AN UNDERSTANDABLE PARABLE
There once was a woman whose mother wanted her to become a concert pianist. Although she submitted to the lessons, she failed to fulfill her mother's dream. That dream had been in her family for generations, and so had the piano.

When she had a daughter of her own, she inherited both the piano and the dream of having a daughter fulfill the hope of generations. While her daughter was yet an infant she spanked her for getting near the piano--for fear that she might scratch it. As generations of mothers had done before her, she whipped her daughter away from the piano for the first few years of her life.

Then, when her child was old enough, she hired a tutor to teach her to be a concert pianist. But she would not go near that piano. The mother, perhaps because she was too involved, did not understand what had happened to her daughter, to her, or to the generations who had gone before her.

But, with a little distance to separate us from the problem, we can see what happened. So a child can be whipped away from a piano, or a horse or a toy, until at last he or she will not go near it, even if punished or bribed.

So it is with Christians, but with something far more important than a piano: Truth.

WRONG INTERPRETATIONS
Our enemy, Satan, has deceived those who love not the truth into making wrong interpretations of scripture. They constantly use these wrong interpretations in their sermons. They quote them in our hearing over and over, and soon we come to think of that scripture in those wrong terms.

For example, it is said that Peter said, "One day is as a thousand years." 2 Peter 3:7-10. This quote is then used to imply that God did not mean "There was evening and morning, one day." Yet, not only are Peters words taken out of context, and used in a way Peter did not intend, but the quote is wrong to begin with.

In order to correct this error, we must understand the subject of Peter's words, and what he meant in that context. Peter was talking about God's patience toward the sinner, not God's inability to tell the difference between one day and a thousand years.

Look at Peter's complete statement. "One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day." What this means is, time makes no difference to God, either time as measured day by day, or time measured a thousand years at a time. On the one hand He is patient, on the other time is insignificant.

Satan loves to get someone to remember only half a scripture, and that taken out of context. When the error prevents them from seeing what the scripture actually says, he has driven them away from the truth.

SATAN'S WHIP
Concerning the study of end time prophecy, Satan has used a half-truth (so close to the Truth the difference may be difficult to recognize) as a whip to drive the Lord's Children away from the Truth. The Truth with which we are concerned is in Matthew 24:32-36. The lie is based on the Truth in verse 36. The Truth from which the Flock have been driven is in verse 34. Study verses 32-36 carefully.

We need a clear understanding of the Truth in verse 36 so we can see the lie. "...But of that day and hour knoweth no man..." The terms "Day" and "Hour" indicate exact time--not general time. Matthew used these terms in the same sense (exact time) in 8:13, 9:22 and 15:28. The half-truth is: "No one can know when the Lord will come." The truth is: "No man can know the day or hour of the Lord's coming."

"AS YE SEE..."
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote: "...As ye see the day approaching..." Hebrews 10:25. He is speaking of "That Day," the day of the Lord, and acknowledges we will recognize that That Day is near.

WE ARE NOT IN DARKNESS
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that That Day should overtake you as a thief." Paul is writing to the Saints; the Elect, the Church who would be here on That Day. Paul's statement is not a question, nor is its meaning questionable. It is a statement of fact. In contradiction to Satan's lie, Paul tells us The Faithful will not be surprised by the Lord's coming and the end of this world. Yet, how could we see That Day coming if we did not have a general understanding of the events which precede it? 1 Thes. 5:4. Mat. 25:2.

PROPHECIES DESCRIBE HUMAN EVENTS
Do these Scriptures (Mat. 24:36 and Heb. 10:25) contradict each other? No. There are many Prophecies which describe events which will occur just prior to That Day. Will the Saints see the troops gathering in the valley of Megiddo? When the armies of the world gather in that valley, those of understanding will know That Day is near. "...at the very door." Mat. 24:33, Luke 21:25-26. Isa. 34:1-4 and Rev. 16:16.

A GUESS IS NOT "TO KNOW"
Still, no one will know exactly (in advance) which day "that day" will be. The term "Know" means to have intimate personal experience with, verifiable evidence or undeniable proof of, a fact. To believe something, or to guess at it, is not to "Know." For example, if enough people made enough guesses about which day That Day would be, one of them could (maybe) get it right. But how could anyone "Know" which? And that is the point: no one could KNOW.

THE LIE REVEALED
Because the Truth is: "No man can know the (exact time) Day or Hour..." Then the lie is: "No man can know when (the generation, or, the time in general) the Lord will come." Yes! This lie, "All mankind, even the Elect, will be completely taken by surprise by the Lord's coming," is the whip of Satan. He has used this lie to convince us it is almost blasphemy to study the prophecies of the Lord's coming.

THREE GENERATIONS SAW
Our Lord said the coming of The End would be like the days of Noah. Matthew 24:37-39. A careful reader will notice there are two groups of people in the verses which describe the days of Noah. The first is "they" or "them." "They" were unaware of the coming event. The End took "them" by surprise. "They" knew not, and were drowned in a flood "they" did not see coming.

What about the second group? Study Genesis Chapters 6 and 7. The second group is easy to recognize. Noah and his family. The Faithful. They (God's Flock in that generation) knew the flood was coming in their lifetime: even though they didn't know which day it would be.

Although they didn't know exactly when, they did know it would be when they finished the boat. When they had the boat finished, they still didn't KNOW exactly when. But they knew it would be when they had everything inside. Even then they did not KNOW which day--until God shut them into the boat. Nor did they KNOW the hour until the moment it started to rain. Gen. 7:6-16.

So although they never knew the exact time, they did understand the general time, and it did not take Noah and his sons by surprise. But "they" (who did not recognize the signs of the times) were taken like the prey in the snare.

MOSSES'S GENERATION SAW
The Lord revealed to Abraham that his descendants would abide in Egypt 400 years before receiving their inheritance. We can be sure, then, the generation of Moses knew (because they counted the years) they were the generation who would see the promise to Abraham fulfilled. However, they could not have known the exact day or hour of its fulfillment. Gen. 15:13.

JOHN THE BAPTIST'S GENERATION SAW
Jesus told His disciples there were "some standing here which shall not taste death till they see the Kingdom of God." Luke 9:27. Although they could not have known the exact time the Kingdom would come, they knew they were the generation which would see it established because He told them in plain language.

THEY ARE OUR EXAMPLE
Therefore we have an example of three separate generations which had the opportunity to see (comprehend) what was about to occur in their lifetime.

First: The generation who watched Noah build the Ark; who, if they had known a "big boat" foretold a big flood, could have known The End of their generation would occur in their lifetime. Noah and his family knew the flood would come in their lifetime.

Second: The generation who counted the years of exile in Egypt. Though they accepted Moses with some reluctance, they knew they were the generation who would see the promise fulfilled.

Third: The generation who witnessed John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. They saw Y'Shua's power and heard Him say, "Some standing here shall not taste death till they see the Kingdom of God." This generation also had the example of Daniel. "I Daniel understood by books the number of the years..." Dan. 9:2. Significantly, the number of years were given. Dan. 9:25.

OUR GENERATION
Y'Shua has named a fourth generation who will have the opportunity to recognize what is soon to take place in our lifetime. Although we, like the first three, will not be able to know the exact time in advance. What our generation can know (by recognizing the events occurring prior to That Day, as described in prophecy) is That Day will come in our lifetime. Mat. 24:34.

GENERAL TIME, EXACT TIME
Is there a difference between knowing the general time (so a generation can comprehend what will happen in their lifetime) and knowing the exact time? Yes. Does being able to recognize that we are the generation which will witness the Lord's coming contradict God's Word? No, it fulfills His Word. Amos 3:7, Rev. 10:8-9.

YOU CAN KNOW THE GENERATION
The generation who saw Noah build the big boat could have known what was about to come upon them, if they had recognized the signs of the times. Noah knew. The generation who saw Y'Shua could have known what was about to come upon them if they had not been blind to the signs of the times. The disciples knew. Luke 9:27. Now our generation can know what will happen in our lifetime, if we will recognize the Signs of the Times. Mat. 24:8-14, 15, 21, 29-34. Heb. 10:25, 1 Thes. 5:4.

RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS
The Ark Noah built was a sign of the coming destruction of a whole generation and its civilization. A boat is a device, a device for transporting things over water: or in Noah's case, for saving things from water. We don't see anyone building an Ark today, but what device do we see being built which is supposedly intended to save our civilization, but if used for its intended purpose will result in its utter destruction? Nuclear weapons are not the only sign of the times which is now visible.

Consider the signs of the times, we (believers, not hypocrites) have the right to judge for ourself. Luke 12:54-56.

HUMAN EVENTS FULFILL PROPHECY
Prophecy is fulfilled by human events. In fact, the whole course of human history is nothing more than a chain of lesser human events occurring between the major human events which lead to the accomplished purpose of God's Creation. For example, the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was a human event which was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Daniel 9:26.

Since lesser human events precede greater human events, it should be possible to detect a coming major event. For example, before the "prince to come" could destroy Jerusalem he had to gather his army and surround the city. He needed a cause to do this. The rebellion of the Jews against Roman rule gave the needed cause.

No Christians died in the fall of Jerusalem. Why? Because they recognized, by the signs of the times, that prophecy was about to be fulfilled and they prepared for it. They knew that knowing "when" does not mean knowing the date and time, but means knowing lesser events precede greater events in a sequence of human events which fulfill prophecy. They are our example. Meditate on that. Dan. 12:9-10, James 1:5.