Mark 13:32–33

Context

After Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately on the Mount of Olives when these things would happen and what sign would precede them (Mark 13:3–4). This passage comes at the end of his long reply, commonly called the "Olivet Discourse." Immediately after the parable of the fig tree, in which Jesus tells his disciples to discern the times (13:28–31), he declares that only the Father knows "that day and that hour": "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father" (13:32). He then tells the parable of the master who leaves his house and the porter (13:34–37), repeating the exhortation to "watch."

Interpretation

• Reading concerning the timing: Most denominations and commentators take "that day" to be the day of the Second Coming. They therefore read the passage as a call not to calculate the time but to be ready at all times. Some scholars connect the earlier part of the discourse with the destruction of the Temple and the material from verse 32 onward with the Second Coming, regarding this passage as the point at which the discourse shifts from one subject to the other.
• Classical Christological reading: The phrase "neither the Son" became a point of dispute in the early church's controversy over Arianism. Athanasius and other Nicene Fathers explained this "not knowing" as belonging to the human nature of the incarnate Christ. Augustine is also reported to have read it as meaning "he does not make it known to the disciples."
• Kenotic reading: Some theologians connect the passage with Philippians 2:7, where Christ "made himself of no reputation" (literally, "emptied himself"). On this reading, the Son does not know the day because during his earthly ministry he limited himself in obedience to the Father.

Debates and Issues

• Trinitarian debate: Groups that reject the Trinity, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, cite this passage as evidence that the Son is not equal to the Father. Trinitarian denominations respond with interpretations that distinguish between Christ's divine and human natures.
• Textual issues: In the parallel passage, Matthew 24:36, some manuscripts omit "neither the Son." In Mark, the phrase appears in most manuscripts. Some manuscripts of verse 33 add "and pray," a reading followed by the King James Version: "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."
• Critique of date-setting eschatology: Across denominational lines, this is the passage most frequently cited against claims that predict a specific date for the Second Coming or the Rapture.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

In 1992 the Dami Mission and other groups in South Korea proclaimed that the Rapture would occur on October 28, causing a public uproar. Korean Protestant church leaders at the time reportedly cited this passage and Matthew 24:36 in criticizing such date-setting eschatology. In Korean churches today, the passage is still used in sermons on the Second Coming and in heresy counseling as grounds for warning against calculating dates.

Related Passages

• Matthew 24:36
• Mark 13:35–37
• Acts 1:7
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2
• 2 Peter 3:10