No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:36-37
So begins the answer to their question in 24:3: “what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus begins by telling them that nobody knows when this will happen, not even Him. If you are perceptive and sharp, you will suspect right here that there will be no sign or warning. Next, He makes a comparison with Noah’s day. I’ve seen people get confused here, and I don’t want you to follow suit, so let’s pause briefly. Jesus is not going to tell us in the next verses that He will return because the days are wicked. Yes, God judged the world of Noah’s time for its evil ways, but in our context, Jesus is not explaining why He will return or the conditions in the world at that time, rather, He is answering the question of when He will return and what warning signs will precede His return. So far, we have found out that even He doesn’t know when this will be.
Jesus continues in verses 38-39, reminding us that in the days before the flood people were eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage “up to the day Noah entered the ark.” (38) In the next verse He tells us that “they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” In verses 40 and 41 Jesus gives an illustration of two men in the field, one is taken and one is left, and then the same thing happens with two women grinding. People often cite this as something they call “The Rapture” but I would suggest caution, for the context here is “signs” not “Rapture”. (Those folks may or may not be right)
Verse 42 gives us a strong clue as to what Jesus’ intent has been so far in His remarks about the signs they asked Him about. We recognize that easily because He uses the word “therefore” which is a summation and conclusion based upon the foregoing, which is vv. 36-41:
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Matthew 24:42
Verse 42 is kind of a big deal, dear reader, because it solidifies the fact that His answer to their question about the “sign of your coming and of the end of the age.” There will be no sign; it will be a surprise. This is reinforced in 43 ff.
In verse 43, Jesus compares His return to a thief who breaks into a house at night; if the homeowner is aware that the thief is coming, he will be prepared to deal with him, and it is here that Jesus makes a curious remark that gives us a hint that He is really concerned about something the disciples had not considered before: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.” (44) The real issue for Jesus is not times and signs, there will be no warning at all, and we need to ready for Him.
Beginning at verse 45, Jesus speaks about the faithful and wise servant, painting two pictures of a servant left in charge of his master’s house while the master was away. In the first picture, the servant is faithfully discharging his duties, and when the master returns is well rewarded for his excellent work. In the second, the servant is lazy and abusive to the other servants, eating their food, drinking their drinks and getting drunk. When the master surprises him, he is punished severely for abusing the master’s trust. The very last phrase of the very last sentence in the chapter has a comment that should get the disciples’ attention: “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” If you were to do a search for the expression “weeping and gnashing of teeth” in the Word, you would discover that it is used many times, and that in each of them, God was pouring out His judgment.
The disciples wanted to know the signs of His coming and of the end of the age; Jesus answered them. There will be no signs. Then He raised the stakes by letting them know that they will be responsible for ensuring that they will be ready whenever He returns. From where we are sitting today, 1,980 years later we still have no idea when He will return. He might return today, or tomorrow, or next year, or 20,000 years from now. All we know for sure is that when He returns, there will be no warning whatsoever, everyone will be surprised, and they’d better be ready.
If He came today, would we be ready?
One chapter down, one more to go; Jesus is far from finished. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
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Intuitively I prefer the simplicity of no warning, no signs, no “keeping watch”. Makes living far less complicated. But I have never – ever – had this explained quite so straightforwardly, without ambiguity, and without any fluff or bluster.
A warm and sincere thank you.
There are so many “end of times” countdown experts – it was something I assumed I probably ought to think about as a “good christian” – but never have (nor wanted to really).
Thanks Paul. Isn’t it interesting how simple this stuff really is, once you figure out the context? Of course there are some tough aspects to it, like God judging Jerusalem, but “getting it” isn’t one of them. The thing that has also struck me as really strange, almost scary strange, is the way so many insist on obfuscating the simplicity of these things and then maintaining their watch lists… why? Is some one or some thing prompting this silly exercise? I can only observe that this practice isn’t maintained through great scholarship.
That old “counting thing again” – and a thought: we have speed (safety!!) cameras here on the roads. Some measure you speed at a fixed pint and take a picture if you are speeding. Others use the “average speed” measurement.
Fixed = speed and brake and speed and brake (always searching for the next camera)
Average = travel smoothly (without bothering about the next camera)
I have always preferred the second type. Which makes me ponder why “good Christians” prefer the first option of “seeing the end time signs”. What exactly is it that makes it relevant to their living and faith today?
In quite a few cases, it is because people prefer to look for signs and speculations to avoid the messiness of making disciples. Chapter 25 seems to me to speak to this; it is sure clear that “no signs” is by design, and if my computer cooperates, I’ll have a post on that later… but don’t hold your breath, we’re having issues today!
I’ve been following along with your teachings with interest, reading the Geneva 1599 translation of the New Testament, which I’ve recently fallen in love with. This translation of the bible preceded the King James version by some decades and it renders Matthew 24:40-41 in a way that might shed light on whether or not there will be a rapture:
Then two shall be in the fields, the one shall be received, and the other shall be refused.
41 [b]Two women shall be grinding at the mill: the one shall be received, and the other shall be refused.
I noticed that both the King James and NIV translate the above passages using the words “taken” and “left” which seems to me to be more ambiguous. Taken where? Left from what?
Food for thought!
Thanks by the way for your latest series on Matthew. I used to struggle with Jesus’ prophecies in Matthew 23-24 as I tried to interpret His sayings in a too literal sense which made the passages confusing. I tried to marry all His statements with end times prophecy when clearly to do so is to do a grave injustice to the plain meaning of the text in context. I will read on with interest…
Thank you Naomi, glad to have you aboard!
I agree with you 98% here Don. The days of Noah are actually a sign in itself. Noah took 100 years to build an Ark. I am pretty sure Noah was asked why and he would have told them. So one sign was the actual building of the Ark. The next sign was the animals turning up to get on the ark. Nobody except Noah and family put 2 + 2 together.
What Jesus means is there will be no earth shattering signs but there will be some a couple of little indicators. Other than that for 99.99% of the population there will be no warning at all and for the other 0.01% just subtle stuff. But yeah end time countdown experts is a bit of a laugh and others who try to measure the times and as you said it could be tomorrow or another 1000 years.
Thanks Steve, I’ll take 98% 🙂
Interesting Steve – Noah is referred to as a preacher of righteousness before his exploits of building the Ark; he also condemned the world by his righteous standing with God. The Ark as the Apostle Peter informs us is the means of salvation. The sign of Noah’s day Jesus refers to is the fact that life continues as normal but the majority have missed God from their lives.
However the signs in the Matthew 24 help us to understand that this is composite and these things by themselves will have little meaning but when you draw them together that is when you’ll perceive the Sign of the Son of Man.
The challenge is to understand that when the Kingdom acts – or the King returns – the people will know that it is Jesus; there will be fearful and they will understand that they are righteously judged. These are not ‘little indicators’ they are visible, clear signs of Christ’s presence and the end of this system.
Especially enjoyed the last two sentences ~ Amen :Y
🙂
I fully agree that you cannot know for certain the time of the return of Jesus, but I do believe that there will be signs that it is getting nearer.
Looking at verse 32 it talks about signs of things to come. Right before that in verses 30-31 is distinctly talking about His second coming.
In the Old Testament God always gave plenty of warning before He brought judgement upon Israel. There were signs it was coming. The thing is no one knew exactly when that judgement would come.
There were signs of His first coming.
The same is for today, there are signs that He will return. Just as the servants new the owner would come back, they did not know when, neither do we.
These are just some thoughts I have on this subject.
Excellent post! Thanks for sharing.
Interesting and thought-provoking.
Of course the verses from 30-32 are interesting in this light, but there they before He changes the subject away from the destruction of Jerusalem, so in context they’re not the second coming. I sure agree with you about warning, and we were warned on His imminent return 1,980 years ago; that’s a lot of warning! LOL, I guess however anybody wants to view these things, we can all agree that we need to get it together any time now… 🙂
Amen on the need to be ready whether He is coming today or in 10,000 years. Who knows maybe God take your life today and you need to be ready for that. Keep up the great work!
For me, the sign that the return of Jesus is getting nearer is my calendar! Every day that is ticked off and he hasn’t returned is one day nearer his return. 😉 How is that for simple, Don?
It’s not only simple, it’s accurate!
Love the title of this post.
🙂
Awesome
Thanks
Very clear and accurate by what I’ve been taught and studied over the years. It isn’t fear that keeps me focused, it is a relationship that ranks first in my life. Yes, I slip, but I know what it takes to get back up – 1 John 1:9New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Amen!
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