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However, this only hints at an answer to the question arising from the statement 'no one knoweth the hour'. Some, therefore, were compelled to argue that this passage simply indicated that the literal day and hour could not be known, but that 'prophecy reveals the proximate period when it will take place' (Shimeall, The Second Coming 304, emphasis added). History would agree that the literal day and hour remained unknown prior to its dawning, but the actual Greek does not necessitate such a strict literal reading. Jesus' emphatic statement that no one knows this hour is therefore believed by many to bring into question all attempts to calculate the time of Christ's return. It seems a direct contradiction that, on the one hand, no one knows the hour, and on the other, many Bible scholars who interpreted Scripture indicate the hour as the year 1844. For some who reject that the Second Advent occurred in 1844, verse 36 appears an added confirmation that their rejection is sound. In actuality, verse 36 should be a warning to the critics that they cannot be certain that the predicted 'hour' - that is, 1844 - was not the right hour. (146:1) To those who accept that 1844 was the 'hour' foretold in the Scriptures, 'no one knows' must at least suggest the uncertainty of human knowledge and human interpretations of Scripture - even though they may later prove right. Scripture, therefore, demands humility from the believer. The most important point is this: no one can say with certainty what date was foretold and then assert that Christ has failed to fulfil the promise of Scripture. Nor can the critic say with certainty that the scholars and believers who calculated the date 1844 were wrong. (146:2) Certain knowledge of this 'hour' lay with God alone. The Scriptures provided indications of the times for both the First and Second Advents of Christ; yet no one could be certain of an interpretation without Christ's appearance to confirm it. The Book of Daniel itself states, 'the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end', and that 'none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand' (Dan. 12:9-10, emphasis added).
(146:3)
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