Jesus has not left his followers in ignorance about the future, he has charged them to be watchful and to know the signs. Yet many Christians neglect the study of end times because they believe such information has no bearing on their lives or because they find the subject material confusing. Knowing why the scriptures instruct Christians to know and understand end times is essential to changing that way of thinking.
Jesus Made Watchfulness a Requirement
Jesus said plainly in Matthew 24:42-44, “...Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready because the Son of Man is going to come at an hour you do not expect.” By that he meant, you must be watchful. You aren’t required to know the time or the day, yet you are required to be watchful. The apostles took up the message, they also instructed people to be watchful. In fact Peter said the day of the Lord will come to us “like a thief”. The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians that we “are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” They all were reinforcing the message of watchfulness.
The Study of Prophecy Teaches Discernment
Jesus told his disciples to learn to discern the signs by saying, “Therefore, learn from the fig tree. As soon as it puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, right at the door.” In doing that, he was teaching them to be discerning people. He was showing them that they could know when the end time signs were about to happen. Just like we can learn that a fig tree will put out leaves just before summer, we can know that certain prophecies will occur right before the end time events take place. The signs are given so that we can learn to be discerning. The signs are listed in Revelation and in Daniel and throughout the gospel messages. When you begin to see those things happening in the world around you, you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are in the end time season. The study of prophecy is not about learning dates, it’s about learning discernment
The Study of End Time Signs Produces Fruit
That’s the whole point of this lesson, to produce spiritual fruit. The study of end times is not about satisfying curiosity, it’s about transforming lives. When you learn to watch and to discern the signs it produces hope, it produces watchfulness, and it produces urgency. It changes you from being a person who is asleep in your faith into a believer who is ever so watchful. It causes you to think about what is most important in life and how you ought to conduct yourself since you know what the end result of everything is. The Apostle Paul told the church to know that our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed, and because of that we should “wake up from your slumber”, in other words, we ought to be watchful. The study of the end times is a means to produce transformation. It produces hope because of the promise of Christ’s return and it causes you to wake up and be watchful. The Apostle Paul taught that we ought to “do this, understanding the present time”. Knowing what time it is spiritually should wake us up so that we are prepared when the end comes.
Summary of What’s Been Said
Jesus told his disciples to be watchful and to know the signs. The study of prophecy helps us to learn discernment. The scriptures give us a helpful guideline on how to interpret events and seasons as they unfold. Because of the need to be watchful, the study of end times produces hope and watchfulness. My comments are about my understanding of the information that’s been presented.
My Thoughts
End time study gets a bad rap because people abuse it. They pick up the information and use it to try to set dates for the end time events, when in fact, the scriptures tell us that no one can know the day or the hour. They sensationalize the information and use it as a way to gain fame and fortune by writing books and making movies and by giving lectures. They completely ignore the scripture that tells us that the day or the hour is not for us to know. In fact, people throw away the whole idea of studying the end times because they find it misleading, confusing, and distracting. This is similar to people who say that the scriptures aren’t worth studying because they’ve been abused by different groups and organizations. The truth of it is that we shouldn’t be distracted by those who abuse the information. The truth is, Jesus told us to be watchful and to know the signs. That means that we need to be reading the scriptures and we need to be paying attention to what is taking place in the world around us.
Common Misconceptions and Questions
Doesn’t the study of end times distract people from living godly lives?
On the contrary, it draws people closer to God because the knowledge produces hope and it causes people to want to wake the world up to what is coming. Jesus taught his disciples about the end times to help them be better disciples, not to distract them. If we understand what he taught them and if we understand what the scriptures say about what the signs are then we can also be better disciples. We can help others to be better people. We can spread the good news of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul taught us to “do this, and understand the present time”. The knowledge helps us to be more conscious of what’s happening. It makes us better people.
The scriptures say that no one knows the day or the hour. Why then should we bother studying the end times or the signs?
Because we’re supposed to be watchful. Jesus told his disciples to learn the lesson of the fig tree, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, right at the door.” That means that we need to know what to look for so that we can be watchful.
How do I study end times without getting confused and misled by all the contradictory information that’s out there?
Study the scriptures and let the scriptures interpret themselves. Study what the bible says about end time signs and don’t spend too much time trying to figure out what other people have said about it. It’s easy to get confused by all the information out there, but the most important thing is the truth of it all, the scriptures say that Christ will return and that we will all be with him. The rest is details.
What if I’m wrong about all this?
That’s not as important as being right with God. “Therefore keep on loving each other with all your heart. In this way you will remain blameless and pure before God on the day he judges everyone”, 1 Thessalonians 5:13, 23.
