Luke 12:40 (NKJ) Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
I do most of my studying from the KJV Bible and when this verse of Scripture came to my mind it came in King James English. It spoke to me. When I got ready to write this I picked up my NKJV, but it didn’t speak to me like what I remembered from my KJV. So back to the KJV.
Luke 12:40 (KJV) Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Do you see the difference? The NKJV just says that His coming is at an hour when you do not expect it. The KJV, on the other hand, says that He is coming “when you think not.” What does that mean? It means that your thinker is a barrier to the coming of the Lord. Notice that “cometh” or “is coming” is in the present tense. It is not referring to a coming of the Lord in the future. It is referring to His present spiritual coming, the coming of His presence in us (II Thessalonians 1:10). His presence and life coming forth in us is greatly hindered by the thinking processes of our natural mind. Many Christians are experiencing a spiritual death because they cannot conquer their carnal mind. Paul says in I Corinthians 15:26 that “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Then in Romans 8:6 he says it is death to be carnally minded. Therefore, when “ye think not” gives entrance to the presence of the Lord.
This is the way I have always thought about this Scripture: The Son of man cometh at an hour when ye do not think. Anyway, I decided to look up the literal translation of the Greek. Here it is: And ye be prepared because in what hour ye think not the Son of man comes. The KJV, then, is more accurate in giving the mystical truth that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. The preparation for His presence is learning to overcome your natural thinking. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot be subject to the carnal mind of your fallen nature and the mind of Christ at the same time. One of them has to go. His presence will come forth in you when “ye think not.”
Copyright © 2005 by Henry DuBose