About that day and hour no one knows

Matthew 24:29-51 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

⁴² “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; ⁵⁰ then the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and he will cut him in two and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

In yesterday’s text and meditation we saw that the things that Jesus says will be the signs that He is coming are already taking place. We see the increase of lawlessness and the lack of love. We see the escalated division along racial and ethnic lines; the nations (ethnos) rising against nations (ethnos). We see and hear of wars and rumors of wars all around the globe. Natural disasters, human caused disasters, shortages of food and water are increasing or at least affecting millions more people than before. Jesus says: “These things are merely the beginning of birth pains… But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”   We who recognize the signs of the times are encouraged to endure in Christ and to be His witnesses, to share the gospel of the kingdom as a testimony of Him.

Today’s text says: “But about 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 before the flood they were eating and drinking, 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 will the coming of the Son of Man be. At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you must be ready as well; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”  Those who doubt and do not believe in what God and Christ have said, will continue going about their lives, not heeding the signs. In Noah’s day, surely there were those who mocked him and thought him foolish. 2 Peter 3:3-7 says: Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people. Hebrews 9:27 says: It is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment. None of us know the day or the hour, whether by Christ’s return or by the end of our own days, that we will stand before the righteous judge. When that time comes, there will be no more time.

2 Peter 3:9-15 says: The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. There is a place where Jesus says: “in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  Revelation 21:1-7 says: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.” Today there remains a choice for each person, whether a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, or a place where there is: “No longer any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.”

Therefore, beloved be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. Amen.