I once heard a pastor tell about the small Southern Baptist church in which he grew up. He said that there was a chart that stretched all the way across the front of the church, detailing the order in which events would take place during the End Times. He commented, "I knew a lot about the End Times—but I'm sure I would have known a lot more if we'd had a wider church!" We think we know a lot about what will happen and when, but do we really? Today's two passages speak to this subject.

“…no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! …You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!” (Mark 13:32-37)

"And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day - and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear." (2 Tim. 4:8)

When I became a Christian in 1971, we heard a lot about the End Times. There were lots of "experts" and writers who built entire careers on telling others, when and how, God was going to wind it all up. Recently, I was listening to a sermon and the pastor made a comment that I disagreed with. Then, as I thought more about what he said, I realized that neither of us actually knows what will happen or when. In today's first passage, Jesus tells His followers, "No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!" Then he says: "I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!" That's pretty strong stuff, coming from Jesus! Paul told Timothy to wait for His return with love. Are you watching and waiting with love for the Lord's return? Jesus has promised that He will return—in the perfect timing of our Heavenly Father's own choosing...and that is very Good News!