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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 24. Matthew chapter 24, returning 
to our exposition of Matthew's gospel, we find ourselves in 
the Olivet Discourse beginning in chapter 24 at verse 1 and 
ending at the end of chapter 25. Our section this morning 
will be verses 36 to 44, so I'll read there in Matthew 24 beginning 
in verse 36. But of that day and hour no one 
knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, 
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the 
days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying 
and given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the 
ark. and did not know until the flood came and took them all 
away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two 
men will be in the field, one will be taken in the other left. 
Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken in 
the other left. Watch, therefore, for you do 
not know what hour your Lord is coming. 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. Therefore, you also be ready, 
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in 
heaven, we thank you for the written word of God and we pray 
now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. At the outset, we confess 
our ignorance, we confess our lack of diligence with reference 
to studying scripture. We pray that you would forgive 
us for all of our sins and all unrighteousness and cast away 
anything that would darken our understanding and our minds. 
We pray for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We pray that 
He would guide us and lead us into all truth. We pray that 
we would see the emphasis in this passage upon watchfulness, 
to realize that Jesus Christ is coming again in glory to judge 
the living and the dead. May we all take these things 
to heart. May we all consider our place before a holy God. 
May we see our sins rightly, and may there be conviction for 
that sin. And may the Holy Spirit indeed 
cause us to be alive together with Christ, cause us all to 
be looking to Christ in faith and with repentance. May you 
be glorified in the salvation of sinners. May you be glorified 
in the sanctification of your people. And may you produce and 
promote in all of our hearts a watchfulness. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, thus far in our studies 
in the Olivet Discourse, we have covered a lot of ground. I just 
want to quickly review up to this particular point. The larger 
context of the Olivet Discourse is in chapters 21 to 23. Our 
Lord there goes toe-to-toe with the religious leaders of His 
generation. He tells a series of parables, 
and the emphasis is upon judgment coming upon Jerusalem. At the 
end of chapter 23, he announces that their house, specifically 
their temple, would indeed be left to them desolate. And it's 
on the heels of that that the disciples then come to him and 
say, look at the beauty of the temple. And Jesus says, all of 
these stones will be cast down. And that causes the disciples 
to ask two questions. They ask, what will be the sign 
of your coming and the end of the age? And I take those two 
things to be the same, the sign of Christ's coming in judgment 
and the end of the Jewish age. And then when will these things 
be? So I submit that Christ answers their what question in verses 
1 to 35. And essentially, he highlights 
that there would be a period, a beginning of birth pains, The 
preaching of the gospel would go forth as a witness to the 
nations. There would be a command to flee 
Jerusalem when the siege begins. The reason for their flight was 
given in verses 21 to 22. The warning that there would 
be false Christs during that time trying to help the people 
to avoid this particular judgment. As well, he highlights the coming 
of the Son of Man in judgment upon the land of Israel in verses 
29 to 31. He gives the parable of the fig 
tree, which indicates that these things were indeed coming on 
the horizon. And then he underscores his prophetic 
certainty by saying in verse 35, heaven and earth will pass 
away, but my words will by no means pass away. And that after 
having stipulated the generation that would see the great judgment 
that he had spoken of. Notice in verse 34, Assuredly, 
I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till 
all these things take place. And I suggest that a good understanding 
of all these things are all these things that he has spoken up 
to this particular point. It was specifically the judgment 
upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70 for God bringing to bear upon 
the nation the curses of the covenant written in Leviticus 
26 and Deuteronomy 28 for their persistent rebellion, for their 
covenantal unfaithfulness, for their rejection of God's Messiah 
himself, they brought down upon themselves the wrath and the 
fury of Almighty God. So in verses 36 and following 
to the end of chapter 25, Jesus gives a lot of practical application. In light of this reality, how 
then shall we live? So I want to do three things 
this morning as we consider verses 36 to 44. First of all, the identification 
of the day. in verse 36. He says, but of 
that day and hour, no one knows. So we need to understand what 
day he's speaking about. Secondly, the analogy with the 
days of Noah in verses 37 to 42. And then finally, the illustration 
of the thief and the knight in verses 43 to 44. But in the first 
place, the identification of the day in verse 36. Notice, 
but of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels 
of heaven, but my Father only. Now the typical interpretation 
is that that day here refers to the second coming of our Lord 
Jesus. This is generally agreed upon 
by most interpreters with reference to Matthew's gospel, the Olivet 
Discourse specifically, Matthew chapters 24 and 25. The idea 
being that perhaps most or some of what has preceded does apply 
to AD 70, but then Jesus shifts gear and speaks concerning His 
second coming, His physical coming, when He comes again, whenever 
I will see Him, and He will usher in the eternal state after a 
big judgment, that day is spoken of in verse 36 as in the future. And there are some compelling 
reasons for this. In the first place, the obviousness 
of it. I mean, if we do agree that at 
least up to this point, much of what Christ has spoken of 
does deal with the destruction of Jerusalem, after this seems 
to fit better a context where Christ comes out of heaven to 
judge the world comprehensively. So there is that obviousness 
of the interpretation. As well, some point to what's 
called the demonstrative pronouns. Now, kids, you probably know 
what demonstrative pronouns are better than your parents. So 
I'm not speaking to you, I'm speaking to your parents. But 
note the use of the demonstrative, this generation, in verse 34. That's a near, that's a near 
demonstrative. This generation speaks to something 
close by. That is a remote or a far demonstrative. That day seems to bespeak a very 
future era, a very future time. So much is made concerning this 
idea of the demonstrative pronouns, this generation versus that day 
and hour. As well, the word parousia, perhaps 
you have seen that before in written literature and you've 
read it as parousia, but the Greek pronunciation is parousia. And it literally means presence. It literally means appearance 
or visitation. In fact, one very popular dictionary 
says that it means presence, coming, or advent. gradually 
became a technical term used among Christians to refer to 
the second coming of our Lord Jesus. Well, the argument here 
is that the word parousia appears in verse 27, and then it appears 
here again in this small section in verses 36 to 44. The idea 
being is that verses 27 and 28 deal with that second physical 
coming, and so what Jesus is now speaking to refers to that 
second physical coming as well. Now, I'm suspecting that I'm 
losing most everybody, so please bear with me for just a moment 
because this is important. It does make sense of the passage 
to know what's happening in the context. There is a second position 
that Jesus continues to speak concerning A.D. 70. Now, as I 
said, this is a minority position even among preterist interpreters. It does not mean one is a hyper-preterist. If I haven't lost you yet, I'm 
going to in the next two minutes. Hyper-preterism teaches there 
is no second physical coming of our Lord Jesus. Hyper-preterism 
teaches that we're in the eternal state. We are in that consummate 
glory already. Just because we continue with 
an AD 70 interpretation from verse 36 and following does not 
mean we're hyper-preterists. I have used and I have trotted 
out several times John Gill. John Gill was a premillennialist. but he was a preterist with reference 
to Matthew 24 and 25, even continuing through verses 36 to the end 
of chapter 25. And I think that this position 
does have some compelling reasons as to why we ought to understand 
it this way. The disciples asked two questions, 
a what question and a when question. I think Jesus answered their 
questions. I think he answered their questions 
in a way that would make sense to them. I think that he answered 
their questions very clearly. He began with the what. Well, 
they asked first when and then the what. Why would he ask the 
what? Because he wanted to end on the when in order to press 
upon their consciences the necessity to be watchful, to be ready, 
to be prepared, to be diligent, and to realize their accountability 
before a holy God. But he answers the what in verses 
4 to 35. And now in verse 36, he addresses 
the when. When will these things be? Secondly, 
there are no textual identifiers that a new subject is in view. 
Again, the demonstrative pronouns do not make the case one way 
or the other. If we just read the passage and we didn't bring 
to the passage a lot of baggage, we might assume Jesus is still 
discoursing on the same subject. As well, what I will call the 
ignorant son. Now if you look at your New King 
James, supposing you have a New King James, the marginal reading 
adds, or says, NU adds nor the son. If you have the NASV, the 
ESV, or the NIV, that's in the text. Have you ever considered 
that? This is something Jesus doesn't 
know! Either way, it's in Mark 13, 32. So Jesus did say this. Jesus did make this utterance 
in verse 36. But of that day and hour, no 
one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but my 
Father only. Through the history of interpretation, 
this has been called the passage concerning the ignorant son. Now, when we say the ignorant 
son, we don't mean he's simpleton or he drools or something like 
that. Ignorance means there is something 
that Jesus does not know. And I think that Christians stumble 
at verse 36, if they're reading one of those other translations, 
or they stumble when they get to Mark 13, 32. They scratch 
their melons and they say, wait a minute, Jesus doesn't know 
something? And yet we'll continue to read 
on in Matthew's Gospel, and Jesus will suffer! Jesus will bleed! There's other portions in Matthew's 
Gospel where Jesus eats! Have you ever considered that 
deity doesn't eat? Deity doesn't bleed. Deity doesn't 
suffer. Deity certainly doesn't die. 
So deity is not being spoken of in verse 36 when Jesus says, 
nor the son. He's speaking according to his 
humanity. He is speaking according to his 
manhood. In Philippians chapter two, Paul 
tells us that he is the form or in the form of God, but he 
takes on the form of a bondservant. It ought not to surprise us as 
we read through the gospel narratives that Jesus, the man, does man 
things. Jesus is not simply God in a 
flesh suit. Jesus is God of God, light from 
light, true God from true God. But he is begotten in all eternity. He's not made, but for us men 
and for our salvation. He came down from heaven. He 
took on our humanity. He identifies with us. He takes 
on our flesh, all of the common, or all the essential properties 
and common infirmities that make up a man. So when Jesus says, 
nor the Son, don't freak out and say, well, he's God, and 
how could he be ignorant of something? He's God, man, that suffers, 
that dies, that bleeds. You ever read Luke's gospel? 
Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 1 tells us that Jesus increased 
in stature and wisdom. Well, He didn't do that according 
to His divinity. He didn't do that according to 
His godhood. He didn't do that according to 
the form of God. He did that according to His 
humanity. And brethren, this is something 
the church needs to grasp and understand so they can think 
properly concerning who Jesus Christ is. I was sharing with 
the brothers yesterday that modern commentators don't always get 
passages like these right. I mean, they don't deny or they 
don't have heresy or they don't say stuff that is just blatantly 
wrong, but they really struggle with explaining the son's ignorance 
in this particular passage. So you go back to the early church, 
specifically Gregory of Nazianzus, and he says, thus everyone must 
see that he knows as God. Right? Christ knows all things 
as God. Everyone must see that he knows 
as God and knows not as man. We are to understand the ignorance 
in the most reverent sense by attributing it to the manhood 
and not to the Godhead. Just like when you see him suffering 
on the cross, brethren, God can't die. Deity doesn't die. This is Christ in his humanity. This is Christ according to his 
manhood. This is Christ in the form of 
a bondservant, this one blessed person in two natures, the hypostatic 
union. If I've lost you at this point, 
you need to come back. Because if you don't get all 
of the particulars concerning what day is in view, you can't 
get Christ wrong. You can't mess up. You can't 
divinize His humanity or humanize His divinity. You've got to see 
the one Christ in two natures. Our confession renders it this 
way. Christ in the work of mediation acts according to both natures, 
by each nature doing that which is proper to itself. Of course 
in his humanity there are things he doesn't know. Of course in 
his humanity he eats bread. Of course in his humanity he 
bleeds. Of course in his humanity he 
sorrows. Of course in his humanity he 
suffers. Of course in his humanity he dies. Brethren, this is consistent 
with what the gospel writers tell us everywhere concerning 
Jesus. This is consistent with the theological 
interpretation of who Jesus is in the rest of the New Testament. 
And this is what the early church fought for and contended for 
through the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. They wanted 
to get the doctrine of Christ right. You may leave here this 
morning disagreeing with my presentation on which day is in view of verse 
36, but you cannot leave today disagreeing with who Jesus is 
and get things right with God. There is an instance in John's 
Gospel when the Lord Christ says, if you do not believe that I 
am, and I think he's invoking that majestic name Yahweh from 
Exodus 3.14, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your 
sins. You see, this morning, we're 
gonna differ on eschatology. That's the study of last things. 
It's the end times view. I really believe that what the 
day is following still applies to AD 70. If you disagree with 
me, fine. But if you disagree on who Jesus 
is, things are not fine. If you deny his divinity, you 
deny his humanity, therein denying his person, you are going to 
go to hell. All religions do not lead to 
heaven. All religions will not get you 
there. Try your best, live in light 
of the information that you have and just give it your best and 
you'll make it to heaven. That's the world's gospel. The 
Christian message is, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me. And we must define 
the me. You see, sometimes people say, 
well, why do you spend all that time going over that old confession 
of faith? Because it's right. It accurately 
describes what the Bible teaches concerning Jesus. And if we don't 
understand those things, if we have not appropriated those things 
by faith, we will die in our sins. You see, it is absolutely 
crucial that we understand what the Bible means or who the Bible 
means when it says Jesus Christ. See, the world's religions say, 
well, what does it mean for you? It doesn't matter what it means 
for you. That doesn't make it true. Right? There is that idea, well, you 
know, Jesus was just this hippie-like figure that danced around in 
Palestine and we all just got to be more like him. Somebody 
buy robes and, you know, get a tambourine and go bang it at 
the airport and, you know, ask for change because Jesus would 
be happy with that. That's not who Jesus is. The 
Mormons have their conception of Jesus, don't they? Brother 
Lucifer. Jehovah's Witnesses have their 
conception of Jesus, don't they? Are they right? In the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a 
God? A little g-God? Is that accurate to what the 
Scriptures present? No. If you don't understand who 
Christ is, you will perish in your sins. If you understand 
who Christ is and you continue to resist Him and reject Him 
and stiff-arm the overtures of Gospel preaching, you will perish 
in your sins. The idea is that you understand 
who this Jesus is, and that by grace alone, through faith alone, 
and Him alone, you will have everlasting life. But how is 
this important with reference to this interpretation that it 
does refer to 80-70? Because I think that if we don't 
see verses 17 and 18 in this light, Jesus would be disingenuous. Notice in verse 17 in the discourse, 
let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything 
out of his house, and let him who is in the field not go back 
to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant 
and to those who are nursing babies in those days. Verse 20, 
here's what I want you to focus on. and pray that your flight 
may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." It'd be a disingenuous 
statement if he knew that it would be on the Sabbath or it 
would be in winter, wouldn't it? It'd be kind of unfair pool. If Jesus knew the particular 
day that he was coming in judgment via the Roman armies upon the 
city of Jerusalem in AD 70, he knew the specific day, why would 
he tell them, pray that it may not be on the Sabbath? Pray that 
it may, well, if he already knew that, it just feels disingenuous 
and it doesn't feel worthy of our Christ. As well, the parallel 
in Luke 17, 20 to 37. Luke 17, 20 to 37, we looked 
at that passage when we went through the exposition, and we 
saw that same concept, same thing, same principles are used there 
in that short account of the destruction of AD 70. Verse 25 
tells us it's this generation. And with reference to the surrounding 
context, he uses the same analogy with Noah. He adds Lot, but Noah 
and the days of Noah are there predicated on what happens in 
AD 70. and then the gravity of the destruction of Jerusalem 
and the temple. You say, well, you know, he had 
the general time reference, but he didn't know the particular 
day or hour, but why is it important? Remember what's happening. He's 
actually warning real-life people to flee a city that's going to 
come under siege. He doesn't know that specific 
time according to His humanity, according to the form of a bondservant. 
He has given them the general warning, He has given them the 
general principles, but of that day and hour, no one knows, not 
even the psalm. So you need to be watchful. You 
need to be prepared. You need to be diligent. You 
need to realize you have an accountability before God. Now, brethren, I 
think the scales tip in favor of the same theme as continued 
from verse 36 to the end of chapter 25. But I'm not going to press 
that any longer. We're going to treat the subsequent 
sections by way of exhortation. Because if they were applicable 
to the A.D. 70 event, they're certainly applicable 
to the second coming. Right? We're not going to jump 
back and forth subsequent to this long introduction. Actually, 
this is an introduction. This is a somewhat explanation. 
We're not going to jump back and forth. This is what's called 
a hortatory section. Again, if I'm going to lose you, 
I'm going to lose you. But hortatory means exhortation. Exhortation 
means to encourage people with teeth. I don't mean bite them, 
but I mean give them exhortation to move the will to appropriate 
response. This is why I think he addresses 
the when question second, because he wants to leave in their heads 
this ringing, banging gong that they need to be watchful people. 
They need to be faithful people. They need to be prepared people. 
They need to be diligent people, and they need to be an accountable 
people. That applies to us with reference to the second coming, 
doesn't it? You see, the principle, the exhortation, the main encouragement 
comes here in verses 36 to 44. He is telling them, and we'll 
see this in just a moment, to watch. Be watchful. You don't know when those Roman 
armies are coming, AD 70, but you don't know when Jesus is 
coming, our future. You need to watch. The rest of 
the parables, the rest of the teaching, till the end of chapter 
25, explains that watchfulness. You see, we might be told to 
watch, and our custom might be to sell everything, to take what 
few possessions we have, and to sit on the roof and wait until 
Jesus comes. There's been people that have 
done that, haven't there? I think that was what was going 
on in Thessalonica. I think that's why Paul says, 
if a man doesn't work, neither let him eat. There was a last 
days madness among the Thessalonians, and they thought, well, Jesus 
is coming any moment, so I'm not going to go to work. Why 
waste my time at work when Jesus comes? What a terrible view of 
work. Work is not a waste of time. God gave us work to bring 
glory to Him. If the fourth word teaches rest, 
it teaches work. There is dignity, integrity, 
blessing, and joy in work. So for anybody to say, I'm going 
to quit my job, sit on the roof, and wait for Jesus to return, 
that's not watchfulness. Watchfulness is how Jesus describes 
it in the remainder of the discourse. It is faithfulness, 
verses 45 to 51. It is preparedness, chapter 25, 
verses 1 to 13. It is diligence in 25, 14 to 
30. You see, you cannot say, well, 
Jesus is going to come. I don't really need to deal with 
these talents. Jesus is going to come. I can 
just sort of bury them and sit on them and wait for his arrival. 
You lazy servant, get out there and traffic with my goods and 
prosper them. You see, this fills out what 
watchfulness looks like. Christian watchfulness, in light 
of the coming of our Lord Jesus, isn't selling everything you 
have and sitting on the roof. This would be a tough roof to 
sit on. But brethren, Christian watchfulness is faithfulness. It is preparedness, it is diligence, 
and it's living in light of the reality of an accountability 
before God. You will be judged by the Son 
of Man for things done in the body, whether good or evil. That's 
how the discourse ends. You see, whatever our focus is 
or whatever the specific that day points to, the situation 
following doesn't change. We need to be watchful. We need 
to be faithful. We need to be prepared. We need 
to be diligent in light of the second coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. So let's look, secondly, at the 
analogy with the days of Noah. Verses 37 to 42, he makes a comparison, 
gives a reason, and then applies it to their specific situation. Note the comparison in verse 
37, but as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of 
the Son of Man be. Now, the days of Noah should 
alert everybody, right? What happened in the days of 
Noah? Judgment, calamity, turmoil saved those eight souls that 
were in the ark. that Christ uses the language 
of Noah highlights the seriousness of his doctrine. I mean, when 
you look at the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, if Noah and his 
situation does not jump out at you as one of the significant 
judgments of God, you are not reading the Bible properly. It always bugs me to go into 
a Sunday school room or to see a children's storybook and, you 
know, Noah's ark looks like this boat and all these little animals 
are happy and, you know, they're beaming as animals do when they're 
on an ark together and they're not devouring one another. Talk 
about supernatural grace that predators and prey animals could 
be on the same ark and not kill each other is indicative of the 
reality that God is indeed sovereign. that he brings all these animals 
to Noah. But this idea that it was just this happy, joyous event. Yeah, it was great for the eight 
people on the ark. Fantastic for Noah and his family. Just great to be in the haven 
that was the ark of God. But what of those on the outside? 
What of those pounding on the bottom of the ark when the rains 
have started to rise up? What about those who had rejected 
Noah, who, according to Peter, was a preacher of righteousness? 
You see the comparison holds, doesn't it? Noah used his ark 
as the pulpit in order to preach righteousness, and they disregarded 
him. They didn't listen to him. Jesus 
announces a destruction coming upon AD 70. No, not everybody 
listened to him. Not everybody took him seriously. 
They brushed him off as, you know, a false prophet or as a 
revolutionary. He said that this temple would 
be destroyed, and in so doing, he's attacked the very superstructure 
of Judaism as a whole, as well in the second coming. Preachers 
preach righteousness every Sunday and people don't listen. Just 
look around you. You may not even need to look 
around you. It may be you, you may be hearing this right now 
saying, oh, this is just all so boring, just can't wait till 
it's done. I think mom or dad or husband 
or wife made a pot roast for lunch and that's just gonna be 
great. You're thinking about everything other than the reality 
that God is and that he is a consuming fire. You see, that Jesus would 
invoke the days of Noah ought to show us the solemnity of the 
occasion, and it ought to underscore for us the great lesson of this 
passage, to watch. How dare us not watch when the 
word of God most high calls us to. So that's the comparison. The days preceding the flood 
were similar to the days preceding God's judgment here. The people 
in the days of Noah had most likely been warned. You think 
when Noah's up there pounding nails on the ark, people are 
saying, what are you doing? Well, I'm doing this because 
God's going to bring judgment upon this earth and this is the 
way he's going to preserve me. I don't think Noah wouldn't answer 
them. Not going to tell you. Why wouldn't he tell them? Why 
wouldn't he? Peter tells us he was a preacher 
of righteousness. Perhaps as he's banging nails 
up there, his sons are banging nails. They're telling people, 
you need to repent. God is not pleased with an earth 
that is exceedingly corrupt and filled with violence. God is 
not pleased when men kill men. in an unlawful and unholy way. God is not pleased when persons 
lie sexually with someone who's not their wife or their husband. 
God is not pleased with the lies and the deceit and the covetousness 
and the idolatry and the Sabbath-breaking and the insubordination that's 
going on on the earth. Perhaps Noah and his sons, every 
nail they pounded, they were preaching righteousness to these 
people. And what happened? I never saw 
rain, didn't care about rain. What do you need that boat for? 
It's a big fool's errand. The people rejected the warning 
and they perished. Notice, it goes on, verses 38 
and 39. 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 and did not know until 
the flood came and took them all away. So also will the coming 
of the son of man be. Now this is a terrifying passage. And I think primarily the target 
audience is disciples, because that's who ask the questions 
about the collapse of the temple, isn't it? That's Jesus' audience 
in this section of his ministry. Look at what he says. Notice 
that he does not say they were murdering. They were raping. They were embezzling 
funds. They were cheating on their taxes. 
They were a profligate generation. They were vile and wretched and 
wicked and horrible. No, they were eating and drinking. 
Now the Greek word for eating here is a bit of a different 
one than what Matthew typically uses, and it may carry the connotation 
of they were feeding, or we might put it in the vernacular, they 
were pigging out. It might show something of the 
baseness of that particular culture at the time of the days of Noah, 
but in terms of eating and drinking, those are normal experiences, 
aren't they? Marrying and giving in marriage 
are normal experiences, aren't they? Is God against us eating 
and drinking? Is God against us marrying and 
giving in marriage? No! Not at all! Jesus' point 
is very simple. They were eating and drinking 
to the neglect of a sovereign God. They were marrying and giving 
in marriage to the neglect of a sovereign God. They didn't 
consider His righteousness. They didn't consider His holiness. 
They didn't consider the fact that He was nigh and that He 
was a consuming fire. And you see, if that was indeed 
the case in 87, it's certainly the case today. It is certainly 
the case today that we pursue the ordinary without any thought 
for the eternal. We glut ourselves on the routine 
without giving conscious thought to the reality that God is nigh 
and He is a consuming fire. There's nothing wrong with the 
particular activities mentioned. Do not take from this sermon 
today that I need to go home and stop eating and stop drinking 
and not get married and not be given in marriage. That's not 
the point. The point is, is that when there 
are preachers of righteousness warning you of a holy God, when 
there are preachers of righteousness telling you of a glorious Christ, 
when there are preachers of righteousness opening up God's truth to you, 
don't be more consumed with the mundane than you are with the 
eternal. They weren't watchful. We're 
not watchful. In fact, we live in such a way 
as it seems that we don't even care that Christ will come again 
in glory to judge the living and the dead. And if someone 
says, well, if that was 80, 70, then you take it away from all 
of us to be watchful. No, I don't know when Christ 
is coming again in glory. I don't know when the second 
coming is gonna be. But I know based on this passage, we better 
be watchful You young people plan your lives to be sure under 
the auspices of your parents' guidance, but don't plan in such 
a way that you've excluded God. How many people do this when 
they get married or they go on to higher education? They give 
no thought to God. What job will best promote a 
life of devotion to God? I'm not suggesting no job, go 
live out in the desert and shave your head and chant. I'm not 
saying that. There are jobs that are conducive to the service 
of God. There are jobs wherein you may 
be home on the Sabbath day. What about a spouse? What is 
Paul's stipulation for Christian marriage? It must be Christian 
marriage. Right? Don't marry a man or a 
woman that doesn't confess saving faith. Don't live your life to 
the exclusion of God Most High. Don't pursue those things which 
are lawful and ordinary and normal without thinking of God. That's the problem, just like 
in the days of Noah, probably just like in the days preceding 
the siege in Jerusalem, and just like our own day. We pursue everything and anything, 
and yet we don't consciously entertain the reality that God 
is nigh, and He is a consuming fire. Spurgeon made this comment. That which is lawful and right 
under other circumstances becomes a positive evil when it takes 
the place of preparation for the coming of the Son of Man. 
That makes sense, doesn't it? Again, this doesn't mean you 
need to quit your job and prepare for the coming of the Son of 
Man. You know the best way to be prepared for the coming of 
the Son of Man is be at your job. If you're a carpenter, be 
banging nails when Jesus returns. Have you ever thought of that? 
What do I want to be doing when Jesus returns? Well, I want to be reading 
my Bible. Somehow that's more holy than 
me banging nails into a wall. Why? God created you to be a 
carpenter. What better thing for Jesus to 
find when he returns again in glory? If you're a mother or 
your wife, I don't want to be changing a diaper when Jesus 
returns. Why? Jesus is glorified when you change 
those diapers. See, we're so messed up in our 
thinking. There's the sacred and there's 
the secular. One of the good things about the Reformation, 
everything became sacred. Your job is sacred. Your family 
is sacred. Things done for the glory of 
God are sacred. Whether you're banging nails, 
you're playing pianos, you're changing diapers, you're out 
foiling crime, or whatever it is God has called you to, why 
would it be wrong to be found engaged in that when Jesus comes 
again? Praise God, wouldn't that be 
awesome? I mean, I personally have the desire that we'd be 
singing 599 together as a church, and he'd come at that particular 
time. I just think that'd be great. The Lamb is all the glory 
of Emmanuel's land, and then he comes in glory. Wouldn't that 
be great? Just collectively, together, be ushered up into 
the presence. That would be my preference. 
I'm sitting in there staring at my books, thinking about a 
passage of Scripture. That's fine, too. If I'm in the 
backyard shoveling snow so that my dog can wander out there and 
do her business, that's fine too. Brethren, why is it that 
we have adopted this mindset that there is a life lived apart 
from God? The point of the passage is eat, 
drink, marry, be married, pound nails, plumb toilets, change 
diapers under the conscious reality that God is nigh and He is a 
consuming fire. There is a judgment to come. 
There is accountability to be rendered. There is a heaven to 
be gained by the grace of God or a hell to be suffered. Just 
as it was in the days of Noah, men glut themselves, men engage 
in all these sorts of things." And then notice what he goes 
on to say, "...did not know until the flood came and took them 
all away. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be." Now this 
next two verses are tough. They're tough on whatever reading 
you take of the particular sermon or of the particular discourse. 
I do not believe it's a secret rapture passage. I think we have 
to bring eschatology to the text to get a secret rapture out of 
the text. Notice verse 40, then two men 
will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. 
Two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and 
the other left. We assume the taken there means taken in a 
secret rapture. You've seen the bumper stickers. 
In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned. Perhaps you've 
seen left behind, and they're in the airplane, and the passengers 
on the airplane look over, and there's just a pile of clothes, 
because I guess when you get raptured, your clothes don't 
make the cut. This passage has been utilized 
for that purpose, and I'm not trying to mock the position. 
Probably it sounds like that. I'm sorry. I'm a man, and I do 
have my issues. It doesn't tell us they'll be 
taken up It doesn't tell us they'll be taken for blessing. In fact, 
if we look at the particular context, when Jesus says that 
those who are in the field, don't go grab your cloak and then run. 
If you're on the roof, don't go downstairs and then run. It 
would indicate that in those mundane tasks, such as eating 
and drinking and marrying and given in marriage, to be taken 
then would probably be by the Roman armies and that can't be 
good. What's it mean to be left? Does 
it mean eternal blessing and bliss and heaven and joy? It 
may mean that, but we just don't know. In fact, the very near 
and immediate context, if you look at verse 39, did not know 
until the flood came and took them all away. Intriguing. They were taken away, and it 
certainly wasn't for bliss. It certainly wasn't for will. 
It certainly wasn't for joy. They were taken away into judgment. 
So why, with reference to these two men laboring and these two 
women grinding, the one taken has been secretly raptured? It 
is to bring a foreign concept to the text. It is to try and 
read out of the text something that has been imposed upon the 
text. What does it mean an 80-70 position? It's still tough. Two 
men are working. One gets taken away for prison, 
for death, for whatever. The other is left. He manages 
to escape. It doesn't even say the one that's 
left lives. They could be left dead. I don't 
know. But the point is, is that the days preceding both Jerusalem 
and the coming of the Son of Man is such that there will be 
a distinction made. There will be discrimination 
rendered. There will be some taken, there 
will be some left. Watch, that's the point. And that brings us to his point 
here in verse 42 in this analogy with the days of Noah. Watch 
therefore for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 
You see the point? No matter what interpretation 
we take, here's his point, watch therefore, for you do not know 
what hour your Lord is coming. Intriguing, he calls himself 
your Lord. He had a high Christology too, 
didn't he? He had a proper understanding 
of his place and his role. He speaks according to his humanity 
in the form of a bondservant, but he speaks according to Godhead. He speaks according to deity. He says, watch therefore, for 
you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. The point of 
the section. Whatever judgment is in view, 
and we're going to treat it as the second coming, the people 
of God must be watchful, they must be on guard. The parables 
that follow illustrate and flesh out what that watchfulness looks 
like. I've already rehearsed it, I don't need to again. But 
then let's end quickly with this illustration of the thief in 
the night. Songs have been written and movies have been made with 
this in the title. We see this illustration used 
in Luke 12, 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 and 4, 2 Peter 3, Revelation 
3, Revelation 16. But look at his illustration 
and see how it serves the context. He says, 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." Now, for this to make sense, Jesus assumes the propriety 
of self and home defense. I don't want to get into a big 
pro-gun rant here, but the idea that we can't protect ourselves 
or our families or our property is foreign to Scripture. Where 
am I called as a householder to let a big strong man come 
to my door, punch me in the nose, walk into my house, take my wife, 
take my daughters, take my stuff, walk back through, and step on 
me on the way out? I just don't see it in the Bible. 
I realize there are people that would call themselves pacifists. 
Don't call Jesus a pacifist. Again, this is not the point. 
Go buy a fence, go buy a dog, go buy an alarm system, buy guns 
because you should protect yourself and all. That's not the point. 
But he assumes the propriety of home and self-defense, or 
the illustration makes no sense. See, that gives weight to it 
to me. He doesn't argue for self-defense. He assumes it. And I think he 
assumes it from Exodus 22. The Jews had the doctrine of 
somebody breaking into your house. You didn't serve them tea and 
cookies. If they were caught breaking 
into your house and you inflicted lethal punishment or penalty 
upon them, and it was nighttime, you were not held guilty. You 
couldn't assess their motivation. You didn't know why they were 
in your home. You defended home. You defended self. You defended 
wife. You defended family. And if in the midst of that exchange, 
that perpetrator died, you were not found guilty. Why is it that 
Christians today would at times just sound so foolish? Oh no, 
we can't defend our homes. We have to turn the other cheek. 
Jesus is not talking in the Sermon on the Mount about those sorts 
of things. He's talking about a nitpicking, 
pharisaical mindset. He is talking about the kinds 
of people we ought to be on a routine basis with each other. Turn the other cheek. Don't demand 
your rights. Don't insist on your rights. 
Turn the other cheek. If your brother needs something, 
give it to him. Don't enter it into the computer 
and charge him in. Just give it to him. It's the 
way we're supposed to function together. But when it comes to 
a thief breaking into your home, Jesus assumes that if the man 
who owned the home knew when the thief was coming, he would 
stop the thief. he would rebuff the thief. Now, 
I don't think that means tie him up in your basement and waterboard 
him and, you know, put things under his fingernails and just 
make him regret the thought that he ever had. It doesn't mean 
that, but it does mean defend yourself, defend your home. This 
is how the analogy of the illustration holds. 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, just like the previous point. In fact, he underscores 
it in verse 34, you also be ready for the Son of Man is coming 
at an hour you do not expect. What's the point? The point is 
watch. If you had a suspicion that somebody 
was coming on Friday night to break into your house and steal 
things and hurt people, you'd be on watch. You'd be behind 
the door. You'd be ready for him, right? You see what Christ is saying? 
Be ready. Be watchful. Don't resist these 
things. Don't neglect these things. Don't 
disregard these things. The warning of Christ concerning 
his coming ought to ring in all of our ears, in all of our minds, 
and in all of our hearts. The specific time was unknown 
in Jesus' response here. The temptation is for some to 
say, well, because we haven't seen it, because it's been 2,000 
years now, and because we really don't want to see it, it's probably 
not going to happen. There's that wish fulfillment 
or that wish view of life. I don't want to believe it, so 
it's not going to happen. When that bad guy breaks into your 
house and you come home, but I didn't want to believe somebody 
would break into my house. Well, you know what? It's the 
way it goes. Sometimes things happen that you don't want to 
believe are going to happen. But people do that. I just don't 
want to think about it. Well, at least learn, whether we're 
in A.D. 70 and verse 36 or not, learn 
this, that the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 happened 
according to Jesus' prophecy. Again, on any reading of the 
Olivet Discourse, even futurists, even dispensational commentators 
will see and affirm that Jesus was talking about, at least to 
some degree, the destruction of the temple. The certainty 
of that judgment, according to the certainty of that prophet, 
ought to evidence to you the reality of the certainty of the 
coming judgment of God. Do not live as if there is no 
judgment. Do not live as if this is an 
atheistic world. Do not live as if what you believe 
or don't believe is determinative of what God does. Watch. Be ready. That's the emphasis 
in our passage. the judgment to come will catch 
people off guard. Isn't that the point? Days of 
Noah, eating, drinking, marrying, given in marriage, pounding nails, 
plumbing toilets, changing diapers, doing their thing, and not with 
any conscious thought that there is a God in heaven. I suspect 
that second coming, well, I know that second coming, based on 
the scriptures, is going to catch people off guard. Is it going 
to catch you off guard? Say the Lord Jesus did come while 
we were singing 599, just supposing we were going to sing it after 
the service. Suppose he comes out of heaven to judge the living 
and the dead. Are you ready? I know we preach 
this every week. We try to encourage people here 
to be ready for the coming judgment of God. I'm going to quote Luther 
tonight because we're going to see the imputed righteousness 
of Christ in our text for the Lord's Supper. And Luther made 
this comment. He said, I preach justification 
by faith every week because my people forget it every week. 
I think we do try to preach it every week. We try to preach 
the reality that there is a God. He is a holy God. There are men, 
women, boys, girls, and we are sinful. We have rebelled against 
God. All we like sheep have gone astray. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who fears God. And in light of that reality, 
we tell you the good news concerning Jesus. Jesus is God's Son. Jesus came from heaven. Jesus 
took on our humanity. Again, not some flesh suit covering 
God, but true humanity. That statement, nor the Son, 
ought to encourage your heart. Because He has all the essential 
properties of humanity. He has all the common infirmities 
of humanity. He wasn't an apparition. He didn't 
just appear to be a man. He didn't just appear to bleed. 
He didn't just appear to die. He didn't just appear to raise 
from the dead. He did those things for us men and for our salvation. He lived in light of God's law, 
and he obeyed it completely. He suffered, he died, and he 
was buried, and he was raised the third day. And this for sinners. So God is holy. You're sinful, 
but Christ came to save sinners. You hear this every week. Are 
you watchful? Are you ready? Have you closed 
with Christ? Have you believed the gospel? 
Have you looked and lived? I can't answer that. I can't 
make you do it. but I can set before you this 
Christ who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 and call 
upon you to believe, telling you that if you don't, you will 
suffer. You will be like those men in 
Noah's day that when the ark passed by, I just envision it. 
I'm sure certain persons drowned right by the ark. If it were 
me drowning as the ark was passing by, I'd probably, A, try to grab 
purchase onto something. If I couldn't, B, I'd probably 
pound it and say, let me in, let me in, let me in. Listen 
to Brother Ralph Barnard's sermon on that passage. That'll scare you into heaven. 
Father Abraham gets a tour of heaven. And Father Abraham, or 
after his death, he gets a tour. I'm sorry, the rich man gets 
a tour conducted by Father Abraham. And the rich man sees these people, 
let me in, let me in, let me in, let me in. He says, Father 
Abraham, who are those people? Oh, they're the people at the 
time of the flood, banging that ark trying to get in. So Abraham 
conducts his tour with this rich man, Lazarus. He conducts this with him. I'm 
sorry, it's the rich man and Lazarus. It's the rich man with 
Abraham. It is the rich man that is being 
shown that he is lost. He sees another scene. Somebody 
doing this. Get it off, get it off, get it 
off, get it off. What's that? That's Pilate trying to wash 
his hands clean of the blood of Jesus Christ. It's a powerful 
sermon, and it's Brother Rolf Barnard. You've heard Al Martin 
before, and you think he can bring it? Wait till you listen 
to Brother Rolf Barnard. He won't be your cup of tea, 
most likely. But if you listen to the content 
of what he is saying. But that scene. Let me in, let 
me in, let me in. people knocking on the arc trying 
to gain access. Where are you gonna be if Christ 
comes now? I didn't listen to my parents. 
I didn't listen to my pastors. I didn't listen to my Sunday 
school teacher. I didn't listen to my spouse. I didn't think 
it was legit. I didn't get this vibe. I didn't 
have the feel. We're not talking about feelings. 
We're not talking about vibes. We're not talking about experience. 
We're calling you to look and live. Look onto Jesus Christ, 
the Lord, and you will be saved. That's the way to be watchful. 
That's the way to be prepared. That's the way to be faithful. 
That's the way to be diligent in this interim period until 
the Lord Jesus Christ comes again in glory. You need to watch. You know, we're going to probably 
pray. We're going to probably hear the music. We're going to 
probably disperse and go our separate ways. And some of you 
won't think twice about what you heard this morning. It's 
really unfortunate. It's really sad. This is why 
we pray, God in heaven, do what we're unable to do. With man, 
it is impossible to save a soul, but with God, all things are 
possible. And in this, we rejoice. I'm not saying it's certain. 
But I'm saying it's possible. So please think through these 
things. Listen to our Lord. Understand 
the days of Noah. Understand the consistency with 
our days. Are you busy pursuing normal 
things? You might say, well, I'm not 
murdering, I'm not raping, I'm not committing adultery. But 
are you doing the normal? What better way to start your 
life off as a human being, as a child or young people? And 
when I address children and young people, I'm not picking on you. 
I don't know, you may be walking with the Lord, praise God. My 
experience has been Christians never get tired of the gospel. 
Why don't you preach the gospel to me? Praise God you preach 
the gospel to me. I need to hear it every day. 
Because if the people of God forget justification every week, 
all of us forget the gospel every week. I'm not picking on any 
young people or children, but I am encouraging you that on 
the authority of God's holy word, if you're not watchful, because 
you don't know the day and hour that your Lord is coming, you'll 
perish in your sin. You will suffer in hell. We're 
told today that those concepts don't help people, it hinders 
them. You can't load people up with 
their guilt, and you certainly can't speak of some cosmic punishment 
coming at the end of time. I don't care what they say. If 
Christ Almighty says, watch, therefore, for you don't know 
the hour or day the Son of Man is coming, then you need to watch, 
therefore. You need to be prepared, therefore. You need to be faithful, therefore. You need to be diligent, and 
you need to understand you're accountable to this God. So believe 
the gospel. Look and live. and for believers. Just close with a section from 
our Confession of Faith. It's a beautiful section. It 
says, as Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that 
there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin 
and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity. So will he have that day unknown 
to men, that they may shake off all carnal security and be always 
watchful because they know not at what hour the Lord will come 
and may ever be prepared to say, come Lord Jesus, come quickly, 
amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for the Word of God. We thank you for the clarity 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. If there are some issues in terms 
of the particular day, it is obviously clear in terms of the 
analogy with Noah and the illustration of this thief. Help us to be 
watchful people. Help us by grace to be looking 
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us as believers to be looking 
forward with joy to his return. And for unbelievers, may this 
strike fear in their hearts, and may they fly unto Christ 
in faith for salvation. We ask that you would go with 
us now, watch over us in the remainder of this day. Be with 
those who are unable to be with us due to sickness or other providential 
reasons. We just commit them to you and 
to the word of your grace, and we pray through Christ Jesus 
our Lord. Amen.