GOD has His purposes or reasons for not mentioning the time, day, or  hour of Jesus’ return. For one, it compels us to believe and trust what He says. In addition, we can easily relate with that as a means of combating complacency among the saints. The Word of God says we should be ready and keep watch.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the  hour” (Matthew 25:13).James L. Melton says a great way to keep watch is to know what the Bible reveals about upcoming events and compare them to what we see happening today. There are nearly a hundred (100) Biblical passages discussing the second coming of Jesus Christ. The key events can be summarised with this: S-E-C-O-N-D.

S...Sudden. As we saw above, no one but the Father knows when. However, we do know it will take place “as lightning.” Matthew 24:27 says, “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

E...Essential. One of the foundations of the Christian faith is Jesus’ second coming. It is spoken of by Jesus and many others in the Bible. Jesus will physically come again for all His believers and for His final judgment. Unfortunately, some Christian cults teach that Christ has “secretly” returned already. As you read what the Bible says about the second coming of Jesus, it will be obvious that it hasn’t happened yet.

C...Christ’s Final Judgment. The Bible declares that Jesus will be the final judge of the world (John 5:22, Acts 10:42 and 2 Timothy 4:1). Some of the additional verses describing the second coming, resurrection of the dead, millennium, and final judgment are located in Acts 17:31, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and Hebrews 10:27.

O..Obvious. There are over 6 billion people on the planet. God only knows what percentage are truly Christians, but let’s use a conservative number like 10%. If this is true, over 600,000,000 people will vanish from the earth simultaneously according to Matthew 24:40. There will be no mistaking when Christ comes back for His Church!
N...No One Knows When. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said only God the Father knows when. God is outside time. God already knows every prediction regarding Jesus’ return that has ever been or will ever be made. Since Jesus said that no one knows about that day but the Father, then NO ONE KNOWS!

The “D” is for “Doubters.” As we get closer and closer to the Second Coming of Christ, there will be increased and widespread doubt about whether Jesus even existed. People will also start wondering if God really exists and believers will leave the Christian faith (2 Thessalonians 2:1–4, 1 Timothy 4:1–2, and 2Peters 2:1–3).

Do you think we are already seeing these signs? Then we need not seek date or time to convince us of the imminence of the Parousia. NOW is the time to get ready for the Lord.

Are you prepared for the Lord’s coming? Will you?