Day Or Hour

[kafka]

I ran across a report today that some Catholics are using what Jesus said in Mark 13:32 as an argument in favor of a broad use of mental reservation (in the wake of the Planned Parenthood scheme) which is clearly unreasonable, since one still must assert a truth when using mental reservation otherwise the choice would be a direct and deliberate false assertion which is an intrinsically evil and cannot be chosen as an act. One cannot choose to make a false assertion and be justified for any reason whatsoever without exception.

Jesus knew in his Divine Nature, but his human nature is limited, it is not all knowing. At the time he said these words he would not have known the event that he asserted he did not know in his human nature. This is what Faith in the two natures of Jesus reveals to us. Yet which event is he referring to? And why would he not know?

The traditional Catholic interpretation is that the event being referred too is the Second Coming, the Return of Jesus, however after having meditated on the verse for several months in it's context and in light of other verses of Sacred Scripture and in light of the teachings of Sacred Tradition and Magisterium, I have come to a different conclusion. Jesus is making a summary of predictions about the Tribulation or End Times in his two discourses revealed in Matthew and Mark.

In both discourses he is predicting events which will occur leading up to his Return, which are also predicted in other parts of Sacred Scripture. We also know from Tradition, Scripture, Magisterium that after the Return of Jesus the general resurrection will occur, then after the general resurrection the general judgment will occur then after the general judgment, the passing away of the first Heaven and first Earth will occur and culminate in the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth.

In both discourses, Jesus makes a sort of digression or little departure from the theme with the little parable of the fig tree after he describes His Return and the Resurrection, in order to make a new point. This little departure is not obvious since Sacred Scripture does not have indentations or spaces to mark a shift in themes as does modern writing. The digression in Matthew concludes with the verse:

{24:36} But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the Angels of the heavens, but only the Father.

Now there are two ways of looking at this verse in context. Either it refers to what Jesus was teaching in previous verses as a conclusion to the little departure Jesus made starting with the parable of the fig tree:

{24:32} So, from the fig tree learn a parable. When its branch has now become tender and the leaves have sprung forth, you know that summer is near.
{24:33} So also, when you will have seen all these things, know that it is near, even at the threshold.
{24:34} Amen I say to you, that this lineage shall not pass away, until all these things have been done.
{24:35} Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Or it marks a starting point to the theme Jesus takes up again concerning his Second Coming in the following verse:

{24:37} And just as in the days of Noah, so also will be the advent of the Son of man.

My opinion is that the event Jesus does not know the day or hour is the consummation of the New Heaven and New Earth alluded to in verse 35 as the conclusion to the little departure which begins with the parable of the fig tree. Why?

The Return of Jesus is predicted in many different places in Sacred Scripture including the prophecy of Daniel and Revelation. Some of these predictions without going into examples include the passage of a certain amount of years or days to marks the beginning and end as well as certain junctures in the unfolding of the Tribulation. In short I think it is possible to reason to the year of the Second Coming in light of what is revealed in Sacred Scripture given one has the grace to penetrate and foresight (or perhaps hindsight) to know when it begins. Jesus' human nature, being informed by His Divine Nature, being the first fruit of creation in all things including reason, being immaculate, being the most wise, and so on would have been able to figure out the year of His Second Coming.

Interestingly Jesus says, "concerning that day or hour, no one knows." He does not even mention year, however I think that His Divine Nature would have informed His human nature as to the day and hour of His Return. I see no reason why it would not be fitting as I do with the consummation and transfiguration of the cosmos.

The passing away of the first Heaven and Earth and by extension the whole Universe is predicted less frequently in Sacred Scripture. I will occur sometime after the general judgment yet the general judgment may take a long time and there is nothing that says that the consummation will occur immediately after the general judgment. There are to my knowledge no specific predictions of years or days leading up to the passing away of the first Heaven and Earth as there is with the predictions of the Second Coming, therefore a limited human nature is not able to reason to this day, hour or year in light of what is revealed in Sacred Scripture and this would include the human nature of Jesus.

Yet Jesus' human nature is mingled with the His Divine Nature so why would the Father not inform the human nature of His Son concerning the consummation of the first world-age? The answer in my mind is more or less simple. First, Heaven is beyond all space and time since it is with God who is Eternity. It is the transcendent realm with God therefore, the passage of the first Heaven and creation of the New Heaven cannot be marked out to a point in space and time. Second, the passing away of the first Earth and first Universe, the entire cosmos, and the subsequent creation or some say transfiguration of the New Cosmos, the New Earth is an event which is staggering, stupendous, miraculous, unique. Saint Peter describes it in his Second Letter:

{3:7} But the heavens and the earth that exist now were restored by the same Word, being reserved unto fire on the day of judgment, and unto the perdition of impious men. . .
{3:10} Then the day of the Lord shall arrive like a thief. On that day, the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and truly the elements shall be dissolved with heat; then the earth, and the works that are within it, shall be completely burned up. . .
{3:12} waiting for, and hurrying toward, the advent of the day of the Lord, by which the burning heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt from the heat of the fire.
{3:13} Yet truly, in accord with his promises, we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, in which justice lives.

The consummation of the heavens (universe) and earth will be effected by God through a tangible heat which will dissolve elements. The Divine Nature is Three in One. A human nature is mingled with the Divine Nature in Jesus. And so in my conclusion the source of the fire will be effected by God by means of the human nature of Jesus. The heat will emit from Jesus. He will release the full power of His death on the Cross which transcends all space and time and so perfect the consummatum est by consumming and destroying the entire cosmos only to create them anew as a gift to His Bride the Church, which will by then after the resurrection and jugdment be complete.

Isaiah
{42:13} The Lord will go forth like a strong man; like a man of battle, he will stir up zeal. He will shout and cry out. He will prevail against his enemies.
{42:14} I have always been quiet; I have been silent; I have been patient. I will speak like a woman giving birth. I will destroy and consume, all at once.

Just as Jesus saved and created anew the the human race by means of His death on the Cross, so will he consume and transfigure the Earth and entire Universe.

This is the reason why it would not be fitting for the human nature of Jesus to know the day or hour of the passing away of Heaven and Earth at that time before His Death and Resurrection. It would have been to much for the human nature of Jesus to bear knowing, since the event will be effected by the Father through the human nature of the Son, and spread and applied by the Spirit. The power which will emit from the human nature of Jesus will be immense, miraculous, stupendous as to dissolve the entire universe including astronomical objects which are billions of degrees farenheit. This is possible since His human nature, though limited, is mingled with the Divine Nature which is unlimited. I have a more arguments in a longer commentary I have worked on but this is the sum of what I think and I am not the first Catholic to think the consummation will occur by means of the human nature of Jesus and more specificially the act whereby He died on the Cross.


(continued in the next post. . . )

Edited February 12, 2011 by kafka

[kafka]

So returning to the Parable of the Fig Tree from Matthew:

{24:32} So, from the fig tree learn a parable. When its branch has now become tender and the leaves have sprung forth, you know that summer is near.

The fig tree has an indirect (spiritual) level of meaning referring to the Church. The Church is growing as She passes through space and time. The seed of the Church is Jesus Christ. The Church is born and grows from his side. She becomes a tree. Her branches will become tender, and her leaves will spring forth, meaning She has reached her maturity and is ready to bear the choicest fruit. She is ready to be transformed into the New Jerusalem. The near summer is the next age of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The world-age of the Resurrection, a Kingdom of Summer, the Church in full bloom: “On this earth that Kingdom is already present in mystery. When the Lord returns it will be brought into full flower.” (Gaudium et Spes, n.39)

{24:33} So also, when you will have seen all these things, know that it is near, even at the threshold.

What is near? The future world-age of the New Heaven and New Earth. The threshold is the events leading up to the New Creation which Jesus is describing in the eschatological passage of Matthew which lead him into the parable of the fig tree: the events of the Tribulation, the general resurrection, and judgment, the threshold to the future.

{24:34} Amen I say to you, that this lineage shall not pass away, until all these things have been done.

Christ used this lineage to refer to all human persons created in this first world-age from Adam to the last human person before the general resurrection, in contradistinction to the human persons who will be transferred into the future world-age. The New Heaven and New Earth will not be all inclusive.

{24:35} Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Now Christ explicitly teaches that the first Heaven and first Earth will pass away. God will destroy the first Earth, and first Heaven will somehow pass away without violence. A New Heaven and a New Earth will be formed. The words of Christ shall never pass away since they spring forth from God who is Truth and Eternity. Truth will burst forth and change everything in the new age.

{24:36} But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the Angels of the heavens, but only the Father.

My interpretation of verse thirty six is that Jesus is not referring to his Return at the end of the Tribulation, but rather the passing away of the first Heaven and first Earth, since it seems to be following upon the theme of verse thirty five and not introducing the theme of verse thirty seven which is Jesus’ Return, an event distinct from the passing away of the first Heaven and Earth and so a new subject. Lumen Gentium specifically teaches, ‘We do not know the time for the consummation of the earth. . . (n.39) The consummation of the earth is the passing away of the first earth in the form of heat Peter teaches in his second epistle. This consummation event is distinct from the event of Jesus and Mary’

The first Heaven is beyond space and time, and so a point cannot be marked out as to when it will pass away. The point in time the first Earth (and by extension the entire universe or ‘heavens’ in the second epistle of Peter) passes away will not be predicted by any Angel, or any human person. Perhaps this point is even hidden from the human nature of Jesus, though His Divine Nature surely knows the time. My opinion is that the destruction of the first earth and universe will be effected through the human nature of Jesus. The consummation-event will be tremendous, so perhaps the Father is concealing it from the human mind of Jesus.

[i]Please note this is my own personal understanding of Tradition-Scripture-Magisterium. [/i]

[kafka]

I forgot to post the parallel Mark sequence which is related the the Matthew 24:36 verse:

{13:28} Now from the fig tree discern a parable. When its branch becomes tender and the foliage has been formed, you know that summer is very near.
{13:29} So also, when you will have seen these things happen, know that it is very near, even at the doors.
{13:30} Amen I say to you, that this lineage shall not pass away, until all these things have happened.
{13:31} Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.
{13:32} But concerning that day or hour, no one knows, neither the Angels in heaven, [b]nor the Son[/b], but only the Father.

some other interesting verses and quotes to consider related to my speculations above:

Psalm
{18:7} his departure is from the summit of heaven. And his course reaches all the way to its summit. Neither is there anyone who can hide himself from his heat.

John
{12:32} And when I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself.”
{12:33} (Now he said this, signifying what kind of death he would die.)

{27:50} Then Jesus, crying out again with a loud voice, gave up his life. (Matthew)
{15:37} Then Jesus, having emitted a loud cry, expired. (Mark)

the cry of Jesus, was I think in part a foreshadowing, or symbolic gesture, of what was occuring on the Cross. Jesus drawing all things, disordered in some way by the consequences of sin, and willing their collective death, consummation, destruction, as a means to a new creation.

Saint Gregory the Great: ‘Heaven and earth pass away in the form they now have. There will be a new heaven and a new earth; and yet we must not hold that they are other: they are themselves made new.’’ (Moralia in Job)

“For here grows the body of a new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of foreshadowing of the new age.” (Gaudium et Spes)

Saint Catherine of Sienna: “though my act of suffering which you have received through me is finite, the fruit of that suffering which you have received through me is infinite. This is because of the infinite divine nature joined with the finite human nature. It was this human nature in which I was clothed that suffered in me, the Word. But because the two natures are fused with each other, the eternal Divinity took to itself the suffering I bore with such burning love. For this reason what I did can be called infinite. . . the fruit was infinite that came from my suffering and desire for your salvation, and therefore you receive it without limit. Had it not been infinite, the whole of humankind, past, present and to come, would not have been restored.” (from the Dialogues)