this passage it is speaking of knowing who Christ is. The disciples knew Christ because He had now come into the world. Those who lived before Christ came only had a glimmer that there was a Messiah coming. So now was the time for the understanding of the believers to be opened concerning the nature of Christ and of salvation.
But God has revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. I Corinthians 2:10-14
And this principle is the same for any truth in the Scriptures. So, despite a zero track record, despite the logical, reasonable conclusion that we can't know something about the timing of the end based upon the continual failure of others to accurate predict it -- once God is pleased to reveal it to His people then they will know. And they will know regardless of what everyone else says or believes, regardless of how unreasonable or illogical it may seem to others. But the rest of the people in the world cannot know because they remain in blindness and are subject to God's wrath. Those who trust in their logical conclusion that no one can know will not know themselves and will be caught unawares as the fiery end of the world comes as a snare upon them, even though they are being warned of it ahead of time. They rest on the failures of others to accurately predict the end, instead of carefully looking into it themselves, to immediately reject the warning, and they will perish.
We have biblical precedence to declare this to be the case. Remember Noah and his family were the only ones who were aware of the impending flood that destroyed the world of their day and everyone else in it. Surely the rest of the world thought Noah was crazy while he built the ark. Jesus said,
But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:37-39
Those destroyed in the flood did not, nor could not know that the flood was truly about the overtake them, and kill them, even though they surely saw Noah building the ark and heard his warnings. For them life continued on business as usual, while the crazy man, Noah, dedicated his life and wherewithal to building the ark and collecting the animals. Why did Noah only and his family know? Because, the Bible says,
...Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah. Genesis 6:8
Noah was a child of God, he was saved by grace so that God chose to spare him. So God told Noah about the coming flood, and commanded him to build the ark. Then we read where 7 days ahead of time, just before the rains began, God told Noah when the flood would come:
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6:13
And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him. Genesis 7:1-5
Even before that, God declared that he would destroy man from off the face of the earth 120 years ahead of time:
And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. Genesis 6:3
Thus, Noah knew that he had plenty of time to build the ark, which was completed by the time he received the warning 7 days before the flood actually occurred. And the only reason Noah and his family knew the flood was coming to destroy the earth ahead of time and to build an ark was because God told them, and He did not choose to tell those He planned to destroy. He instructed Noah so that Noah and his family would be prepared, but he left the rest of the world in their "blindness of logic", so to speak, that they might perish in the flood waters. They did not have faith in God to do His will, they lived their lives for themselves and were drowned for going their own way instead of honoring God.
In another example, only Abraham, Lot and his immediate family knew of the impending destruction of Sodom, the city in which Lot lived. The rest of the citizens in the city did not know it was coming and were destroyed, even though at least some were warned ahead of time. Again, it's because God told Abraham and Lot beforehand because they had been saved by God's grace and given faith to believe on Him. Of Abraham, God says,
And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do justice and judgment; that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. Genesis 18:17-21
Then later, God told Lot,
And the men [God Himself in the form of these 2 men] said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring [them] out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of Jehovah; and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it. Genesis 19:12-13
We see where God warned Lot to flee (to "bring them out of this place"). But when Lot tried to warn his sons-in-law, who were not believers, that the city was about to be destroyed, we read,
And Lot went out, and spoke unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for Jehovah will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. Genesis 19:14
In other words, they thought Lot was crazy. Just as the people of Noah's day surely looked upon him as a crazy man, building that huge ark and bringing in sets of animals into it -- so Lot was looked at as a crazy man by his sons-in-law. So Lot's sons-in-law were destroyed by fire along with Sodom, while Lot was again warned to flee:
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city....Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before Jehovah: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. Genesis 19:15,24-29
The Bible ties the destruction of Sodom to our day at the end of the world. In the book of Jude, God clearly demonstrates that the destruction of Sodom is a picture of Judgment Day itself, and how it comes within the context of false prophets coming into the churches prior to God's fiery destruction of this creation:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ....Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 1:4,7
This is seen again in II Peter chapter 2, where God speaks both of the flood of Noah's Day and the overthrow of Sodom & Gomorrah as a picture of His Judgment. And interestingly, in this context it, too, has to do with God's destruction upon false prophets that shall come into the church and how the true believers shall be delivered:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] unlawful deeds;) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: II Peter 2:1-9
In fact, Jesus also refers to both the flood of Noah's Day and the destruction of Sodom as pictures of the end of the world, and He does so, yet again, in the context of false prophets who will deceive many with their lies:
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many....Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be....And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many....But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:3-5,11,23-27,37-39
And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after [them], nor follow [them]. For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one [part] under heaven, shines unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day....And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed [them] all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Luke 17:23-24,26-33
The fact is, only the true believers who are living now at the end of the world and whose understanding God has opened through the Scriptures realize that the end is really here. They see that Satan has infiltrated the churches through his false prophets and false ministers of righteousness so that God's wrath is upon them, and they, like Noah & Lot, are warned about the judgment that has and is coming so that they know to prepare. They know to flee the churches as Lot fled Sodom, they know to flee to Christ as Noah and his family found shelter from judgment in the ark and God shut the door to keep them safely inside. Christ gave very definite, and yet mysterious, language to indicate to His people both when He is about to return in Judgment and what to do in the latter days, saying,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. Matthew 24:15-18
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Luke 21:20-22
This is mysterious language that cannot be properly understood without the illumination of God Himself guiding the believer to carefully harmonize the Scriptures together. Likewise, we read,
But you*, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You* are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. I Thessalonians 5:4-5
So, for the believers, Judgment does not come as a thief in the night. Only for the unsaved does Christ return as a thief in the night:
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Revelation 3:3
So the rest of the world will not and cannot perceive that judgment is about to descend upon them until it is too late, even though they hear it ahead of time. They don't really believe it, because they are in darkness, so that they will mock and reject the warning until they are consumed. Like the people of Noah's day, and like the people in Lot's day, they will be caught unawares and be destroyed. They refuse to consider it, saying,
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. II Peter 3:3-7
But just as God said about Abraham,
....Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do Genesis 18:17
so He says of His people,
Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, but he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words [are] closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. Daniel 12:9-10
Whoso keeps the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment. Ecclesiastes 8:5
The true believers are still watching, still expecting and looking for Christ to return even as Christ commanded,
Blessed [are] those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find [them] so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man comes at an hour when you* think not. Luke 12:37-40
[Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought you* to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. II Peter 3:11-13
Those who are found watching will not be in darkness, nor taken by surprise. For the rest of the world, Judgment Day will come as a snare and a thief. May it be that God will awaken many by this Last Trumpet warning that annihilation and everlasting death is fast approaching for the unsaved of the world.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:13
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Revelation 3:3
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