"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36 NIV)
In light of the words of Jesus himself above, are you possibly then saying that we can know the year, since Jesus only specified the day and the hour? I never really thought this meant we could know the year either.
Yes I do believe that we can know the year.
I welcome and appreciate the use of Mathew 24:36. For that is a very interesting saying indeed. Examine the sequence of what our Master is saying there ...
Look at what follows verse 36 ...
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Isn't that interesting. On the one hand the Lord tells us we cannot know the day or the hour but then compares his second coming to the days of Noah! Sure we can argue that he mentioned eating, drinking and marrying, but can we really ignore the fact that along with those details, it was also a fact that Noah was informed of the time the Flood would begin, before it began?
Jesus was known to speak in parables to some and plainly to others. Look at Mathew 13:10-11
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
And what about Amos 3:7
Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
So yes, I do believe that some of the Lord's people, will know the timing of the second coming.