Select Page
Read Introduction to Matthew

 

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

 

24:36

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

No one can predict precisely the time of the Second Coming. Remember that there is no mention of the Rapture anywhere in the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24-25).

24:37

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

We can compare the period just before the Second Coming to the days of Noah. The “days of Noah” were characterized by a sudden, catastrophic flood.

24:38

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

People of Noah’s day lived in a normal fashion. They pursued the regular activities of life in a mundane way. They spurned the idea of a world-wide flood as idle fiction. They scoffed at Noah’s building the ark for 120 years.

24:39

and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

They were unaware of a coming judgment on the whole world until the flood came. God swept away the people of Noah’s day unexpectedly in the flood.

24:40

Then [at the Second Coming] two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

The one “taken” will be taken in judgment. The “other left” is the one that will enter into the Millennial kingdom.

24:41

Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

The “taken” here and in the previous verse are not taken in the Rapture but in judgment. There will come a time of sudden separation between believer and unbeliever.

PRINCIPLE:

People need to keep alert to eternal values.

APPLICATION:

Most people live as if there is no eternity. They never put emphasis on eternal values but rather on trivial matters. Common concerns of life can keep us from focusing on God’s priorities.

Share