Matthew 24:36 – 44

The End of Time

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38 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,

39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

43 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.

44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The end of the world and the Judgment day are the same time, Jesus tells us no one, not even the angels, but God the Father knows when that event will happen.

Jesus compares this event to the time before the great flood, it is interesting, God said He would never destroy mankind by flood again, but this time it is with fire.

2 Peter 3:10 (But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.)

Nothing listed in verse 38 is wrong, but the mistake made by those living in those days were they were so into the living of their daily lives they ignored the warnings given to them by Noah, “a preacher of righteousness” 2 Peter 2:5. (and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;)

Verse 39 goes into more detail of those living at the time of the flood. They were caught unprepared for salvation which obedience to God offered by following His word and entering the ark. The end of time will be the same way, if we ignore the warnings given to us by Jesus and His messengers then we will also be unprepared and face a fate worse than those who drowned in the flood. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 (But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.)

Verses 40 and 41 show us the understanding from the parable of the tares that in the Judgment day that the the faithful will be gathered separately from the unfaithful, first the faithful will be gathered by the angels and then the unfaithful will be taken to be burned.

That Is why Jesus said "Let both grow together until the harvest" [end of the world] Matthew 13: 30

These verses do not indicate that there will be separate judgments or the faithful will be taken unto heaven while the rest will be left to reside on earth. The earth will be destroyed by fire at this time. 2 Peter 3:10 (But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.)

Verses 42 and 43 mean we need to be prepared for the Judgment day, it will come on us as unexpected as thieves who break into a house to steal the valuables found on the property. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:10 the Day of the Lord will be as unexpected as a thief in the night.

Verse 44 tells us this day will not be like the destruction of Jerusalem which had physical signs which would appear so that the people could flee if they were paying attention to the signs given to them by Jesus. The Day of Judgment will not have any signs, it will come as a thief in the night.

We need to be prepared and treat our lives as each day we wake up could be our day of Judgment. Death and the end of the world will not give us a warning. We need to be prepared!