Take the Bait When They Set A Date!

    A story about a frog reminds us fanatical obsessing about the future is unhealthy. A fortuneteller, gazing into a crystal ball, says to a nervous frog sitting across the table,“You are going to meet a beautiful young woman.  From the moment she sets eyes on you she will have an insatiable desire to discover every detail about you. She will be compelled to get close to you – you will absolutely fascinate her." The frog hops with excitement!  "Am I at a singles club?" The fortuneteller replies,"No. You’re in a biology class."

    Things sometimes get more than a little goofy when it comes to predicting the future. There are many people in our modern, enlightened, advanced age who shun the guidance of the Bible and the omnipotent and omniscient God who discloses Himself in it. Yet some of these same people look to stargazers and palm-readers and psychics and a host of others so-called prognosticators to predict their future and guide their choices in such matters as finances, romance, career choices, etc.! But, as Jay Leno asked, “Why do you never read where a psychic has won the lottery?”

    One area where forecasting the future gets super-whacky is the time of Jesus’ second coming and the events that will precede and surround it. “Eschatology” is the big, fancy theological word that refers to final events in the history of mankind on earth. It is a system of doctrines that have to do with last or final matters such as the return of Christ, the judgement, the future state of mankind, etc. It is a field of study rife with wild speculation and unlimited imagination. Consider just one example.

     The last week of His life Jesus spoke at length about the time of His return. All

54 verses of Matthew 24 and all 46 verses of chapter 25 in one way or another address the return of Christ. Admittedly, there are sections of chapter 24 that are complex and controversial and require very careful study. From the get-go in the chapter Jesus is answering more than one question (see verse 3). At least two issues become clear to the careful Bible student. First, when Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple would be destroyed. Verses 4-35 (see especially vs 32-35) reveal first century disciples of Jesus would be able to discern clearly when that cataclysmic event would occur, as surely as they could predict summer was coming when trees began to bud and put forth leaves! 

    A second question asked in verse 3 – “what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?” – receives an equally clear but dramatically different answer. In verse 36 Jesus states bluntly, “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Mark’s parallel in Mark 13:32 is, if possible, even more final – “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus Christ Himself, at least in His incarnate form as God in flesh, did not know the time of His own return! For those who respect the inspiration and authority of the Bible that settles the issue once and for all – no human being on earth, no matter how precise their predictions and convincing their claims, knows when Christ will return to earth. Regarding the return of Christ, God’s word is loud and clear – don’t take the bait when they set a date!

       “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming

        at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:44)

             --Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN