What Does “No One Knows the Day or Hour” Mean? (Part 1)
By Xinjie
The four blood moons have appeared, and disasters such as earthquakes, famine, and epidemics are increasingly common. The prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and some have openly testified online that He has already come. Some brothers and sisters are puzzled, as it is clearly written in the Bible: “But of that day and hour knows no man, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). How can they know that the Lord has returned? Has He really come back? What should we do to be able to welcome Him? Let’s fellowship together on this very question.
“No One Knows the Day or the Hour”—What Does This Mean?
Some brothers and sisters believe, based on this Bible verse, “But of that day and hour knows no man,” that when the Lord does return, no one will know. This is why none of them give any credence or consideration to claims from people spreading news of the Lord’s return. Is this really a correct understanding, or not? Is it in line with the Lord’s will? The Lord Jesus once prophesied, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). We can see from these lines of scripture that after the Lord returns in the last days, He will knock on our door with His words, and will even have us come out and greet Him through a human cry of, “the bridegroom comes.” As there are people who call out to us the news of the Lord’s return, this shows that when He has come, He will certainly let people know. Clearly, understanding “But of that day and hour knows no man” as no one learning of the Lord’s coming after it occurs is completely erroneous.
So how exactly should we interpret this passage of scripture? We can link these verses together: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knows no man, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:32–36). “Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:44). And Revelation 3:3 says, “If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you.” These passages use omens of the Lord’s return to tell us. They mention that “the Son of man comes” and “as a thief.” The “Son of man” indeed refers to God incarnate; the spiritual body cannot be called the Son of man. Only someone like the Lord Jesus—God’s Spirit clothed in flesh, that has come among humans to do very practical work, that possesses normal humanity—can be called the Son of man. “As a thief” means coming stealthily and in secret. From this it is evident that the Lord’s return involves descending secretly in the flesh as the Son of man. Given that He descends in secret, we will not perceive Him easily, because the day and the hour God appears as flesh incarnate is unknown to all. That is, “But of that day and hour knows no man,” means that no one knows the exact time of the Lord’s return. However, after He has come to speak and do work, there will definitely be some people who know of it, and this is when we should wake up. When we hear people spreading the gospel of the Lord’s return, we should seek and investigate; only then can we welcome the Lord and sup with Him. However, right now, not only are we not awake, but we don’t go to seek or investigate when we hear others spread the news of the Lord’s return. As such, have we not misunderstood the Lord’s will? Let us read a couple more passages of God’s words, and we will gain an understanding of these passages of scripture.
Almighty God has said: “At the break of dawn, unbeknownst to the multitudes of humanity, God came to earth and began His life in the flesh. People were unaware of the coming of this moment. Maybe they were all fast asleep; maybe many who were watchfully awake were waiting, and maybe many were praying silently to God in heaven. Yet among all these many people, not a single one knew that God had already arrived on earth” (“Work and Entry (4)” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “At the beginning, when Jesus had yet to officially perform His ministry, like the disciples that followed Him, sometimes He also attended meetings, and sang hymns, gave praise, and read the Old Testament in the temple. After He was baptized and arose, the Spirit officially descended upon Him and began to work, revealing His identity and the ministry that He was to undertake. Prior to this, no one knew His identity, and apart from Mary, not even John knew. Jesus was 29 when He was baptized. After His baptism was completed, the heavens were opened, and a voice said: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ Once Jesus had been baptized, the Holy Spirit began to bear testimony to Him in this way. Before being baptized at the age of 29, He had lived the life of a normal person, eating when He was supposed to eat, sleeping and dressing normally, and nothing about Him was different from others, though of course, this was only to the fleshly eyes of man. … The Bible does not record what He did before He was baptized because He did not do this work before He was baptized. He was merely an ordinary man and represented an ordinary man; before Jesus began to perform His ministry, He was no different from normal people, and others could see no difference in Him. It was only after He reached 29 that Jesus knew He had come to complete a stage of God’s work; before, He Himself did not know this, for the work done by God was not supernatural” (“Concerning Appellations and Identity” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).
Source From: What Does “No One Knows the Day or Hour” Mean?
Write a comment