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WATCH! KNOW TIMING!
During the Olivet Discourse, Jesus Christ's comments (which were
probably given two days before His Crucifixion to Peter, James, John,
and Andrew) told them of "no one knowing the
day nor hour" of His Coming, but to "Watch".
Matthew 24: 36;
42
But
of that day and hour knoweth no man,
no, not
the angels of
heaven, but my Father only.
Watch
therefore: for ye
know not what hour your
Lord doth come.
Matthew 25: 13
Watch
therefore; for ye
know neither the day nor the
hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13: 32, 33,
35
But
of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, no,
not the angels
which are in heaven, neither the Son,
but the Father.
Take
ye heed, watch and
pray: for ye know not when
the time is.
Watch
ye therefore: for ye
know not when the master
of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the
cockcrowing, or
in the morning:
These words were given to the disciples, but Jesus Christ also indicated
they were meant for everyone:
Mark 13: 37
And
what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
The quoted Scripture contains quite a few statements to "Watch"
for His Coming and that "no one knows
the day nor hour of that coming". To "watch"
is recorded seven times in the Discourse. Even if the recorded
statements contain some duplications of Jesus Christ's words, it appears
that He stated "watch" at least
six times! In other words, "WATCH!"
Why should Believers (they are part of "everyone") "watch"
if they have been removed from earth in a previous gathering of the
elect -- a previous Rapture? Why "watch"
for the Coming of Lord Jesus Christ if the Rapture timing is secret and
there is no clue to its timing? The Olivet Discourse is very descriptive
of the events which answer questions about "when and what is the
sign of His Coming". (These descriptions are given in the Bible
Chapters of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21).
The Discourse is fairly clear about the events just prior to His Coming
-- just prior to the Rapture. The details would seem to indicate that
the Rapture will not be a secret surprise. But, the Discourse includes
six statements to the effect that "no one
knows" the day, hour, or time when Jesus Christ will come --
the resurrection and Rapture -- for His elect. "Not
knowing" the time appears to be in conflict with Jesus
Christ's instructions to "watch
...i.e. know that it is nigh". Not knowing is also in contradiction
to the information given to Daniel about his resurrection and Rapture
timing (Daniel 12: 12, 13). Yet, "knowing" the timing appears
to be in conflict with "no one knows".
The timing should be known, but will not be known by those in spiritual
darkness: the timing will be known by those who are spiritually awake!
The idea that the Rapture timing will be known is far from being a
popular concept. However, if the timing is not to be known, the
aforementioned conflicts exist. GOD did not provide us with a Scripture
containing conflicting information!
A study of the term translated to "know"
shows that the timing of Christ's return IS TO BE KNOWN! This study was
of each usage by Lord Jesus Christ of the terms "know
not, not knowing, knoweth not (man), know ye not, if ye had known,
knowest not now, knowest not", etc. There are at least
eleven different Greek words used which are translated to the English
word "know". But, Jesus Christ
used "oida" with a negative (i.e.
"no, not") thirty-two times in
the New Testament in order to show a specific meaning.
"Oida" means "to
know in the present tense with a present meaning and suggests fullness
of meaning". When Jesus Christ used a negative with the
"oida" term, He was saying "not
knowing at the specific time when spoken". The usage of
"oida" DOES NOT mean "not
being able to know, shouldn't know, couldn't know, won't ever know, nor
can't know"!
Actually, a good English translation of "oida"
, when used with a negative (like "not"), is "do
not yet know" or "do not know yet".
(All thirty-two usages by Jesus Christ are identified, and primary
examples explained in the book described through the Menu item entitled
"My Book Link").
A few examples are given as follows.
Matthew 20: 22
Jesus
answered and said, Ye
know not what ye
ask. Are ye able
to drink of the cup that I shall
drink of, and to
be baptized with the baptism
that I am
baptized with? They say unto him, We
are able.
Jesus Christ used the metaphors of "drink of the cup" and
"baptism" to indicate His respective Crucifixion and burial.
These words were spoken to a couple of His disciples within a week or so
prior to those events. They DID NOT know what was meant at the the time
those words were spoken. Some time later, those disciples and other
Believers did know (fully understand) what he had meant. Basically, He
had told them -- "you don't know, yet,
what you ask".
Here is another example:
Matthew 22: 29
Jesus answered
and said to them, Ye do err, not
knowing
the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
In the Scripture just quoted, " ... not
knowing the Scriptures ..."
certainly must not be taken to mean they could not/cannot /will not /
should not know (understand) the Scripture.
There is no indication that "oida
not" should mean that the "knowing" is not to be.
Rather, there is the strong implication that knowledge will, or should,
occur in the future.
The same "oida" term was also
used by individuals other than Jesus Christ:
John 20: 9
For as yet
they knew not the Scripture, that he
must rise again
from the dead.
In the above example, the translation presents the proper meaning "
... as yet they knew not ... ". In the case
below, following verses show the disciples soon learned that " ...
Jesus stood ... ", and the meaning is, obviously -- " ... knew
not yet ...".
John 21: 4
But
when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on
the shore; but
the disciples knew not that
it was Jesus.
Not one instance has been found in the New Testament record where Lord
Jesus Christ used the term "oida not"
(or a similar term) where the "not know"
meant "would not, could not, should not nor will not be
known"!
It should be noted that the last information from Jesus Christ
concerning knowing, or not knowing, the
timing of His Coming is a conditional statement:
Revelation 3:
3
Remember
therefore how thou hast received and
heard, and hold
fast, and repent. If therefore thou
shalt not watch,
I will come on thee as a thief, and
thou shalt
not know what hour I will come upon thee.
A different Greek word is used here for "know":
ginosko. The main message is: "Watch
and you will know the hour"! Jesus Christ would not have made the
statement if His Coming were to be of unknown or secret timing.
Unfortunately, most Believers in the United States are not watching.
They don't care or don't want to care. Or, they have been taught that
they can't understand what to watch for, it won't do any good to watch,
or watching is futile. These are not Scriptural!!
Please WATCH!!
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