A subject of continual speculation is the anticipated second coming of Jesus. History is full of stories of people who have expected his return and confidently predicted the date and time, only to see the date pass by without event. Often those who believe the false prophets of the second coming sell their possessions or do other things in reliance on the prediction, only to be shown up as foolish later on. In the second chapter of his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said:
With regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and us being gathered together to meet him, please do not be easily flustered or upset by a vision or report or letter supposedly coming from us, saying that the day of Christ has already arrived. Do not allow anyone to mislead you. It will not happen until people first rebel against God, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
Those who have seen the power of God at work in the world are continually tempted to try to appropriate it for their own purposes. The book of Acts describes Simon the Magician who tried to buy the power to bestow the Holy Spirit. Those who try to force God’s hand by predicting the date of the second coming are doing something similar, trying to command the power of God rather than trying to obey it.