Well, if you haven't, if you haven't turned there, I invite you to turn to Matthew 24 and verses 36 and following I read earlier, be our text for this morning. And as always, before we go to the word, we go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, once again, we come as needy beggars and sinners asking for your grace, asking for your mercy to be upon us. As we hear from Your Word together, as we hear Your Word preached together, we pray that You would bless this assembly, bless each heart in this assembly, and conform each of us more and more into the image of Christ through the power of Your Word and the power of Your Spirit. We pray that You would bless the preaching of the Word of God. for the people of God. And all this we ask in Jesus name. Amen. So as you well know, we are in the middle of this discourse in the gospel of Matthew that is known as the Olivet Discourse because he gives it on the Mount of Olives. That's back in verse three. And also in verse three, we learned that this is a discourse that is an answer to a very important question. And actually, it's two questions that he's answering back in verse three. The disciples ask him, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? So they ask him, when is it going to happen? And what exactly is going to happen? And of course, like any good teacher does, He answers the second question first. They ask him when and what, and he tells them what and when. He's been giving them the what by describing for them the events that will transpire during the second half of the tribulation known as the Great Tribulation. Once the abomination of desolation desecrates the temple and requires the worship of him, the birth pains that he's been talking about will begin. And we saw that all of that last week leads to the final sign. All of these are our birth pains that leads to the coming. But the final sign that he has come is his actual return. When you see him on the clouds, then you know that he has returned. The sign will be him returning in glory. When I do come back. That is the sign. This is how you'll know that I have returned. And you know, just as an aside, there is a certain defense, if you will, a certain apologetic for the scriptures here, isn't there? We've all seen or heard stories of cultist leaders and such who claim to be the reincarnated Christ himself. But we know that's not true. How do we know that's not true? Well, we know that's not true because of what Jesus said about his coming. Jesus told him, what told us rather what it would look like when he returns. So we don't have to wonder or worry when we see these kinds of charlatans rise up across the world every once in a while, claiming to be the return of the risen Christ with the events that Jesus describes all the way up to his actual return itself back in verse 29 and 30. You won't miss it. It'll be undeniable. He's not going to come inconspicuously like he did in his first advent in the incarnation. He's going to come in such a way that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. So he's been dealing with the answer to the what. And now, beginning in verse 36, of 24, and running all the way through, really, verse 30 of 25, he deals with the when. He describes the when will it happen for them, and the rest of 24 here, and then 25, he gives two different parables that also deal with the when, and then he talks about the final judgment after that. And so after an extended period focusing on the what, now we will be talking about the when. And this is going to be very important for us, I think. Jesus here deals with this particular topic in a way that should really grip us with its truth and grip us with the implications of what he says. What Jesus wants and indeed what the rest of scripture wants is that the return of Christ would motivate God's people to live lives of holiness and to live lives of godliness and to live lives of urgency and passion for the gospel as long as we are on this earth. The promise of his return should motivate us toward these things. His return should be a catalyst for our earthly pursuits of God and our service to one another. So this is very important, even as it might feel like we're talking about abstract things that feel so far away, they are not, as we will see this morning. So what does he tell us about the wind? And by the way, we won't get through all this, so if you feel like I'm not getting anywhere 20 minutes from now, it's okay, we're gonna come back next week. So don't think you should have packed a lunch. What does he say about the when of his coming? So here's point number one out of this text. We must live in light of the imminence of his return. We must live in light of the imminence of his return. You know what it means when something is imminent? It means it could happen at any time. It could happen at any moment. We, as the people of God, must live our lives in light of the imminence of his return. Verse 36, concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father only. Now, what is that day, concerning that day? Well, it's the day he's just been talking about. It's the day of his return. That day, concerning that day, no one knows. The disciples say, or they ask rather, when are you coming, Jesus? When will these things take place? And Jesus ultimately says, no one knows. No one knows. First, of course, it means that no man can know or does know. Now, again, there is a defense and apologetic for the scriptures in this aspect as well, isn't it? Not only is there a defense because of the the undeniable nature of his return, there's a defense in the sense that no one knows the date of his return. And yet we see another type of charlatan that spring up every once in a while and attempt to predict the date for the coming of Christ. So it's going to happen on such and such a date. Men have gotten rich writing books about their biblical mathematics, if you will, and figuring out the exact day of the return of Christ. One of the more recent, really popular ones was Harold Camping back in 2011. I don't know if you guys remember this, but he did it. Actually, I think this was one of multiple times when he did it. 2011 was the last one. He, I believe, is passed on now, but he predicted May 21st, 2011. And then that day rolled around, and of course, as we know now, nothing happened. We knew before that nothing was going to happen, but now we definitely know Nothing happened, and so then what did he do? Well, he went back to his eschatological laboratory, his end times laboratory, and he said, okay, let me figure this thing out again. And what he determined then was that it had happened on May 21st. But it was a spiritual return, you see. It was gonna happen in two phases, and so the real, real return of Christ was gonna happen on October 21st of 2011. And then, of course, that time came and went as well. And he sort of retreated into the background. But a lot of people fell into that teaching and a lot of people have fallen into that kind of teaching. As I said, men throughout, especially if you look at modern history, just in the last 50 or 60 years, and men have gotten very wealthy and very rich bilking people out of their money on the basis of these kinds of things. Very tragic and sad, especially considering the people who through that are further hardened to the gospel when this kind of stuff goes awry. No man knows, Jesus said. But not only does no one know, he goes even further and says, not just man, he says, not even the angels know. And of course, angels and in the biblical worldview and in Christian theology, glorified beings themselves, created, of course, but still glorified. Of course, not talking about the fallen angels, but those that still remain in heaven, not marred by the stain of sin, great and powerful beings in their own right as they serve God and worship God and minister to the people of God who are still here on the earth. And he looks at those kinds of angels, the kinds of beings that John actually fell on his face to worship in Revelation, although he was told to get up and to worship God only, these kinds of beings even don't know the day that these things will take place, nor the hour. And then he says something else, which leads to a fascinating discussion in Christian theology, because he says, nor the Son, but the Father, only. This leads us to consider what Jesus means here by the son not even knowing the day of his return, but the father only. And it reminds us of an important truth and of an important reality about what happened at the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity. This is an important insight into what exactly has taken place when the second person of the Trinity took upon himself human nature and human flesh. We believe that Jesus, of course, is God, the divine son of God, the second person of the Trinity, existing in all the fullness of God from eternity past, co-equal with the Father in all of his attributes and as all of his manifold perfections. So how is it then that Jesus can say there is something that he doesn't know? And the answer lies in the unique reality of the incarnation. The second person of the Trinity took on flesh, According to Philippians, he came in the form of a servant, condescended and humbled himself and emptied himself and made himself of no reputation. Though he was equal with God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself and came in the form of a servant. And a part of this emptying of himself was not to give up his divinity and it was not to give up the divine attributes of God for that would mean that Jesus in his divinity somehow changed and we know Hebrew says he's the same yesterday today and forever but instead the Christian understanding and the biblical understanding is that when he took on human flesh His divinity became veiled by the human flesh that he took upon himself. In the flesh, the fullness of his glory was veiled by that same flesh. That's why the awesome event of the Mount of Transfiguration in chapter 17 was so wonderful. For a brief moment, he pulls back the veil. And he allows Peter and James and John to glimpse some of the fullness of the brightness of his glory that is veiled by the flesh of man. What kind of things were veiled? Well, in the flesh, for example, his omnipresence was veiled. Jesus wasn't everywhere at once as we speak of God. We speak of God as omnipresent. He is everywhere and sees everything and knows everything. He's omniscient. He's omnipresent. He is omnipotent. And yet the omnipresence of Jesus was veiled in the flesh. He was flesh and blood in one spot and not another. When he was walking through Galilee, he wasn't in Jerusalem. And when he was in Jerusalem in the temple, running people out with a whip, he wasn't in Galilee. His omnipresence was veiled. Now even with this veiling, we do see wonderful glimpses of it in his earthly ministry, don't we? Like when the centurion's servant was healed from a great distance, probably about 20, 25 miles away. And so we see glimpses of his omnipresence working itself out, but for the most part, it was veiled in the flesh. His wisdom and knowledge were veiled. His divine wisdom and his divine knowledge were veiled. So what do you mean by that? In the sense that, at the very least, scripture speaks of Jesus like this, Luke 2.52, and Jesus, as a child, increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. You say, how is that possible? Because he was in the flesh. He was a child. He was a baby. He was an infant. He was formed in the womb even. He grew. He had to be nurtured and cared for as a baby and as a child. He had to grow in his wisdom. He didn't come out of the womb writing dissertations about the atonement from Isaiah. He grew in his knowledge just as a normal man, child, boy would grow. He grew in what he learned and how he learned. Hebrews 5.8 tells us, though he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. So his wisdom and his knowledge were veiled as he grew in wisdom and knowledge and stature with God and with man. And likewise, his omniscience was veiled. There were things that while he was in the flesh, he did not know, like for example here, the timing of the second coming. I wonder why, you know, why this? And I think part of it perhaps had to do with living in the flesh as our substitute. I mean, once again, Hebrews tells us how he partook of the same things so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest to be the proper sacrifice and substitute for the people of God. And so in his incarnation, this wisdom, this particular truth was veiled from him. And he therefore experienced to some extent what it meant to live in anticipation of the consummation. What does it mean to live in this world waiting for a future event that is more glorious than we could ever imagine? He experienced it because in his incarnation, he didn't know when it was going to happen. Also, the way that Jesus talks about his relationship with the Father makes it clear that the Father, in his own purposes, had things for Jesus to know and not know while he was in the flesh. There were things that were veiled from him because of the weakness of flesh. For example, John 5 30, he says, I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And then we see him press further into it in John 15, 15. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you. All that Jesus taught and all that Jesus did was always in subjection to the holy will of the Father. Whether it was wisdom or knowledge or power, Jesus veiled these things and did not exercise them, even His power to heal, unless it fit into the Father's will for His earthly ministry. Jesus could have gone wherever He wanted to go and done whatever He wanted to do. But He constantly submitted Himself to the will of the Father and to the will of God. in all that he said and all that he did. Even in saying that, we don't mean to imply that he submitted himself to the Father unwillingly or that he submitted himself to the Father begrudgingly. Jesus was not like us. We begrudgingly submit ourselves to God's will all the time to our own shame and need for repentance. But Jesus perfectly submitted himself and joyfully submitted himself to the will of the Father. Nothing like what we are and what we do. So there's no issue here with this statement as it relates to the divinity or the deity of Christ. He is divine. He is 100% God. And yet we also understand he's 100% man. And the manness of him in the incarnation veiled parts of the divinity of him as he walked on this earth in his flesh the fullness of deity dwells bodily the fullness of deity dwells bodily colossians 2 9 but that fullness of deity is veiled by that same body and he only exercises his power and authority as it falls in line with his father's will so no one knows And it really adds some punch to know that it's so important that no one knows that even the sun was veiled from this truth. And by the way, I do believe that once Jesus was resurrected in his glorified body, all of his attributes were brought back into their fullness, including his omniscience and omnipotence and so forth. So I don't think now he's sitting at the right hand of God like a child would saying, are we there yet? You know, driving crazy. No, he's not doing that. He is sitting there interceding for his people, waiting for his enemies to be made a footstool, but knowing full well when it's going to happen. Like for example, when the text for that, if you want one, would be the Great Commission itself. What does he say? All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. It's all here. I got everything that he has given to me now. So I think he knew once he was resurrected. But in the incarnation and earthly ministry, it was veiled. So we don't know and we won't know. Then he gives an analogy. He gives two analogies actually. And the first analogy is a comparison to an Old Testament story, and then he uses that to describe what it will be like in the future. So he goes to the past, to a specific historical event in the past, to help illustrate what it's going to be like in the future. So what's the historical event? We're still talking about living in eminence of his return. What is the historical event that he draws out? For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the son of man. For as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark. And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away." So the analogy is what? The analogy is what happened to those who entered the ark versus what happened to those who did not enter the ark. And the analogy that he's drawing is that the second coming, what will happen to those who have entered through Christ for salvation? Let's go back to Sermon on the Mount language, who have entered through the narrow gate versus those who have entered through the broad gate. There was a period of Noah had been building this ark, right? We remember the story. He had been building an ark for all these years. And then the rain started. I mean, it just happened. He had this ark finished. He gets in it with all the animals, according to the way that God had described two of some, seven of others. And he gets into the ark and the rain starts. There's this period of time of Moses is a crazy person, probably. Look at Moses with his big boat he built, jeering and mocking and scorning. And then the flood came. What does the flood in the story represent, by the way? We know why he sent the flood. It is the literal manifestation of the judgment of God. That's what the flood is. He sends the flood as a judgment upon a world that had become so evil. The point that Jesus is making is that no one knows when his return in judgment will happen. It will just happen, just like the days of Noah. What does he say? They were eating and they were drinking and they were marrying and giving in marriage. In other words, they were celebrating. In one sense, they were going about their daily lives. In another sense, they were partying and having fun. Life was going on. To whom is he referring? Well, he's referring to those outside of the ark. Those who perhaps had scorned. You can imagine the kinds of conversations that had been started with Moses, not Moses, Noah. I always do that. If I do it again, just use the process of substitution. You can imagine the kind of conversations that Noah was engaged in with people watching him build this massive boat. Perhaps warning people and telling people it's coming, it's coming and everybody laughing at him and judging him and scorning him. While everybody who did not know God and did not trust God and did not believe God were going about their lives and going about eating and drinking and partying and living it up. What were the ones who knew him doing? What were the ones who believed him doing? What were the ones who had faith in him doing? They were working. They were preparing. They were living in light of the anticipation of the coming judgment. They were building that ark. And as Hebrews 11 tells us, they were building it. Noah built it because he believed the word of judgment that God had spoken. And he believed the promise of salvation that God had given. I'm coming in judgment. If you want to escape, build an ark. And Noah did for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. You build an ark, you'll live. And they did. While the rest of the world partied on, the people of God went to work. Blissfully unaware were the unbelievers of the day of the Lord that would soon come. And then, boom, it came. And the heavens opened up with rain. and the water poured out from the ground and the entire world was plunged into a watery judgment. Suddenly, unannounced, and all were destroyed, save those who entered the ark of God's salvation. So an Old Testament historical event example to illustrate a future event example. So will be the coming of the Son of Man, he says. It's gonna be just like that when I come. No one knows the day or the hour. My people will work. My people will toil. They will go to the ends of the world as I have commanded them. And the rest of the world will continue on blissfully unaware. And then I'm coming. And what'll happen? Two men will be in the field, one taken, one left. Two women will be at the mill, one taken and one left. You say that's the rapture. It's not the rapture. If you think it's the rapture, the one taken is the believer and the one left is the unbeliever. This isn't the rapture. We're talking second coming here. In the previous illustration, the one with Noah, which was which? Who was left and who was taken? In the Noah illustration, the ones who were taken in judgment were the unbelievers and the ones who were left in the ark of salvation were the believers. And that's the point that Jesus is making here. This is an illustration of the separation from the passage from last week, the separation of the elect and the gathering by the angels of the elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. And in verse 31, couple that with the parable of the weeds back in chapter 13 and verse 41, the son of man will send his angels. They're gather out of his kingdom, all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun at the second coming. The ones who are left are those who belong to him and the ones who are taken are taken away for judgment and fire. point Jesus is making here is that when that final day comes, it will come suddenly. People will be going about their business and then he'll return. Now, you might be tempted at this point to say, well, in all the previous verses, we had this really detailed timeline and you went through all this stuff about stopwatches starting and stopping and events that'll start clocks and stop clocks in 70 weeks. And I got lost and you tried to do it twice and I still got lost the second time. But you were talking about some really detailed information about specific periods of time. And that's true. But there's also unknown sprinkled in there, isn't it? For example, we don't know the length of time between the rapture of the church and the covenant that the antichrist makes with many that will kick off the seven year tribulation. We know it's not a lot of time, but you know, with God, a thousand years is but a day, and a day is but a thousand years. But we don't know the exact timeframe between those two things. Of course, we don't know when that's going to happen in the future as we live here in the church age. Another thing we don't know is exactly how long it'd be from the end of that last seven years to the actual return of Christ. As I said, it won't be long, mind you, but we don't know exactly how long. Revelation speaks of that final three and a half years and calls it 1260 days. It also calls it 42 months, which is in Revelation 11. When you go back to the same places in Daniel, he talks about 1290 days. He also talks about 1335 days. And so there's an undetermined short time span between the end of the tribulation and the coming of Christ. It's not exact like you can predict it down to the very exact day, even once these things begin to actually take place. It's kept ambiguous, at least for our knowledge. We don't know. But we know that when it happens, there will be a separation, a separation of believers and unbelievers. And we must live in light of the imminence of these events. They could happen at any moment. They could begin to happen at any moment. I have two points of application for us this morning, and then we'll be done. Number one, if you do not know Christ, the imminence of his return pleads that you would give your life to him. If you do not know Christ, the imminence of his return pleads that you would give your life to him. There will be a separation and the point of separation, the hinge upon which this separation will balance will be based on one reality. Do you know Christ? Two men in a field, one taken and one left. Why? One knew Christ, one did not. Two women grinding at the meal, one taking one left. Why? One knew Christ and one did not. That is the only reality in question that really matters in the entire universe. Do you know Christ? Why is that? Why is this the most important reality in the universe? Because we're sinners. We were created to worship God, but our sinfulness and our unrighteousness separates us from him because he is holy. And the only way to be reconciled back to him is through faith in Christ. Faith in his work on our behalf, his dying on the cross for our sins that we might be cleansed. We were made for God. And only through Christ can we be reconciled back to him. That's why it's the most important reality in the universe. If you don't have Jesus, you don't have anything. If you have Jesus, you have everything. Because even what you have has been given to you by him anyway. So what say you about Christ? Do you know him? Have you committed your life to him? If you have not, don't tarry, don't wait. The end could come at any moment. If not Christ's return, at the very least, none of us is guaranteed tomorrow. Life is a vapor, James says. So don't wait. That's number one. Number two, if you do know him, the eminence of his return pleads that you live with this joyful anticipation of his return. Do you live in the imminence of the return of Christ? If you know him, do you live like this? When we talk about believing, you live like you believe. Do you live like he is truly the Lord? Do you live like he's really coming tomorrow? Do you live like you truly have victory in Jesus, like we sang a moment ago? Dip our toes into the next verses, therefore stay awake, verse 42. Verse 44, therefore you must also be ready. Be awake and ready, dear Christian, live in light of the glory of the return of Christ. Think of it this way, what would you do? What if someone called you and said, you just won, you know, think of a big number, you just won a billion dollars. More money than any of us could possibly imagine. You just won a billion dollars. All you have to do is drive to New York and sign the paperwork. The paperwork's there, it's filled out, it's ready, it just needs your John Hancock. All you gotta do is put your name down on the paper and a billion dollars will be wired directly into an account of your choosing. All you have to do is journey there and bam, reward for the rest of your life. No more work, all play, bliss in this world, never having to worry about a single thing again, What are you gonna do? I mean, think about it. What are you gonna do if you had a billion dollars coming to you at the end of that journey? I know what you won't do. You're not gonna get in your car and start your car up and then go, ugh, I only have a quarter tank of gas. Ugh, I gotta stop at the gas station. Ugh, we've been driving all day. I don't think I can drive another mile. Ugh, I gotta pay for a hotel room and get some rest. You know what I guarantee you won't do? Get about two days into the journey and then call them and say, look, we started and we've gotten as far as we can go. We're going home. We're not gonna make it. Pick somebody else. You laughed, maybe, but guess what? That's exactly what the Israelites did. In Exodus 16 and 17, they were grumbling, ready to go back into slavery in Egypt. You brought us out here to kill us in the wilderness? In Egypt, at least we had food and water. Moses, foolish man, What would you do if you had that kind of an inheritance? That's the kind of anticipation we're talking about. It's coming. The reward is coming. Eternity is coming. Pleasures for evermore is coming. What would it look like if you lived your life now as if that were true? I mean, I challenge you this week. Do this. Go and read Hebrews 11. Read it every day. It only takes a few minutes. Read Hebrews 11. Get out your highlighter and make special note of every time in Hebrews 11, the great wall of faith, every time the actions of someone are said to have been because they were seeking or anticipating or looking to the reward. because it's one of the strands that runs through the whole chapter. Live in the eminence of the return of Christ. He's coming and the reward at his coming is worth giving everything for. And think about how this would affect your life and your decisions, how you use your time, how you use your resources. How you use your money, how you handle friends, how you handle enemies, how you handle relationships in the church, your walk with Christ. What if you knew you were going to meet him today or tomorrow? This is catalyst for us to live lives of holiness and godliness. We'll work until he comes and then we'll be gathered home. If you don't know him, come to him. Don't find yourself as one of those taken for judgment. If you do know him, live like you believe it. Let's pray. So Father, we do ask that you would help us with this. This is not something that we drum up in our flesh. This is a supernatural work of your spirit. It beats against everything and every inclination that our sinful hearts have. And so we pray for your spirit to strengthen us for this, to keep our minds focused on this, to always look forward to the reality of our great reward. And may that promise in the future break its way into our present and galvanize us and strengthen us for your purposes, for your people and your glory. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.