No One Knows When

Q: What does the Bible say about preparing to meet God?

The Bible warns us to be ready to meet God, as life is temporary and judgment is certain (Mark 13:31-32). The Bible underscores the urgency of being prepared to meet God. In Mark 13:31-32, Jesus emphasizes that heaven and earth shall pass away, but His words will remain firm. This serves as a reminder that everything we deem valuable in this life is temporary and ultimately subject to God's judgment. The bridge is out, and unless we are secured in the righteousness of Christ, we risk facing eternal separation from God. Hence, we are called to make an immediate response to the gospel, trusting in Christ for salvation.

Q: How do we know Jesus will return?

Scripture affirms that Jesus' return is certain, though the exact date and hour remain unknown (Mark 13:32). The certainty of Christ's return is grounded in the scriptures, where He Himself states in Mark 13:32 that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming—not even the angels or the Son. This speaks to both the mystery and the assurance of His second advent. As followers of Christ, we are encouraged to remain watchful and faithful, anticipating His return without being swayed by false predictions that have been propagated throughout history. Our assurance lies in the immutability of God's word, which promises His eventual return and the eventual fulfillment of His righteous judgment.

Q: Why is it important to trust in Christ for salvation?

Trusting in Christ is essential for salvation and ensures eternal life with Him (Romans 10:9-10). Trusting in Christ for our salvation is of utmost importance because it is through Him that we are washed clean and receive righteousness before God. As articulated in Scripture, if one meets God outside of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, they face eternal damnation. Our salvation hinges on our relationship with Christ, who promises that those who believe in Him will never perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Therefore, trusting in Christ is the only sure path to eternal peace and reconciliation with God.

Q: What does it mean that heaven and earth will pass away?

The passing away of heaven and earth indicates the transience of our current reality, as emphasized in Mark 13:31. The statement that heaven and earth will pass away, as declared in Mark 13:31, serves as a profound reminder of the temporary nature of the universe we inhabit. Everything we see and know is destined for destruction as part of God's sovereign plan. This understanding is critical for Christians, as it leads us to prioritize eternal truths over temporal matters. Peter elaborates on this in 2 Peter 3:10, where he describes the catastrophic end of the current creation, emphasizing the need for believers to live in a manner that reflects their hope in the new heavens and new earth that God has promised.

Q: Why can't anyone predict the return of Christ?

No one can predict Christ's return because only the Father knows the timing (Mark 13:32). The inability to predict the return of Christ is outlined in Mark 13:32, where Jesus points out that not even the angels know the timing, reinforcing the doctrine of God's sovereignty. This illustrates both the mystery of God's timing and the absolute trustworthiness of His word. Throughout history, countless predictions have been made regarding His return, but all have proven false. The teaching encourages us to remain vigilant, living in expectation and watchfulness, as we prepare ourselves spiritually for that momentous day.

There was a truck driver who
used to make the run from Vicksburg to Jackson, Mississippi every
day. Made that run back and forth.
Had to cross over the Pearl River. One night he was making his regular
run from Vicksburg to Jackson. There was a torrential downpour,
just raining cats and dogs. And he could barely see what
was going on, but he knew the road like the back of his hands.
He just went along, driving down the road. Suddenly, when he came
to Pearl River, he plunged headlong into that river. The bridge was
gone. It was washed out. There's a
true story. His name was Rupert Lewis. He
managed to get out of his truck, get to shore, And all he could
think of is, I've got to warn folks. The bridge is out. The
bridge is out. I've got to warn folks. The bridge
is out. So he crawled up the banks, got back up on the highway.
And of course, you can imagine what it looked like. Bloody,
bruised, ragged, dirty, wet. He's waving to the folks, trying
to get them to stop. And nobody paying attention. They swerve
around, go right ahead, plunge right off in the ravine, right
into the river. Nobody stopped. Finally, He got someone to stop. But before the first person stopped
and paid any attention to what he had to say, there were two
trucks and ten cars in that river. Ten people were injured. Eight
were dead because nobody would pay any attention. Now you listen
to this preacher. You're fixing to cross the river.
It's going to take you from this world of time and sins where
everything is temporal and everything is perishing into a world of
eternity where you're going to meet God face to face and you're
going to be judged according to the standard of strict righteousness,
justice, and truth. And you're going to spend eternity
somewhere in a world where everything is permanent and the bridge is
out. The bridge is out. If you meet
God without being robed in the righteousness of his dear son,
without being reconciled to Jesus Christ as your Lord and King,
without submitting to his rule and his dominion, if you meet
God without being washed from your sins in the blood of Jesus
Christ, You're going to be damned forever, and it may be before
you take your next breath. No one knows just when. Nobody. You who are young, you
think, boy, I've got a life ahead of me. You who are older, I've
got a few more days left. Your breath is in your nostrils,
and God Almighty has appointed a day and the means by which
he's going to take it from you. Now turn with me to Mark chapter
13. Like Amos the prophet, I urge you, prepare to meet thy God. When the apostle Paul thought
of his approaching death because of his preaching the gospel,
he was going to be put to death. He said, I'm ready. Time of my
departure is at hand, I'm ready. Are you? Are you ready to leave
this world? Are you ready to go into eternity?
Are you ready to meet the Lord God? Here in Mark chapter 13,
beginning at verse 31, we have the last part of our Lord's Olivet
Discourse. He says, Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my word shall not pass away. Now look at verse
32. But of that day and 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 you know not when the time is. For the Son of Man
is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authority
to his servants, and to every man his work. and commanded the
porter to watch. Watch ye therefore, for you know
not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight,
or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly
he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say
unto all, watch. Now, the first thing we meet
with in this text is a promise to believe. Look at verse 31. Our Lord here actually makes
two promises. We would be wise to lay them
to heart. He says, first, heaven and earth
shall pass away. Don't mark anything on this earth
as being terribly valuable or terribly important. Don't mark
any relationship in this world as being permanent. Everything
here, everything you see, everything you can touch, everything you
can get your hands on, everything that that being labor for in
this world is perishing. We would be wise and we look
over the fields of this world to write the words destruction
over them all. Everything in this world is marked
and appointed of God Almighty for destruction. Do you understand
that? The heaven, this atmospheric
heaven, and the earth, all God's creation, everything under the
curse, everything affected by and infected with the sin and
fall of our father Adam, Everything that's been polluted by man and
polluted by Satan. Everything in God's creation
that man has corrupted. Everything must soon be destroyed. And it's not accidental. This
is exactly according to the purpose of God. Look at verse 24. But
in those days after the tribulation, after that tribulation, the sun
shall be darkened. The moon shall not give her light.
And the stars in heaven shall fall, and the powers that are
in heaven shall be shaken. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote
like this. We look not at things which are
seen, but at things which are not seen. For the things which
are seen are temporal. The things which are not seen
are eternal. Don't set your heart on things
that you can see. Set your heart on Him whom you
cannot see, who's received into the heavens for us. Turn to 2
Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, in verse 10. Listen to how the Holy Spirit
describes that final climactic, cataclysmic judgment of God upon
the earth. The day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night. without any warning, without
any signs, without any alarm to let you know he's coming.
The day of the Lord will come suddenly, unexpectedly, unprepared
for as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, and the earth also in the works that are therein
shall be burned up. Now, what's he saying? He's saying
everything in creation, in the heavens, and in the earth, and
all that you've done in it, your houses, and your lands, and your
businesses, and your banks, and your money, and your property,
and all your works shall be burnt up. Verse 11, seeing then, now
then, since that's the case, that all these things shall be
dissolved. What manner of persons ought
you to be in all holy conversation in Godliness? Nothing here worth
living for. That's right, Bob. There's nothing
here worth living for. Nothing. Nothing. Look at verse 12. Looking for
it. We who believe. ought to be looking for, anticipating,
and hasting unto the coming day of God, wherein the heavens being
on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
a fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise,
look for a new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that
you look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found
of him in peace, without spot, blameless. Now listen carefully. We live in a world in which everything
is temporary and passing away. Everything. We're going to a
world in which everything is permanent and unchanging. Whatever hell is, My God, it's
forever. Whatever heaven is, it's forever. And our position, our standing,
our portion in that eternal day to which we are rapidly moving
shall be determined entirely by our relationship to Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, right now. Right now. What are you saying, pastor?
I'm saying if you are washed in Christ's blood and robed in
his righteousness now, you'll be clean forever, holy forever. If you trust Christ as your Savior
now, he'll be your Savior forever. If you're one with Christ now,
you shall be one with Christ in eternity. If you love Christ
now and are loved of Christ now, you shall love Christ and be
loved of Christ for all eternity. But if you meet Christ in judgment
as an unbeliever, you're going to be an unbeliever forever.
If you meet the Son of God as a rebel, you're going to be a
rebel forever. If you're unclean when you leave
this world, you will be unclean forever. If you are cursed and
damned when you go out to meet God, you're going to be cursed
and damned and hated of God for all eternity. Your only hope,
then, for eternal life. Your only hope, and what a blessed
hope it is for eternal life, is the free, sovereign, saving
grace of God in Jesus Christ the Lord. I bid you, I bid you,
Call on him for mercy. No, no, no, no. Don't call on
him for mercy. Believe on him for mercy. Trust
the son of God. Trust him and obtain mercy and
favor in his sight. I was just reading this morning
about Esther. She was about to go into Ahasuerus
without any right to go there. Contrary to the law. She said,
she said, if I perish, I perish. You're going to die anyhow. You
may as well die at the throne of mercy. And nobody ever has. Nobody ever has. Go now to the
son of God, believe on him and live forever. Heaven and earth
shall pass away. Will you? Will you? I tell you now, if you do, you'll
have nobody to blame but you. nobody's fault but yours. In
this world you can get by with justifying your ungodly behavior
by saying, well, You know, the way I was raised, my mom and
dad were lunatics. I just expect me to be one. My
mom and dad were drunks, just expect me to be one. My mom and
dad were wild folks, just expect me to be wild. You can get by
with that with folks now. Folks, look here. No need to blame little Johnny
for what he does. Don't blame little Betty for
what she does, because it's not her fault. If you go to hell,
it'll be your fault. And I'm telling you right now
what you are and what you do is your fault. Nobody else's.
Nobody else's. Here's the Lord's second promise.
But my words shall not pass away. My words. You're holding them
in your lap. My words. So shall my word be
that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper
in the thing whereto I send it. Forever, O Lord, is thy word
settled in heaven. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. Look in
Isaiah 46, Isaiah chapter 46. My words shall not pass away. The Lord God speaks here in Isaiah
46 in verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me. Well, who is God? Who is God? He's the one who declares the
end from the beginning. Anything that you think about
worshiping that doesn't do that is not God, but just an idol.
He declares the end from the beginning. What does that mean?
He declares this is the way things are going to be, and then he
starts doing it. That's exactly what it means. From eternity,
he said, this is what shall come to pass. And he sets out to do
it. But he don't. And from ancient
times, the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall
stand. I will do all my pleasure. The Lord wants to, the Lord desires,
the Lord tribulone. I will do all my pleasure. Now, if the God you worship doesn't
do all he wants to do with everybody, everywhere, at all times, you're
an idolater. You don't know God. God says,
I will do all my pleasure. Read on. Calling a ravenous bird
from the east, the man that executed my counsel from a far country.
How many times you have folks say to you when you talk about
God's sovereignty, He rules everywhere. They say, well, but what if?
What if this gets in the way? What if that happens? What if
the other thing happens? God says, I can make a raven
become a butler to feed my servant. That's no problem to God. I created the raven. I can cause
a pagan king who never knew my name to come in and deliver my
people exactly according to my purpose. I can do that. That's
no problem. I made him. The king's heart's
in the hands of the Lord. God says, I'll do all my pleasure.
Nothing gonna stand in my way. Now read the next line. Yea, I have spoken it. I will
also bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I will also
do it. Now our text here in Mark 13,
31, as well as these other passages I've read to you, all refer to
the immutable, absolute certainty that God's word shall be accomplished. His words of inspiration, every
word in this book stands and shall be brought to pass exactly
according to God's word. His words of decree, that is,
everything that God from eternity purposed to bring to pass, everything
that God predestined, that, all of that, and only that shall
be brought to pass in God's time. His words of doctrine, every
word of truth set forth in Scripture stands forever. I've had folks
tell me all my life as a believer, since I was 16 years old, not
quite 17 years old, when God saved me. Folks, your doctrine,
that's old doctrine. That's Puritan doctrine. That's
reform doctrine. That's this doctrine. You need
to read this book. It'll bring you up to date. I
plan to stay out of date. God's doctrine never needs to
be updated. His word never needs to be updated. Somebody said,
well, we need to update the word. Some folks a while back took
all references to the blood out of the hymn. Oh, that's just
not good in our day. Folks are too refined to know
God. That's right. That's exactly
right. God's words of grace stand forever. His words of promise
stand forever. And His words of wrath stand
forever. You see, he who is the omniscient,
holy, perfect, omnipotent, unchangeable God never needs to alter his
word. Now, I have to. I have to at
all times. Now, there's some things about
which I'm kind of picky. You probably wouldn't suspect
that of me, but I'm a little picky about some things. If you
tell me you're going to do something, buddy, I expect it. If you get
run over by a car and you're in a body cast in traction, that's
an excuse. Anything short of that, not an
excuse. And if I tell you I'm going to
do something, you can count on it. You can count on it. If I
tell you I'll be somewhere at six o'clock, I'll be there at
six o'clock. I'll be there unless it's just impossible for me to
get there. But you know what? Sometimes
it's impossible. I recall several years ago, Brother
Mahan and I were going to meet at Kelly Cyrus's house over in
Charleston, West Virginia, before a meeting. We were supposed to
go out and have supper, and the time came for us to be there.
Well, I'm a half hour early, always. Always a half hour early.
I got to be a half hour late. Henry said, we better call. Something's
happened. Something's happened. He'd be
here. He'd be here. But something happened. I couldn't
keep my word. Because, see, I don't control
everybody much as I'd like to. I don't control everything much
as I might wish I did. I just, things are just beyond
my reach, beyond my power, beyond my abilities. Nothing and nobody
is beyond God's reach, God's power, and God's ability. His
word never changes. Now then, here's a problem to
face. Look at verse 32. But of that day and that hour,
he said, and my word stands, this world gonna pass away. Heaven
and earth shall pass away, my word stands. But of the day and
hour when heaven and earth shall pass away, of the day and hour
when Christ shall come again, of the day and hour when judgment
shall be set, of that day and hour knoweth no man. Now, that's not too hard for
me to figure out. No, not even the angels. That's another story. They're pretty smart. Angels
are privy to lots of things we're not privy to. But since the angels
don't know, surely no man knows. But here's the problem. Not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. If the Lord Jesus Christ is himself
God the Son, equal in all things and one with the Father and the
Spirit, as the scriptures universally declare that he is, and as the
gospel of God's grace certainly necessitates that he is, as the
doctrine of the Trinity demands that he must be. If he is God
all-wise, all-knowing, omniscient, before whom he declares that
darkness is light, from whom nothing can be hid, then how
can it be possible that he is ignorant of the day and hour
of his second advent. Now, if that problem has ever
confronted you as a problem, you haven't read this thing and
thought about it, have you? That's a pretty big problem.
Rustle lights jump on at all times. You have a rustle light
come knock at your door tomorrow morning, I'll guarantee you if
you'll let him get out two words, they'll refer to this passage
of Scripture. He doesn't know the day of his hour when he's
coming, so he must not be God. But really, it's not a problem
at all. Compare scripture with scripture. But rather this is
simply a demonstration of the fact that Jesus Christ is exactly
who and what he said he was. Fully God and fully man. As fully and really and truly
God as if he were not a man. And as fully, really and truly
man as if he were not God. Now let me show you what I'm
talking about. As a man, our Savior was no more omniscient
than he was omnipotent and omnipresent. He wasn't. He's a man. He's a
man. That huckster out in Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, he said he saw
a 90-foot Jesus. That's too little to be a God,
too big to be a man. Oh, no. No, no, no. What are
you talking about? His body is just limited. His
body couldn't be in two places at one time. His body's not omnipresent. His body's not omnipotent. He
couldn't pick up two tons. No! He's just a man. A real man,
but just a man. A holy man, but just a man. A
perfect man, but just a man. Neither was he omniscient as
a man. In the four Gospels, sometimes
our Savior speaks of himself as a man, as he does in this
text. And sometimes he speaks of himself
as God to demonstrate that he is both God and man completely
in one person. When he thirsted, it wasn't God
who got thirsty, but a man. When he was hungry, it wasn't
God who was hungry, but a man. When he was tempted, it wasn't
God who was tempted, but a man. When our Lord Jesus got tired
and had to rest, it wasn't God who got tired and had to rest,
but a man. Jesus Christ, the man. When our
Lord Jesus came to his disciples and said, he said, our friend
Lazarus sleepeth. Nobody had told him Lazarus died.
He had just gotten the message that Lazarus was sick. But now
he says to his disciples, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. He knew that, not as a man, but
as God omniscient. And he spoke thus, as God omniscient. When he came, however, to Bethany,
he asked Martha, where have you laid him? Well, if he knew while
he was out of town that Lazarus had died, certainly he knew where
they had laid him as God. But he asked the question as
a man. He says, where have you laid him? That he as a man may
be informed as to where they've laid him. You understand what
I'm saying? Here our Savior speaks not as God, the second person
of the Trinity, God the Son, but he speaks as the Son of Man. And he says, the Son of Man knows
not the day nor the hour of his coming. Now, let me see if I
can make application of this text. Preachers used to say, I'll try
to improve it or improve upon it, making application of it
to us, giving it some shoe leather. Number one, he who is our Redeemer
is and must of necessity be both God and man. He's got to be a
real man and he's got to be perfectly God. Otherwise, his suffering
and death would do no man any good. And if it were not God,
his suffering and death would be of no merit and efficacy to
atone for our sins and make us righteous beforehand. Number
two, learn this and learn it well. No one knows when the Lord
Jesus is coming again. Now, the language of scripture
is as plain as the nose on your face, and yet, People have, since
the beginning of this gospel age, ever since our Lord went
back to glory, folks have been predicting when He's going to
come again. I mean, it's going on generation after generation
after generation after generation. The fact is, no one knows or
even has a hint of an idea when the Lord Jesus is coming again
and when the end of the world will be. Nobody. Not only do
the scriptures tell us emphatically that we do not know and cannot
know, but here is glaring proof. If Jesus Christ, the man who
knew the scriptures and understood the scriptures better than any
man, did not know the day and hour of his appearing, you ain't
likely to find out. Well, we discovered a chart.
If it's there, he would have known it. Well, we've discovered
a timetable. If it was there, he would have
discovered it. We've seen some secret things that have just
come to light now. No man, not the angels in heaven,
not even the son of man knows. Why do you say that? Just so
you won't pay any attention to those idiots who think they know.
Nobody knows when he's coming. And no one knows when Christ
is coming to take him out of this world, to meet God in judgment. I find it utterly amazing. There
is but a step between me and death, David said, but most folks
don't believe it. I have a friend, I've seen this
happen so many times. I have a friend down in Louisiana,
happened while Darwin and Kathy were living down there, a boy
driving down the road, Early one morning, somebody coming
down the road the other way, come back from fishing. Boat
came unhooked from the trailer. Boat, trailer, and all came across
the median, got airborne, went right through the windshield
of the car, and pinned him to the seat of the car he's driving.
What happened? His number's up. That's exactly
what happened. And God Almighty has appointed
a day when your number's up, and you're gonna meet God. And
after this, no man knows where. Are you ready? Are you prepared
to meet the living God? And then look what our Lord tells
us in the latter part of this thing. He gives us a post to
keep. He tells us to do three things.
He says, watch, watch and pray and Watch, pray, and work for
Christ's sake. Amen.

No One Knows When

What does the Bible say about preparing to meet God?

How do we know Jesus will return?

Why is it important to trust in Christ for salvation?

What does it mean that heaven and earth will pass away?

Why can't anyone predict the return of Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

No One Knows When

What does the Bible say about preparing to meet God?

How do we know Jesus will return?

Why is it important to trust in Christ for salvation?

What does it mean that heaven and earth will pass away?

Why can't anyone predict the return of Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

Comments

More from Don Fortner

Same Scripture

Articles by Don Fortner

Books by Don Fortner

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book