The Concealed Time of the Second Coming

Introduction to the Olivet Discourse and Sermon Context

0:07 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, June 19, 1988, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now let us turn together to the 13th chapter of Mark's Gospel, the Gospel of Mark and the 13th chapter.

0:32 And will you follow, please, as I read verses 28 through 37.

0:39 Mark 13 and verse 28. Our Lord speaking at the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse.

1:15 Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day or the hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take heed.

1:47 Watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is. It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the Lord of the house comes, whether at even or at midnight. Or at cock crowing, or in the morning, lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

2:26 And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch.

Structure of the Olivet Discourse and Transition to the Second Coming

2:37 The 13th chapter of the Gospel of Mark contains the inerrant, spirit-inspired account, through the pen of Mark, of what is commonly called the Olivet Discourse. This discourse. You will remember, those of you who have followed the Expositions, began with two basic factors that are recorded in the opening four verses. As they were leaving the temple area, our Lord made a very solemn and shocking prediction with reference to the utter devastation of the imposing temple at Jerusalem.

3:19 And as they made their way out to the Mount of Olives, and were seated, then the disciples asked questions with respect to when such a devastating event would occur, and what would be the sign of our Lord's coming and of the end of the age. In response to these questions, we have what I've already intimated is called the Olivet Discourse, because our Lord spoke it while sitting on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. As we read in verse 3. Now in response to those questions, our Lord predicts and describes two great epical events, which will come to pass in the future. And again, and again, and again, throughout the prediction of those two events, He gives practical instructions to His disciples, in conjunction with their own spiritual preparation for those events, and their preservation through them. The two events, as we have underscored again and again in our studies, are the destruction of Jerusalem, at which time the temple would be destroyed,

4:42 and the second great event is His own coming in power and glory, which will occur at the end of the age. The basic structure of the discourse, as we've seen in our previous expositions, is this. Verses 5 through 13 are a general description of the major characteristics of the whole inter-advental period. In other words, in verses 5 to 13, our Lord tells His disciples things that are not signs either of the destruction of Jerusalem or of the end of the age.

5:25 He describes conditions which, in His own words, are but the beginning of travail, things that must needs come to pass, but the end is not yet. And He says, in essence, don't be deceived with false signs either of the impending destruction of Jerusalem or of My coming at the end of the age. The entire age will be characterized by international disruption, wars and rumors of wars, by natural calamities, earthquakes and famines and pestilence. It will be characterized by opposition to the gospel.

6:10 But don't let these things disturb you. Hold to the path of duty. Hold to the path of tenacious confession. Hold to the path of tenacious confession of My name.

6:21 And in that path, you will find your salvation. Then in verses 14 to 23, our Lord describes the crucial event which will signal the near approach of the destruction of Jerusalem. And the exclusive subject matter of verses 14 to 23 is the coming destruction of Jerusalem, which will be triggered by what is called in verse 14 the abomination of desolation standing where he or it ought not. And at that point, the disciples are to know that the time has come to flee from Judea and to the mountains. And nothing is to deter them. And our Lord concludes that section by saying, Take heed, I have told you all things that have not been told to you beforehand. Then verses 24 to 27 describe the second great event, even the second coming of our Lord Jesus.

7:29 And the time is indefinite. But in those days after that tribulation, sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., but how much time we are not told, whether 50 years, 500, or 5,000.

7:48 But subsequent to that tribulation of the days associated with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., there will be this cosmic disruption, verses 24 and 5, and then they shall see the Son of Man coming. An intimation that those to whom our Lord was speaking would not see that coming.

8:15 The only time in the entire chapter when He says, They, everything else is addressed to you, to you, to you, but they shall see the Son of Man coming. Now having then given, as it were, a concentrated block of teaching on the destruction of Jerusalem in verses 14 to 23, on the second advent in verses 24 to 27, in verses 28 to 37, our Lord comes back for a final application with respect to both of those events. Last week we considered verses 28 through 31, in which our Lord clearly indicates the nearness of the destruction of Jerusalem. And He does this by setting forth a simple parable, a solemn prophecy, and a sweeping pronouncement, assuring them that within the generation then living, all of the things pertaining to the destruction of Jerusalem, which He has told them, according to verse 23, I've told you all things, that is, with respect to this event, all that you need to know, I've told you beforehand. And when you see these things, that I've told you about coming to pass,

9:44 you will know that it is nigh. Verily I say unto you, it will happen within this generation, and though I know that makes your faith stagger, though heaven and earth pass away, My words shall not pass away. You can trust Me. It will come to pass.

10:04 Now then, in verse 32, there is a transition, a radical transition. And at verse 32, our Lord now begins to address the subject of His second coming and the need for constant watchfulness. But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is.

10:42 Verse 35, Watch therefore, for you know not when the Lord of the house comes. Unlike the approach of the destruction of Jerusalem, in which various conditions would be pointers to its near approach, and then the manifestation of the abomination of desolation would be the infallible index that it was time to flee and flee immediately. There are no specific signs that will indicate the near approach of the second advent. Only at a time subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem, the Lord Himself will appear amidst cosmic disruptions and will wind down this age and usher in the new heavens and the new earth. And so in verse 32, as He had clearly taught the nearness of the destruction of Jerusalem in verses 28 to 31, now in verse 32, He sets before us the concealed time of our Lord's return, and in the subsequent paragraph, the necessity of readiness. Now if I'm going to carry your judgment in opening up verse 32 this morning, carry your judgment with reference to the fact

Threefold Proof for the Shift to the Second Coming

12:11 that our Lord is now shifting the emphasis from the nearness of the destruction of Jerusalem to the concealed time of His own return, I must convince you as I have been convinced from the text that this is exactly what our Lord is doing. Now this means that I must spend about ten minutes in what will be rather technical study. But dear people, I yearn for your edification enough to spend the time in doing this in your hearing. And there is a threefold chord that has convinced my own judgment, at least in terms of my present light, that verse 32 is indeed an announcement by our Lord with reference to His own second coming. And those three reasons bound up in the language of the text are these. First of all, the contrasting particle with which the verse begins. In your English Bibles, verse 32 begins with the word but.

13:26 And that is a translation of a little word called a particle in the Greek, de, which many times is used in such a way as to introduce a strong contrast between certain things. You Greek students, it is sometimes called an adversative particle. It was what was used in verse 31. Let your eyes glance up just a bit.

13:58 Heaven and earth shall pass away. Now as our Lord is going to introduce the contrast, He uses that little, that little particle is used by Mark, dead. But in stark contrast to the heavens and the earth that shall pass away, my word, my words shall never pass away. And the transition by which the contrast is set forth is that little contrasting particle.

14:30 It is used in a passage such as Mark 9 and verse 50. And here the significance again is clear. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltness, wherewith shall ye season it? Salt that maintains its saltiness is good.

14:52 Now he is going to contrast another kind of salt, but there is the contrasting particle. On the other hand, salt that has lost its saltness is not good. Most of you know Romans 6.23.

15:06 For the wages of sin is death. Now we have a marvelous contrast. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And you know how the contrast is introduced?

15:21 With that little contrasting particle, death. The wages of sin is death. But marvelous contrast, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now why have I given you that little grammar lesson?

15:39 For this simple reason. Our Lord has been speaking about the nearness of the event of the destruction of Jerusalem. He has concluded that section by saying, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words concerning these things shall not pass away. But of that day, in contrast with the nearness of the destruction of Jerusalem, contrasting particle.

16:11 But there is a strong intimation that a contrasting event with contrasting circumstances is now to be introduced. Then the second reason I'm convinced that our Lord is speaking about His own second coming, beginning with verse 32, is the presence of a strong demonstrative pronoun by which the event is isolated and identified. A strong demonstrative pronoun by which the event is isolated and identified. You say, Pastor, what in the world is a demonstrative pronoun? Well, it is a pronoun which points out someone or something. We use it all the time, you kids. Maybe one of your buddies has you over to his house and says, want me to fix lunch for you?

17:09 You say, yeah. And he brings this stuff out. It looks like mush all put together. And you look at it and say, do you expect me to eat that?

17:21 Now, when you use the word that, that's a demonstrative pronoun. You're using the pronoun to point out emphatically something or someone. Someone says, oh, I hear you like Johnny. And the little girl says, me like that guy?

17:38 You see, you're pointing him out emphatically by the use of the word that. That's a demonstrative pronoun. Now, look at the passage. In the original, there is this demonstrative pronoun that does not in any way overemphasize it to read it this way.

17:57 But of that day or the hour. You see, our Lord very clearly is putting an emphasis upon something other than the circumstances of the near impending judgment upon Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. And could it be, and I only offer this as a question, that since our Lord was the master preacher, and any preacher worth his weight in salt, not only uses his voice and his eyes to preach, but all of his humanity and engages what is technically called his paralinguistics, his hands and eyes in preaching, could it be that what our Lord was doing was something like this? Having described the abomination of desolation and pointing toward Jerusalem, not one stone left upon another, when you see the arms encompassing Jerusalem in the parallel passage in Luke 21, could it be that what our Lord did was to do something like this? When you see these things come to pass and point in the direction of the city and the temple,

19:24 know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass until all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall never pass away. And then he pauses, and then says, but of that day.

19:47 And just by a pointing of the finger in the far out direction, they would know immediately that he was making a fundamental transition. So the contrasting particle with which the verse begins indicates he is taking up another subject, the strong demonstrative pronoun, the previous use of which was in direct connection with the second coming, verse 24. But in those days, in the plural form, in those days, that was the last usage of that same demonstrative pronoun, but of that day. And it would naturally attach the two events, or the one event in the two instances. Then the third chord is what I would call the specific significance of the term that day. The words that day have a central and special significance in the Scriptures.

20:57 And in my preparation this week, I have read probably several dozens of passages in the Old Testament in which God again and again announces special seasons of Jehovah's coming in judgment and in mercy. Those days that are at times described as the day of the Lord with that conjunction of two words, that day. For example, in Joel chapter 3 and verse 18, I want to give you just a couple of examples from the Old and the New Testament because remember, I'm attempting to convince your judgment. I don't want you to take it upon my authority, but upon your own judgment being convinced by the Scriptures. Joel chapter 3 and verse 18. And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountain shall drop sweet wine and the hills shall flow with milk, etc. The day of Jehovah's visitation is called that day.

22:12 If you were to take Zechariah chapters 12, 13 and 14 and do as I did this week, take a colored pencil and circle all the times the word that day, that day, that day, that day, that day, that day, that day, that day occur, you will find yourself as it were immersed with this term that day. And so it is natural that it carries over into the New Testament and the well-known verse from the pen of the apostle, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against what? That day. And in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 8, he said, I know that a crown of righteousness is laid up for me which the Lord shall give unto me in that day. So you see, dear people, this terminology is not arbitrary. It is terminology that has its tap roots in the whole prophetic scheme of the Old Testament that points to the day of the Lord as that day. And I believe the terminology was used by our Lord purposefully to underscore that he is now addressing not the day of God's visitation in judgment in the destruction of Jerusalem,

23:39 but that day when he will come in power and in great glory at the end of the age to send forth his angels to gather his elect and to bring destruction upon the wicked. Well, those three things constitute in my judgment the threefold cord that clearly establish that our Lord has now shifted from his prophecy, his infallible prophecy of the near approach of the destruction of Jerusalem, and now he is going to announce to his own the concealed time of his own second coming. Now that is the subject matter of verse 32, the concealed time of our Lord's return. And in opening up the verse in the time that remains, let us consider the concealed time affirmed, secondly, the concealed time amplified, and thirdly, the concealed time applied. Look at the language.

The Concealed Time Affirmed: Only the Father Knows

24:51 But of that day, the day, verse 26, when they shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, but of that day or hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Dropping out the qualifying phrases, here's what our Lord says, but of that day or hour knows no one but the Father. No one knows, except the Father. That is, there is no creature upon the earth, beneath the earth, or in heaven, that knows the appointed time of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, except the Father. He does know. And He knows because the time has been fixed in His own decree and purpose from all eternity.

26:06 The day of the second coming of Christ is as surely fixed in God's decrees as was the first day of creation, as was the first sacred day, as was the day when fire and brimstone rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah, as was the day when the abomination of desolation was manifested, and the disciples fled to the mountains. That day is fixed. There is no uncertainty in the mind of God. He knows the day because He has set the day, and He knows the day because He has set the day, and all of this because He is God. He knows. No one else knows. The concealed time is affirmed by our Lord, but it is concealed.

27:03 You see, for something to be concealed it has to be there. You cannot conceal something that you don't have. There is an appointed day and the Father knows it. To conceal means to hide or keep it from the knowledge of another, and that is precisely what the Father has done.

The Concealed Time Amplified: Who Does Not Know

27:22 He has shared His knowledge of that appointed day with none other. Now then, notice secondly the concealed time amplified. Not content with a general sweeping affirmation of the concealed time, our Lord amplifies His meaning by specifying two groups and one individual who do not know. Who are the two groups who do not know?

27:50 Look at the text. But of that day or that hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven. That's the first group. Then as we read in verse 33, you, second person plural, referring to the disciples, the apostles who were with Him on that occasion, you do not know when the time is.

28:18 Verse 35, you do not know when the Lord of the house comes. The angels in heaven do not know. That's the first group. The second group, the apostles on earth do not know.

28:31 And then the individual who does not know, verse 32, neither the Son. Now let us sit for a few moments upon the concealed time amplified. Our Lord is so committed to convincing those before Him and His people for all generations that the time of our Lord's return is concealed, that the generic statement will not do. But of that day or hour, no one knows.

29:03 You'd think that would suffice, but He knows human nature. And so what He does is to zero in upon two groups who of all creatures made by God would be most likely to know, and then upon that one individual who would be most likely to know, and He says even they don't know. All right? The two groups.

29:27 Not even, He says, the angels in heaven. Now what are the angels? The Bible describes them as disembodied spirits who are the servants of God who are sent forth from God to do service to the heirs of salvation. They protect the people of God.

29:45 They accomplish missions many times unseen by us in the purposes of God. From the Word of God, we learn that angels surround the throne of God. They are nearest to God as disembodied spirits. They look upon God with no distortion because of sin.

30:07 They are near to the throne of God. They behold the glory of God. Their minds are not distorted or twisted or bent out of shape by sin and prejudice and the influence of the world. They are spotlessly holy creatures.

30:25 They are creatures in the immediate presence of God. They are creatures sent on special errands for God. And isn't it significant? Jesus had just finished saying at His second coming, they will have a special task to perform for the Lord.

30:44 He shall send forth His angels to gather His elect. And according to Matthew 13, the angels will also gather out the wicked. And as they would bind the tares in a harvest so they will be bound and they will be cast into the fire, who then more likely among non-humans to know the day of the Lord's return than angels? Pure, sinless spirits near to the throne of God, waiting for the slightest glance of God's eye to leap to immediate obedience in performing their divinely established errands. They will form the great entourage of the returning Lord in order to gather out His elect. Surely they must have the day in their appointment book. Suppose an angel is off watching over a departing soul of a saint who has just died and protecting it up through the regions to bring it into the immediate presence of God.

31:56 Shouldn't he have an appointment book to make sure he'll be there to help gather the elect when the Lord comes? Well, if angels have appointment books, one thing is not written on any page. The day of the Lord's return. Our Lord says no one knoweth not even the angels in heaven.

32:20 You say, alright, that's pretty clear. But now what about apostles? They are the specially chosen, specially commissioned representatives of the Lord Jesus. He took them into His immediate company.

32:35 He promised to them, the Spirit will show you things to come. He shall take the things of myself and reveal them to you. He'll bring to remembrance whatever I've said to you. Surely apostles, as the organs of revelation, as the conveyors infallibly of the mind and will of God, surely apostles have been taken into the secret?

33:00 Uh-uh. He says to the apostles who are gathered about Him three times, You do not know one when the time is. There is no apostle who could tell us the time of the Lord's return. The apostle Paul was caught up into heaven, he says, and he heard things on Lord's return that were awful to utter.

33:27 But one thing he never heard was the date of the Lord's return. The apostles were given tremendous influence. Through their tutelage and guidance we have the scriptures of the New Testament, some of it through their very pens, and yet there is no apostle who is privy to the day and the hour of the Lord's return. You say, well, Pastor, I can swallow that pretty well.

33:54 The text is pretty clear. But it's that third class, that individual. Two groups, angels, apostles, but now look at what the text says. Not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son.

34:13 Neither the Son. Now that's an amazing statement. The Son at this point in time is absolutely certain of the destruction of Jerusalem. Not one stone shall be left upon another.

34:32 Furthermore, he is certain of the very events that will surround that destruction, so he's able to prepare the disciples and say, when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, flee to the mountains. It shall come to pass in this very generation, my infallible word and authority secures it. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall never pass away. But concerning that day, no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, not you apostles, neither the Son. Now the Son knew that he would return in power and great glory. He had already told them just a few sentences before. Verse 26, Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

35:38 He knew that he would return in power and glory. He knew that the angels, as his angels, would accomplish his purpose to bring together all of his elect from the four corners of the earth. But he says the Son knows not the day nor the hour of his own return. Now what do we say in the face of a text like this?

Understanding the Son's Lack of Knowledge

36:06 Well, obviously the first thing we say is we let the text say what it says and mean what it's supposed to mean. And the text says the Son does not know the day nor the hour of his return. But now having said that, we must take our Lord's words in what we call the analogy of Scripture in the light of the total witness of Scripture. And there are three things I urge you to concentrate and grasp with me.

36:39 Number one, it was the Son in his present earthly existence and position who did not know. It was the Son standing there or sitting on the Mount of Olives in his present position and condition who did not know. And what was that present position and condition in which he did not know? At this point I'm indebted to some very helpful thoughts in the recent article by one of God's servants on this very passage.

37:22 The first comment to be made on these words is we must not tamper with them. They mean what they say. And this particular text refers to our Lord's earthly existence. It describes the Word made flesh.

37:44 John 1.14 The Christ who made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. Philippians 2.27 The one who though he was rich yet for our sakes became poor.

38:02 2 Corinthians 8.9 And in that position and condition he was not only responsible to God his Father, listen carefully, he was in a self-embraced position of utter dependence upon his Father. In Isaiah 42.1 God says, Behold my servant whom I uphold.

38:34 And in a short time he will be in the garden of Gethsemane so overcome with the trauma of facing the awful reality of the abandonment of the cross, so weakened in the agony of his prayer, that the Scripture says that an angel appeared and strengthened him. The Creator of angels is so weak that he needs to be strengthened by one of his creatures. You see the present condition of the Son at the time that he spoke these words was the condition of voluntarily assumed humiliation, voluntarily assumed dependence, voluntarily assumed dependence that meant in even the acquisition of knowledge he could know only what his Father revealed to him. I want you to look at two texts of Scripture that are very clear. In John chapter 8 and verse 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, howbeit he that sent me is true and the things

40:03 which I heard from him these speak I unto the world. Jesus said that I only speak unto the world the things I have heard from my Father. He was dependent upon the Father for the knowledge of what he was to reveal to men. Verse 40 of the same chapter Now you seek to kill me a man that has told you the truth which I heard from God, which I heard from God.

40:41 John 15 and verse 15 John 15 and verse 15 No longer do I call you servants for the servant does not know what his Lord does. I call you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known unto you Obviously then in this state of dependence upon his Father and the Spirit for his knowledge the Father had not told him the time of his return. As the great prophet of the church he makes known to the people of God what is for their good and it is not difficult to see why the Father withheld this knowledge from his Son. The Father revealed to the Son his mediator all he needed to know as the teacher of his people. He did not give him the answer to all the silly questions they might ask. The secret things belong unto the Lord but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children that we may follow all the words of this law.

41:56 So we must remember it is the Son in his present condition and position who says neither the Son knows the day nor the hour. What does he now know in his glorified state? He has laid aside his voluntarily assumed state of humiliation. He has now been exalted to the right hand of God the Father put in a position far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named.

42:31 But now remember it is a glorified exalted God-man. And I want to say it in a way that may shock you but I fear no accusation of heresy. Jesus carries with him into heaven a human mind. And by very definition a human mind is not omniscient.

42:53 Shock you? I hope not. For if you don't have a Savior who is fully human even in glorified humanity you are in big bad trouble. Remember it was in his present state of limitation.

43:11 What he may now know I do not know and I know of no scripture that explicitly states that he now knows the day and the hour. There are some scriptures from which I could reason and to my own satisfaction I believe he does know but I couldn't prove it and if it's not clear it must not be necessary therefore I don't address it. But I ask you to remember that you not stumble at this statement. Because it was spoken by the Son in his present condition of humiliation and dependantness.

43:45 Secondly, it was the Son in the reality of a true humanity who said these words. It was the Son in the reality of a true humanity. I've already anticipated this. When the eternal word takes to himself a real and true humanity he takes a human that is a finite mind.

44:10 It was the eternal word having taken a true humanity of whom it is said he increased in wisdom in stature in favor with God and with man. By very definition a human mind is finite. It is not omniscient any more than a human body is omnipresent. Jesus grew in knowledge.

44:34 Jesus grew in stature. And so it was the Son in the reality of a true humanity with a true human mind that was not omniscient that spoke these words. And then thirdly it was the Son who existed and still exists on two levels of consciousness and reality who said these words. When he said no one knows the day nor the hour not even the Son.

45:03 It was the Son who existed then and now on two levels of consciousness and reality. You see you and I exist on one level that is the level of created dependent creatures. That's all we are that's all we'll ever be. In heaven or in hell created dependent creatures.

45:29 That's our only level of existence and reality. But not so our Lord. In the great mystery of the incarnation it was the eternal Word equal to God the Father in every sense of the inherent worth and dignity of sharing in the divine essence. The Word became flesh and took to himself a true human soul and body in Mary's womb.

46:03 And what was born was the God-man who from his first moment of conception to his ascension and session at the right hand of the Father was constituted what the theologians call the theanthropic person. The God-man person. Two distinct unmixed natures dwelling in one glorious person. So that in Jesus of Nazareth you have that which is as much man as though there were no God present.

46:40 He must nurse at Mary's breast. He must put band-aids on his boo-boos. He must cry for help when his fingers pinched in the door. And yet while as much man as though he were not God he is as much God as though he were not man.

46:58 While sustained by Mary's understanding by the umbilical cord he is yet the firstborn of all creation who upholds all things by the word of his power. You say, Pastor, I can't figure it out. Blessed be God you can't. None of us can.

47:17 Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. And so he existed at these two levels. There is his human nature with a true human mind and soul and will.

47:31 And there is his divine nature with a divine mind and will. If that's not so how do you explain Gethsemane? Not my will but thine be done. There was a struggle in the human will against the horrible agony of the cross.

47:52 And that will had to be brought subject in loving obedience to the will of the Father. And this is what Scripture does. There are times when it says something that is exclusively true of one nature but it describes it as the act or condition of the whole person. Let me ask you a very simple question.

48:14 Can God die? No. He's called the living God. He cannot lie.

48:21 He cannot die. He cannot deny himself. And yet the Scripture says the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me Christ died for our sins. Is Christ God?

48:33 Yes. Can God die? No. Then Christ did not die?

48:37 You see if his knowing not the day of his return causes you to stumble what will you do with him dying? It's a greater scandal to say God dies than that God does not know. No. You see what is true of one nature is described of the whole person.

48:59 So when he said the Son does not know he was speaking of course the Son in his human finite mind which was dependent upon the Father for revelation and dependent upon the Spirit. His human mind had not received a revelation of the day and the hour of his return and so without shame he says neither the Son as God he knows as much every purpose and decree and the counsels of the Godhead for he shares in those decrees and counsels. So therefore sometimes things are said of the human nature but ascribed to the whole person. Sometimes things are said of the divine nature but described of the whole person. It says they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. How can the Lord of Glory be crucified? The Lord of Glory is God.

49:57 It was Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified and the Lord of Glory is God. It was Jesus who was crucified yes. But it says they crucified the Lord of Glory. So you see dear people we must let the mystery stand where it comes to us revealed.

50:17 And when Jesus that day on the Mount of Olives clearly affirms that the time of his return is concealed no one knows the day or the hour. Then he amplifies and says neither the angels in heaven not the apostles on earth and neither the Son. It was the Son in his present condition and position of humiliation and self-imposed dependence upon the Father. It was the Son in the reality of his true humanity.

Application 1: Integrity of Biblical Writers and Christ's Servanthood

50:59 It was the Son who existed at two levels of consciousness and reality. Well I've sought to open up the text in terms of the concealed time affirmed the concealed time amplified now in the time that remains the concealed time applied. What are we to learn from this? Oh may God help us as we try to extract there is so much in this text.

51:31 First of all this text is a convincing confirmation of the integrity of the biblical writers. This text is a convincing confirmation of the integrity of the biblical writers. You say what do you mean Pastor? Just this.

51:50 Do you know that there are people who actually allege that Jesus never thought he was God? Jesus never sought to be worshipped as God. I don't know what New Testament they read but they read it and that's what they say. They were so enamoured with him that their love and their attachment exceeded the bounds of good sense and propriety.

52:17 They elevated him to a deity in their own minds and then they sought to propagate a religion that would worship Jesus as God. Would depend upon him as God. Would rest in him alone for salvation as God. Would you?

52:37 You'd say no way Jose. Can't do it. You'd say if he even said anything like that we're sure not going to report it. Because that will give people the impression he's a mere man.

52:56 He doesn't even know the time of his second coming. You know why Mark recorded it? Because Jesus said it. And Mark was prepared to answer every question and every Jehovah's Witness heretic and every skeptic and unbelieving person who refuses to accept the deity of Christ to snatch at this and say ah ha ha ha how can he be God he doesn't even know when he's coming.

53:31 You see the integrity of the Biblical writers is convincingly confirmed when they tell it as it is. It's a voluntary assumption of the form of a servant. The text is a moving illustration of our Lord's voluntary assumption of the form of a servant. As a servant he was dependent upon his master for guidance and wisdom and strength.

54:01 In a little while as we've already alluded he will agonize in Gethsemane and one of his own faith in him. And dear children of God listen to me this hit me with such tremendous force the other day. God would rather give skeptics and heretics fuel in a text like this with which to consume themselves in their own arrogance and self deception than rob the believing community of God's people from the knowledge that their servant is God. Oh dear people what a picture of the assumed servanthood of our Lord. He becomes willingly ignorant even of an event in which he has such tremendous interest. In his humanity he does not know. In his humanity he will die.

55:11 And all because in the language of Philippians he is a servant of a servant. And why did he do that? Why was he at this very time just a couple of days from being seized by cruel hands and jerked from one place to another and spat upon and whipped and scourged and impaled upon a Roman gibbet because he was thirsty for your salvation and mine. In his humanity he became one of us that in our condition he might live the life we should have lived and die the death we dare not die. And rather than be scandalized by his words neither doth the sun know. I find them precious words that they point me to the true servanthood of my blessed Savior. But then the text thirdly is a convincing demonstration of our Lord's contentment with the Father's will.

Application 2: Christ's Contentment and Condemnation of Carnal Curiosity

56:35 It is a convicting demonstration of our Lord's contentment with the Father's will. When he says the Father's will, it is a revelation that he pried and went off a little while after and said, Father, I was embarrassed to have to tell my disciples I don't know the time of my own return. Father, won't you please reveal the truth? He was content to have his Father leave the day and the hour of his own return unrevealed. Unashamed to say to his disciples, no one knows the day and hour, not the angels in death, nor the crowd of powerless in the day of かل

58:03 that the God and his son and his disciples have found a way into God's silences. Lord, why? of His return. What a convicting demonstration of our Lord's contentment with the Father's will.

58:31 And then we also see in this text a devastating condemnation of all carnal curiosity of men. A devastating condemnation of all carnal curiosity of men. If the angels in heaven don't know, if apostles on earth don't know, if the Son in His humble condition doesn't know, what a powerful and ugly manifestation of carnal curiosity when men are determined to know. And so they take the jigsaw of the beast and his horns and the weeks of Daniel and the days and half years of the book of the Revelation and they print their charts and they spell it out. I tell you we need to look upon it for what it is. It's a semi-blasphemous curiosity of men. The Scriptures tell us the secret things belong unto the Lord, but the things that are revealed are for us and for our children that we may do them.

59:40 And what's revealed regarding the second advent, it'll come sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem when we don't know. And in the light of it, watch therefore and be ready. Be about your master's service. Keep your prophecy charts.

60:01 But to keep your heart free of the love of sin and of the world. To keep your heart warm.

60:11 Keep your hand at his work. Your tongue his gospel. And your heart and your eye ever waiting and longing for his return. That's your duty.

60:22 Not to be fitting jigsaw puzzles together. This is a devastating condemnation of all carnal curiosity of men. They would know more than their son knew in the period of his humiliation. They would know more than angels know right now.

Application 3: Warning Against Date-Setting Movements

60:45 They would know more than the apostles. God have mercy on all such. And then finally, the text is a powerful warning to avoid all men and movements which indulge in date setting. It is a powerful warning to avoid all men and all movements and to avoid all men and all movements and to avoid all men and all movements which indulge in date setting.

61:14 Seventh-day Adventists, they call Mary White a prophet. She cannot be a true prophet. But she set a date for the Lord's return. And when he didn't come in power and glory, then they shifted all their theology to say, well, he returned in a different way than we thought he was going to return.

61:37 And so have all the date setters. They set their dates. A group in this area had set May 14th of this year as the date. And the date was set when the Lord would return.

61:48 A generation is 40 years. So the 40th anniversary of the celebration of the Constitution of the State of Israel, that was going to be it. I never said anything to you people. I figured, let the day come or go.

61:59 Some of you might be weak enough to actually get scared and think something's going to happen. Well, if you're living right, you shouldn't be scared. If you're living as you ought, you're ready. My friend, beware of any man and any movement that indulges in date setting.

62:15 Why? Because, listen carefully, historically, and I've seen it within my own life history, the minute people get close to date setters and date setting movements, two things always happen. Number one, there is a weaning away from loving, sensitive, devotional attachment to the person of Jesus Christ. You see, the Christ of the Bible is unashamed to say, I don't know the day or the hour of my own return.

62:45 Well, you see, you cannot have living, loving spirit, wrought communion with such a Christ who glories in His place of submission to the Father as He walks before us in the pages of Scripture. You cannot find your delight in that Christ who, in His humiliated state, tasted death for you, who bears with you now at the right hand of the Father because He carries with Him into Heaven that reservoir of sympathy and concern that He learned experimentally while here upon earth. You can't commune with a Christ like that. If you're all the time trying to be smarter than He is, it will wean your heart from Christ.

63:29 Mark it. And secondly, it will wean your heart from practical duties. These chapters we've seen, this chapter is full of practical duties. We'll see next week that after our Lord speaks of the concealment of the time of His coming, the whole concentration is upon watchfulness and preparedness for His coming.

63:54 And in direct proportion to which men get caught up in date-setting men and movements, they not only have their hearts weaned from loving attachment to the person of Christ, their lives are weaned from practical obedience to the Word of Christ. Now, if any of you follow such movements, it's not because you weren't warned, my hands are clean. I've warned you. That's part of my task as a shepherd, to warn you.

64:27 And I warn you because in every age you've had your date-setters and your date-setting movements. And the dates have come and gone and the men in the movements with them. And if you want your heart to be broken, read Delamore's book on Edward Irving, forerunner of the charismatic movement, and you'll weep. Read of the movements.

64:55 Read of the movements where date-setting and date-setters were prominent and tragic spiritual results. And someone comes with a light in his eye and says God's revealed something to him. Say no thank you. No thank you.

Application 4: The Certainty of Christ's Return and Call to Readiness

65:14 You can only take me from my Savior who says the Son knows not the time of His return. But, and with this statement I'm done, the text is a sober reminder that the day is fixed and it shall come. Isn't that what the text says? Jesus, in emphasizing the concealed nature of the time, does not cast any doubt over the certainty of the event.

65:48 But of that day, and there is a day of the Lord coming, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. But that day is fixed in the Father's purpose and as surely, as surely as in the next five seconds you'll draw another breath, that day will come, my friend. And if it were to come today, if one of the hours of this day would be the hour in the Father's decree when we would hear the trump of God, the voice of the archangels and this mighty cosmic shaking and see the returning light of the Lord, my friend, where would you be? Would the angels be sent out to gather you unto Christ to glory and everlasting bliss in the new heavens and the new earth? Or would they be gathering you as the tares to cast you into everlasting burning? No wonder when the cosmic shaking begins to occur and the returning Lord is seen, that men cry for rocks and mountains to hide them, because they know that this was not some preacher's talk to try to scare them into getting saved.

67:12 Preacher's words can't make shaking stars and moons and heavenly orbs. Preacher's words can't make the brilliance of the glory of the face of the exalted Lord. And you're going to see Him for every eye shall see Him. Every eye shall see Him.

67:33 My friend, you'll cry for rocks and mountains to hide you. But they won't hide you because they're His servants and He's coming to get you. In His grace, He's sought you with overtures of mercy, entreaties, warnings. He begs you through His servants, be reconciled to God!

67:55 And what do you do? You keep running from Him, running from the overtures of His grace, running from the tenders of His mercy, running, as it were, from the gracious hooks of His pardoning love. Running, running. When He returns, there's no more running.

68:16 Oh, my friend, run to Him now before you cry for rocks and mountains to hide you. And child of God, hear me. With all the talk is over and all your problems you've discussed are sorted out, at the end of the day it comes down to this, doesn't it? Are you really living in such a way that you'd be happy if your Lord came today?

68:41 That's it, isn't it? What would be of little importance if you knew He were coming at four this afternoon? Well, don't make it of any importance between now and then. You say, well, I have to eat.

68:55 Fine. I wouldn't mind being caught eating when the Lord came if I needed food to serve Him. Would you? You say, well, I need to sleep tonight to work.

69:05 Fine. I don't care if I'm asleep when the Lord comes, if I'm getting legitimate rest to get up and be strong to serve my Savior. But I want to be found having an ugly, carnal spat with my wife, justifying myself, arguing only because I've been too stubborn and proud to admit she was right when she pointed out my fault. You stubborn, proud men here this morning.

69:29 God have mercy on you. Most of your family arguments grow out of your stinking, rotten male pride. You want to be involved in one of those arguments? Maybe conning your wife and bullying her into thinking she's wrong when you're going to have to meet the Lord who with one glance will wither you?

69:48 Then cut it out. Stop it. Some of you struggling with obesity. Would you want to be feeding your face, digging your grave with your teeth and have the Lord come and find you?

70:03 Then stop it! Stop it now! The Lord mentions that. Beware!

70:11 And your hearts be overcharged, charged with surfeiting and banqueting in the cares of this life. Stop it! Stop it! You're a Christian.

70:29 You have the Holy Spirit in you. You're united to Christ. You have the resources necessary. Stop playing head games on yourself.

70:39 Do we believe He's coming? Do we want to be found with a thousand concerns that really are not necessary? They're the baggage with which we've laden ourselves and keep ourselves earthbound. Oh, may God have mercy upon us.

Conclusion and Prayer

71:00 This text, though it affirms that time is concealed, confirms that the time is fixed and the event will come, may God grant that when it comes you'll be ready. Abide in Him, little children, that when He shall be manifested you may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son. But the day will come.

71:36 Let us pray.

71:45 Our Father, we thank You for the sure and certain hope of the Christian that amidst all of the things that pummel and beat upon our souls we have this sure and certain confidence that our Lord Jesus will yet come. We pray for those who sit here today unprepared for His coming, those who are lost, strangers to repentance and faith. For any of Your children, our Father, willfully, knowingly indulging paths of carnal pursuit and ambition, distorted and imbalanced priorities, habits and patterns of life that are such a reproach to the Gospel. O Lord, have dealings with our hearts that we may indeed so live that at any moment should our Lord return we would be able, as it were, to look up and welcome Him without embarrassment. O write Your word upon our hearts. Protect the congregation from all the influence of the prophecy experts and the date-setters and the chart-makers.

72:58 Lord, keep us, O keep us, from all of that horrible, infectious disease of carnal curiosity. Gracious God, we're so vulnerable. Have mercy upon us. And O help us that when our Lord returns in power and glory, we shall be found glorified with Him.

73:21 We ask in His name. Amen.