1Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”
3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. 8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
9“Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. 10Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. 11Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. 12Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. 13But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house. 18Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. 19But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! 20Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath, 21for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be. 22Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
23“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
25“Behold, I have told you beforehand.
26“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it. 27For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.
29“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
32“Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. 34Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.
45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. 47Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has. 48But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’ 49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, 50the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it and in an hour when he doesn’t know it, 51and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
Throughout the ages believers have had an interest in the timing of Christ’s return. If we study the scriptures we see that He repeatedly tells us that He is coming back. That is a certainty. I know in my own case, part of my desire for His return is that I might not have to experience physical death someday. Sometimes when we see suffering and misery in the world, we just wish that He would come back and set it all right. I can AMEN the statement “Come Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20) Yes, believers have always had a keen desire to know when He will return and that is understandable.
However, there is a danger in trying to pinpoint when He will return. He tells His disciples that there will be signs before His coming, but no specific time is given. He specifically says that only the Father knows. There are people who have sort of put the business of living in the here and now on hold as they expect Jesus to come in the next few weeks, months, or even years. They are laser-focused on the specific “when” instead of living out their lives to walk in the Spirit doing the “what” that the Bible tells us to do while we wait.
Jesus never told us to radically change our daily behavior and activity around the timing of His return. Instruction after instruction is given by Paul as to how we are to live our lives, with no mention of whether this should change in any way based on Christ’s imminent return. The truth is that we’re just supposed to be doing what we’re supposed to be doing, whether He is coming in ten minutes or in ten thousand years. We are just told to be ready. We are told to have our lamps filled. I think “being ready” means to be living each day directed by the Holy Spirit and acting on the tasks that He sets before us. Don’t put life on hold. Go to school. Get an education. Pursue a career. If God provides a spouse, get married. If you’re married, have kids if God blesses you with them. If He gives you children, pray for them and teach them to work hard and to love Jesus. Raise them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Love your neighbor. Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God. The Bible says a lot about how we are to live REGARDLESS of when Jesus will return. Don’t get sidetracked from living out your life according to the whole counsel of God’s Word. Sitting and waiting is not a biblical option.
Jesus did give some clues to His disciples about "birth pains" that would precede His return. The world will steadily move to becoming a more lawless and godless place. Near the end of times, Paul tells Timothy “ 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.(2 Timothy 3:2-5 WEB).
That sure looks a lot like the progression of things at present. That’s okay. God is sovereign. He is working His purposes out. So, what are we to do? We are to jump into life and be the salt and the light to the world around us. Get involved with your neighbor. Share the gospel with enthusiasm. He is coming again! Don't neglect the here and now, but don't become too attached to it either. We don’t know when, and we don’t need to know when. The best way to prepare is to live each day to its fullest, led by the Spirit, and be the salt and the light to the world. Don’t be too concerned about the “when”. Focus on the "what". Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows when that will be.