End-Time Insights

Just as unprepared men were destroyed by Noah’s Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overwhelmed by destruction when Jesus arrives . Jesus compared the final years before his return to the days of the Great Flood. “ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be .” He also used the analogy of the “ thief in the night ” to stress our inability to know the timing of “ the coming of the Son of Man ,” and therefore, our need for constant preparedness and vigilance.

Instead of calculating times and seasons, followers of Jesus must always be prepared for his sudden arrival . Did Jesus command his followers to know end-time chronologies, the “ times and seasons ”? Must we decipher key “signs” and use them to calculate the time of his return so we may prepare ourselves in the nick of time for the end? Did Christ and his Apostles leave us with a comprehensive list of signs whereby we may decode prophetic timetables and cosmic signs?

Jesus warned of coming deceivers who will mislead many and spread false information about his return . Jesus began his final discourse with a sharp warning: Beware of the “ many deceivers ” who will come and spread false information about his return, including rumors about wars, earthquakes, and other calamities. They will “ deceive many .” Likewise, “ false prophets ” and “ false anointed ones ” will propagate lies about the whereabouts and the “ coming of the Son of Man .”

Paul does not provide detailed information about the times and seasons since the Lord will arrive like a thief in the night – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. Paul continues discussing the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus Christ in Chapter 5 of  First Thessalonians , where he addresses the question of its timing and how it will affect the prepared and the unprepared. Rather than signs and timetables, the Apostle reminds his readers that “ the Day of the LORD ” will come like a “ thief in the night .”

Jesus will arrive to gather his people on the Day of the Lord, and in the New Testament, this event becomes the Day of Christ . In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul refutes claims that “ the Day of the Lord ” is imminent. That day will only arrive after “ the Apostasy ” and the “ revelation of the Man of Lawlessness ” occur. Jesus will destroy this deceiver at his “ Arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’, an event the Apostle links to this final day.