Verse 34 says, “Truly I say to you, This generation shall by no means pass away until all these things take place.” These things refer to the fig tree becoming tender and putting forth its leaves. These things will take place before this generation is over.
It is not the generation according to age or people, as the generation in 1:17; it is the generation according to the moral condition of the people, as the generation in 11:16; 12:39, 41, 42, 45; and Proverbs 30:11-14. This means that from the time the Lord Jesus delivered this prophecy until the full restoration of Israel, the moral situation of that generation will not be changed. This generation shall not pass away until the full restoration of the nation of Israel takes place. Then the generation will change, and the moral situation will turn from evil to good.
Verse 36 says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of the heavens, nor the Son, but the Father only.” The Son, standing in the position of the Son of Man (v. 37), does not know the day and hour of His coming back.
Verse 37 says, “For as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Many Christians have misunderstood this verse. The Lord’s coming (parousia) will be as the days of Noah. This indicates that the Lord’s parousia will be a period of time. This period will be as the days of Noah; that is, the situation of the Lord’s parousia will be like that in the days of Noah.
Verses 38 and 39 say, “For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and took all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” “For” indicates that this verse is the explanation of why and how the Lord’s parousia will be as the days of Noah. It is because in the days of Noah the following conditions existed: people were befuddled by eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage; and they did not know until the flood came and took them away. During the Lord’s parousia, people will be the same; befuddled by the necessities of this life and not knowing that God’s judgment (signified by the flood) will come upon them by the Lord’s coming. The believers, however, should be de-drugged and soberly know that Christ is coming to execute God’s judgment upon this corrupted world.
Eating, drinking, and marriage were originally ordained by God for man’s existence. But due to man’s lust, Satan utilizes these necessities of human life to occupy man and keep him from God’s interests. Toward the end of this age, this situation will be intensified and will reach its climax during the Lord’s parousia.
The most striking features of the days before the flood were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage. This indicates that the people of those days were drugged by their fleshly, worldly enjoyment. The same thing is happening in society today. The enemy of God, Satan, utilizes the necessities of life to poison the people created by God. The entire human race has been poisoned. However, this does not mean that there is no need for us to eat, drink, or get married. All this is necessary for our existence. But we must not allow these things to drug us and to dull our senses. In human society today the senses of every person, high or low, old or young, are numb, indicating that the people have been poisoned by the way of this age in eating, drinking, and giving in marriage. This was the situation in the days of Noah, and it will be the situation at the time of the Lord’s parousia.
People today are studying and working for the purpose of enjoying good eating, good drinking, and a good marriage. They have no thought concerning the things of God. How prevailing is this lack of sense concerning God today! It is prevailing especially in the educational sphere and the commercial sphere. So many in the universities have been drugged by their pursuit of an education. Their education is merely for eating, drinking, and marriage. Those in the commercial field have also been drugged by the desire to make money, also for the purpose of having better eating, drinking, and marriage. This has caused many divorces. When a young man is poor, he may marry a certain woman. But when he makes more money, he may divorce his wife and marry another in his desire for a better wife. This situation will continue until it reaches the climax during the Lord’s parousia. During the days of Noah, this climax was reached a little before the flood which came in with the judgment of God. In a sense, the parousia of Christ will be like the flood coming with God’s judgment. The flood brought judgment upon the drugged people of Noah’s day. The parousia will bring God’s judgment upon this drugged world. Christ will descend to earth and execute God’s righteous judgment upon this drugged and rebellious world.