Knowing the Times
Re-examining Matthew 24:36
In one of the eyewitness accounts is a declaration attributed to Yahowsha (see footnote) which trips up a lot of people when it comes to understanding Yah's timeline. Here is an example of that statement from The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update (© 1995 by The Lockman Foundation).
Yah Has Given Us A Gift / Mattanyah / Matthew 24:36
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
Yahowsha spoke Aramaic. However, because there are no Aramaic manuscripts dated prior to the 6th century CE, the available Aramaic texts cannot be considered reliable. And there are no Hebrew manuscripts of the eyewitness accounts. You can thank the Roman Catholic Church's determined destruction of all things Hebrew for that, if not completely as least in large part. Regarding the eyewitness accounts (mistakenly called Gospels by Christians), please be reminded that there are only two. They were authored by Mattanyah and Yahowchanan, or Matthew and John to those unfamiliar with the reality of who was named what. The historical records of Marcus and Lucas were based on their recollections of the memories of others; they were not eyewitness records.
Mattanyah's Greek translation of Yahowsha's statement in Aramaic containing a Hebrew quotation is the most challenging verse within the eyewitness accounts and other first century historical writings. As rendered, it throws everything into question. Translated three times, from Hebrew to Aramaic, then from Aramiac to Greek, and finally from Greek to English, it reads: "But nevertheless (de), concerning the immediate vicinity of (peri – regarding and referring to) that one specific and definite (ekeinos – unique, certain, emphatic, sequential, and distant) day (hemera – interval between sunrise and sunset) and (kai) hour (hora – a certain definite time) no one (oudeis - nobody) recognizes it (oida – appreciates, acknowledges, or is aware of, sees, perceives, discerns, notices, or knows it relationally), not even (oude) the messengers (aggelos) of heaven (ouranos), only the Father (pater) alone (monos)." (Yah Has Given Us A Gift / Mattanyah / Matthew 24:36)
According to the most reliable scholars, this passage was not included in any of the eighteen pre-Constantine manuscripts of Mattanyah. It is said there is a record, however, which mentions that those responsible for creating The Textus Receptus changed Mattanyah's alleged "not even the Son" remark so that it would match Marcus 13:32.
Therefore, when it comes to this passage, most scholastic tools are rendered unreliable. And unfortunately, there is only one manuscript of the Marcus account dating to the first-through-third century CE, and it ends in chapter 12. The final verses of chapter 12 and all the rest of the Marcus account do not appear in the single manuscript available to us from that time. This reliability problem is further compounded by the fact that, at best, English is a translation of a translation of what was said. And since most of the Olivet Discourse is quoted from ZakarYah, what we end up with is a translation three times over.
This leaves us with five different ways to explain the words currently found in Mattanyah and Marcus. First, if we retain the "not even the Son" reference, Yahowsha is neither divine nor Yahowah, and all of Scripture is a hoax, because it would be impossible for "the Word made flesh" to be unaware of the Word or for the human manifestation of Yahowah not to know Yahowah's thoughts. Further, because He is an eternal being, there can't be a date Yahowsha doesn't know. As God, He was there during creation, and He has already been to our future. In fact, in this very discussion, He has told us exactly what would happen prior to and during His return. So it's absurd for Him not to know what He has just predicted. Therefore, I reject this interpretation and blame those who copyedited Yahowah's testimony for the confusion. After all, current scholarship confirms over 300,000 known variations and alterations between The Textus Receptus and older manuscripts.
Don't take my word for it; Google it.
The second option, one predicated on the removal of "not even the Son," requires us to assume that Yahowah's Heavenly attendants, conscripts, and warriors, who are eternal spirits and thus able to see the past, present, and future simultaneously, have no interest in knowing the timing of the most important event in world history. And since Yahowsha says in the same passage that these servants announce His arrival, it's not reasonable to assume they don't know when they are supposed to perform their duties. This universally ignorant interpretation also requires us to question why Yahowah would provide an overwhelming amount of details specific to His plan and His timeline and yet not want us to understand any of it. Confronted with a remarkable number of useful clues and one poorly rendered passage which seems to negate their purpose, Christian theologians have almost universally held up their little grain of sand while ignoring the mountain looming behind them. I remain convinced, nevertheless, that Yahowah is not telling us that He considers us so stupid that we are unable to see the clues He has provided for us.
Our third alternative is so obvious that in 1707 John Mill, the first modern theologian to consider its implications within the context of Yahowah's timeline, concluded accurately that the verb oida in Mattanyah 24:36 was rendered in the present tense. So Yahowsha was not saying that no one has ever known, nor that no one would ever recognize the day, but only that no one at that moment in time was aware of it. Worth noting is that not only did Mill close the case on closed mindedness with this analysis, his continued investigations prompted him to question the accuracy of The Textus Receptus. It is reported that he personally found 30,000 errors in that universally accepted, and yet overwhelmingly flawed, document which still underlies all English bible translations.
Therefore, "no one" in Yahowsha's audience and population at the time of His revelation "recognized, appreciated, acknowledged, saw, perceived, discerned, noticed or knew relationally" the predicted day when He was planning to return. This was absolutely true then and almost universally so today. Virtually no one recognizes this "specific and definite, unique and certain, sequential day." After all, thanks to Catholics, Yowm Kippurym, Yahowah's Day of Reconciliations, has been replaced by Halloween.
The reason for this ubiquitous ignorance is that as a rule, Christians don't study Yahowsha's message in the context of Yah's Covenant promises, causing them not to be able to connect important fulfillments to the Miqra’ey, Yahowah's Seven Called-Out Assembly Meetings. They don't even know what the Miqra’ey are! (Hopefully, by this time, you do.) Moreover, they don't understand the timeline of In the Beginning / Ba'reshyth / Genesis 1 or its prophetic implications. And not one in a thousand connects the parallel passages in ZecharYah to Mattanyah. So Christians don't recognize what's going to happen or when, and most Jews, secular humanists, atheists, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists have no interest in this subject at all.
The fourth option relative to understanding this passage is tied to the fact that Yahowsha quickly transitioned in the Olivet Discourse to a discussion regarding the Taruw'ah harvest. In the case of the harvest, the day of the year when the ingathering will occur is known, but the year itself is not known. And while Yahowah and Yahowsha know the timing, there is no way for man to discern it from Scripture. All we can know for sure is that it will occur on the Feast of Taruw'ah/Trumpets some time between now and September 12, 2026.
In this regard, Yahowsha's answer was ingenious. Jews have substituted the Babylonian religious observance, Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), for Yahowah's Taruw'ah (Shout for Joy and Signal a Warning). Rabbis called it "the hidden day no one knows, only the Father." In their warped minds, it was the one day each year when Satan went before Yahowah and accused Jews of being bad. So they blew their trumpets to confuse the Accuser. And they kept the day a secret so that halal ben shakar, aka Satan, would miss his appointment to tattle on them before Yahowah. I know, it staggers the imagination that anyone would be so stupid as to believe that swill, but a solid commitment to religion compells people to be incredibly willing to be duped.
Therefore, by saying that He would come for His family on "the day no one knows, only the father," Yahowsha was telling His disciples that the harvest would occur on Taruw'ah, now religiously observed as Rosh Hashanah. Being Jews, they would have understood that. And now, so do we!
The fifth consideration for interpreting this verse is based upon the similarities between it and its counterpart in ZakarYah. The subject, timing, context, and word selections are virtually identical, meaning that it is likely that Yahowsha was answering His disciples' question by citing the prophet He had previously inspired. So, speaking in Hebrew of the day He is going to return, the Son of Yahowah said, "This shall be (hayah –exist as) the one (‘echad – exclusive, unique, certain, and only) day (yowm) which (hu') is known relationally (yada' – personally revealed and respected, understood and acknowledged, distinguished and discerned) to (la) Yahowah." (Yahowah remembers / ZecharYah / Zechariah 14.7) The words "know," "only," "God," "one," and "day" are all in the prophet's text, but in a different order than we find in Mattanyah's account. As such, they provide us with an entirely different, and entirely preferable, meaning.
Without the Hebrew words, then, Yahowsha quoting ZecharYah 14.7 would read, "This shall be the one day which is personally discerned by Yahowah."
The translation of this Hebrew citation to Aramaic, then to Greek, to Latin, back into Greek, and finally to English, without the benefit of an early manuscript, allowed the original word order to be affected by many centuries of religious tampering, and they were changed to: "But nevertheless (de), concerning the immediate vicinity of (peri – regarding and referring to) that one specific and definite (ekeinos – unique, certain, emphatic, sequential, and distant) day (hemera – interval between sunrise and sunset) and (kai) hour (hora – a certain definite time) no one (oudeis - nobody) recognizes it (oida – appreciates, acknowledges, or is aware of, sees, perceives, discerns, notices, or knows it relationally), not even (oude) the messengers (aggelos) of heaven (ouranos), only the Father (pater) alone (monos)." (Mattanyah 24:36)
Without the Greek, Mattanyah 24:36 reads, "But nevertheless, no one recognizes that one specific and definite day and hour, not even the messengers of heaven, but only the Father alone."
Since the Father is Yahowah, with the exception of the messenger reference, the quotes are so similar that I am persuaded that Yahowsha was telling His disciples that the answer to their question could be found in ZakarYah.
It all boils down to this:
Matthew 24:36 isn't about not knowing;
it's about recognizing where to look so that we can know.
And as always, that place is Yahowah's Towrah, Prophets, and Songs.
In ZakarYah's next line, we find: "There shall be (hayah) no (lo’) day (yowm – time reckoned from sunset to sunrise) and no (wa lo’) night (laylah – darkness or gloom). And then (wa) light (‘owr – brilliant illumination) will exist (hayah – shall be) at (la) the point in time (‘et – the specific season and proper duration) of sundown (‘ereb – sunset, twilight, dusk, and early evening)." (Yahowah remembers / ZakarYah / Zechariah 14:7)
Removing the learning aids, that passage declares, "There shall be no day and no night. And then light shall exist at the point in time of sundown."
The NIV Hebrew English Interlinear renders this passage in the Hebrew order and in the compound form as: "And-it-will-be day unique. It-is-known to Yahowah. No daytime or-no nighttime. And-it-will-be at-time-of evening He-will-be light."
All of Yahowah's Miqra’ey begin at sunset the prior day. So the Day of Reconciliations, which is the tenth day of the seventh month, starts at twilight of the 9th day and culminates at sunset on the 10th. Since Yahowsha is returning to the Mount of Olives, some reliable scholars put forth that His radiant and power-exuding final advent will occur just after sunset on October 2nd, 2033, which will be at 6:22 PM or just prior to sundown in Yaruwshalaym. Based upon the seven-hour time-zone differential, that would put it at 11:22 AM on what is for now the American East Coast.
However, Yahowah has testified that on that particular day, the sun will not rise nor set, because He will arrive and His light will rise in its stead. It may well be that He is speaking of the Day of Reconciliations which follows, and not the sunset which initiates this Miqra’. That possibility makes it presumptuous, perhaps, to set a time based upon the normal course of things.
What we know for certain is this: the darkness which is obliterated by the Light is symbolic of the darkness of Satan's Ba'al/Lord/sun god and Allah's moon god guises being obliterated by Yahowah's glorious presence.
So to be completely consistent with His Word, Yahowah must touch down within the specified 24-hour period He designated for the Feast of Reconciliations, or the Miqra’ of Yowm Kippurym. And while that could be any time between sunset on the 9th of Tishri and twilight on the 10th (our October 2nd and 3rd, 2033), I think the reference to "sundown" is both literal and symbolic. That means His return will most likely occur at the beginning of Yowm Kippurym and not after it is over.
If you are unfortunate enough to still be here in 2033, and if you still have such luxuries, open your calendar and set your clock: based upon the Scriptural evidence, Yahowah will most likely return to planet earth at 6:22 PM, Yaruwshalaym time (11:22 AM EST) on October 2, 2033—the dawning of the Day of Reconciliations.
The preceeding is my personal adaption of information contained in on-line post #13970 at the Yada Yah Forums.
Prophetic Chronology Chart
| Date | Year (Yah) |
Year (Ours) |
Event | Fulfills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | 3968 BCE | Fall of Adam. | Millennial milestone #1 Genesis 3:17-19 |
|
| 1000 | 2968 BCE | Mankind becomes so evil that Yahowah purposes to destroy that region of the earth with a flood. | Millennial milestone #2 Genesis 6:5-7 |
|
| 2000 | 1968 BCE | Abraham offers Isaac on Mt. MoriYah—a type of Yahowsha's sacrifice on the upright pole. | Millennial milestone #3 Genesis 22:8-14 |
|
| Iyar 2 | 3000 | 968 BCE | Solomon begins construction of the first temple on Mt. MoriYah, linking Yah's chosen location to the tabernacle's symbology for the Ma'aseYah | Millennial milestone #4 2 Chronicles 3:1-2 |
| Nisan 1 | 3523 | 444 BCE | Artaxerxes Longimanus decrees that Yaruwshalaym and its wall are to be rebuilt. | Beginning of Daniel's 70-week prophecy Daniel 9:24-27 |
| Adar 30 | 3999 | 33 CE | The Son of Righteousness appears with healing in His wings (following the pattern of creation): on the fourth day the sun became visible. Compare Yahowsha's earthly ministry: His wings represent the tassles on his garment, which He wore in compliance with the Towrah instructions (Numbers 15:37-41). | Appearance of the sun on the fourth day of creation: compare Genesis 1:16-19 with Malachi 4:2 |
| Nisan 10 March 28 |
4000 | 33 CE | Yahowsha enters Yaruwshalaym on the same day the Passover lambs were to enter the Isra'elite households, 5 days before Pesach / Passover | Millennial milestone #5 Conclusion of Daniel's 69th prophetic week. Daniel 9:26 Exodus 12:3 |
| Nisan 14 April 1 Friday morning |
4000 | 33 CE | Yahowsha is slaughtered as our Passover Lamb on the same day and at the same time that the Passover lambs are being slaughtered by the Yahudim (the Jews). | The Feast of Passover, the first of Yahowah's seven Mow’ed Miqra’ey, or Called-Out Assemblies. Called Out / Qara / Leviticus 23:4-5 |
| Nisan 14 April 1 Friday late afternoon |
4000 | 33 CE | Yahowsha is entombed, His death having effected the complete and permanent removal of our sin. | Miqra #2 The Feast of Unleavened Bread Leviticus 23:6-8 A mandated Sabbath |
| Nisan 16 April 3 Sunday |
4000 | 33 CE | Yahowsha returns from the dead in a different body, because the one in which He was sacrificed was totally consumed overnight in accordance with the instructions regarding the Passover Lamb. See Exodus 12:10. |
Miqra #3 The Feast of Firstfruits Leviticus 23:9-14 |
| Iyar 25 May 12 |
4000 | 33 CE | Yahowsha, standing on the Mount of Olives with His disciples, is taken up into heaven. His ascension is visible, public, and prophetic. | Zechariah 14:4 Acts 1:3,9-11 |
| Sivan 6 May 22 Sunday |
4000 | 33 CE | Our Spiritual Mother, the Ruach Qodesh, or Set-Apart Spirit, indwells the Ekklesia, the Set-Apart Assembly, as promised in John 14:16-18. | Miqra #4 The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Leviticus 23:15-22 Acts 2:1-4 |
| Tishri 10 Sep. 21 |
4000 | 33 CE | A new Jubilee year starts on schedule. A year of Jubilee occurred once every fifty years, beginning on the Day of Reconciliations, or Yowm Kippurym. Each fifty-year period is called a Yobel, and each of Yah's creation days, from our point of reference, is equal to 20 Yobels, or 1,000 years. This is the first of 40 Jubilees separating Yahowsha's crucifixion and His return. As we have come to learn, 40 is symbolic of a time of testing (the Isra'elites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years; Moshe fasted on Mt. MoriYah for 40 days and nights; Yahowsha fasted for 40 days and nights immediately prior to being tempted by the Adversary), so what we have is a 40 Yobel period of testing for mankind prior to Yahowah's return. |
Leviticus 25:8-55 Zechariah 12:10-14 |
| 5000 | 1033 | A great earthquake shakes Yaruwshalaym. The Spring of Gihon, the sole source of water for the old city, located a stone's throw from the temple mount, turns septic and poisonous. On this day, Yahowah puts mankind to the Test for Infidelity, also called the Trial for Jealousy (see Numbers 5:11-31). When the water under the temple becomes poisonous, Yahowah tells us that He has found mankind to be unfaithful. It is that condition of unfaithfulness which He will remedy on the Day of Reconciliations in 2033. |
Millennial milestone #6 Zechariah 13:1 |
|
| Tishri 1 Sep. or Oct. |
Unspecified Year, but sometime between now and 2026 |
Specially assigned workers from heaven harvest Yahowah's people from the earth. | Miqra #5 The Feast of Trumpets Leviticus 23:23-25 |
|
| Nov. 14 Kislev 4 Saturday |
5993 | 2026 | The Great Tribulation begins. | Daniel 9:27. The last of Daniel's 70 weeks, 2520 days The first Seal: Revelation 6:1-2 |
| Date not specified | Battle of Magog Islamic armies invade Isra'el, only to be defeated by Yahowah. One-fourth of mankind is killed. One-third of earth is burned. |
Ezekiel 38, 39 Daniel 11:40-43 The 2nd and 4th Seals of Revelation 6:3-8 The first four Trumpets of Revelation 8:1-13 |
||
| April 13 Nisan 28 Friday |
5996 | 2029 | The Apophis meteorite strikes the North Atlantic Ocean. One third of the world's sea population dies. Commercial Babylon falls. Earth's skies are darkened. |
Revelation 8:8-13 Revelation 18 Trumpets 2-4 |
| March 28 Adar II 23 Thursday |
5997 | 2030 | The Abomination of Desolation occurs | 1290 days until the end and 1230 days after the Great Tribulation begins. Daniel 12:11 Revelation 12:6 Matthew 24:15-21 |
| Date not specified (Shortly after the Abomination of Desolation) |
The mark of the Beast is instituted: Everyone on earth is required by law to submit to the Anti-Ma'aseYah. Everyone on earth is required by law to worship the Anti-Ma'aseYah. Everyone on earth is required by law to use the Anti-Ma'aseYah's financial system. There are no exceptions, and punishment is merciless, brutal, and immediate. |
Revelation 13:15-18 | ||
| April 18 Nisan 15 Thursday |
5997 | 2030 | On the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the two witnesses begin their 1260-day ministry, pronouncing plagues upon the earth. | Revelation 11:3-6 Zechariah 4:2-6, 11-14 Leviticus 23:6-8 |
| Date not specified | Locust-like demons are released to torment the followers of the Anti-Ma'aseYah for five months. | Fifth Trumpet judgment Revelation 9:1-12 |
||
| April 23 | 5998 | 2031 | A 200 million-man Asian army begins its conquest of the far east | Sixth Trumpet judgment Revelation 9:13-21 |
| Date not specified | The Euphrates River dries up, allowing the Asian Army to mass itself against Isra'el. They are joined by the Anti-Ma'seYah's forces from every other nation on earth. | Sixth Bowl judgment Revelation 16:12-14 |
||
| Sept. 8 | 6000 | 2033 | The end of the Anti-Ma'aseYah's total control of the earth. 3½ years after the Abomination of Desolation and one month before the end of the Great Tribulation. |
Daniel 12:7 Revelation 12:14 |
| Sept. 29 | 6000 | 2033 | The two witnesses are slain by the AntiMa'aseYah in Yaruwshalaym. Their corpses lie in the street for 3½ days, where they can be seen by everyone in the world (via satellite television, perhaps). The whole world throws a party, exchanging gifts with each other and singing songs, because Yah's two prophets are dead. | Revelation 11:7-10 |
| Tishri 10 Oct. 3 Monday |
6000 | 2033 | The two witnesses are raised from the dead. A voice from heaven tells them, "Come up here!" and they ascend in plain view. A huge earthquake which shakes the entire earth follows within the hour, caused by Yahowsha's return to the Mount of Olives. Isra'el recognizes their Ma'aseYah and mourns for Him as for a lost brother. | Miqra #6 the Day of Atonement Revelation 11:11-13 Leviticus 23:26-32 Zechariah 14:4 Zechariah 12:10-14 |
| 6000 | 2033 | Yahowsha single-handedly destroys the armies assembled against Isra'el in the Battle of Armageddon. Those of us who were earlier taken out of the world are with Him as observers. | Revelation 14:14-20 Isaiah 63:1-6 |
|
| Tishri 15 Oct. 8 Saturday |
6000 | 2033 | The Millennial Reign of Yahowsha begins. Yahowsha reigns in Yaruwshalaym as King. The 40th Yobel since Yahowsha fulfilled Passover begins. |
Millennial milestone #7 Miqra #7 the Feast of Tabernacles Leviticus 23:33-44 Leviticus 25:8-11 |
| Heshlan 30 Nov. 22 |
6000 | 2033 | The separation of the sheep (Yahowah's children) and goats (everyone else) is completed. 1335 days after the Abomination of Desolation |
Matthew 25:31-46 Daniel 12:12 |
The above chart has been adapted from the book "The End of the Beginning" by Ken Powers. While Mr. Powers remains a staunch defender of Sha'uwl of Tarsus, aka Paul, I still consider his timeline to be a useful piece of work.
= יהוה = ee-ah-oh-ah = Yahowah
Song / Mizmowr / Psalm 19:7
Yahowah's Towrah is complete and entirely perfect, returning and restoring the soul. Yahowah's testimony is trustworthy and reliable, making understanding and obtaining wisdom simple for the open-minded and receptive.
Yahowah's (
) Towrah (torah – teaching, guidance, direction, and instruction) is complete and entirely perfect (tamym – without defect, lacking nothing, correct, genuine, right, helpful, beneficial, and true), returning and restoring (suwb – transforming) the soul (nepesh – consciousness). Yahowah's testimony ('eduwth – restoring and eternal witness) is trustworthy and reliable ('aman – verifiable, confirming, supportive, and establishing), making understanding and obtaining wisdom (hakam – educating and enlightening oneself to the point of comprehension) simple for the open-minded and receptive (pethy – easy for those who are receptive).
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Footnotes:
Pronouncing "ow"
When you see the "ow" letter combination in words from Hebrew, such as Yahowsha, it is pronounced like the "ow" in "throw". That is, the "o" is long and the "w" is silent. We include the "w" to remind the reader that the actual Hebrew word is spelled with the Hebrew vowel "waw" (ו), which carries either the English sound of a long "o" or a long "u". So when you see, for example, "Shabbathown", the "thown" is pronounced like "thrown" as in, "The ball was thrown hard," without the "r". Easy-peasy, Weezie!
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