Mark 13:32

“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.”

These words put the timing of the second coming into its proper light. It is unknown to all but the Father. It is only known in the secret councils of God Himself in eternity. Thus even the fulfilment of all the signs will be no guarantee that it will then soon come, for the One Who proclaimed the things that had to happen did not know the time of His own return. Placed where it is this is a clear warning that men must not be presumptious about His coming. All the warnings to be ready are because no one does know when it will happen. Nothing is therefore to be taken as certainly indicating the closeness of it.

Note that even the participants in the final events are kept in the dark about it. The angels of heaven will have their task to do then (Mark 13:27), but must await God's timing and God's instructions. Meanwhile they must carry on with their present responsibilities, not knowing when it will be. Even the Son while on earth has not been party to the information. Like all men He had to walk in faith depending on the Scriptures. It was an essential, if startling, part of the incarnation (compare Philippians 2:6). But it is known to the Father. For all is known to Him from beginning to end.

This verse is a key verse from a critical point of view for in it Jesus calls Himself ‘the Son', unique and distinctive from all others, higher than the angels, and thus as the Son of the same being as the Father. And yet nothing can be more certain than that the phrase is genuine for no one would have invented the idea that Jesus did not know the time of His coming except for someone who wanted to degrade Him, and a degrader would never have introduced the title ‘the Son'. The more divine someone thought He was the less likely that they would say such a thing. Thus its genuineness is as sure as anything can be.