Revelation Chapter 7 Commentary
Expanded Yeshuan Apostolic Record Commentary on the Book of Revelation
This 22-volume collection offers a chapter by chapter expanded commentary on the book "Revelations on Revelation" by Shawn McCraney. This collection is a part of the Yeshuan Apostolic Record Commentary Collection, offering extended insights and clarifications on the entire purpose and place of the Apostolic Record (typically referred to as the New Testament) from a fulfilled perspective. It includes significant facts from various translations, commentaries, and historical contexts, as it expands on the footnotes in Revelations on Revelation. Volume 7 begins with a follow-up on Matthew 24:36, examining the manuscript evidence behind Jesus' statement that not even the Son knew the day or hour. It then turns to Revelation chapter 7, the interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, covering the sealing of the servants of God and the great multitude before the throne, verse by verse.
Sample: Matthew 24:36 Follow-Up
Before we move on with our study of Revelation chapter 7, we were working through Matthew 24 in Book Six and came to verse 36 where Yeshua says:
“But of that day and hour knoweth no one knows, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but my Father only.”
Some people suggest that this passage is spurious and say that the phrase, “neither the Son,” has been added to the text by those who have sought to malign the deity of Christ. Of course, the text has always presented serious difficulties because it causes the reader to ask, “If Yeshua had the total Divine nature, how could He say He knew not the day and hour of a future event?” Some people even say that the words, “no one,” and “nor the Son,” have been added. This is supported by Ambrose, called St. Ambrose, who was a staunch resister to Arian and his views of Christ. It was Ambrose who said that this line was missing from certain manuscripts therefore giving the impression that it had been added.
Scholars today, however, say that there can be little doubt that the passage is genuine.
The trouble comes with Mark 13:32 which without dispute does read:
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
So, whether Matthew was messed with, as Ambrose and others claim, Mark 13:32 was not, and therefore the content is accurate – the Son did not know “the day or hour.”
Getting back to Matthew 24, however, there are more than a dozen instances where Matthew “softened” passages in Mark which appear to limit Yeshua’s knowledge of things. We never see the reverse so the belief is scribes were prone to remove information in their translation of Matthew rather than add it. The Mark 13 passage is undisputed in manuscript evidence and since the external evidence that supports the fact that Matthew was massaged through the removal of content in some manuscripts (rather than the addition of it) I side with exactly what it says, and concur that Yeshua did in fact say this, (though Trinitarians have a hard time admitting it). Even Bruce Metzger, one of the world’s preeminent New Testament scholars says:
The omission of the words because of the doctrinal difficulty they present is more probable than their addition by assimilation to [the parallel passage in] Mark 13.32.
Take it for what it’s worth. But a question remains – if no one (angels or even the Son) knew the hour or day but only the Father, when would the Father reveal the information?
I suggest that the Father is revealing it all in and through the Revelation to Yeshua the Christ which John has recorded and we are studying today in this series!