Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:26-31, ESV)

50 years ago I was three years old when JFK was killed in Dallas, Texas. 1963 was a pivotal year in history. Life (“just as it was…”) in 1963 included…

Michael E. De Bakey implants artificial heart for first time at a Houston hospital. The first liver transplant was performed by F.D. Moore and T.E. Starzl. Mississippi physician James D. Hardy performed the first successful lung transplant.

Martin Luther King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. The U.S. Supreme court rules the Lord’s Prayer cannot be required in public schools. Kodak introduced the Instamatic camera. The Beatles first came to and performed in the United States. The Federal Prison Alcatraz was closed. Russian Valentina Tereshkova, became the first woman to travel in space.

L.A. Dodgers won the world series, the Boston Celtics were NBA champions, Loyola was NCAA basketball champions, and Texas was NCAA football champions.

Michael Jordan, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and Lisa Kudrow were born. Lloyd Ethridge was born on April 12 and died on April 13.

A loaf of bread cost 22 cents, a gallon of gasoline was 25 cents, average income was $5,807/year, $12,650 was the average price of a new home. Minimum wage was $1.25/hr. Zip codes were introduced for U.S. mail.

Yes, the killing of Kennedy was the top news story for most people across the globe, but for others something else surpassed that event in personal importance. Since 11/22/1963 life has continued minute by minute… hour by hour… day by day… year by year, and will continue to do so.

The point? According to Jesus from Luke 17:26-31 (See above), it is impossible to know when he will return based on one… two…. or many events at any given time. The day Jesus returns will be a day just like every other day before it… except that the following will transpire:

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42-44)