(Matthew 24:36-51)….“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels ofheaven, 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. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Jesus brings the remarkable event of His return to the point that His second coming will be completely unpredictable…..“But of the day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” This unpredictable event is underscored heavily in the additional warning he gives the disciples in (Matthew 24:42-44)…..”Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
As Jesus has said, one can know that the time is drawing near by learning the parable of the fig tree. But we can also know that Christ’s return is drawing near because they can observe the predicted pattern taking shape in the affairs of men. We can see the attitudes that he says will prevail in that day beginning to emerge as the dominant philosophy of the day (2 Timothy 3:1-7) (1 Timothy 4:1). But we can never know the day nor the hour.
Men seem to display an urgent passion to set dates for the coming of Christ, but God has maintained an inscrutable silence about certain matters and this is one of them. The day nor the hour is clearly marked “Top Secret” in (Zechariah 14:7), just as Jesus told the disciples after the resurrection (Acts 1:7). The activity Jesus wants to encourage is not date-setting but readiness – Are you ready?