A response to "No one knows the day or the hour"
Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour concerning the rapture. Based on the context that is a reasonable interpretation for at least one of the times that phrase is used.
But my questions are if your interpretation that this means no one will know the day or the hour contradicts some of the other things that Jesus said. That word was present tense, can you interpret it to be future tense? For example Jesus also said:
1. It would be as the days of Noah -- at the time of Noah there was a prophecy concerning Methuselah that when he dies the end will come. Methuselah died the year of the flood and according to one of the apocrypha books Noah and his family entered the ark after Methuselah died and were then shut into the ark. It seems to me that the day Methuselah died was one of the "days of Noah" and it also seems that Noah entering the Ark and getting shut in one week before the flood is proof he knew when the flood would be, he was given a one week heads up. So although Jesus said two thousand years ago that no one knows the day or the hour He never said we wouldn't be given a heads up.
2. He also said it would be as the days of Lot and Lot was warned by angels about twelve hours before Sodom was destroyed.
3. Abraham was also told a few days before Sodom was destroyed what was about to happen.
So I don't see anything that Jesus said that would indicate there couldn't or wouldn't be a warning shortly beforehand. So the interpretation that "no one knows" becomes "no one will know" seems to contradict what the Lord told us when He said it would be as the days of Noah and as the days of Lot.
4. Also, if there was a prophecy telling us when the flood would take place (Enoch's prophecy concerning Methuselah) and if the rapture will be as the days of Noah it stands to reason that there could also be a similar prophecy concerning the start of the tribulation. Methuselah is the oldest man who lived (even though he died before his father) and his death was a sign. Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus (the oldest continuously inhabited city) would be destroyed and become a ruinous heap before the Day of the Lord, so perhaps that also will be a sign to us as Methuselah's death was to Noah.
5. Of course Revelation 3:3 seems to indicate that the only Christians who won't know that the rapture is about to take place are those who are not watching.
6. Also there are other things that we do not know the day or the hour of. For example, a pregnant woman does not know the day or the hour that the baby will be born, but birth pains are one sign and the water breaking is another. A farmer doesn't know the day or the hour that the crop will be ripe, which is why he must watch. In both cases not knowing "the day or the hour" doesn't mean they are clueless. In fact I would think a farmer could probably give you an accurate prediction within a week of the harvest. Both of these analogies are used by the Lord to talk about the rapture.
Also, if the verse "no one knows the day or the hour" is referring to the rapture then that means it isn't referring to so many other things. For example, Jacob's trouble. Since Jacob's trouble begins about three years before the tribulation it seems that would be something that people would be very interested in.
Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour concerning the rapture. Based on the context that is a reasonable interpretation for at least one of the times that phrase is used.
But my questions are if your interpretation that this means no one will know the day or the hour contradicts some of the other things that Jesus said. That word was present tense, can you interpret it to be future tense? For example Jesus also said:
1. It would be as the days of Noah -- at the time of Noah there was a prophecy concerning Methuselah that when he dies the end will come. Methuselah died the year of the flood and according to one of the apocrypha books Noah and his family entered the ark after Methuselah died and were then shut into the ark. It seems to me that the day Methuselah died was one of the "days of Noah" and it also seems that Noah entering the Ark and getting shut in one week before the flood is proof he knew when the flood would be, he was given a one week heads up. So although Jesus said two thousand years ago that no one knows the day or the hour He never said we wouldn't be given a heads up.
2. He also said it would be as the days of Lot and Lot was warned by angels about twelve hours before Sodom was destroyed.
3. Abraham was also told a few days before Sodom was destroyed what was about to happen.
So I don't see anything that Jesus said that would indicate there couldn't or wouldn't be a warning shortly beforehand. So the interpretation that "no one knows" becomes "no one will know" seems to contradict what the Lord told us when He said it would be as the days of Noah and as the days of Lot.
4. Also, if there was a prophecy telling us when the flood would take place (Enoch's prophecy concerning Methuselah) and if the rapture will be as the days of Noah it stands to reason that there could also be a similar prophecy concerning the start of the tribulation. Methuselah is the oldest man who lived (even though he died before his father) and his death was a sign. Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus (the oldest continuously inhabited city) would be destroyed and become a ruinous heap before the Day of the Lord, so perhaps that also will be a sign to us as Methuselah's death was to Noah.
5. Of course Revelation 3:3 seems to indicate that the only Christians who won't know that the rapture is about to take place are those who are not watching.
6. Also there are other things that we do not know the day or the hour of. For example, a pregnant woman does not know the day or the hour that the baby will be born, but birth pains are one sign and the water breaking is another. A farmer doesn't know the day or the hour that the crop will be ripe, which is why he must watch. In both cases not knowing "the day or the hour" doesn't mean they are clueless. In fact I would think a farmer could probably give you an accurate prediction within a week of the harvest. Both of these analogies are used by the Lord to talk about the rapture.
Also, if the verse "no one knows the day or the hour" is referring to the rapture then that means it isn't referring to so many other things. For example, Jacob's trouble. Since Jacob's trouble begins about three years before the tribulation it seems that would be something that people would be very interested in.