Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 24:36-41

"But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. And as [were] the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Then shall two man be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: two women [shall be] grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left." — Matthew 24:36-41 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: The Lord, having described all the signs that will precede His coming and brought His discourse to the very doors, still would not name the day: Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

St. Jerome: In some Latin copies, the phrase "neither the Son" is added here, but it is not found in the Greek copies, particularly those of Adamantius and Pierius.ⁱ But because it is read in some, it seems to require our attention.

Remigius of Auxerre: And Mark includes this addition (Mark 13:32).

St. Jerome: At this, Arius and Eunomius rejoice greatly, for they say, "He who knows and He who is ignorant cannot both be equal." Against these we answer briefly: Since Jesus, that is, the Word of God, made all times (for by him all things were made, and without him was not any thing made that was made, John 1:3), and since the day of judgment must exist within time, by what logic can He who knows the whole be shown to be ignorant of a part?

We will say further: Which is greater, the knowledge of the Father or the knowledge of the judgment? If He knows the greater, how can He be ignorant of the lesser?

St. Hilary of Poitiers: And has God the Father indeed denied the knowledge of that day to the Son, when He has declared, All things are delivered to me of my Father (Luke 10:22)? But if anything has been denied, then not all things have been delivered to Him.

St. Jerome: Having then shown that the Son of God cannot be ignorant of the day of the consummation, we must now show a reason why He is said to be ignorant. When the Apostles asked Him about this day after the resurrection, He answered more openly: It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power (Acts 1:7). In this, He shows that He Himself knows, but that it was not expedient for the Apostles to know, so that, being uncertain of their Judge's coming, they would live every day as though they were to be judged that day.

St. Augustine of Hippo: When He says here, "knows not," He means "makes others not to know." That is, He did not know then in the sense of revealing it to His disciples, just as it was said to Abraham, Now I know that you fear God (Genesis 22:12). This means, "Now I have caused you to know," because through that trial, Abraham came to know himself.¹

That He says the "Father knows" implies that in the Father, the Son also knows. For what can exist in time that was not made by the Word, since time itself was made by the Word?²

That the Father alone knows can be well understood in the way mentioned above: He makes the Son to know. But the Son is said not to know because He does not make men to know.³

Origen of Alexandria: Alternatively, as long as the Church, which is Christ's body, does not know that day and hour, the Son Himself is said not to know that day and hour. The word "know" is used according to its common meaning in Scripture. The Apostle speaks of Christ as him who knew no sin (1 Corinthians 5:21), meaning He did not sin. The Son holds the knowledge of that day and hour in store for the fellow heirs of the promise, so that all may know at once—that is, on the day when it comes upon them—what things God has prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Rabanus Maurus: I have also read in a certain book that "the Son" here is not to be understood as the Only-Begotten but as the adopted, because He would not have placed the Angels before the Only-Begotten Son by saying, Not the Angels of heaven, neither the Son.ⁱ

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Gospel says, Of that day and hour knows no man, but you say that neither the month nor the year of His coming can be known. This precision of yours seems to imply that while the year cannot be known, perhaps the week or the decade might be, as if it were possible to fix it to a period of seven, ten, a hundred, or some other number of years. If you admit that you cannot limit it in this way, then you agree with me.⁴

St. John Chrysostom: So that you may understand that He is silent about the day and hour of judgment not from ignorance, He brings forward another sign: As it was in the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. By this He means that He will come suddenly and unexpectedly, while people are enjoying themselves. Paul also speaks of this, saying, When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Rabanus Maurus: Marriage and food are not condemned in themselves here, as the error of Marcion and the Manicheans teaches. For on the one depends the continuation of the species, and on the other, the continuation of life. Rather, what is reproved is the unrestrained use of lawful things.

St. Jerome: It is asked here how it was said above, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, etc., when here only signs of peace are spoken of. We must suppose that after the wars and other miseries that will devastate the human race, a short peace will follow, offering rest and quiet to test the faith of believers.

St. John Chrysostom: Or, for those who are thoughtlessly disposed, it will be a time of peace and enjoyment. The Apostle did not say, "When there shall be peace," but When they shall say, Peace and safety, showing their insensibility to be like that of the people in Noah's day. Then, the wicked, not the good, indulged themselves, but their end was sorrow and tribulation. This also shows that when Antichrist comes, those who are wicked and despair of their salvation will run to illicit pleasures, which is why He chooses a fitting example.

For while the ark was being built, Noah preached among them, foretelling the evils that were to come. But those wicked people paid no attention to him and lived wantonly, as though no evil would ever arrive. So now, because many will not believe in future things, He makes what He says credible by pointing to what has already happened.

He gives another sign to show how unexpectedly that day will come, and to show that He is not ignorant of the day: Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. These words show that masters and servants, those who work and those who do not, will be taken or left alike.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Or, the "two in the field" represent the two peoples of believers and unbelievers, whom the day of the Lord will overtake in the labors of this life, as it were. They will be separated, one being taken and the other left. This shows the separation that will occur between believers and unbelievers; when God's wrath is kindled, the saints will be gathered into His granary, and the unbelievers will be left as fuel for the fire from heaven.

The same account can be given for the saying, Two women shall be grinding at the mill. The mill is the work of the Law. Just as some of the Jews believed through the Apostles, so some will believe through Elijah and be justified by faith. One part will be taken through this faith of good works, while the other part will be left, unfruitful in the work of the Law, grinding in vain and never producing the bread of heavenly food.

St. Jerome: Or, the "two men in one field" will be found performing the same labor, sowing grain together but not reaping the same fruit from their labor. The two "grinding together" we may understand as either the Synagogue and the Church, which seem to grind together in the Law and make meal from the same Scriptures for the commandments of God, or as other heresies, which seem to grind the meal of their own doctrines from one or both Testaments.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The "two in one bed" are those who preach the Lord's rest after His passion in a similar way, a matter on which heretics and catholics have the same confession. But because the Catholic Faith preaches the unity of the Godhead of the Father and the Son, while the false creed of the heretics attacks it, the divine judgment will decide between the confessions of these two by taking one and leaving the other.

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, these words denote three orders in the Church. "The two men in the field" denote the order of preachersⁱ, to whom the field of the Church is committed. "The two grinding at the mill" denote the order of the marriedⁱ, who, with a divided heart, are called first to one side and then to the other, and so, as it were, are always turning a mill. "The two in one bed" denote the order of the continentⁱ, whose repose is signified by the bed. But in all these orders there are good and bad, righteous and unrighteous, so that some will be taken and some left.

Origen of Alexandria: Alternatively, the body is laid as if sick on the bed of carnal passions, the soul grinds in the mill of this world, and the bodily senses labor in the field of the world.

1. de Trin., i, 12
2. Serm., 97, 1
3. Lib. 83, Quaest. Q60
4. Ep. 199, 16