J-11. No MAN KNOWS the DAY or the HOUR!

Mark 13:32 says.

“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the father”

Many have taken this ONE verse and have ignored the evidence of the rest of the word of God that teaches us that in the LAST days we WILL know that day and the hour IF we are watching.

So does the Bible then contradict itself? No not at all when one takes the time to STUDY the word of God closely and see what the words used truly mean and not what we THINK they mean.

Let me explain what I mean by this. The word “knows” here means to be aware of, to PERCEIVE or understand absolutely, as in divine knowledge. So, in other words, one could say, “But of that day and hour no man has PERCEIVED as yet, no, not the angels in heaven, neither have I the Son of God come to fully understand as yet, but only the Father at this time Knows the day and the hour.”

You see when Jesus spoke these words, at that time, no man had come to the understanding or had perceived as yet the time of the day of the Lord, no not the angels, or even the Son of God, could absolutely say for sure as yet what the day or the hour was going to be.

This is what this word truly means and NOT what we as Christians have misinterpreted it to mean by saying things like, “The Bible says NO man knows the day or the hour nor ever can know the day or the hour because only the Father knows the day and the hour.”

However, the word suggests FULLNESS of knowledge and NOT ever being able to know or understand.

You see Jesus did not see as yet the WHOLE picture as his Father did. 

Read Matthew 24:42,43 which says it this way.

“Watch therefore: for you KNOW NOT (As yet) what hour your Lord does come.

43. BUT KNOW THIS, that if the goodman of the house had known (Perceived or came to the understanding) in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.”

In other words, Jesus was saying, “You do not know or understand fully as yet what hour I will come, no man understands this yet, no not the angels, not even me, but the Father only has an absolute understanding of what day and hour I will come again. BUT this much I do know or have perceived that if the good man had known or come to understand the day or hour the thief would come then he would make certain that he was prepared by watching.” Please understand that this is my own paraphrased version of this subject on to know the hour or not to know the hour, what does the Bible truly teach?

There are several Scriptures throughout the Bible that convey to us that we can and will know the day and the hour in the LAST DAYS. 

One such verse of Scripture is Daniel 12:10 which reads.

“...none of the wicked shall understand (Or know) BUT the WISE shall understand (Or KNOW).”

The unbelievers will not DISCERN the times, but those of us who are WATCHING will put the pieces together, so to speak and will come to UNDERSTAND and know the day and the hour as that day comes closer.

I Thessalonians 5:4 says it like this.

“But you brethren are NOT in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

So if those that teach the PRE-tribulation point of view say that no man knows the hour meaning that now man will never know the day or the hour, then what does Daniel and 1 Thessalonians mean?

No, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus the WISE will study God's word and walk in the LIGHT that the Holy Spirit gives to us and we will UNDERSTAND and know the day so that the thief will not overtake us.

Daniel 12:3,4 says.

“And they that be WISE shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.

4. But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the same time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge (Or understanding) shall increase.”

The words of God shall NOT be sealed and shut up forever so that man will never know as we have been misled to believe, BUT in the last days, the time of the end, knowledge will increase and we will come to understand the day and the hour.

Habakkuk 2:3 says it like this.

“For the vision is yet for an APPOINTED time, BUT at the END (The last days, at the time of the end) it (Or the vision) shall SPEAK.”

We may not know the day or the hour NOW, but this Scripture so often quoted out of context does not mean that we shall NEVER know the day or the hour of the coming of Jesus.

As the day draws closer the saints of God who are watching will PERCEIVE that day and the hour of the coming of the Lord, and the vision will speak to us as the word tells us that it will.

Even the PRE-tribulation point of view teaches that those who miss the rapture of the church and go through the great tribulation period will be able to know the day and the hour. But wait a minute, I thought they just said that NO man knows the day and the hour in that NO man can predict the day that Jesus will come again. You can not have it BOTH ways.

In other words, this word translated as “knows” cannot mean no man will ever know the time and man will be able to know at another time to fit your theology.

The TRUTH is that as that day approaches we are given SIGNS to watch for so that that day will NOT overtake us as a thief and for those of us who are WATCHING will know the hour that the Lord will come. This is what the word of God teaches and not that no man will never know the day or the hour as some have falsely taught us.

Habakkuk 3:3 says.

“O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid. O Lord revive your works in the MIDST of years, in the MIDST of years, MAKE KNOWN, in wrath remember mercy.”

We are told in Daniel about the abomination that makes desolate, and Jesus gives us this warning in Matthew 24:15 which says.

“When you THEREFORE shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. (Whosoever reads let him UNDERSTAND)”

Jesus is saying get a hold of this, for this is vitally important that you understand this.

This abomination of desolation is the time we mark our calendar and begin counting the days of our Lord's return. Please refer to the study called “WHAT IS THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION?”

There is one more verse I want you to look at that clearly shows that we will be able to know the day and the hour when Jesus will return.

Revelation 3:3 says.

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent, If therefore you shall NOT watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will NOT KNOW what hour I will come.”

Now, the opposite of this verse is equally as true.

“...IF THEREFORE you SHALL WATCH then I will NOT come upon you as a thief and you WILL KNOW what hour that I will come”

In other words, those of us who ARE WATCHING will KNOW what hour that Jesus will come again. Even though we have not perceived as yet what that exact hour is I believe the word of Almighty God assures us that those who are watching will KNOW the hour as that day draws closer.

For a deeper understanding of the SIGNS to watch for please read the study called “THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS”. Thanks for reading. May God open your eyes of understanding so that you will come to the knowledge of the truth of the WHOLE word of God.

Here is a drawing that I made to teach a Bible study on the end times at church. I could not find one anywhere on the Internet at the time so I improvised and made my own drawing. It is a drawing showing what the Bible itself teaches will take place in the ORDER that they will occur.

         Keep in mind that the church age CONTINUES right on THROUGH the ENTIRE period of Great tribulation right up to the SECOND COMING of Jesus. The above drawing does not make this clear, but the word of TRUTH clearly teaches that from the day of Pentecost to the SECOND COMING of Jesus is the church age.