Watch To Know What You Can Know

NOVEMBER 8, 2020 STUDY NOTES MATTHEW 24:35-39 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WATCH TO KNOW WHAT YOU CAN KNOW INTRODUCTION Jesus tells us that we cannot set a date for His return, Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. And again in, Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Notice that He said, “day and hour”) Yet we are told to “watch,” Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. We are to watch in-order to be ready for His return, Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Jesus would not instruct us to watch unless there was something for us to see, Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. “All these things” refer to all that Jesus has presented in Matthew 24 “All” the things that are associated with the 70th Week of Daniel and the return of Christ One generation will see “all these things,” Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. That generation will see the Abomination of Desolation, Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Jesus said, when you see it, you will understand, what will you understand? You will understand that the time of the Great Tribulation has begun, Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. The time of the Great Tribulation will be the time of the Antichrist, the day of Satan’s wrath, Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Satan’s day of wrath will be shortened by the return of Christ, Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Cut off; amputated) The Cosmic Disturbance will be the sign of the end of the age, Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: The world will see the cosmic disturbance and all eyes will be ready to see what happens next The sign of His Coming will be His Glory in the clouds of heaven, Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So, we are to watch for these things and be ready because the time will come--THE TIME WILL COME Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Jesus is expressing the certainty of what He has promised in the previous verses by a comparison It would be easier for the heavens and the earth to be destroyed Then it would be for His promises to go unfulfilled One day the heavens and the earth will pass-away, but it will be because of His Word The created atmospheric heaven and the present earth will vanish or disappear 1 2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Heaven and earth will pass-away at the time of and through the events of the Day of the Lord Following the Day of the Lord will be the new creation, Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. All prophesied events are certain to take place because the Word of God will not pass-away The Word of God will not pass-away because of the unchanging nature of God, Psa 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. God’s nature is compared to the most enduring of material things, which is heaven and earth But the day will come when heaven and earth will perish, Psa 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: Peter explains it, 2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. The “same word” that created all things will one day intervene and bring down fire from heaven That day is known as the “Day of the Lord,” 2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Then Peter gives us the most important truth found in the NT related to the return of Christ, 2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Peter tells us what we must do today because we know what is going to happen some day We must live a holy and Godly life, exactly what we studied last Wednesday night, 1Jn 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. As we study the Bible we can see and be sure of what is going to happen one day Because Jesus said, but my words shall not pass away. It is certain that the complete Word of God is an eternal Word, Psa 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. But the emphasis of this verse is placed upon the words that have been spoken in Mt.24 Jesus’ words confirm the certainty of the return of Christ and all that has been explained What Jesus will accomplish when He returns is also confirmed It is stated in the very strongest terms, nothing will prevent the return of Christ to the earth His promise stands, no force has the power to prevent His return or what He will do at that time All will be fulfilled according-to the “Words” of Jesus, Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. “Until heaven and earth pass away” represents the end of the age “The law” represents God’s eternal Word which is settled in Heaven The end of the age will be according-to what God has said, not what man might say or do The final events of this world are not in the hands of man, they are in the hands of God That is known as the “Sovereignty of God,” God is in control of all things History has moved by the hand of God, today is in the hand of God (You can believe it) It is the hand of God that is moving man toward the end of the age (Before our very eyes) The events of our day are moving toward the end of the age (We must watch and believe it) The present age will not pass-away until all things have been fulfilled as spoken by God The fulfillment of God’s Word is more certain than the rising and setting of the sun every day Scripture promised that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, Jesus was born (The Incarnation) Scripture promised the perfect sacrifice for sins, Jesus died on the cross (Substitutionary death) Scripture promised that Jesus would come forth from the grave (Resurrection) Jesus arose and He is alive for ever and ever 2 Scripture promised that Jesus would ascend to the right hand of God the Father (Ascension) That’s where He is today, Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Scripture promised that Jesus would come back to the earth, He will come (Second Coming) Jesus said that one generation of people will see all the things found in Matt. 24 fulfilled, Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. When you see them, you will know “that summer is near, even at the doors” (vs. 33) It is very likely that the fig tree is now budding, telling us that He will soon come (vs. 32) We must be ready even though we will not know the exact day THE EXACT DAY IS UNKNOWN Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. This verse is a climax to what Jesus has already said It is also an introduction to the rest of what he is going to say Many books have been written predicting “the day” that Christ is going to return Those books will be on the “best sellers” list until the day after their prediction Then you can get them free, people will give you the copy they paid good money for There are many sad stories concerning the people who have followed such predictions Watch out for date setters, they will also want to sell you a ticket to the “Battle of Armageddon” It is certain that the day and hour of Jesus’ return cannot be known (Mt. 24:36; 25:13) But the general time-period can be known (Mt. 24:33, 44) The signs that Jesus gave us will reveal that He is at the door Let me go over it with you one more time, because many do not accept what we can now know Jesus spoke of birth pains that would precede His coming (Mt. 24:1-8) One generation will see “all” of the things that Jesus spoke of come together (Mt. 24:34) That generation will see “The Abomination of Desolation” (Mt. 24:15) That generation will see the beginning of the “Great Tribulation” (Mt. 24:21) Following the Great Tribulation will be the Cosmic Disturbance (Mt. 24:29) The Cosmic Disturbance is the sign of the end of the age Then there will be the sign of His coming, which is His Glory that will brighten the sky (24:30) We can know the general time-period that Jesus will soon appear (Mt. 24:33) We certainly will know when He has come, we will see Him and know Him, Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. So how are we to understand verse 36? Does it say that we cannot know anything about His Return? But of that day and hour knoweth no man, In this verse “that day” refers to the time from one sunrise to another, a 24-hour time-period “Hour” refers to a given time-period within a day, a specific time of the day No one will know the exact day or the exact hour that Jesus will return No one will be able to predict the calendar date or the time of day that Jesus will return No one can predict the actual day or the exact time of His return The most faithful saints will not know the exact day or hour Not even “students of prophecy,” not even those who are considered the most spiritually mature Not even the supernatural world of angels who surround the throne of God no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Not even the angels who are waiting for their time of service during the 70th week of Daniel 3 The angels are an example to us, they do not know the day nor hour of Jesus’ return Yet, they stand near God, waiting for His command, ready to serve when the time comes This verse is very plain and specific, don’t try to determine the day and hour of Jesus’ return If God knows, how can it be that Jesus does not know the time of His Second Coming? We may can find an answer in scripture, it is just a “maybe,” we cannot be certain The reference may be to the human nature of Jesus, His words were spoken before His ascension The reference may not be referring to His present glorified state with the Father Philippians 2:6-8 reveals to us what is known as His “kenosis,” His “self-emptying” First, Paul tells us of the eternal state of the Son of God, Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: He had to be equal with God in-order to have the form of God and fulfill His earthly ministry He could not have come to the earth to reveal God to us without being equal with God Himself Yet, He became a servant, Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: In so doing, Jesus “emptied Himself,” there were some restrictions upon His Divine attributes He voluntarily laid aside the use of some of his divine attributes as He took upon Himself flesh On earth in His human body Jesus only manifested His divine attributes as directed by the Father The humanity of Jesus was not only a must for our redemption it was also an example for us The will of God the Father was made known to Jesus as He obeyed the Father, John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. In His present resurrected and exalted state, He knows all things related to His return Jesus is telling us what we can now learn and know concerning the time of His return Jesus now gives us something else to watch for that will indicate the time of His return We can watch people, look at their lifestyle and the desires of their heart (Average American) An example is the DAYS OF NOAH Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. We know of “the days of Noah,” but what is Jesus referring to? The “Days of Noah” refers to the time-period of and the character of people before the Flood Jesus uses them to teach us something about the people living when Jesus returns Jesus refers to the generation of people living at the time of Christ return There will be a resemblance between the “Flood People” and the “Second Coming People” You can compare the lifestyle of the flood people with the living of people when Jesus returns The flood was unexpected by the world, people were going about their normal activities of life The return of Christ will interrupt and change the daily plans of the “earth-dwellers” Noah and his family were preparing for the flood, obeying God, and building the Ark As Noah was building the ark he was also preaching, he was “a preacher of righteousness,” 2Pe 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; (Is America Godly?) The world did not listen to Noah, they could care less about what he had to say They were unconcerned about God, they were only interested in their daily life They were unprepared for their daily life, unprepared for death, and unprepared for eternity The people laughed about the ark and the preaching they did not take either one seriously Noah and his family, the building of the ark, and his preaching were all signs from God All, revealing the coming judgment of God through the flood and the truth of Noah’s preaching The people of the world saw the signs indicating that the flood was coming They did not pay attention to them until it started raining, they believed it when the flood came But it was too late, that was the state of the people in Noah’s day, now then hear Jesus--so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 4 The fact that Noah was building an ark told the unbelieving world that the flood was coming The flood would not come until the ark was finished The rain indicated that the time of the flood had come The second coming of Christ will not occur until all-of the words of Jesus have been fulfilled How will the coming of the Son of Man be like the days of Noah? It will be LIFE AS USUAL Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, Jesus describes their normal daily activities, their work, their pleasure, and their leisure The days prior to the return of Christ will be business as usual for worldly people Life will be going on as usual, people will be living their days for self and self-pleasure From this passage, many have described a “secret rapture” (Such as, “Left Behind” series) People not knowing what has happened when the rapture takes place Books have been written, movies have been made, teaching a secret rapture Teaching that believers will mysteriously disappear from earth and the world doesn’t understand They picture those who are “left behind” wondering what in the world has happened? What has happened to this world that we live in and have committed our life too? Everything in this passage describes a “universal return” of Christ, an all-knowing one-time return The rapture and the return of Christ are not two separate events separated by a period of 7 years The rapture will occur at the time of the Second Coming (Mt. 24:30-31) The world will see His coming and the people who are not raptured will know why He has come, Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Let me go over this one more time with you, the world will mourn and wail when Jesus returns They will be filled with fear because they know who Jesus is and why He has returned The teaching of Jesus is plain, for the world His return will be sudden and unexpected And there will be no secret about it, and there will be no mystery to it The saved are to be prepared and expecting the return of Christ, but the lost will not be prepared-they were eating and drinking, So, what is Jesus telling us about the unsaved generation living on earth when Jesus returns? When He compares them to the people who were living in the day of the coming flood? It is true that the people were living in gross immorality, Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The sin and evil of a wicked world did bring forth the judgment of the Flood, Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But the emphasis of Jesus in Matthew 24 is not upon the ungodly lifestyle of Noah’s day Jesus is not emphasizing their immorality, but their selfishness and false security He is pointing out their neglect of God, giving no thought to God or His Word (America?) “Eating” does not refer to “gluttony,” whatever that means, I have heard of it “Eating” is a daily necessity of life and so is “drinking” “Drinking” does not mean that they were alcoholics or drunkards Jesus is referring to the everyday activities of life, such as “eating” and “drinking” marrying and giving in marriage, This does not refer to an increasing divorce rate as some interpret it to be Some use this verse to say that the divorce rate of today is a sign of the return of Christ Jesus is talking about people getting married which is another normal activity of life 5 Men and women were marrying, there is nothing sinful about getting married Men and women are to get married, but not a man and a man, or a woman and a woman The people of Noah’s day were going about their normal lifestyle Their normal business and pleasure were not to the glory of God, 1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. In the day of Noah, it was business and pleasure as usual until--until the day that Noe entered into the ark, Life was as usual, the same thing day after day, they were living the same way they always had Living their ordinary way of life, they had given no thought of a need to change Peter said that people in the last days before Christ returns will think the same way, 2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, In Noah’s day, they mocked the thought of a flood that would judge them unless they repented The world will be mocking the thought of Jesus returning to the earth in judgment of sin, 2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Peter said, they don’t know their history, there was a flood that judged the world, 2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: And the people of Noah’s day did not believe it until the very day that Noah went into the ark They perished, 2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: JESUS IS COMING Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. The world in Noah’s day did not understand what was happening until the flood came They could have known if they had listened to the preaching of Noah Their sign of the coming flood was the ark that Noah was building while he preached They disagreed with Noah, they disregarded Noah’s message of righteousness The “Flood” did come upon them, then it was too late, the day of judgment had come They were “all” taken away or removed from the earth by death The people of the world were taken away from the earth by means of the flood The flood took their life away, the water swept them all away The door of the ark was shut, it was God who shut the door, it is God who tells us--so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. When Jesus returns, people will be going about their normal daily routine of life Taking care of their business, enjoying their pleasures, involved in their sinful activities The world will be totally unprepared for the coming of Christ, the world will not be ready Are you ready? Are you ready to go? Listen to the song 6