Again, What About No Man Knows the Day or Hour?
What are we to make of our LORD's Words in Matthew 24:36? "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only" (24:36). This verse is commonly used by those who believe that the Pre-Tribulational Rapture is imminent, i.e., about to occur at any moment without the knowledge of any specific day or hour. Of necessity, even those who set or uncover dates subscribe to the doctrine of imminency, when we do not currently have a specific date. "And the LORD direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ" (2Thessalonians 3:5).
The most common understanding of the date discoverer-- for Matthew 24:36 is that Jesus was only referring to that present time, i.e., the present tense applied to that particular time and not necessarily to a future time when the knowledge of dates and times would be Divinely unsealed. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the Time Of The End" (Daniel 12:4). Additionally, we have good reason to believe that the understanding of the End Time events will be especially unsealed for those upon whom those events will occur, such as the Pre-Tribulational Rapture. "None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand" (Dan 12:10).
However, Mark 13:32 is even more stringent than Matthew 24:36 in the limitation of who may not know the day or the hour. "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (Mark 13:32). Here, the LORD Jesus stated that He knew not the day or the hour, the same as man and angels. Why did the Son of God say this of Himself? When "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), He left His glory in Heaven. "But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
When the LORD Jesus ascended back to Heaven, He was restored to His glory. "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Therefore, Jesus only temporarily did not know the day or the hour, by Divine agreement within the Godhead. And, if Jesus only temporarily did not know; likewise, man may only temporarily not know the day or the hour. "He [the Spirit of Truth] shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:14).
Most date setters will tell you what Matthew 24:36 does NOT mean. This verse only limited that understanding to those of that present day, that it referred to the sealing and subsequent unsealing of that understanding until "the time of the end" (Daniel 12:9), etc., but why did Jesus even bother to make that statement:
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but My Father only" (Matthew 24:36)? Does it not make a definite restriction on the setting of calendar dates for the End Time events-- and especially the Pre-Tribulational Rapture? On the surface of the text, that is an honest interpretation. But, is there more?
In context-- "Heaven and earth shall pass away" (Mt 24:35)-- some will say that the LORD was making reference (Mt 24:36) to the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1) that follows the Millennium, i.e., that no one would know exactly when that would occur. Still, others will say that the exact day and hour of the Second Coming-- though it will certainly be "after the Tribulation" (Matthew 24:29)-- cannot be precisely known. Still, Matthew 24:36 seems to bulwark much of the Body against seeking any precise timing to the Pre-Tribulational Rapture. After all, many (self included) have attempted to know-- and failed.
I believe that the underlying reason behind our LORD's injunction that No Man Knows the Day or Hour (24:36) is to limit the understanding of the timing of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture to the few and not the many. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter" (Proverbs 25:2). The LORD Jesus chooses to limit that understanding to the few and not the many because He can only wisely give this understanding to such as can receive it.
"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them" (Matthew 13:16-17).
Since the "testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy" (Revelation 19:10), and "He [the Spirit of Truth] will guide you into all truth... and He [the Spirit] will shew you things to come" (John 16:13), then the LORD Jesus Christ has covenanted with us to reveal to us the Truth of things to come. And, since Jesus has access to the timing of the End Time events, He is at liberty to reveal them to us. "All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He [the Holy Spirit] shall take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you" (16:15).
Therefore, man's lack of understanding of the "times and seasons" (Acts 1:7), may only be temporarily limited by God while the LORD focuses His people's attention upon other more pressing matters, i.e., launching a fledgling Church at Pentecost-- "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Ac 1:8); or for the refining of the present Church, that has a "little strength"-- "For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My Word, and hast not denied My Name" (Revelation 3:8).
Man may choose to ignore or neglect God's modern prophets, but God is most certainly using these faithful servants to declare to him "that hath an ear" (Revelation 3:13) God's secrets of coming prophetic events. "Surely the LORD GOD will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7). It may be the disposition of those who reject the certainty that we may know the day or the hour, to choose to hear a particular prophet, or to reject all the modern prophets wholesale; but, remember the Apostle Peter's Pentecost sermon reference to the active presence of prophets in these Last Days.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17 compare to Joel 2:28). If God does not neglect these modern prophets, then we dare not neglect them, either. "Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm" (Psalm 105:15).
The prophets of the Old Testament were date setters-- or, date discoverers-- i.e., they sought to understand the timing of the things that they had prophesied. "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what [i.e., what Person], or what manner of time [i.e., when would be the First Advent] the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when It testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (1Peter 1:10-11). The godly example of these prophets ought to be imitated in our seeking to know the timing of the events associated with the Second Advent-- "whose faith follow" (Hebrews 13:7).
Perhaps the most touching reason for why we may know the day or the hour of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture is the principle of friendship with the LORD Jesus. "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" (John 15:15).
Just because one part of the Body professes not to know of a particular date or time for an End Time event, does not mean that another part of the Body has not been revealed that understanding. "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you" (1Corinthians 12:21).
And, just because we believe that it is possible to know the date or the hour of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture, does not mean that we necessarily have been persuaded of any particular date or time. "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Romans 14:5).
If we do not presently have the confidence that we have the understanding of any particular date or time, then we-- as well as those who are persuaded of a particular date or time-- should simply go forth in the strength of Jesus' assurance that the "time is at hand" (Revelation 22:10), and be ready. "Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not" (Luke 12:40).