Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:33 - When the time is (1st century imminence & historical fulfillment?)

Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:33 (1st century imminence & historical fulfillment?)


Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away (1st century imminence & fulfillment?):
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Matthew 24:36 - No one knows about that day and hour (1st century understanding & imminence?):
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Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:33

Matthew 24:37-39 - Just as the days of Noah & the flood (1st century historical fulfillment?):
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Matthew 24:37-39 & Luke 17:28-29 - Just as the days of Lot & Sodom it rained fire (1st century historical fulfillment?):
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Matthew 24:36: "“But no-one knows about that day and hour — not-even the angels (in) the heavens, nor the Son — except the Father alone."

The parallel account to Matthew 24:36 in Mark reads:

Mark 13:32: "“But no-one knows about that day or the hour — not-even the angels in heaven, nor the Son — except the Father."

Mark 13:33: "Be-watching-out, be-sleepless and be-praying, for you-do not know when the time is."


Mark 13:33 will be specifically addressed here. 


1st century audience

Jesus said "BE-WATCHING-OUT, BE-SLEEPLESS and BE-PRAYING, for YOU-do not know when the time is" (Mark 13:33). 

Jesus here addressed His 1st century disciples "Peter and James and John and Andrew" (Mark 13:3) who asked Him something and He commanded these 1st century disciples to "BE-WATCHING-OUTBE-SLEEPLESS and BE-PRAYING, for YOU-do not know when the time is" (Mark 13:33).


1st century audience & imminence of the time in connection with the coming?

Jesus said "BE-WATCHING-OUT, BE-SLEEPLESS and be-praying, FOR YOU-do NOT KNOW WHEN the TIME is" (Mark 13:33). 

Jesus then added in the very next verses: "(It is) like (a) man away-on-a-journey. Having-left his house and having-given authority (to) his slaves — (to) each (as to) his work — he also commanded the doorkeeper that HE-SHOULD-BE-KEEPING-WATCHTherefore, KEEP-WATCHINGFOR YOU-do NOT KNOW WHEN the lord (of) the house IS-COMING, whether evening or midnight or rooster-crowing or early-morning — that having-come suddenly, he-may not find YOU SLEEPING" (Mark 13:34-36). 

Here "FOR YOU-do NOT KNOW WHEN the TIME is" (Mark 13:33) seems to be interchangeable with "FOR YOU-do NOT KNOW WHEN the lord (of) the house IS-COMING" (Mark 13:35). 

The same exhortations are also given to "BE-WATCHING-OUTBE-SLEEPLESS" (Mark 13:33) as it is written: "KEEP-WATCHING" (Mark 13:35) so that "he-may not find YOU SLEEPING" (Mark 13:34-36).

Several verses earlier, Jesus said something about "the Son (of) Man COMING" (Mark 13:26), indicating 3 verses later: "So also YOU — when YOU-see these (things) taking-place, YOU know that (it) is near, at (the) doors. Truly I-say (to) YOU that this generation by-no-means will-pass-away until which (time) these (things) all take-place" (Mark 13:29-30).


1st century audience & imminence of the "time" in connection with the "time" of affliction?

Jesus said "you-do not know when THE TIME is" (Mark 13:33). 

In the parallel account to Mark 13 found in Matthew 24, Jesus mentioned "Daniel the prophet" (Matthew 24:15). In Daniel 12, it is written about "in THAT TIME Michael the great ruler will-rise-up, having-stood over the sons (and daughters) of your people; THAT TIME (will be) AFFLICTIONSUCH-AS HAS NOT TAKEN-PLACE since which (time) it became (a) nation on the earth until THAT TIME" (Daniel 12:1). Jesus referred in Mark 13 to "(an) AFFLICTION SUCH-AS HAS NOT TAKEN-PLACE such-as-this since (the) beginning (of the) creation which God created" (Mark 13:19). 

10 verses later, Jesus added: "So also YOU — when YOU-see these (things) taking-place, YOU know that (it) is near, at (the) doors. Truly I-say (to) YOU that this generation by-no-means will-pass-away until which (time) these (things) all take-place" (Mark 13:29-30).

For more similarities between Daniel 12 & Mark 13 and Matthew 24:


1st century imminence of "the time" in Revelation?

Jesus said "you-do not know when THE TIME is" (Mark 13:33). 

In the parallel account to Mark 13 found in Luke 21, Jesus warned that before that "many will-come on (the basis of) My name, saying ‘I am (the One)’, and ‘THE TIME HAS-DRAWN-NEAR’. Do not go after them".

When Jesus said those words, He said that one should not go after those saying "THE TIME HAS-DRAWN-NEAR" (Luke 21:8). Yet, we read that later in the 1st century in the Bible it was recorded that Jesus' own disciples started to say that THE TIME is near.

For example, later in the 1st century "John" (Revelation 1:1) wrote: "THE TIME (is) near" (Revelation 1:3, Revelation 22:10). The Greek word for "HAS-DRAWN-NEAR" (eggizó 1448 in Greek, verb) used in Luke 21:8 comes from the Greek word for "near" (eggus 1451 in Greek, adverb) which is used in Revelation 1:3 and Revelation 22:10.

For more information:

Matthew 24:4-5 & Luke 21:8 - The time has drawn near (1st century biblical fulfillment?):
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1st century imminence of the time in connection with the coming age?

Jesus said "you-do not know when the TIME is" (Mark 13:33). Jesus may have been talking about a coming "TIME" (Mark 13:33) here.

3 chapters earlier, Jesus may have contrasted "THIS TIME" with "the COMING AGE", saying: "Truly I-say (to) you, there-is no-one who left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for-the-sake (of) Me and for-the-sake (of) the good-news except he-receive (a) hundred-fold now in THIS TIME — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along-with persecutions — and in the COMING AGE, eternal life" (Mark 10:29-30). 

The coming "TIME" (Mark 13:33) that Jesus spoke about may come when "the COMING AGE" (Mark 10:30) comes. 

In the parallel account to Mark 13 found in Matthew 24, the 1st century disciples of Jesus actually asked Him initially when "(the) CONCLUSION (of) the AGE" (Matthew 24:3) would be. 

That COMING AGE could have been apprehended as imminent in the 1st century. 

12 chapters earlier in Matthew, Jesus said: "whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it-will not be-forgiven (to) him — neither in THIS AGE nor in the (one) ABOUT-TO(-COME)" (Matthew 12:32). Jesus in the 1st century mentioned "THIS AGE" (Matthew 12:32) and an AGE "ABOUT-TO(-COME) [mellonti 3195 in Greek]" (Matthew 12:32). The Greek word for "ABOUT-TO(-COME)" (melló 3195 in Greek) is a verb that can be translated as "IS-ABOUT-TO". According to Jesus there was in the 1st century "THIS AGE" (Matthew 12:32) which would come to a "CONCLUSION" (Matthew 24:3) to let its place to an AGE "ABOUT-TO(-COME)" (Matthew 12:32). 

For more information:

Matthew 24:3 - When will these things be (1st century imminence?):
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1st century events

Jesus said early in the 1st century: "you-do not know when the TIME is" (Mark 13:33).
 
Later in the 1st century, around the time of First Jewish-Roman War which happened around AD 70, the 1st century historian Josephus reported that the events that took place during that time (such as the burning of the temple in Jerusalem around AD 70) were according to "the revolution of [the] times", that is, there was a change of "time" from one "time" to another. 

The 1st century historian Josephus wrote in "The Wars of the Jews":

(6.250 (6.4.5)): "but, as for that house, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of [the] times; it was the tenth day of the month Lous [Ab], upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon"

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