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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 24:36 - 24:41
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_24:36-41
36But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38For 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, 39and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Mat_24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" For "hour" see Special Topic below. This is a strong verse to deter Christians from setting specific dates for the Second Coming.
The phrase "nor the Son" is not included in Mat_24:36 in some ancient Greek uncial manuscripts à a, K, L, W. It is included in most translations because it does occur in manuscripts à , B and D, the Diatesseron, and the Greek texts known to Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, and the old Latin manuscript used by Jerome. This may have been one of the texts modified by orthodox scribes to accentuate the deity of Christ against false teachers (See The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, Bart D. Ehrman, pp. 91-92, published by Oxford University Press, 1993).
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Mat_24:37 "Coming" See Special Topic at Mat_24:3.
▣ "will be just like the days of Noah" This is an idiom which meant that normal life was continuing just as in the past (cf. Mat_24:38).
Mat_24:39 This is the judgment of God on the unbelieving both temporally and eschatologically.
Mat_24:40-41 "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" Many try to relate this to a secret rapture. However, the context implies blessing on some and judgment on others in the unexpected day the Lord returns. It is uncertain which group is blessed. Does "taken" or "left" refer to Noah and his family who were left alive after the Flood, or are those who meet the Lord in the air (Mat_24:31)? An OT example of some people being blessed and some people being judged is Noah's flood (cf. Mat_24:39). In Luke the OT example of Sodom was used (cf. Luk_17:29). As a matter of fact, Mat_24:27 implied one physical, visible coming of the Lord! The only reason some want a secret rapture of believers first is to try to explain the dialectical tension in the NT documents between (1) the any moment return of the Lord and (2) the fact that some things must happen first.
Jesus gives several examples to denote the suddenness and unexpectedness of His return.
1. Noah's flood, Mat_24:37-38
2. thief in the night, Mat_24:43
3. the master's return, Mat_24:45-46
4. delayed bridegroom, Mat_25:5-6
5. possibly "lightning" in Mat_24:27
Believers'only option is to be ready at all times (cf. Mat_24:44; Mat_25:10; Mat_25:13)!