"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (vs.36). "That day" is the day of Christ's return and the end of the world. The reference to the destruction of Jerusalem may still be present, but it is fading. The simple answer to the question, "When shall these things be?" is, no one knows. This is one of the secrets of the Father, which He has not revealed to man. Even the angels in heaven, who stand before God and who know a lot more than we do, do not know it. Apparently, this is 'none of our business.' God's Word does not satisfy our curiosity, but teaches us to live by faith. Not a few people try to tell us the exact day of Jesus' Second Coming. Don't believe them! All predictions have proven to be false up to now. This text proves the futility of every attempt to predict the date of Christ's return.

Although we are not allowed to know that day, we are not left in the dark about the character of that time. Christ draws a parallel from Noah's days. "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (vs.37). What were those days like? Jesus tells us in the next verses. "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, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the son of man be" (vs. 38 and 39).

One may wonder what is so special about eating and drinking and marriage. These are both gifts of God: the one for the preservation of human life, the other for the preservation of the human race. As such, they may be received with thanksgiving. The sin of those people was that this was all they lived for. They had no higher purpose in life than living for their temporal, carnal pleasures. What made their sin even more grievous, was that they did all this in defiance of the preaching of Noah. They saw him building the ark for the space of 120 years. Every stroke of his hammer was a sermon to the men of his age: God is coming in judgment! Nevertheless, instead of repenting, the people went on eating, drinking, and marrying. Christ says, that they did not know that judgment was coming until the flood came and took them all away. This means that they did not believe it. They did not want to know it, because it interfered with their carnal interests. Noah's serious preaching conflicted with their sinful lifestyle. They laughed about this pessimist, this doom preacher.

Isn't it as if we receive a picture of what is going on today? The Gospel is being preached from the housetops as it were, today. And what is the result? Many hear it, listen to it, and go on with their daily life. Is it not sadly true that this applies not only to the people of the world, but also for many churchgoers? Have you yielded a believing and obedient heart to the Gospel? Have you turned to the Lord with a repentant heart? It will not help you to call upon the Name of the Lord in that day when He comes. Then it will be too late. "Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6)!

The world of Noah's days did not believe his message. They were willingly ignorant. Until the day Noah entered into the ark, and it started raining! All people who were not in the ark then, drowned in the water. No one excepted!

The application our Lord makes, is "So shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Here we should not limit the comparison to one aspect of the days of Noah, but to all that Christ says about it. The attitude of the people will be the same: plenty of warning, but utter­ly unprepared. The Day of Judgment will come suddenly and will not exclude anyone. The unbe­lievers will perish in the flood of God's wrath that will be poured out upon them.

That day will also be a day of separation. "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (vs. 40, 41). This is a final separation. Some are taken to be with the Lord forever; others are left to perish forever.

There are a few details in the text that we should not overlook. First of all, life will be going on as always, when Christ appears. There will be business as usual. People will be working in the office or on the farm. Others will be solemnizing their marriage or preparing for it. Mothers will be busy in their homes, the children at school. You can fill in the activities.

Moreover, the text indicates that God's people live in the world, though they are not of the world. Believer and unbeliever shall be on the same field, in the same mill, even in the same bed (Lk. 17:34). The picture Christ is using is of the ordinary hand-mill, made up of two round, flat stones with a handle near the edge of the upper stone. In those days the women turned such mills. Notice, too, the subtle difference between both verses. The one verse speaks about two men, the other about two women. The ultimate difference in the world is not between male and female, rich and poor, etc. The difference is ultimately only between saved and lost. The only thing that will count in the Day of Judgment is: being saved in the Ark, Christ, or perishing outside of Him.

Dispensationalists give a different interpretation of the text. They apply the text to Christ's "coming for the saints," His coming to take up His church with Him for a seven-year-period. The believers will be taken (the rapture), whereas the others stay behind on earth. They will go through the great tribulation. After this, Christ shall come "with the saints" to establish His kingdom in Israel and to reign for a thousand years on earth. All nations shall come and bow before Him. They that are left (vs. 40 and 41) receive a message of hope. They will have a second chance during the millennium.

However, this is not what Christ is saying. Christ compares the coming of the Son of Man with the flood. The day of the flood was final. In the same way, everything will be finalized on the day of Jesus' com­ing. A different interpretation would take away from the seriousness of Christ's words. The text does not leave room for being unprepared. It is rather an exhortation to watchfulness and preparedness. Now the question is: are you prepared?

Questions for Discussion:⤒🔗

1. What is the difference between the "knowing" of verse 36 and of verse 39?
2. We usually distinguish between God's `secret will' and his 'revealed will.' Can you show how both appear in this passage?
3. Why is it wrong to try to calculate the day of Christ's return?
4. Mark 12:32 says that even the Son does not know that day. What would be the meaning of this?
5. Are there more parallels between Noah's days and the last days? Read Genesis 6:1-5. How does this apply to our days?
6. In the light of this passage, what message should the people hear today? What is your response to that message?