“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”

– Matthew 24:36- 39

With the prohibition clearly stated against attempts to date-set, our Lord says that no one knows the time of His return, not the angels, nor the Son, but only the Father. But, what does this mean in light of the fact that Matthew 24:4- 31 speaks concerning the tribulation period that is seven 360-day years, divided at the midpoint by the abomination of desolation? In other words, alert believers in the tribulation should be able to know the exact day of the second coming. I believe that believers in the tribulation will indeed be able to know the day of Christ’ s return since Luke 21:28 says, ” But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Also, Matthew 24:34 is a time related statement saying that the generation that sees ” all these things,” (i.e., the events of the seven-year tribulation) will not pass away until Christ returns. So what does Matthew 24:36 mean in light of these things?

No One Knows

In this passage Jesus is referred to as ” the Son.” When the New Testament uses terms like ” the Son,” or ” the Son of Man,” as occurs in the next verse, it stresses His humanity and the incarnation. This passage does not say, ” that no man will ever know. This He did not say.” [1] I agree with most commentators that this passage is saying that in His incarnation as the Son of Man it was not given to Him (or revealed to Him) the time of His return. I am sure that He knows the day and the hour upon His return to heaven. John MacArthur notes the following:

Therefore, even on this last day before His arrest, the Son did not know the precise day and hour He would return to earth at His second coming. During Christ’ s incarnation, the Father alone exercised unrestricted divine omniscience.[2]

Ed Glasscock echoes this understanding: ” The Lord did not attempt to display His deity but rather, in contrast, emphasized His humanity. As an obedient servant in His humanity, Jesus did not know the day or the hour of His return.” [3]

Jesus is saying that in essence He was not telling them at that time when He was returning. However, this does not mean that those at a future time would not be able to know when He was returning. Yeager says: ” The thought of the context is that at the time that Jesus spoke this to His disciples, and even yet now, at the current writing, nobody knows the day and the hour.” [4] It is not until after the rapture, when one is in the tribulation that God’ s prophetic clock will resume ticking. For believers living during that time they will be able to know at least the day when Christ will return to planet earth.

The Days of Noah

In the second illustration following His Olivet Discourse (24:4- 31) Jesus announces a parabolic comparison between His second coming and that of the days of Noah (24:37). While not specifically called one in the passage, it has the distinctives of a parabolic comparison. ” The coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah” (emphasis added). Christ is making a comparison between His return (24:36) and the antediluvian days of Noah.

First of all, the passage says that the second coming of Christ will be just likethe days of Noah. The word order in the original language reads as follows: ” For just as the days of Noah, in this way is the coming of the Son of Man.” The intensive particle ” just as” osper is a ” marker of similarity between events and states.” [5] When combined with the demonstrative adverb ” in this way” houtos, Christ is saying that the days of Noah were exactly the same as will be the time of Christ’ s return.

Does this mean that there is an extensive list of items that can be compared with the days of Noah? I do not think so. There is a single primary point that Christ emphasizes in each of the parables that He gives. In this one it is preparedness. ” The likeness is seen in the suddenness of the coming of the judgment and the unpreparedness of the world for it,” declares Toussaint.[6]Daniel Harrington says, ” The point of the comparison between the days of Noah and the coming of the Son of Man is the unexpectedness of the crisis. . . . So unexpected was the flood that people did not recognize it until it had already come upon them.” [7]

On more than one occasion the New Testament compares the second coming to the flood in Noah’ s days (Luke 17:26- 27; 2 Pet. 2:4- 11), as well as to other judgments such as the days of Lot (Luke 17:28- 30). The central point found in these passages is that unbelievers were not prepared for God’ s judgment. This is the intention of Christ in this passage as well.

Eating and Drinking

Lack of preparedness is reinforced by the examples that our Lord cites. The Greek word used here for ” eating” trogo is not the word normally used. It means, ” to bite or chew food, eat (audibly), of animals . . . chew, nibble, munch.” [8] It is only used six times in the Greek New Testament, the other five uses are all found in John, usually of eating Christ’ s flesh. The normal New Testament Greek word for ” eating,” which is used in the parallel passage (Luke 17:27), is esthio. It occurs 158 times in the Greek New Testament and means, ” to take something in through the mouth, usually solids, but also liquids, eat.” [9] What’ s the point? The point appears to be ” implying luxurious living.” [10] The unprepared of that day will be so absorbed in pleasing themselves, or said another way, chomping on food, that they miss the fact that they are living in extraordinary times that would justify the abandoning the normal routines of life. Alfred Plummer also explains as follows:

The special point of the analogy is not that the generation that was swept away by the Flood was exceptionally wicked; none of the occupations mentioned are sinful; but that it was so absorbed in its worldly pursuits that it paid no attention to solemn warnings. Instead of saying: ” It is certain to come; therefore we must make preparation and be always on the watch,” they said: ” No one knows when it will come; therefore there is no need to trouble oneself about it yet. Others matters are much more urgent.” [11]

The events that Christ had just described (the tribulation in 24:4- 31) should evoke concern about God’ s plan for history. instead, the unbelievers want to continue their own pursuits of their daily routines. Robert Govett explains: ” The love of the world is displayed by men’ s being given over to eating and drinking. Had they believed the message of wrath just about to come, they would have fasted and wept.” [12] A desire for the status quo is a manifestation of unpreparedness.

Marrying and Giving in Marriage

While eating and drinking relates to daily unpreparedness, marrying and giving in marriage illustrates unpreparedness concerning one’ s long-range perspective. Marriage, while certainly an institution ordained of God is good in-and-of itself, the point here is that one should not be engaged in long-ranged planning while unprepared for impending judgment. Meyer tells us that it is ” descriptive of a mode of life without concern, and without any foreboding of an impending catastrophe.” [13] Just as it would make no sense to plan marriage in the days of Noah leading up to the Flood, if one was unprepared to face God’ s judgment, in the same way, it makes no sense to plan for marriage in the face of the events of the tribulation that will lead up to the second coming.

In the days of Noah, Noah had been preaching concerning the coming judgment of God (2 Pet. 2:5), yet no one, other than Noah’ s family paid attention to his message. Instead, they went about business as usual, ignoring the warnings of God’ s Word. Govett captures the sense well in the following:

Hence these pursuits are spoken of, not as evil in themselves, but as they practically give the lie to the warnings of God. These are only reasonable, so long as the present scene is to go on as it is. The accumulating property, when both life, property, and posterity are to be destroyed, is folly.[14]

These practices by the unprepared ceased ” the day that Noah entered the ark,” just as they will in the future when Christ returns.

They Did Not Understand

Perhaps the most sobering statement in this passage is that ” they did not understand.” They did not put two and two together, Jesus said, ” until the flood came and took them all away.” Jesus then said, ” so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Here we have a similar construction that we saw in verse 37, which is the ” marker of similarity between events and states.” [15]

Not only should similarities be noted, but it is also important to see contrasts as well. It is important to note that the rejecters of God’ s Word, who ” did not understand,” in verse 39 is juxtaposed with the admonition to believers in verse 33, which says, ” even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” The Greek verb ginosko is used in both passages and translated ” recognize” in verse 33 and ” understand” in verse 39. This Greek word has the meaning in these contexts of ” to grasp the significance or meaning of something, understand, comprehend.” [16] The difference between the one who understands and the one who does not is based upon who accepts God’ s Word and who does not.

Actually, verse 39 does say that they the unbelievers did come to understand these things. However, their understanding did not come until the flood came and took them all away. This is one of the many things that separate believers from unbelievers. Believers accept God’ s Word before an event occurs because they trust Him and His prophetic word. On the other hand, an unbeliever has to be shown these things through experience, in this case a very bad experience. What about you? Do you trust God and His Word because He says it, or are you one who has to be shown things from experience? There is a big difference between the two. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Randolph O. Yeager, The Renaissance New Testament (Bowling Green: Renaissance Press, 1978), Vol. 3, p. 324.

[2] John MacArthur, The New Testament Commentary: Matthew 24- 28 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p. 72.

[3] Ed Glasscock, Matthew: Moody Gospel Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997), p. 476.

[4] Yeager, Renaissance, Vol. 2, p. 326.

[5] Walter Baur, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3d ed., rev. Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 1106. (abbreviated as BDAG)

[6] Stanley D. Toussaint, Behold The King: A Study of Matthew (Portland: Multnomah Press, 1980), p. 280.

[7] Daniel J. Harrington, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Matthew (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 342.

[8] BDAG, p. 1019.

[9] BDAG, p. 396.

[10] A. Carr, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Cambridge: At The University Press, 1896), p. 273.

[11] Alfred Plummer, An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to S. Matthew, 2nd. edition (Minneapolis: James Family, n.d.), p. 340.

[12] Robert Govett, The Prophecy on Olivet (Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., [1881] 1985), p. 95.

[13] Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to The Gospel of Matthew, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1879), vol. 2, p. 155.

[14] Govett, Prophecy, p. 96.

[15] BDAG, p. 1106.

[16] BDAG, p. 201.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

– Matthew 24:35- 36

Jesus said in verse 34 that ” this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Now, in verse 35, He tells us about one thing that will pass away and another thing that will not pass away. The passing away in verse 34 would not happen until ” all these things take place.” In verse 35 Christ does not mention until but issues a pronouncement concerning a couple of items- ” heaven and earth,” and ” My words.”

Heaven and Earth will Pass Away

Verse 35 begins with the word pair ” heavens and earth.” There can be no doubt that this phrase refers back to Genesis 1:1, which says, ” In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Allen Ross explains:

What God created is here called ” the heavens and the earth,” a poetic expression (merism) signifying the whole universe. Other examples of this poetic device are ” day and night” (meaning all the time) and ” man and beast” (meaning all created physical beings). ” Heaven and earth” thus indicates not only the heaven and the earth but everything in them. Genesis 2:4 also uses this expression in a restatement of the work of creation throughout the six days.” [1]

The Greek word for ” pass away” is parerchomai and has the general meaning of ” come up to;” ” pass by,” ” pass away.” [2] In this context it clearly has the connotation of ” pass away.” What does this mean? Ed Glasscock tells us:

Once the unveiling of this ” great tribulation” (v. 21) begins, that generation will not pass away until everything is brought to completion. To add weight to what He had just said, the Lord added the proclamation that His words were more lasting than even the universe itself. The heaven and the earth will be taken away, but what He has proclaimed will last eternally.[3]

The verb ” pass away” and the double negative ou me both occur in 24:34 and carry the same force in both references.

Preterist Folly

Amazingly, in spite of such a clear statement by our Lord, many full preterists[4] teach that heaven and earth will not pass away. Rarely does a radio program go by where full preterist John Anderson does not say something like, ” the world will last forever, it will never be destroyed.” [5] So what do they do with passages like Matthew 24:35? Full preterist Don Preston says:

When he spoke of his coming on the clouds with power and great glory, Jesus was not using literal language. He was, in the established manner of Israel’ s prophets, using hyperbole to describe the coming judgment on Israel. And in light of the consistent figurative application of the passing of heaven and earth to the destruction of a nation, we can better understand that when Jesus said ” heaven and earth will pass” Mat. 24:35, he was responding to the disciples’ questions about the destruction of Jerusalem, Mat. 24:2. The focus was on the world of Israel, not on material creation.[6] (italics original)

Even if it can be established that (in general), Old Testament prophets used language as Preston claims, which is debatable, there is no basis for using it as he says in the specific instance of Matthew 24:35. In fact, I don’ t think it can be demonstrated lexically that there is a single instance where ” heaven and earth” is ever used in a hyperbolic, non-literal way, as claimed by Preston. Preston’ s conclusion is the product of mere assertion and not exegesis. The only motive for taking such a view is not a consequence of the study of the biblical text but is driven by his preterist assumption.

When one examines the 36 uses of ” heaven and earth” in the entire Bible, there is not even one possible instance of it occurring as a ” figurative application of the passing of heaven and earth to the destruction of a nation.” Every use of ” heaven and earth” refers to God’ s physical creation as in Genesis 1:1,[7] with four exceptions (Deut. 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; Jer. 51:48). These other four instances use ” heaven and earth” as angelic and human witnesses. For example, ” I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, . . .” as in Deuteronomy 30:19. This is clearly nothing like the allegorical understanding that Preston suggests.

Since the basis for saying that ” heaven and earth” do not have a physical understanding in Matthew 24:35 has no lexical basis, nor support from the context, the full preterist view should be rejected as erroneous, in fact, in serious error. The preterist interpretation not only nullifies the actual meaning of this passage, but would also distort parallel passages (Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33), but also similar passages like Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17. If the preterist misunderstanding of this passage were true, Luke 16:17 would read as follows: ” But it is easier for the world of Israel to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” This is such an absurd view that it is clear that the preterist mythology cannot stand in light of an actual exegesis of the text itself.

Christ’ s Words Will NOT Pass Away

This passage clearly states that, ” heaven and earth will pass away” one day, but in contrast to that Christ’ s words ” shall not pass away.” In order to strengthen the emphasis upon the absolute impossibility of His words passing away, Christ uses not one, but two Greek words that mean ” not,” (grouped together), to say that something will not happen. ” The double negative ou me with the subjunctive is the usual form for the emphatic negation,” notes Randolph Yeager.[8] Lenski agrees and says that ou me is used ” all-inclusively” and calls it ” the strongest negation.” [9]

Since Jesus speaks in such an authoritative way, He identifies Himself with Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah (40:8) and Zechariah (1:1- 6). Christ’ s statement of the certainty of the fulfillment of His prophetic word can only mean that He has the stamp of God’ s approval on His ministry. Arno Gaebelein elucidates as follows:

Yeah heaven and earth may pass away but His Words will not pass away. How solemn this is! Here we read still the same great and mighty Words, which were hated by thousands of God’ s enemies in the past; words which have been attacked and denied. And still the old enemy of the written Word is at it, and through his chosen instruments (alas! many of them in the midst of the professing church) attacks and belittles these Words. They stand! They are as eternal and divine, as infallible and true, as He, the eternal Son of God, is from whose lips they came.[10]

The Day and The Hour

At least six passages (eight if parallel passages are included) specifically warn believes against date setting in relation to the second coming and the rapture. First of all, it is clearly impossible to date-set the time of the rapture since it is a signless, yet imminent event. How can anyone even come up with a scheme for date-setting the rapture since we are told to always be waiting for Christ any-moment return in the air? This explains why rapture date-setters have never used rapture passages as a basis for their date-setting schemes, since there is zero-basis in actual rapture passages to attempt what is forbidden. These speculators invariably go to passages related to Israel (rather than the church), or passages that confuse the second coming with the rapture.

It is enough for something to be stated only once in the Bible for it to be true, but when God says something many times the emphasis should make such assertions even clearer. I am listing the specific passages below so that we can readily see these important biblical admonitions:

• Matthew 24:36 ” But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Mark 13:32 is an exact parallel.

• Matthew 24:42 ” Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

• Matthew 24:44 ” For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

• Matthew 25:13 ” Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.Mark 13:33-37 is a parallel passage.

• Acts 1:7 He said to them, ” It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

These passages are absolute prohibitions against date setting. They do not teach that it was impossible to know the date in the early church, but in the last days some would come to know it. They do not say that no one knows the day or the hour, except those who are able to figure it out through some scheme. No! The date of Christ’ s coming is a matter of God’ s revelation and He has chosen not to reveal it even to Christ in His humanity during His first advent (Mt. 24:36).

The Bible teaches that God’ s Word is sufficient for everything needed to live a life pleasing unto Christ (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:3-4). This means that if something is not revealed for us in the Bible then it is not needed to accomplish God’ s plan for our lives. The date of Christ’ s return is not stated in the Bible, therefore, in spite of what some may say, knowing it is not important for living a godly life. The Lord told Israel ” The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). The date of Christ’ s coming has not been revealed, thus it is a secret belonging only to God.

Conclusion

At least two things always occur when one mishandles a biblical text: First, the passage at hand is distorted and one does not learn the lesson intended by the author. Second, a wrong understanding produces a false teaching that would not surface, but for the incorrect handling of a given passage. This we know from this passage: that heaven and earth will one day pass away, or as a friend of mine used to say, ” its all going to burn.” We also equally know that God’ s Word is inerrant, infallible and trustworthy. It will most certainly come to pass. This is the basis upon which prophecy is built and for that all Bible-believing Christians can be grateful. Maranatha!

(To Be Continued . . .)

 

Endnotes
[1] Allen P. Ross, Creation & Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1988), p. 106.

[2] Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider, editors, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), vol. 3,p. 38.

[3] Ed Glasscock, Moody Gospel Commentary: Matthew (Chicago: Moody Press, 1997), p. 475.

[4] Full preterists teach that all Bible prophecy has been fulfilled in the past and there will be no future second advent of Christ.

[5] See the following website: http://www.lighthouseproductionsllc.com/broadcast.htm

[6] Don K. Preston, Into All The World: Then Comes The End (Ardmore, OK: Don K. Preston, 1996), pp. 90- 91.

[7] Based upon searching the computer program Accordance, version 6.4, the following references to the physical creation as in Genesis 1:1 are as follows: Gen. 1:1; 14:19, 22; Ex. 20:11; 31:17; 2 Sam. 18:9; 2 Ki. 19:15; 2 Chron. 2:12; Ezra 5:11; Psalm 69:34; 115:15; 121:2; 124:8; 134:3; 146:6; Isa. 37:16; Jer. 23:24; 32:17; 33:25; Haggai 2:6, 21; Matt. 5:18; 11:25; 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 10:21; 16:17; 21:33; Acts 4:24; 13:15; 17:24; Rev. 14:7.

[8] Randolph O. Yeager, The Renaissance New Testament, 18 vols. (Bowling Green, KY: Renaissance Press, 1978), vol. 3. p. 322.

[9] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St Matthew’ s Gospel, (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1943), p. 953.

[10] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew: An Exposition (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, [1910] 1961), p. 514.