Armageddon and Apocalypse are in the air. The turn of a new century and a new millennium intensifies a nervous eschatological impulse. Some expect the end of the world and Jesus Christ's return on Jan. 1, 2000.

Strange things are going on. For instance, a small Christian group moved to the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem, to help usher in the second coming. In a separate incident the Israeli government had to intervene and cancel a simulated Christian enactment of the events of Armageddon—a purported preview of the coming catastrophe. They deported members of another group whose leader predicted that he would meet a violent death in Jerusalem this December. Not long ago hundreds of members of yet another doomsday group disappeared into the remote mountains of Colombia.

Millennial madness is all the rage as 1999 draws to a close.

There have always been Christians who believed so intensely that they knew exactly when Christ must return that they tried to make it happen. How absurd this must seem to God. Christ is our Lord and Master—not the other way around (John 13:13).

Nonetheless, He did tell us to be alert to world events, trends and conditions that would precede His second coming (Luke 21:36), but we should approach them in a balanced and rational way—never attempting to set a date.

No man knows the exact time

When it does occur, the return of Jesus Christ will take its place alongside the creation, Noah's flood and Christ's first coming. But God the Father has reserved to Himself the decision of the exact time that will take place. Even Jesus Christ Himself did not know when it would be (Matthew 24:36).

The disciples continued their persistent questioning after His resurrection to eternal life. They still wanted to know when. Christ gave them virtually the same answer He had previously: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority" (Acts 1:7).

Historically this reply has been hard for people to accept. Somehow we want to circumvent Jesus' own words and figure out some way to know exactly when.

Over the last nearly 2,000 years many have wound up with egg on their faces. From time to time the misguidedly zealous have set dates only to see them come and go without the appearance of Jesus Christ. One would have thought we would have learned the lesson by now.

Many, however, seem to be prone to this weakness. Even the early apostles weren't immune, thinking Christ would return in their lifetimes. But later in life they came to a more accurate understanding (see 2 Peter 3; 2 Timothy 4).

To better understand God's thinking, let's take a brief scriptural look at Christ's first and second advents from the biblical perspective.

Carefully planned far in advance

The first coming of Jesus Christ was a carefully planned occurrence. It did not happen by accident or just at a random time in history. The Bible tells us that "when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (Galatians 4:4, emphasis added throughout).

Other translations render this expression as "the appointed time," "the right time" or something similar. God establishes plans and timetables, and "the right time" is that particular period most suitable to His plan and purpose.

Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God was "slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8; John 1:29), but the actual event didn't occur for several thousand years. Almost 2,000 years have passed since His death and resurrection. But, as Hebrews 9:28 reminds us, "Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."

Scripturally both comings are connected and intertwined (Isaiah 61:1-2), yet a considerable time lapses between these two events. Both are enormously important steps in God's plan for humanity.

Consider the words of the apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus: "In Christ our release is secured and our sins forgiven through the shedding of His blood . . . He [the Father] has made known to us His secret purpose, in accordance with the plan which He determined beforehand in Christ, to be put into effect when the time was ripe, namely that the universe, everything in heaven and earth might be brought into a unity with Christ" (Ephesians 1:7-10, Revised English Bible, emphasis added throughout).

Paul here speaks of a time that undoubtedly includes the second coming of Christ yet apparently extends beyond that crucial event.

The divine timetable

We can be absolutely sure no major event in prophecy will occur without God's knowledge, if not His direction and participation. In looking back, crucial occurrences will have happened "when the time was ripe" (Ephesians 1:10) and not before.

The Bible makes this it clear that God can guide and direct events to accomplish His ends. "For this was the plan of the One [the Father] who shapes the whole course of events to His appointed ends" (verse 11, Translator's New Testament).

God the Father will send Jesus Christ back to earth at precisely the right time. Unlike us, He can see the whole picture, everything that is happening in the world at any given time. He alone has perfect knowledge of the past and future. We can perceive only a part of the scenario. "We know in part and we prophesy in part," wrote the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 13:9).

Yet Christ told us to pray "Your kingdom come," plainly telling us He wants us to eagerly and enthusiastically seek the time of His direct, decisive intervention in human affairs. In the meantime we are to take diligent care to see that our spiritual life is in order (Luke 21:29-36).

Sober words of warning

We should carefully heed Jesus Christ's words of warning in the Olivet prophecy, given shortly before His death: "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect . . . Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it" (Matthew 24:23-24, 26).

If people would only understand and heed the words of Jesus Himself, they wouldn't be setting up residence on the Mount of Olives or trying to act out the events of Armageddon in advance. Truly the second coming will be a global event (verse 30). God's angels will gather His elect from anywhere on earth they happen to be (verse 31).

Jesus expects His followers to carry out His work of spreading the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14) and sharing His truth with the world (Matthew 28:18-20). We are to wait patiently for His return (Luke 21:19), knowing that "he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). GN