The Meaning of Matthew 24:36 Explained

Matthew 24:36

KJV: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

YLT: And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known -- not even the messengers of the heavens -- except my Father only;

Darby: But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but my Father alone.

ASV: But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  of  that  day  and  hour  knoweth  no  [man], no, not  the angels  of heaven,  but  my  Father  only. 

What does Matthew 24:36 Mean?

Study Notes

angels
Angel, Summary: Angel, "messenger," is used of God, of men, and of an order of created spiritual beings whose chief attributes are strength and wisdom. 2 Samuel 14:20 ; Psalms 103:20 ; Psalms 104:4 . In the O.T. the expression "the angel of the Lord" (sometimes "of God") usually implies the presence of Deity in angelic form.; Genesis 16:1-13 ; Genesis 21:17-19 ; Genesis 22:11-16 ; Genesis 31:11-13 ; Exodus 3:2-4 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:12-16 ; Judges 13:3-22 (See Scofield " Malachi 3:1 ") . The word "angel" is used of men in; Luke 7:24 ; James 2:25 ; Revelation 1:20 ; Revelation 2:1 ; Revelation 2:8 ; Revelation 2:12 ; Revelation 2:18 ; Revelation 3:1 ; Revelation 3:7 ; Revelation 3:14 In Revelation 8:3-5 . Christ is evidently meant. Sometimes angel is used of the spirit of man.; Matthew 18:10 ; Acts 12:15 . Though angels are spirits; Psalms 104:4 ; Hebrews 1:14 power is given them to become visible in the semblance of human form. Genesis 19:1 cf; Genesis 19:5 ; Exodus 3:2 ; Numbers 22:22-31 ; Judges 2:1 ; Judges 6:11 ; Judges 6:22 ; Judges 13:3 ; Judges 13:6 ; 1 Chronicles 21:16 ; 1 Chronicles 21:20 ; Matthew 1:20 ; Luke 1:26 ; John 20:12 ; Acts 7:30 ; Acts 12:7 ; Acts 12:8 etc.). The word is always used in the masculine gender, though sex, in the human sense, is never ascribed to angels.; Matthew 22:30 ; Mark 12:25 . They are exceedingly numerous.; Matthew 26:53 ; Hebrews 12:22 ; Revelation 5:11 ; Psalms 68:17 . The power is inconceivable. 2 Kings 19:35 . Their place is about the throne of God.; Revelation 5:11 ; Revelation 7:11 . Their relation to the believer is that of "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," and this ministry has reference largely to the physical safety and well-being of believers.; 1 Kings 19:5 ; Psalms 34:7 ; Psalms 91:11 ; Daniel 6:22 ; Matthew 2:13 ; Matthew 2:19 ; Matthew 4:11 ; Luke 22:43 ; Acts 5:19 ; Acts 12:7-10 . From; Hebrews 1:14 ; Matthew 18:10 ; Psalms 91:11 it would seem that this care for the heirs of salvation begins in infancy and continues through life. The angels observe us; 1 Corinthians 4:9 ; Ephesians 3:10 ; Ecclesiastes 5:6 a fact which should influence conduct. They receive departing saints. Luke 16:22 . Man is made "a little lower than the angels," and in incarnation Christ took "for a little "time" this lower place.; Psalms 8:4 ; Psalms 8:5 ; Hebrews 2:6 ; Hebrews 2:9 that He might lift the believer into His own sphere above angels. Hebrews 2:9 ; Hebrews 2:10 . The angels are to accompany Christ in His second advent. Matthew 25:31 . To them will be committed the preparation of the judgment of the nations. Matthew 13:30 ; Matthew 13:39 ; Matthew 13:41 ; Matthew 13:42 . See Scofield " Matthew 25:32 ". The kingdom-age is not to be subject to angels, but to Christ and those for whom He was made a little lower than the angels. Hebrews 2:5 An archangel, Michael, is mentioned as having a particular relation to Israel and to the resurrections.; Daniel 10:13 ; Daniel 10:21 ; Daniel 12:1 ; Daniel 12:2 ; Judges 1:9 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 . The only other angel whose name is revealed Gabriel, was employed in the most distinguished services.; Daniel 8:16 ; Daniel 9:21 ; Luke 1:19 ; Luke 1:26 .
Fallen angels. Two classes of these are mentioned:
(1) "The angels which kept not their first estate place, but left their own habitation," are "chained under darkness," awaiting judgment. 2 Peter 2:4 ; Judges 1:6 ; 1 Corinthians 6:3 ; John 5:22 .
(See Scofield " Genesis 6:4 ")
(2) The angels who have Satan Genesis 3:1 as leader.
(See Scofield " Revelation 20:10 ") .
The origin of these is nowhere explicitly revealed. They may be identical with the demons.
(See Scofield " Matthew 7:22 ") . For Satan and his angels everlasting fire is prepared. Matthew 25:41 ; Revelation 20:10 .

Verse Meaning

The certainty of fulfillment should not lead the disciples to conclude that they could predict the time of fulfillment exactly. Jesus explained that only the heavenly Father knew precisely when the Son would return (cf. Acts 1:7).
"This verse becomes the main proposition which is developed from this point to Matthew 25:30." [1]
Watchful preparation is necessary since no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. We do not know the year or the month either. The alternative would be living life as usual without regard to the King"s return. Jesus deliberately discouraged His disciples from setting dates.
Jesus" self-confessed ignorance has created a problem for some readers. How could He be God and not know everything? The answer is part of the problem of God becoming Prayer of Manasseh , the Incarnation. Jesus voluntarily limited Himself, and limitation of His knowledge was part of His humiliation ( Luke 2:52; Philippians 2:7).
"John"s Gospel, the one of the four Gospels most clearly insisting on Jesus" deity, also insists with equal vigor on Jesus" dependence on and obedience to his Father-a dependence reaching even to his knowledge of the divine. How NT insistence on Jesus" deity is to be combined with NT insistence on his ignorance and dependence is a matter of profound importance to the church; and attempts to jettison one truth for the sake of preserving the other must be avoided." [2]

Context Summary

Matthew 24:29-39 - Words That Must Be Fulfilled
The preceding portion of this prophecy is by all interpreters applied to the destruction of Jerusalem. But on the portion that follows there is a considerable division of opinion.
Perhaps it is wisest, between Matthew 24:28-29, to interpolate the Christian centuries during which the gospel is being preached to the Gentiles, according to Romans 11:25, (but that whole chapter should be considered). Just as one who looks across a mountainous country may count the successive ranks of sierras or ranges, but does not record the valleys that lie between, so our Lord, who speaks as the last of the Hebrew prophets, does not stop to notice the story of the Church, but confines Himself to the events which are specially Hebrew.
Probably the present age will be ushered out by scenes not unlike those of the preceding one; and immediately afterward the Lord will set up His reign, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth. The Advent will be sudden, Matthew 24:36; and will find men unprepared, Matthew 24:38. The Jewish people will exist as a people till then, Matthew 24:34. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 24

1  Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple;
3  what and how great calamities shall be before it;
29  the signs of his coming to judgment
36  And because that day and hour are unknown,
42  we ought to watch like good servants, expecting our Master's coming

Greek Commentary for Matthew 24:36

Not even the Son [ουδε ο υιος]
Probably genuine, though absent in some ancient MSS. The idea is really involved in the words “but the Father only” It is equally clear that in this verse Jesus has in mind the time of his second coming. He had plainly stated in Matthew 24:34 that those events (destruction of Jerusalem) would take place in that generation. He now as pointedly states that no one but the Father knows the day or the hour when these things (the second coming and the end of the world) will come to pass. One may, of course, accuse Jesus of hopeless confusion or extend his confession of ignorance of the date of the second coming to the whole chain of events. So McNeile: “It is impossible to escape the conclusion that Jesus as Man, expected the End, within the lifetime of his contemporaries.” And that after his explicit denial that he knew anything of the kind! It is just as easy to attribute ignorance to modern scholars with their various theories as to Jesus who admits his ignorance of the date, but not of the character of the coming. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 24:36

Mark 13:32 Not even the Son [ουδε ο υιος]
There is no doubt as to the genuineness of these words here such as exists in Matthew 24:36. This disclaimer of knowledge naturally interpreted applies to the second coming, not to the destruction of Jerusalem which had been definitely limited to that generation as it happened in a.d. 70. [source]
Mark 9:1 Till they see the kingdom of God come with power [εως αν ιδωσιν την βασιλειαν του τεου εληλυτυιαν εν δυναμει]
In Mark 8:38 Jesus clearly is speaking of the second coming. To what is he referring in Mark 9:1 ? One is reminded of Mark 13:32; Matthew 24:36 where Jesus expressly denies that anyone save the Father himself (not even the Son) knows the day or the hour. Does he contradict that here? It may be observed that Luke has only “see the kingdom of God,” while Matthew has “see the Son of man coming” Mark has “see the kingdom of God come” (εληλυτυιαν — elēluthuian perfect active participle, already come) and adds “with power.” Certainly the second coming did not take place while some of those standing there still lived. Did Jesus mean that? The very next incident in the Synoptic Gospels is the Transfiguration on Mount Hermon. Does not Jesus have that in mind here? The language will apply also to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the great Day of Pentecost. Some see in it a reference to the destruction of the temple. It is at least open to question whether the Master is speaking of the same event in Mark 8:38; Mark 9:1. [source]
Galatians 1:8 Angel from heaven [ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ]
The phrase only here. “Angels in heaven or the heavens,” Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Mark 13:32. “Angels of the heavens,” Matthew 24:36. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 24:36 mean?

Concerning however the day that and hour no one knows not even the angels of the heavens nor the Son if not Father only
Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ὥρας οὐδεὶς οἶδεν οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐδὲ Υἱός εἰ μὴ Πατὴρ μόνος

Περὶ  Concerning 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἡμέρας  day 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
ἐκείνης  that 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
ὥρας  hour 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ὥρα  
Sense: a certain definite time or season fixed by natural law and returning with the revolving year.
οὐδεὶς  no  one 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
οἶδεν  knows 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
οὐδὲ  not  even 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐδέ  
Sense: but not, neither, nor, not even.
ἄγγελοι  angels 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἄγγελος  
Sense: a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
οὐρανῶν  heavens 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: οὐρανός  
Sense: the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it.
οὐδὲ  nor 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: οὐδέ  
Sense: but not, neither, nor, not even.
Υἱός  Son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
Πατὴρ  Father 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
μόνος  only 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: μόνος  
Sense: alone (without a companion), forsaken, destitute of help, alone, only, merely.