{"id":13815,"date":"2026-04-27T10:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/?p=13815"},"modified":"2026-07-11T08:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:49:48","slug":"you-can-know-the-season-the-general-time-of-christs-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/you-can-know-the-season-the-general-time-of-christs-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can Know the Season, The General Time of Christ’s Coming (362)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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You Can Know the Season, The General Time of Christ's Coming<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"\"By Steven J. Hogan<\/p>

~ A Saturday Morning Post #362 ~

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Let me be clear from the start. We do not know the exact time of Christ\u2019s coming, but we do know the general time, the overall sequence of events leading up to His coming and the rapture of the church. This is the message of this post and what each of you need to clearly understand.

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Matthew 24:32 \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cNow learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/em>A parable is a story that communicates, that illustrates a spiritual truth. This story is about a fig tree whose branches are becoming tender and are growing new leaves. When this happens, we know for certain that summer is near, that it\u2019s coming soon.

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Matthew 24:33<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u201c\u2026\u00a0so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the doo<\/em>r.\u201d When we see the things happening that Jesus spoke about in vss. 4-30, we know His coming is near, that He is right at the door, that He will soon rapture the church. It\u2019s not saying Israel is the fig tree and that becoming a nation in 1948 is the sign that Jesus\u2019 coming is near, but it\u2019s a lesson about how we can know the general time, the season of His return.

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Likewise, Luke 21:28-33 tells us the parable of the fig tree, but its lessons are more specific. First, we learn that our redemption is near, for it is at Christ\u2019s coming that we are redeemed, that we are delivered from our fleshly body and are glorified. Second, we learn that the kingdom is near, for Christ is the King, and it is at His coming that He begins His kingdom on earth. Rev. 11:15

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Here is a list of the things from Matt. 24:4-30 that must occur before Jesus\u2019 coming. There\u2019s deception, false Christs, wars, rumors of war, famines, earthquakes, great tribulation, martyrdom, hate, apostasy, betrayal, lawlessness, an unloving world, Christians persevering, preaching the gospel, the abomination of desolation (Antichrist is revealed), Jews fleeing from Judea, false prophets, signs and wonders, great tribulation shortened, the sign of the end of the age, and the sign of Christ\u2019s coming.

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These 22 things must take place before Christ returns to rapture the church. Christians need to know that there\u2019s this sequence of end-times\u2019 events \u2013 that this one thing happens, and then this next thing happens, and so on. And Christians should expect them to happen, look for them to happen, see them happen, and be encouraged when they do happen, for each of them is a signpost pointing to Christ\u2019s coming.

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I need to remind you of Daniel\u2019s 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week, a 7-year timetable of prophetic events (Dan. 9:24-27). It starts with the confirming of a treaty between the Antichrist and Israel; at its midpoint, the 3\u00bd year mark, the abomination of desolation occurs and the Antichrist is revealed; at its endpoint, a large remnant of Jews is saved. The 22 things listed in Matt. 24 take place during this week. I believe that wars, famines, etc. begin sometime before Dan. 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week and continue into the first half of that week (Matt. 24:4-8). I also believe that the building of the Jewish temple occurs during the first half of this week. Most importantly, Christ returns to rapture the church sometime during the last half, the last 3 1\/2 years of this week, a time known only to God the Father. Matt. 24:36

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Matthew 24:34<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201cTruly I say to\u00a0you<\/u>, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0We read about all these things taking place, and now we learn that there will be a select, special group of people living during a certain period of time who will not pass away until they see all these things happen. When they see them happen, they know they won\u2019t have to wait long to be with Jesus, for they see\u00a0\u201cthe day drawing near\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Heb. 10:25), that\u00a0\u201ctheir redemption is drawing near\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Lk. 21:28), that\u00a0\u201cthe kingdom of God is near\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Lk. 21:31), and that\u00a0\u201cHe<\/em>\u00a0(Christ)\u00a0is near\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Matt. 24:33).

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When Jesus said these things, He was speaking like a prophet. He was talking to the apostles, to His disciples, but He was also speaking to a future generation of disciples who needed to be alerted, who needed to know these things would be taking place, and who were to be watchman (1 Chr. 12:32, Ex. 3:17). So Jesus is talking to a future\u00a0\u201cyou\u201d<\/u><\/em>, and this is us, and our children, grandchildren, and great-children. As I look at God\u2019s eschatological word and observe the world around us, I believe it is in the coming decades that Christ will return to rapture His church. This is an amazing and astounding truth, a sobering but exciting reality that a future generation of Christians will, not long from now, see, not just a few of these things take place, but\u00a0\u201call these things take place.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Matt. 24:34

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This is what Jesus tells you in Matt. 24:\u00a0\u201cSee to it that no one misleads\u00a0you<\/u>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 4);\u00a0\u201cYou<\/u>\u00a0will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0are not frightened\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 6).\u00a0\u201cThen they will deliver\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0to tribulation, and will kill\u00a0you<\/u>, and\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0will be hated by all nations\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 9);\u00a0\u201cWhen\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0see the abomination of desolation\u2026<\/em>\u00a0\u201c(vs. 15); \u201cIf anyone says to\u00a0you<\/u>, \u2018Behold, here is the Christ\u2019\u2026 do not believe him\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 23);\u00a0\u201cBehold, I have told\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0in advance\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 25);\u00a0\u201cwhen\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0see all these things, recognize that He is near\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(vs. 33);\u00a0\u201cbe on the alert, for\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0do not know which day your Lord is coming\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(vs. 42).

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Matthew 24:35 \u2013\u00a0\u201c<\/em><\/strong>Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>That heaven and earth, as we now know it, will pass away, will not exist forever, is a momentous, unfathomable event. This is contrasted with the ultimate truth, that God\u2019s holy, eternal, perfect, personal, prophetic word will never pass away. God is emphasizing the power, the supremacy, the certainty, the necessity of His word, specifically, in this area of eschatological truth.\u00a0

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Matt. 24:35b, in its immediate context, is reinforcing the truths of vss. 33-35a, that all these things are going to take place because God\u2019s word said they would (vss. 4-30), including the fact that heaven and earth will pass away (Ps. 102:25-26, Rev. 21:1). God also said they would occur before Christ\u2019s return to rapture the church, and that there\u2019s a generation of believers who will see them happen. Not only that, but all these things will happen because God will cause them to happen. Is. 46:9-11, Eph. 1:9-11

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We must also see Matt. 24:35 in its larger context, for God placed it right in the middle of this critical end-times\u2019 chapter. But why did God do it? To convince you that His eschatological word is true, absolutely, 1000% true; to stress the extreme importance of end-times\u2019 truth at this time in history; to help you see that the prophetic truth in Dan. 9; Matt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 17, 21; Rom. 8, 11, 15; Eph. 1; Phil. 3; 1 Th. 4-5; 2 Th. 1-2; Tit. 2; James 5; 1 Pet. 1; 2 Pet. 3; 1 Jn. 2-3; and Rev 1-22 is no small thing, no minor doctrine, but a major doctrine, and must be seen and taught as such, especially for those living in these last years before Christ\u2019s coming, and specifically for that generation who will be watching all these end-times\u2019 events. 2 Tim. 4:1-2

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I hope you are realizing that Christ\u2019s coming is not imminent, that it can\u2019t happen at any moment, that it can\u2019t happen today, tomorrow, or next year. Nothing in God\u2019s word says that no signs or prophesied events need to occur before the rapture. In fact, it says just the opposite. It\u2019s telling you that all these things listed in Matt. 24 must take place before Christ\u2019s coming and the rapture. And I hope you understand that the rapture is the 1st<\/sup>\u00a0event at His coming. All these things spoken of in vss. 4-30a take place before Christ\u2019s coming and the rapture of the church which do not happen until vss. 30b-31. This truth is also taught in 1 Cor. 15:22-23; 1 Thess. 4:15, 17; 2 Thess. 2:1-9; 2; and Rev. 6:1 \u2013 Rev. 7:14.

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As I just said, Matt. 24 explicitly says that\u00a0\u201call these things\u201d<\/em>\u00a0will occur before Christ\u2019s coming and the rapture, and that we will see them happen. Heb. 10:25 tells us that we will\u00a0\u201csee<\/u>\u00a0the day drawing near\u201d<\/em>, which means we will be literally seeing these events happening in the world that Matt. 24 says are leading to Christ\u2019s returns to rapture the church. 2 Thess. 2:1-10 says that Christ\u2019s coming and the rapture of the church take place after Antichrist\u2019s coming. Christians living on earth at this time will see the Antichrist before they see Jesus and before they are raptured.

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Many Christians believe that the rapture of the church is imminent. But that is not true, for nothing in God\u2019s word says it is true, and many verses tell us that it is false. The imminency of Christ\u2019s coming must be recognized as error. And it is not without harm, for it causes Christians to think they won\u2019t be here when the Antichrist is revealed, and that they won\u2019t experience great persecution. Our loving Father wants us to know what will be happening and not be surprised.

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Matthew 24:36<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u201cBut of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0I am amazed that some people set a specific date for Christ\u2019s return when Matt. 24:36 makes it clear that no one but the Father knows the exact time. No date is given to us in Matt. 24 or any other place in the Bible. What we do understand, what is clearly explained in vss. 32-34, is that we can know the season, the general time period of Christ\u2019s return. Again, that\u2019s because Christians living on earth in the very last years of this age will witness all these Biblically identified events leading up to Christ\u2019s coming.

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We have spent a lot of time in this and recent posts talking about different events that are happening before Christ\u2019s coming. Some of these events, like more wars, increasing lawlessness, and great tribulation, are general in nature. But some are specific, like the abomination of desolation by the Antichrist, for this is a singular event occurring at a precise time, the 3\u00bd year mark of Dan. 70th<\/sup>\u00a0week. Those who are here when this happens know that Christ\u2019s coming is less than 37 months away (Rev. 9:5 \u2014 42 months \u2013 5 months = 37 months) \u2013 but we don\u2019t know the exact time.

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2 Thess. 2:4 refers to a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, but there\u2019s no temple at this time. When we see this temple being built, we can say that Christ is coming very soon. But we can never say we know the day or the hour of His coming. As time goes on, we will be getting closer to Christ\u2019s return and more Matt. 24-described events will be happening, giving us more and more certainty and confidence that\u00a0\u201cHe is near.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Finally, we will see the sign of the end of the age and the sign of Christ\u2019s coming, and we will say that He is\u00a0\u201cright at the door.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Matt. 24:33

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What an exciting time to be alive, for Christ is returning soon to rapture the church. God gives us a needed and sufficient outline of what will be taking place before that happens. That\u2019s because He loves you and really wants you to know the general time and sequence of end-times\u2019 events. He doesn\u2019t want you to be ignorant, worldly, afraid, confused, in error, or sleeping, but to be knowledgable, holy, courageous, discerning, wise, and wide awake when Christ comes back. And God wants there to be watchman in every family and church, ones who know His prophetic word and how it relates to events in the world. Might you be one!!!\u00a0\u201cConsider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds\u2026 encouraging one another, and all the more\u00a0as you see the day drawing near.\u201d<\/u><\/em>\u00a0Heb. 10:24-25

<\/strong>P.S. Here are some important posts about the timing of Christ\u2019s coming and the rapture of the church:\u00a0\u201cWhen Does the Rapture Take Place?\u201d<\/em>,<\/a>\u00a0\u201cAntichrist Revealed, and Then the Rapture \u2013 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4\u201d<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0\u201cWhen is Christ Returning to Rapture the Church?\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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