But of that Day and Hour Knows No Man — A Timeless Truth?

When I posted my videos explaining why September 23, 2017 would not be the end of the world, the rapture or the coming of the Lord, without a doubt, one of the most common “answers” even among those agreeing that the end would not take place on September 23, 2017 was that, after all, “no man knows the day or the hour,no not the angels, but my Father only.” I believe it is safe to say that this text, perhaps as much or more than any other, is appealed to as a “response” to all of the NT time indicators that the coming of the Lord, the judgment and resurrection was near – 2000 years ago. We read commentators saying: “If Jesus did not know the time of his coming, then we certainly can’t know the time!”  Here is a link to those videos, the first of which, as of this morning, has had over 58,000 views. Here is a link to #2. Here is a link to #3.

I want to suggest that appealing to Matthew 24:36 is a misguided hermeneutic. It is in fact a hermeneutic of anachronism. It fliies in the face of the indisputable reality of the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit. Let me explain.

The Question Is, Are / Were Jesus’ Words “But of That Day and Hour Knows No Man– (Matthew 24:36)– Eternally True Statements?
Does “Unknown When Spoken” Mean “It Will Always Be Unknown”?

When Did Jesus Speak This? – Before the Sending of the Spirit! But, notice Jesus’ words in John 16:13f – spoken after Matthew 24:36

“When the Spirit Is Come, He Will Show You Things to Come!” (John 16:7); “He Will Speak of Judgment.”
This Means that The Father – Who Knew the Time – Sent the Spirit and Caused the Inspired Authors to Say:
“The End of All Things Has Drawn Near!” (1 Peter 4:7).
“The Time Has Come for the Judgment!”
“In a Very, Very Little While He Who Is Coming Will Come and Will Not Tarry” (Hebrews 10:37)
The Coming of He Lord Has Drawn Near- James 5:8
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Which God Gave to Him, to Show to His Servants the Things That must Shortly Come to Pass” (Rev. 1:1-3).
All of These Statements– and Many More – Were Written by Men Inspired by the Spirit Sent by the Father Who Knew the Time of the Parousia.

Those Who Continue to Appeal to Matthew 24:36 in Spite of the Fact That Jesus Spoke Before the Sending of the Spirit to Show the Apostles “Things to Come” Must– Absolutely Must– Negate, Mitigate, Destroy, an Entire Body of Time Words in Order to Maintain a Futurist Eschatology!

So, All of the NT Time Statements Were Given by the Father Who Told the Writers What Time it Was!
Did the Father Inspire the Wrong Message?
What I Am Saying Is That What Was True in Matthew 24:36 Was No Longer True in the Epistles! When Jesus said “But of that day and hour no man knows” that does not mean that the time would not be and was not revealed when the Spirit was given to the Apostles.

Take Note of 1 Peter 1:10 Where the Apostle Affirmed That Through the Spirit, the Father Was Revealing the Time and the Nature of the Salvation Foretold by the Ot Prophets (Who Did Not Understand the Time and Nature) and That Salvation Was to Come at the Revelation of Christ- the Parousia. Yes, Peter Was Receiving, at That Time, Further Revelation. It Was Later Revelation from That in Matthew 24:36.

So, We Have in 1 Peter, Revelation from the Father, Who Knew the Time of The, the Time of the Coming of Christ to Bring the Eternal Salvation, and Peter Tells Us That the Spirit Was Revealing the Time and the Nature of These Events!

What Did Peter, Inspired by the Spirit Sent from the Father Who Knew the Time of the End, Say about the End, the Time of the Eternal Inheritance? Well, Let’s See:

1 Peter 4:5– Christ Was “Ready to Judge the Living and the Dead.” “Ready Is from Hetoimos and Means Not Only Morally Qualified and Ready, But, Temporally Ready as Well.

1 Peter 4:7 – the End of All Things Has Drawn near

1 Peter 4:17 the Time Has Come – Literally the Appointed Time (Kairos); the Divinely Appointed Time.

For the Judgment– Not a Judgment, but the Judgment Has Come!

Peter Uses the “Anaphoric Article” That Is the Most Common Use of the Definite Article (Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond Basics: an Exegetical Syntax of the N.t., 218)

The Anaphoric Article Was When a Speaker or Writer Introduces a Subject. He Later Refers Back to That Subject by the Use of the Definite Article. This Means That “The Judgment” of Verse 17 Refers Back to Peter’s Earlier Discussion of the Judgment– Which Is the Judgment of the Living and the Dead!

The Only Previously Mentioned Judgment in the Context Is Verse 5 – the Judgment of the Living and the Dead! This is patently the resurrection.

This Means Peter – Through the Spirit Sent by the Father Who Knew the Time of the End, Was Saying: “The Time Has Come for the Judgment of the Living and the Dead.”

This Means, Once Again, That it Was the Father, Who Knew the Time of the End That Inspired Peter to Say That the End of All Things Had Drawn near and That the Divinely Appointed Time for the Judgment of the Living and Dead Had Arrived.

To Deny this Is to Say That the Father Misled Peter.
To Deny this Is to Say That the Father, Through the Spirit, Lied to Peter.

Peter’s Discourse in 1 Peter and His Use of the Anaphoric Article Is a Total Refutation of the Anachronistic Application of Matthew 24:36 to All of the NT Texts Written after the Sending of the Revelatory Spirit by the Father.

1 Peter Was Further, Additional and Clarifying Revelation From That in Matthew 24:36. And Words Could Not Be Clearer, or More Emphatic– the End Had Drawn Near, the Time for the Judgment of the Living and the Dead (The Resurrection) Had Come. Jesus words in Matthew 24:36 — But of that day and hour knows no man –– do not apply in 1 Peter!

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