Matthew 24:36-40

Mat 24:36 (KJB)
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

God states emphatically in this verse that no man will ever know the day and hour of the return of Christ. The term "no man" is in the cardinal form in the Greek making it a specific number. It is the word “oudeis." That fact illuminates the reality that not one man on earth will ever know the day or hour. Cardinal form means a specific number like one or two in contrast to the ordinal form which would be translated first or second. The word is only used in the cardinal form in seven inflections and over 100 times in the New Testament. It’s meanings are “none, no one, not one, in no way, nothing, worthless, no.” Some uses of the word which illustrate this are found in the following verses:

(Mat 6:24 KJV) No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

(Mark 13:32 KJV) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

(Luke 5:37 KJV) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

(John 14:6 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Each of these four verses uses the same word as used in Matthew 24:36. Notice that the same word is used in John 14:6 when Jesus states that no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. This means that not one person in all of creation can come to the Father except through Christ. This is the essence of the cardinal form when it speaks of not even one. The word in Matthew 24:36 is also in the Nominative Case. The Nominative Case is the naming case. It is used to show the subject of a sentence or a clause. This means that God is emphasizing the fact that NO ONE will ever know the exact timing of the Lord’s return. The word is also in the Nominative Case in the other four verses above and we see the emphasis in John 14:6 that NO MAN comes to the Father except through Christ.

So now when we do a comparison of John 14:6 and Matthew 24:36, we see that the emphasis is on NO MAN. The logic is like this, if a man can come to the Father without Christ, then that means one can also know the day and hour of Christ’s return. God has written it to us very plainly and used the same words to emphasize the fact that that NO MAN can come to the Father without Christ and that same word also states unequivocally that no man will ever know the day or hour of Christ’s return. One more principle concerning the word and its usage. There is absolutely no time frame connected with this word which means it is in effect until the last day.

Mat 24:37 (KJB)
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Jesus continues to emphasize that fact that His return is going to be very swift and unexpected. He now brings in the days of Noah and begins to make a comparison between the events of those days and the events surrounding His return. There are many in this world who think that the story of Noah’s flood is just a story and nothing else but here Jesus gives approbation to it as He does Jonah.

Mat 24:38 (KJB)
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,

Here Jesus tells us that in the times of Noah, people were making plans to be married, they would eat their meals and drink. The people were going about fulfilling their plans without any thought of God or their future. They did this while the ark was being built right before them and paid no attention to it. Their lives were going along business as usual. It is like today, the big push is for gay marriage and people do not even care if it is against the teachings of God. They are out looking for jobs which means their attention is on earthly things. They are eating in restaurants and fast food places to get away from the daily routine. In other words, the present generation is concerned not about the return of Christ which has been preached now for nearly two thousand years. (Psa 10:4 KJV) The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. They are only concerned about worldly things including wealth, pleasure, and health. Even when they see a church on a corner or a cemetery, it does not move them to even question a little bit about what they both represent.

Mat 24:39 (KJB)
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The spiritual deadness of the generation in the time of Noah is very representative of today. People are involved in cults like Buddhism, Hinduism including Yoga, New Age, etc., and these cults reject the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Therefore, they do not study the teachings of Christ which includes His return and judgment. Instead they study the works of men such as Buddha, Confucius, the philosophers, the secularists, the evolutionists, the secular scientists, horoscopes, psychics, and other such anti-Christ materials which have really taken hold of today’s society. This is why the return of Christ is going to be unexpected because all the materials that people are inundating themselves with are void of true Biblical teaching. (Gen 7:13 KJV) In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; The same day the rains came was the same day that Noah and his family went into the ark. This also tells us that the return of Christ and Judgment day are going to be one and the same. People have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and His claims which means they do not care and reject the teaching of the second coming.

Mat 24:40 (KJB)
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

(Luke 17:36 KJV) Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. On that day the Lord returns, there will be a great separation. (Mat 25:32 KJV) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: One taken and one left in the field. This also confirms the teaching of the previous verses that life will be going along as usual because here two people are working and not expecting the return of Christ. The one who is taken is taken to judgment.

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