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Matthew 24:3, Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?”

William Miller lived in England in 1843. By a mathematical formula he came up with he determined that Jesus was coming back to earth on March 31, 1843.  At the appointed time he and his followers, prepared in their ascension robes, went into the mountains and climbed as high as possible in trees in order to have less distance to travel through the air to meet Him.  It did not happen.  Going back to his calculations, he found that he had miscalculated by one year. 

A year later Miller and his followers were back up in the trees.  Again, nothing happened.   Nothing happened the next year either.

The reality is that no one knows the time of Christ’s return.  No man, no angel, not even the Son knows the time of His return.  Verses in the Sermon on the Mount tell us this (Matthew 24:36, 42, 50, Matthew 25:13).  Mark 13:32 adds, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”    I need to add that the Son now knows the timetable set by the Father.

I was asked by students not long ago why this was so important to know.  They thought we should spend our time studying about Jesus so we know how to act like Him.  I told them it is important to study the life of Jesus.  But, not knowing when He will return gives us purpose to live holy lives and to be watching for His return; we are to always be ready!

In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus gives us the longest answer to the question about His return and the end of the age; it gives detail to other passages of Scripture.  Because of this we will be spending some time in these two chapters to see what signs Jesus gave us to be watching for.

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