About Times and Dates

Three Christian theologians predicted Jesus would return in the year 500. One prediction was based on the dimensions of…wait for it…Noah’s ark.

Pope Sylvester II predicted the end of the world on the first day of January of the year 1000.

In 1533, a mathematician calculated Judgment Day would begin at 8:00 a.m on October 19, 1533.

Henry Archer took the 1,335 days in the book of Daniel as years instead, counted 1,335 years from the end of the reign of Julian the Apostate, for some reason, and decided Jesus would return in the year 1700.

1836 was the year John Wesley referred to as “when Christ should come.”

The first president of the Jehovah’s Witnesses calculated the year 1874 to be the year of Jesus’ second coming.

The Mormon founder, Joseph Smith, supposedly believed no one knew when the Second Coming would be, except apparently him. Smith determined it would happen in 1891.

Hal Lindsey’s whackadoodle book The Late Great Planet Earth suggested Jesus would return in the 1980s, probably no later than 1988.

Edgar Whisenant, jumping aboard the crazy train, wrote 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.

When this didn’t happen, he wrote a follow-up book entitled…any guesses? 89 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1989.

Five years later, Harold Camping published a book, 1994?

Fellow whackadoo, Jerry Falwell predicted in 1999 that the Second Coming would probably be within 10 years. 23 years later, and…

You might remember back to 2011 when good ol’ Harold Camping ran out of money from his book 1994? and claimed the rapture would be on May 21, 2011 and the end of the world on October 21, 2011.

Ronald Weinland predicted September 29, 2011. And then May 27, 2012 and then May 18, 2013, claiming “a day with God is as a year,” giving himself another year for his prophecy to take place. Pretty clever. Bible juke.

Weinland also decided he didn’t have to pay taxes (because Jesus was coming back) and was sentenced to three-and-one-half years in federal prison. A few years out of prison, Weinland predicted the end of the world would be June 9, 2019. I bet he paid his taxes this time, though.

There are thousands of predictions about the end of the world and the return of Jesus. I just picked a few to illustrate how crazy it sounds when anyone attempts a prediction.

It’s been satirized in popular culture because it’s absolutely ridiculous.

On the sitcom Parks and Recreation, there’s a local group called “The Reasonabilists”, a cult whose members follow Zorp the Surveryor—a 28-foot tall lizard with a volcano for a mouth who controls the universe.

Every few years, they claim the world is going to end and they hold an all-night vigil in the park. The Reasonabilists, or “Zorpies” as some call them, base their beliefs on the group’s founder’s writings. Lou Prozotovich wrote their holy texts, unassuming business guides: “Organize It!” and “Organize It! 2: Engage with Zorp.”

When Zorp doesn’t return and melt the skin off all doubters leaving behind a mass of chattering skeletons, the current group leader revises his prediction for the return of Zorp.

After finding the park is booked on the date of his new prediction, he just switches it to the next available date.

Sound crazy? It should; it’s absolutely bonkers!

And that’s exactly what people sound like when they make predictions about Jesus’ Return.

They make a prediction, they miss, make another, adjust, come back and say, “Oops, I made a mistake. It’s not today; it’s 6 months from now.”

The Thessalonians, remember, were new Christians, infants in the faith, and even they knew better than to make predictions about when Jesus would return.

Paul had taught them about this; they seemed to get it better than a good chunk of religious people today who just can’t help themselves.

This is what Paul writes to the Thessalonians on this topic. About Times and Dates:

1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 NIV

1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

No doubt, when he taught the Thessalonians in person, Paul taught them about Jesus’ return; it’s a major part of the Christian faith. The Thessalonian church knew it was going to happen just as Jesus said:

Matthew 24:3 NIV

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Matthew 24:36 NIV

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

The resurrected Jesus told His clamoring disciples:

Acts 1:6–7 NIV

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

We don’t know when, but we do know what, because Jesus tells us; God’s Word tells us. After Jesus ascended into heaven, two men dressed in white stood beside the disciples and said:

Acts 1:11 NIV

11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

We know, we KNOW Jesus is going to return. Jesus Himself said so. The Biblical witness is clear. Jesus is coming back. This is part of our message.

But listen:

We Don’t Speculate; We Share.

We don’t speculate. We don’t make predictions. It’s neither wise nor helpful to speculate.

It’s okay to say, “I don’t know.” It’s even wise to say, “I don’t know,” when it’s something about which Jesus says, “It’s not for you to know.”

Shouldn’t that settle it for us? The Risen Jesus says, “It’s not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by His own authority.”

Fair enough. If I needed to know when, He would have told me in His Word. If we needed to know, it would be written down for us.

Attempting to calculate precisely (8:00 a.m. on January 23rd) or even imprecisely (within the next decade) is a fool’s errand. Doing any predicting is just going to make us look ridiculous.

Ridiculous and disobedient. “It’s not for you to know.”

“I know Jesus said it’s not for me to know, but I think I’ve figured it out; I’m smarter than average bear. I might even be smarter than Jesus, just sayin’. After all, there’s this blood moon and a solar eclipse and the Mayan calendar and the Cubs won the World Series. I got a ‘B’ in Algebra, but I’ve done the math...”

It’s not for us to know. We don’t speculate about what we don’t know and aren’t meant to know. We don’t venture a guess. We don’t hypothesize.

We don’t speculate; we share.

Share what we know.

What do we know? We know what the Thessalonians know. Paul writes that they know very well. That is, they know accurately that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

They know that. So do we.

“The Day of the Lord” here in verse 2 and “the Coming of the Lord” in 1 Thess 4:15 are the same event, despite what some believe.

In Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, he equates the two— “The Day of the Lord” and “The Coming of the Lord” —showing they are the same event.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 NIV

1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.

Someone had sent the Thessalonian Christians a letter, trying to pass themselves off as Paul and Silas and Timothy. Their fake letter said “the day of the Lord” had already come. Paul writes to them concerning “the coming of our Lord Jesus...”

For Paul, “The Day of the Lord” = “The Coming of the Lord.” Same thing.

We share what we know. Christians must not shrink from declaring this important Bible truth.

This day will come like a thief in the night. It’s unexpected. It will surprise. The Lord’s return will arrive at a time and in a way unforeseen by the world.

Thieves don’t announce their coming, but wait for an unexpected opportunity.

In spite of this Biblical certainty—that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night—there have been thousands or predictions like the few I mentioned at the start of the sermon.

There’s even something called “The Rapture Index” online, offering advance warning of Christ’s return by means of a point scale for activities associated with the end of the world.

It describes itself as “A Dow Jones Industrial Average of the end time activity,” and “a prophetic speedometer: the higher the number, the faster we’re moving toward the occurence of the pre-tribulation rapture.”

Even if I believed in that particular view of the end times, I wouldn’t waste my time or concern myself with that kind of speculation.

We don’t need the internet to tell us what the Bible already has. In just a few OT passages:

“The Day of the Lord is near! The day is near! The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast! (Isa. 13:6; Ezek 30:2-3; Zeph 1:14).

Anthony Hoekema explains what believers are to do:

“The believer should live in constant, joyful expectation of Christ’s return; though we do not know the exact time of it, we should always be ready for it.”

Jesus Himself testifies at the end of Revelation: “Yes, I am coming soon!” (Rev. 22:20).

That’s what we know. We don’t know “when” and we won’t venture a guess or build a ridiculous website.

We share what we know: Jesus is coming soon. It could be any day.

About times and dates, there’s nothing to say, brothers and sisters. Don’t go guessing or foretelling, please.

Go and share. Share what you know. Sharing what you’ve been told to share:

Namely, that Jesus suffered and bled and died for us and our sins, died to pay the price once and for all, rose victorious from the grave, conquering sin and death. Share that Jesus ascended into heaven, and will return to set the world at rights and be with His people forever and ever.

Share that.

We don’t speculate. We share.

1 Thessalonians 5:3–4 NIV

3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

We Don’t Seek Security Here, But There.

The result of Jesus’ unforeseen coming will be sudden destruction on those who were unprepared.

This teaching from Paul echoes the teaching of the Jesus who compared the world at His return to those who were unprepared for the flood in Noah’s day.

This is what Jesus says in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24.37-39 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

Jesus’ point: unbelievers will be oblivious. They will be concerned about their own affairs: their pleasures, ambitions, worldly pursuits.

Worldly preoccupation keeps so many men and women from thinking about God and eternity now. The same attitude will expose the ungodly to destruction on the day of the Lord when it suddenly comes, completely unforeseen, like a thief in the night.

Many people in Paul’s day succumbed to imperial Roman propaganda, political slogans like: “There is Peace and Security, Peace and Safety.”

People throughout the Roman world would have trusted the promises of the empire. “Peace and Security. Peace and Safety.”

Paul must have thought: “What foolish slogans and vain hopes with the Day of the Lord coming!”

We don’t seek security here. We don’t believe we have any security here. This is not what Christians do! To hold on to any sense of peace and safety here and now is sheer lunacy.

To be caught up in the utopian promises of any political party or social movement is, in a word, D-U-M-B dumb.

That man or that woman or those people WILL NEVER provide peace and security, peace and safety. Never.

We don’t seek security here. Christians don’t do that. That is not us.

Every endeavor of man is crippled by sinful corruption.

If your hope is tied to election night or a political rally or a politician, you are anchored to a chunk of driftwood.

If your mood or joy or perspective is altered because of who is in office or what piece of legislation passed or failed, you better enjoy whiplash. The American political machine will never provide any level of steadiness.

While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly.

We don’t seek security here. Our security is there.

Only the return of Christ will bring true “peace and security” to those who hope in Him.

He Himself is our peace. As we hide ourselves in Him, as we gather to Him, as chicks hide themselves under their mother’s wings, there we find safety.

In His hand, safe and secure. No one—nothing—can snatch us out of His hand, out from His care. He is the Good Shepherd who defends His sheep, feeds His sheep, keeps His sheep, lays down His life for His sheep.

That’s safety. That’s security. In Him, not the temporary, finite, frail trappings of security here.

The world offers only foundations of sand. Some really impressive looking houses and buildings, but they will all come crashing down.

The Lord Jesus offers life on a foundation of rock. Build on Him, anchor yourself in Him, and nothing can move you.

Notice the contrast in verse 4.

After describing those who rejoice in the world’s “Peace and security, peace and safety,” Paul writes:

BUT YOU, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness.

There’s a world of difference between Christians and non-Christians. It’s night and day, literally!

1 Thessalonians 5:5–8 NIV

5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

We Aren’t in Darkness; We are Awake …

Believing in Jesus, the Christian no longer lives in the darkness, but rather lives in the light.

Night and darkness are Biblical metaphors associated with alienation from God and ignorance about the any-moment-now return of Jesus.

Day and light, on the other hand, refer to salvation in Christ and relationship with God, as well as knowledge about the Day of the Lord/the Coming of Jesus.

As children of light, Christians should not engage in the activities of darkness.

Those in the dark are asleep to God, unaware of what is happening in the world, unresponsive to the call of the gospel.

The children of light are to be different, awake to God’s plan and alive to God’s calling.

Awake and sober, alert and self-controlled. These are behaviors of those who belong to the day.

Paul’s call to sober living, self-controlled living isn’t merely warning against drinking too much (though that’s included here).

This call extends to the whole realm of activities presented to us. Self-control and soberness applies to a wide range of topics.

G.K. Beale explains it this way: “To be drunk spiritually is to imbibe too much of the world’s way of looking at things and not enough of the way God views reality. To be intoxicated with the world’s wine is to be numbed to feeling any fear in the present of a coming judgment.”

As children of the light and children of the day, as part of our sobriety, we prepare ourselves for life by clothing ourselves with faith and love and hope.

Faith and love and hope is a good look for Christians. Darkness and sleep and drunkenness, not so much.

There’s a way we are supposed to behave, a way that’s natural for the sons and daughters of God to be. Put on faith and hope and love.

In these last days (according to my understanding, we’re just waiting for the coming of Jesus, the day of the Lord, when Jesus returns and inaugurates His kingdom)—in these last days, we prepare ourselves in Christ, adorned with the armor of faith and love and hope, awake and sober, ready for His return.

1 Thessalonians 5:9–10 NIV

9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

We Aren’t in Darkness; We are Awake and Assured.

This, THIS is our assurance. It all rests on verses 9-10.

God did not appoint His people to suffer His wrath, but to receive and enjoy salvation through Jesus! He died so that we will live together with Him!

The Thessalonian Christians have nothing to worry about on the Day Jesus returns, because they are destined/appointed, not for wrath, but for salvation.

Those who haven’t put their faith in Jesus will however face the wrath of God. It’s not just that sin harms the person who commits the sin, but that God will punish sinners in anger for sins committed against His law.

Either Jesus has absorbed the wrath of God for you, or you will bear the weight and pay the price yourself.

Christians know this is true:

On the cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied

Christians will not face God’s wrath; Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath to the very dregs.

Non-Christians have always objected to the idea of God’s anger for our sins. More recently, even professing Christians have sought to minimize the idea of God’s wrath against sin.

“One of the things that gave salvation so full a meaning to the NT Christians was that they were sure of the wrath of God, and knew that Christ had rescued them from a terrible fate." -Leon Morris

At the Second Coming, Christians (awake or asleep, those who are alive and those who have died), all Christians will experience a new quality of life in the company of Christ!

Jesus died for us. This is the gospel, the basis of our assurance.

Ridiculous is the notion that Christians must ready themselves in some special way beyond trusting in the gospel.

Shock-sermons are given to youth groups, suggesting if they are caught in some sinful act when Jesus returns, they may join the ranks of those swept away for judgment.

It’s simply not true. Readiness for the Day of the Lord may be achieved now simply by turning to Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life.

Jesus said so: John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

As with his other teaching, Paul wants his Thessalonian brothers and sisters to encourage one another and build each other up.

This is what we’re meant to do with this. There’s plenty here to keep us busy:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Keep sharing Jesus with those around you—share the Good News that Jesus died for our sins and graciously substituted Himself for us.

Talk about the security you have in Him, and how much better it is than any security or safety the world offers.

And invite others to come to Jesus today, to walk in the light, to find the assurance of salvation we have in Him.