“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only,” Matthew 24:36.
Do these words mean that the Lord Jesus was unaware of the time of His return? Many would say that is so and because of that it is futile to speak of the revelation in Holy Scripture by Christ of signs that foretell the approach of that day since He did not know the ‘day and hour’. Therefore He could not speak of that which indicates the approach of the ‘day and hour’.
But is that what this verse is saying. I think not!
The context indicates that the Saviour DID know the ‘day and hour’.
Please remember in this chapter we have Christ answering two questions, one of which is, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” verse 3.
I put it to you that the Saviour could not reveal what the ‘sign’ of His coming was if He did not know ‘day and hour’ when His return would take place!
If it is true that the Saviour was ignorant of the ‘day and hour’ then He would have told His disciples that He could not answer their question. But He did not respond with a declaration of ignorance but rather began to answer their question in great detail.
His answer is most explicit indeed. The word ‘shall’ is ever linked to the expression of a strong determination to do something. It is most assertive. That word appears many times in this chapter. If my counting is correct it appears some 53 times in the chapter in our Authorised Version.
That would tell us Christ was speaking very authoritatively and forcefully. There was nothing tentative or hesitating about the Saviour’s response that might suggest a lack of a full knowledge of the answer to the question, ‘when shall you return’!
The detailed information imparted by the Lord indicates He HAD full knowledge of that day. (more…)
My attention was drawn to this article by Mr Jim Allister, KC, the leader of the Tradition Unionist Voice political party, 29th April.