This will be my fourth post concerning what I called the verse most taken out of context in the entire bible. In that verse, Matthew 24:36, Jesus stated that no one knows the day or hour of His return. It is used and quoted from pulpits across the globe to minimize or avoid the importance of last-days eschatological teaching. However, the context is Jesus’s Olivet discourse where He teaches the apostles and us everything we need to know so that we can watch, make ourselves ready, and know when His coming is about to happen. One of the clearest signs He gave us with a time stamp during this discourse is recorded by Matthew. “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation ‘ spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…. then there will be great tribulation such has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:15, 21). If we follow Jesus’ advice and go back and read Daniels commentary along with the corresponding scriptures in Revelation, we can come to an obvious conclusion. Jesus is referring to the second half of Daniels 70th week, the “great tribulation”, a period described as “times, time, and 1/2 a time”, or 3 1/2 years, or 1260 days, or 42 months. This is the time the antichrist declares in Jerusalem that he is the one to be worshipped until Jesus destroys him with His coming precisely 42 months later. This is not an event the church will miss. All true believers who endure to the end will know exactly when their Lord is returning to set up His kingdom. Jesus’s statement that no one knows the day or hour was certainly true 2000 years ago but is not applicable as His coming nears. When Jesus told us to read Daniel, He said “let the reader understand” (Matthew 24:15). After Daniel relates this prophecy, he states: “the wise will understand” (Daniel 12:10).
Make no mistake, the closer we get to Jesus’ second coming, the more certainty we’ll have about a specific date. Jesus said: “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.” (Mark 13:23). In addition, we have a terrific teacher sent by Jesus Himself. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…. and He will tell you things to come.“ (John 16:13). Don’t be dissuaded from your study of eschatology by those who take their proof texts out of context.
Maranatha, Jim