Any discussion of end times will inevitably include a reference to Matt. 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." So, many people today are convinced that we are to be ignorant of times and seasons.

First of all it never says that no man "CAN" know, only "no man knoweth" (present tense). So it is that no man, at the time of the writing and no doubt well beyond, knew. Compare that with Luke 10:22, "All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." Here it is obvious that there is something that "no man knows" which is known by Father and by the Son. But the promise here is that they will reveal it to some people. This is always the case when it comes to God’s secrets.

Let us look at the time of Christ’s first coming: 1) Zechariah and Elisabeth knew that their son was going to prepare the way for Christ. A full six months before the birth of Jesus, they knew that Messiah’s coming was very near: probably in the lifetime of their son’s generation. 2) Mary and Joseph knew Messiah was coming a full 9 months prior to His birth. 3) Wise men and shepherds knew he was born, so they knew that He would be revealed – if not in their own lifetimes (perhaps they were very old), then indeed in their children’s generation. 4) When the baby Jesus was brought to the Temple, Simeon and Anna (both very old and near death) knew that Jesus was the Messiah which was to come, and that they had witnessed the generation that would see Messiah’s work. 5) John knew to look for Messiah, because God had told him that He would show up at the river one day, and John would recognize him by the Holy Spirit descending upon him.

This all means that people knew some 30 years prior to the start of His ministry that Messiah’s time was at hand, and that He would be revealed and do his work.

God always lets His people know what is happening. With regard to the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus said, "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" (Luke 21:20-21). Now, of course He did not say, "In 70 A.D., when ye shall see...," but He let them know the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem, and told them that the destruction would swiftly follow the sign, so they would have no time to pack or return to the city. They would have to flee immediately. They did not know the timing of the sign, but they certainly had a "heads up" as to the swift destruction the sign would foretell.

As to Jesus’ return, Paul knew that Jesus’ second coming would not be in his lifetime, because he said that the day was not yet at hand (2 Thess. 2:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:6-8), and that after his death, the apostasy would come (Acts 20:29). He also knew that someone would see that day coming (Heb. 10:24-25).

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. 24:36-37). Well what about Noah?

When God called Noah, He did not tell him when the flood would be. So Noah began to build an ark, knowing only one thing: God gave him enough time to get it built. When the time came, God told him to get in the ark because the flood would come in 7 days. Now Noah knew the day, a full week in advance.

When Moses brought the children of Israel to Mount Sinai, God called him up and told him to prepare the people for the third day, "for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai" (Ex. 19:11). The children of Israel knew that they were going to meet the Lord when they left Egypt, although they did not know precisely when. Now they knew the Lord was coming three days before the event.

GOD NEVER CHANGES!!!

"Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the immutable God said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (Gen. 18:17), then He proceeded to inform Abraham of Sodom’s impending doom.

Jesus said to His disciples, "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (John 15:15).

God told His friend, Abraham (James 2:23), what he was about to do. Jesus told His friends, the disciples, all things which the Father told Him. Does God have no living friends today? Is there no one to whom He would desire to tell the exciting work that He is doing or is about to do? Are we to rejoice, and shout "PRAISE THE LORD, WE KNOW NOTHING, IT’S GOING TO BE A SURPRISE PARTY!" ?

What of Israel’s tribe of Issachar? "And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment" (1 Chron. 12:32). Are there no such people today?

Yet we are often taught that those "left behind" will know precisely the return of the Lord following the "rapture." These apostates and sinners will know that He is coming seven years after that, but the Saints – God’s friends – that were taken knew nothing of time at all? That makes no sense at all!!

No, dear brothers and sisters! Before the Lord comes, there will be signs. We will see things and know that it is near, even at the doors (Matt. 24:33). One of the greatest signs of Jesus’ coming will be when "His wife hath made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7). He’s not coming until she’s ready, and she’s not ready yet. But according to the will of the Lord she WILL be, and He will come very, very soon after that.

Today many claim to have an "expectation" of His coming, though they do not expect it to happen in their lifetimes. This reminds me of the words of Jesus’ parable in Matt. 25:1-13.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept" (Matt. 25:1-5). These thought He was coming, but He took longer than they had thought He would, so they all went to sleep. But at midnight a cry was made that he was coming.

Midnight is near. A cry will precede His coming. Are you wise? Will you be ready when Jesus comes? Will you hear the cry and respond? Will you enter into the chambers? Or will you find yourself with the foolish on the outside?

Today’s Christians are yawning and their eyelids are heavy with slumber. On one hand, it is thought that Jesus could come at any time; on the other hand, many do not expect him in their lifetime. The Lord has not changed; He will reveal His secret unto His friends – unto His servants the prophets. A cry will go out at midnight, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him." When that cry is made, will you deny the criers? Will you reject them because you believe that no one can know the time? There was a time of ignorance, to be sure. But that time is passed, and we must begin to see the day approaching, and prepare to meet the Bridegroom. Will you be ready when Jesus comes?