When Will Jesus Come Again?

To state the conclusion first, the time of Jesus’ Second Coming is something we cannot know and should not try to know.

From a human point of view, people may naturally be curious about that day. That is why even at the time of a recent Super (Blood) Moon [Super Moon: when the moon appears brighter and larger than usual because the distance between the earth and the moon becomes closer], there were people saying, “The end of the world will come on this day,” or “Jesus will come on this day.” These kinds of stories are not something that began yesterday or today. Like the shepherd boy in Aesop’s fable who falsely cried out that a wolf had appeared, such claims seem rather to make people’s hearts numb toward the Second Coming of Jesus.

Through the passages below, we can understand that we cannot know the time of Jesus’ Second Coming, and that we should not try to know it.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He hath made every thing beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”

Matthew 24:35-36 “35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

As recorded in Ecclesiastes above, God has made it so that man cannot measure His work from beginning to end. Therefore, we cannot know that day. That is why Jesus also said that no one knows that day and hour, but only the Father knows. This teaches us that the authority belongs to God alone.

Some people, based on the passage below, teach that God will first reveal that day to those who are His servants.

Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.”

However, this passage means that God reveals “His secret, namely Jesus Christ.” It does not mean that He reveals the time of Jesus’ Second Coming. This is because “the mystery of God is Jesus Christ.”

Colossians 1:26-27 “26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Colossians 2:2-3 “2That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Therefore, regarding the end of the world and the time of Jesus’ Second Coming, we must now listen to the Word of God that He caused to be preached through Paul, the servant of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 “1But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

In this passage, the apostle Paul wrote that concerning the times and the seasons, he had no need to write to them. In other words, it means that we do not need to know. Rather, what we do know and must know is that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. In other words, the day of Jesus will come in a way that no one knows. That is why the example is given that it will be like “travail upon a woman with child.” Therefore, what is important for us now is not when the end of the world or the Second Coming of Jesus will happen to us, but that we are prepared and ready, so that whenever that day comes, we may welcome Jesus with joy.

Earlier, Jesus said the following words:

Matthew 24:35-44 “35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

And then, in order to teach us again how important it is for us to be prepared, Jesus spoke the parable of the ten virgins.

Matthew 25:1-13 “1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

In this passage, all ten virgins fell asleep because they did not know when the bridegroom would come. It says that the bridegroom tarried, and the reason He tarries is explained in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Therefore, according to the words that Jesus repeatedly and emphatically taught us, because we do not know when Jesus will come, we must live each day as those who are always prepared and ready. To be prepared is nothing other than not departing from the words of Jesus. The apostle Paul expressed this as putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how much this world belongs to darkness and acts according to its own desires, we belong to the day (1 Thessalonians 5:8), and therefore we must walk honestly, as in the day. That is, we must live according to the words of Jesus. Those who prepare daily for the Second Coming of Jesus in this way, as the apostle Paul taught, will remain watchful, so that the day will not overtake them as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:4), and they will welcome the Bridegroom with joy and enter with Him into the marriage feast.

Romans 13:11-14 “11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

Amen.