Study Guide: No One Knows the Day or Hour, and Every Eye Will See Him
Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.
The Big Idea
The big idea: Jesus said that no one knows the day or hour of his coming (Matthew 24:36), and that every eye will see him when he comes (Revelation 1:7): the day cannot be calculated, and it cannot pass unseen.
Read Aloud
“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. For 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, and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. But 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. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.
— Matthew 24:36–44
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” When he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.”
— Acts 1:6–11
Where We Stand
Scripture says
- No one knows the day or hour — not the angels of heaven, not the Son; the Father only (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32).
- Times and seasons are set within the Father's own authority, and it is not for us to know them (Acts 1:7).
- The coming of the Son of Man will be as the lightning, seen from the east even to the west (Matthew 24:27).
- All the tribes of the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).
- Every eye will see him, including those who pierced him (Revelation 1:7).
- Jesus will come back in the same way as he was seen going into the sky (Acts 1:11).
- The Lord himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with God's trumpet, and the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
- Our gathering together to him belongs to the day that follows the rebellion and the revealing of the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:1–3).
- Daniel did not understand his own words, which are shut up and sealed until the time of the end (Daniel 12:8–9).
- A word spoken in Yahweh's name that does not happen was not spoken by Yahweh, and we are not to be afraid of it (Deuteronomy 18:22).
- The day and hour are not given to be calculated by any count of years: no one knows them, and the times and seasons are the Father's own (Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7).
- His coming has not already begun unseen: he will come back in the same way he was seen to go, and every eye will see him (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).
We conclude
- Our conclusion: there is no secret coming for his own before the public appearing; the one gathering is loud and open (1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3).
- Our conclusion: 1 Thessalonians 5:4 promises that the day will not overtake watchful believers like a thief — it does not give them the date (1 Thessalonians 5:1–5; Revelation 16:15).
- Our conclusion: John 14:19 speaks of the world seeing Jesus no more after the cross, while his disciples saw him risen; it does not describe the final coming (John 14:18–19; Acts 10:41).
- Our conclusion: a prediction that failed is judged by Deuteronomy 18:22 as a claim; the people who trusted it are owed gentleness, not scorn (Deuteronomy 18:22).
The Hard Questions
- Doesn't Paul say the day will not overtake believers like a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:4)? See The strongest objection under No One Knows the Day or Hour.
- Aren't Daniel's day-counts given to be counted (Daniel 8:14; 12:11–12)? See The strongest objection under Daniel's Numbers Were Sealed Until the End.
- Doesn't God reveal his secret to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7)? See A second objection under Daniel's Numbers Were Sealed Until the End.
- Didn't Jerusalem fall because it did not know the time of its visitation (Luke 19:44)? See A third objection under Daniel's Numbers Were Sealed Until the End.
- The year 1914 was identified in advance, in 1880 — doesn't that count for something? See A Prediction That Fails Is Judged by Its Own Test.
- Didn't Jesus say the world would see him no more (John 14:19)? See The strongest objection under Every Eye Will See Him.
- Didn't Jesus say they did not know, until the flood came (Matthew 24:39)? See The strongest objection under The Gathering Is Loud, Public, and in Its Order.
- How are the two teachings stated by those who hold them — the calculated day, and the unseen presence? See The Teaching We Differ From.
- Does salvation depend on settling these questions? See Whether salvation depends on these questions under Questions Answered.
Discussion Questions
- What did the disciples ask Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and what did the apostles ask him after his resurrection?
- What does Jesus command instead of knowing the day — and why? (See No One Knows the Day or Hour.)
- What was Daniel told about his own words, and how does that bear on counting them? (See Daniel's Numbers Were Sealed Until the End.)
- How do 1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 help us read 5:4? (See No One Knows the Day or Hour.)
- How will Jesus come back, according to the two men in white — and who will see him? (See Every Eye Will See Him.)
- What does it mean for you that the day is unknown, but the Lord of the day is not? (See Hope.)
Hope
The men in white left the apostles with a word: “This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky, will come back in the same way as you saw him going into the sky.” (Acts 1:11). And the gathering ends in the sentence Paul tells the church to comfort one another with: “So we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
For the Leader
Allow about 40 minutes for one session. Read Matthew 24:36–44 first, then Acts 1:6–11. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.
© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/test-the-teaching/03-no-one-knows-the-day-or-hour-and-every-eye-will-see-him-study-guide/
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