When Will Jesus Return by Anders Gardeborn?

Introduction

When will Jesus return? The knee jerk reflex of many Christians is that we cannot know, nor should we be able to know. It is considered to be a carefully kept heavenly secret. There are two main reasons for this belief:

First, has not Jesus Himself said that of that day and hour no one knows (Matt 24:36)? And does not Paul say that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. (1 Thess 5:2)? These common objections will be dealt with in the next chapter.

Second, many Bible-believing Christians throughout history have tried to predict when Jesus returns, and when He did not show up as expected, they have been left with shame. So let us not repeat the mistake of painting ourselves into a corner. But God may consciously have hidden the time until today when He, for the first time in history, has provided us with a tool that makes it possible to predict it. The tool consists of a biblical chronology from creation to eternity where the return can be timed. Such chronologies have of course been made before, but this one differs from earlier ones in several crucial respects:

• The chronology is 100% biblically sourced. It is based exclusively on biblical information, open to anyone who wants to check it. (Not even the somewhat ambiguous lists of monarchs found in the Bible need be used.) Other chronologies mix biblical data with dates from secular history (which are uncertain), astronomical events (which are ambiguous), and/or personal revelations (which are subjective).
• The chronology is predicted. A careful biblical exegesis shows that biblical history spans over 7000 years. A simple summary of the Bible’s time data gives exactly this figure.
• The chronology is complete. There is not a single time record missing necessary to reconstruct biblical history. So God has in no way left us to guesswork.
• The chronology is verified. As an inevitable consequence of summarizing the biblical time records, it turns out that many of the most notable events in biblical history occur in Jubilee years (which come in 50-year intervals). The Jubilee years function as checkpoints that confirm that we have calculated correctly. The chronology is therefore internally proven.

The reason we today, unlike before, have begun to be able to calculate the time for the return is that we are now so close that we need to start preparing. God has begun to lift a veil that had been over the faces of earlier generations. But He does not do it by new revelation besides the Bible, but by new light from His Holy Spirit over what is already written there. I make no claim to be a primary recipient of such information. Most of the research behind the chronology was done by Pastor Tim Warner from South Carolina in the United States, and it is presented in his book The Time of the End.

We are on the eve of the realization of the messenger’s words to Daniel: The words [about the end] are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. (Dan. 12:89). Implied: But not any longer!

Should we know the day?

Many, perhaps the majority, believe that Jesus will return unexpectedly and without warning. In this chapter, I will challenge that view. God gives us information on a need- to-know basis, and because the return is approaching today, knowledge of the timing is critical.

First, we note that Jesus will not come back in this very moment (written in the spring of 2024), and this is because several things must be realized before He comes:

• Birth pains during the tribulation. The seven last years before the return is called the tribulation, and after reciting many distresses during this time, Jesus says that He comes immediately after the tribulation of those days (Matt 24:29).
• A cosmic drama. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the… day of the Lord [the return]. (Joel 2:31)
• The appearance of Antichrist. The Bible predicts that a hateful character called Antichrist will appear during the tribulation, and Paul says about him: Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ… Let no one deceive you… for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin [Antichrist] is revealed… so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thess 2:1-4)

Jesus’ words in Matt 24:36 are probably the most common argument against knowing the time of the return: Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. The verse is from Jesus’ great eschatological speech, and this will be our starting point in analyzing what the Bible teaches on the matter:

The Apostles’ question. After Jesus has foretold the destruction of the temple (Matt 24:2), the apostles ask their Master: Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3) At this time, the apostles were not yet aware that Jesus’ return was far in the future (see chapter The development of chiliasm), and so Jesus responds by prophetically describing both the destruction of the temple (which occurred in AD 70) and His return (which has not yet occurred). The response includes the time of the return.

Jesus answers (with a more literal translation than above): Of that day and hour no one HAS [yet] DISCOVERED [perfect], not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. (Matt 24:36 with “yet” added for clarification)

• Jesus uses the verb tense perfect, which means that no one ofthattime had yet discovered the day. He never says anyone everwill. God’s plan of salvation goes through distinct stages, and God covers and uncovers as needed.
• Earlier, Jesus had referred to the prophet Daniel: When you see the ‘abominationofdesolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoeverreads, let him understand)… (Matt 24:15) Thus, the reference to Daniel is primarily addressed to the readers, not the apostles, which ought to mean that Daniel’s words have more relevance today than in their day.
• Jesus’ reference to the “abomination of desolation” is found in a prophecy in the book of Daniel, and also here the curious question is asked: How long shall IT BE TILL THEENDOF THESE wonders? (Dan 12:6) The answer reveals why Jesus chose to refer to this particular prophecy: The words are closed up and sealed till the time of theend. (Dan 12:9) This means that the seal is broken when we are there. Daniel had also previously received similar information: Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end. (Dan 12:4) This may be compared to the book of Revelation, where “the time of the end” has come closer: Do notseal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. (Rev 22:10)
• This broken seal in the end time is also described as an increased knowledge: Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (Dan 12:4) But not for everyone! None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. (Dan 12:10) If you as a reader want to belong to this group, the Bible chronology is for you.
• So, in response to the question “how long shall it be till the end of these wonders,” Daniel learns that knowledge will increase as we approach that time. And this is exactly what is happening today, not least through the biblical chronology. The fulfillment of the prophecy is itself a sign that we are close to the end times.
• However, the apostles themselves did not live in the end times, and therefore they did not belong to the group that could calculate the time. Therefore, Jesus said to them: It is not for you [the apostles] to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. (Acts 1:7) That such a statement cannot be generalized to all people and all times is understood by the fact that Jesus also told the apostles to not go into the way of the Gentiles (Matt 10:5). After the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), this command is of course obsolete.

The days of Noah. Jesus then compares the situation of the second coming to Noah’s day: As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. (Matt 24:37-39) Here, “Noah” is contrasted with “all”:

• “all” is completely taken by surprise when the flood “took them away.” Jesus describes this judgment in other places as well: As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend… and will cast them into the furnace of fire. (Matt 13:40-42)
• Noah, on the other hand, has taken God’s admonitions seriously and prepared himself by building a boat. Therefore, he is not taken by surprise by the flood but is saved from its waters. (Genesis 6-8).

The thief in the night. Jesus continues: Know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, THEN he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. (Matt 24:43)

• Note that knowledge of the time is a prerequisite for being able to watch. It is by knowing when the thief comes that the homeowner can watch and so avoid disaster. Many expositions of the verse say just the opposite, something like “because we cannot know, we must watch.”
• Therefore, when Paul refers to Jesus’ parable, he limits the disaster to those who has not found out when the thief will come: Concerning the times and the seasons… You yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night… But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief… Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (1 Thess 5:1-6) Paul contrasts people in general with the “brethren.” The former are surprised, but not the latter. And because the brothers do not live “in darkness” regarding “times and seasons” they can “watch and be sober.”

Jesus’ admonition. In the next breath Jesus continues: Therefore you also BECOME ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matt 24:44)

• Here, Jesus uses the verb tense imperative which means an exhortation. He orders readiness! And how do we get prepared? The template is, of course, the homeowner that Jesus just spoke about, who prepared himself by finding out the timeof the thief’s arrival. By analogy, we prepare ourselves by acquiring knowledge of the day of Jesus’ coming, and by so doing, we will not be caught off guard.
• But who is Jesus referring to when He says He will come when “you” do not expect it? This was also Peter’s question, as shown by Luke’s account of the event: Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” (Luke 12:41) Jesus responds neither by telling a parable of two kinds of stewards who watch over others (possibly a metaphor for church leaders). Jesus begins with: Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will(future => Jesus speaks of coming times) make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? (Luke 12:42) One steward takes diligent care of his “congregation,” while the other does not care. And only for this wicked steward his master will come… at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:46). Obviously, it is serious not to heed Jesus’ command!
• Later, Jesus appears to John and repeats the fact that the element of surprise is conditional on the foolish who do not stay awake (by finding out the time): Ifyou will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know whathourI will come upon you. (Rev 3:3)

In Dan 12:11, we are told: From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up [in the temple], there shall be 1290 days [until ”the end” comes, v.8]. These events are so unique that they will likely be clearly identifiable, and later we will see that they will occur in the middle of the tribulation. Therefore, if not sooner, from that day we can exactly begin to count down the days until the return. But by that time it might be too late to start preparing, as the parable of the ten virgins in the continuation of Jesus’ eschatological speech shows. The context is the tribulation, and since Jesus begins with “then,” the parable is about it:

Then [the tribulation] the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins [i.e. all believers] who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom [Jesus]. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish [cf. Dan 12:10 “the wise shall understand”].

Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no [extra] oil [”knowledge” and ”understanding” in Dan 12:4,10] with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept [the problem is not to sleep, but to lack extra oil]. And at midnight [the middle of the tribulation] a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming [the signal in Dan 12:11 that 1290 days remain]. Go out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out [the oil is not enough due to lack of preparation]. But the wise answered, saying: No, lest there should not be enough for us and you [it is too late to get help], but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding[at the return, Rev. 19:7], and the door was shut [compare Noah and the ark, Gen 7:16b]. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us! But he answered and said, Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you [compare those who say “Lord, Lord” in Matt 7:23]. STAY ON THE ALERT, for you HAVE NOT [yet] DISCOVERED neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matt 25:1-13)

For the rest of this amazing study please download the PDF. It will change your walk with the Lord and help prepare you for what is coming in the last days.