A CLOSE LOOK AT MT. 24 & 25 (part 1)
Most of lesson this morning and this evening will focus on Matthew 24 because it one of the most misunderstood chapters in the Bible. Many in the religious world think this chapter teaches the rapture theory because they believe there are signs by which we can known when Jesus is about to return and of course they believe that those signs are happening now and that Jesus is going to return within our generation.
Before we begin looking at Mtt. 24, I want to give you some basic guidelines that you should follow in order to figure what is going on in any given chapter within the Bible.
1. One of the most important things you must do is to look at the context so you can know what is going on. This means you need to look at the previous chapter as it may give you great insight to what is going on
2. Also, it important to examine any other verses or parallel accounts of the contents of the chapter you want to examine.
3When you are examining a more difficult chapter try and find verses within that chapter that might help you unlock the true meaning of that chapter.
I will be using these basic guidelines to show what Mat. 24 teaches.
So, the first thing we need to do is to find out what is
going on in Mat. 23. In this chapter, Jesus is in
Matthew 23:32
"Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt. 33 "Serpents, brood of
vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 "Therefore, indeed, I send
you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify,
and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to
city, 35 "that on you
may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the
temple and the altar. 36
"Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this
generation. 37 " O
Jesus is makes it clear
that these Jews had rejected Him and that the blood of the prophets would
be on their head. He is pronouncing a judgment on these Jews and He tells
them that this judgment will happen to this generation and that God has left
their house desolate. In other words, God’s presence was no longer in the
temple. This judgment Jesus is talking about was the destruction of
With this in mind, I
want to show what I believe to be a key verse in understanding Mt. 24.
Matthew 24:34
"Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass
away till all these things take place.
No
matter how you decided to explain Mt. 24, Jesus makes it easy for us to see
that the events described before verse 34 would happen in that generation. Just
as we saw at the end of Mt. 23, we can see that those events in those verses were
to occur sometime within a 30 to 40 year span.
Those
that teach the rapture theory try to change the meaning of generation in our
key verse to simply denote the Jewish race. In other words, they have Jesus
saying that the Jewish race will not pass away until all these things take
place. This is how they justify stretching out the time span of when these signs
are to occur. But even they will admit that the word generation is rarely used
to mean race. Instead, the word generation is almost always defined as,
“the sum total of
those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given
time”
In
fact, out of the 37 times this word is used in the NT, I could not find where
it was ever used to refer to a race. Let me give you an example of what I am
talking about.
Matthew 1:17 So all
the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;
Obviously, the word
generation is talking about a time span and not a race because this verse
wouldn’t make any sense if you substituted the word generation with the word
race. Please keep this in mind as we begin to examine Mt. 24. My goal is to
show you that Mt. 24 talk about 2 different events. Verses 1 – 34 talk about
the destruction of
Matthew 24:1 Then
Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show
Him the buildings of the temple. 2
And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say
to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be
thrown down."
Verse 3 teaches us that
when Jesus departed from the temple, He went to the
We learn that Jesus’
disciples began to show Jesus the marvelous buildings of
This was an amazing
statement because at this point, they were still building on the temple area
which by they way they didn’t finish until A.D. 64, and
In Matthew’s account we
see 3 questions.
Matthew 24:3 "Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of
the age?"
Luke account shows 2
questions.
Luke 21:7 So they
asked Him, saying, "Teacher, but when will these things be? And what
sign will there be when these things are about to take place?"
Mark’s account also shows
2 questions
Mark 13:4 "Tell
us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when
all these things will be fulfilled?"
This is why it is
important that we look at the parallel accounts in the gospels. Because when we
look at just one, we don’t get the complete picture. However, when we look at
all them then together, then we will get the complete picture. For example, Luke’s
and Mark’s accounts only record two questions, which deal with destruction of
In Mt. 24, they also want
to know what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Some
believe these questions also refer to the destruction of
In Mt. 13, Jesus spoke
several parable about the condition of a person’s heart, the importance and
strength of God’s kingdom, and He even gave them 2 different parables about the
end of the world or the end of the age, and Jesus even asked them if they
understood what He was talking about, and they all said “yes we understand” in
verse 51. Yet, when we come to Acts 1:6, just before Jesus is about to ascend
into heaven, His disciples want to know when will He will restore the kingdom
to
Once again we can see
that they were still looking for a physical kingdom instead of spiritual one.
So, this is why I say it is certainly possible that they thought the
destruction of
However, it does not
really matter what they were thinking or if they confused because Jesus is
going answer these questions and help us see that we have the destruction of
The latter part of their
question about the end of the age/world is defiantly talking about the end of
time here on earth. The reason I say
this is because every time this word is used in the NT, it either refers to the
world itself or to time. Now the reason I point this out is because some try to
say they wanted to know when the end of the Jewish age would happen instead of
the end of the world. Again, as far I could find, this word is never used to refer
to the Jewish nation.
In verse 4 – 14, Jesus
warns His disciples not to be fooled by the false signs they would experience
before the destruction of
Matthew 24:4 And
Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 "For many will come in My
name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.
Jesus says there will be
many people who will come His name trying to say they are the Messiah. The
Bible tells us in Acts 5:35-37 that some men had claimed to be something great
and led some people away to a slaughter, and historians like Josephus also
commented on how false messiah’s were stepping up during those days.
Matthew 24:6
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. 7 "For nation
will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 "All these are the beginning
of sorrows.
Again these are things
are going to take place before the destruction of
Those who teach the
rapture theory think these signs mentioned are the signs we are to look for
before Jesus comes again, but these kinds of signs have been happening
throughout history. It is also note worthy to point out that our text does not
say that these signs will increase during this time but they will simply be
happening. Please note the following,
Vincent notes that between this prophecy by Jesus
in 30 A.D. and the destruction of Jerusalem there was an earthquake in Crete in
46-47 A.D. at Rome in 51 A.D. at Apamaia in Phrygia in 60 A.D and at Campania
in 41 -54 A.D. He also note 4 famines during the reign of Claudius in 41 – 54
A.D. One of these famines are taught in Acts 11:28. Also an early writer named
Tacitus (Annals xvi. 10-13) describes hurricanes and storms in
There are more events I
could list but these are sufficient enough to show that they had those things
happening before the destruction of
Matthew 24:9
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will
be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
The Book of Acts reveals
the fulfillment of this prediction. The apostles were beaten and put in prison
(Acts 4--5), Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 6--7), there was a great
persecution against the church (Acts 8--9), and James was beheaded (Acts
12:1-2) just to name a few.
Now Mark adds this in his
account,
Mark 13:11 "But
when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or
premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak
that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
This certainly limits
these events that were going to happen to the first century because when they
were arrested the Holy Spirit would give them the words by which to speak. Now
this would be a study all with in itself, but we know that 1 Cor. 13 and Eph. 4,
and other passages make it clear the miraculous speaking of tongues and the
like were limited to the 1st century because only the apostles had
the ability to impart miraculous gifts by the laying on of their hands and so
this cannot happen today even though there are some who claim they can speak by means of the Holy Spirit or
perform miracles today.
Matthew 24:10
"And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate
one another. 11 "Then
many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 "And because lawlessness
will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Again, these are things that happened before
the destruction of
"Tacitus, the Roman historian, records, `that
several Christians at first were apprehended, and then by their discovery, a
multitude of others were convicted, and cruelly put to death, with derision and
insult!'"
Now when a person get to
verse 13, they might want to apply that to salvation in heaven and it certainly
is true that if we endure as Christians to the end of our lives, we will be
saved. But, based on context, I do not believe this verse is talking about
salvation of the soul. Luke’s account adds that not one hair of their head
would be lost (Lk. 21:18). Since Jesus goes on from this verse and tells His
disciples what they can do to escape the destruction that is going to take
place, I believe He saying that those who endure and don’t allow themselves to
be tricked by the false signs and will take heed to the real signs that mark
the destruction of Jerusalem will not lose their physical lives.
Josephus and others back
this historical fact up because not one Christian was recorded of losing their
life during the destruction of
Matthew 24:14 "And
this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to
all the nations, and then the end will come.
This is another important
verse because whatever the end is that these verses have been talking about
cannot occur until the gospel is preached in all the world as a witness to all
the nations. Those who teach the rapture theory would say that this has not
happened. but consider what the Bible says,
Colossians 1:5 because
of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in
the word of the truth of the gospel, 6
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world,
Colossians 1:23 if
indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved
away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Also Rom 10:18 and 16:26 all show that the gospel had indeed been
preached to all the world. The Book of Colossian was written around 61 -63 A.D and the book of Romans was
written around 57-58 A.D., which
clearly shows that the gospel had be preached to all the world before the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 .So,
we can see that end Jesus is talking about is the destruction of
Jerusalem. All these things Jesus has been talking about so far would happen
before the destruction of Jerusalem, but now, Jesus is going to tell H is
disciples the real signs that they could look for to know without a doubt that
the destruction of Jerusalem was about to happen.
Matthew 24:15 "
Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
The word abomination
means detestable things such as idolatry, and the word desolation means
destruction. Daniel spoke of this event during his day in Daniel 9, 11, and 12.
In all 3 chapters abomination of desolation is used to describe the defilement
of the temple.
But the specific prophecy
Jesus is talking about has to do with 70 weeks of Daniel in Chapter 9: 24- 27.
I wish we had time to take a look at more of the details from Daniel, but if
you read them on your own and consider what I have been talking about in this
lesson I think it will be easy for you to see him prophesying of Jesus and the destruction
of
Luke’s account shows us
exactly what Jesus has in mind about the abomination of desolation that they
could see and know that
Luke 21:20
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its
desolation is near.
Also, earlier in the book of Luke Jesus makes the
same prediction.
Luke 19:41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city
and wept over it, 42 saying,
"If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that
make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 "For days will come upon
you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and
close you in on every side, 44
"and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will
not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of
your visitation."
So without a doubt, the
abomination of desolation was the Roman army lead by Titus who did this very
thing in A.D. 70 which lead to the destruction of
In the very same manner Daniel also wrote
concerning the Roman Government, and that our country should be made desolate
by them. (Josephus, Antiquities of the
Jews, 10:11:7)
And now the Romans, upon the flight of the
seditious (sah-dish-us) into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house
itself, and of all the buildings lying round about it, brought their ensigns to
the temple, and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did offer sacrifices
to them, and there did they make Titus imperator. (imp-ar-tor) (Josephus, War of the Jews, 6:6:1)
I believe the evidence
overwhelmingly proves that Jesus is taking about the destruction of Jerusalem
and not some future event that is suppose to place sometime in our lifetime.
Our next verses that
follow will continue to show that Jesus is talking about a local event that
would only apply to the people at
Matthew 24:15 Therefore when you see the
'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the
holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in
Jesus is telling them
that when they see the army on its way to surround
Verse 17 shows us that
he is talking about those living then in
Matthew 24:19 "But woe to those who are pregnant
and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "And pray that your flight
may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
Again this gives us more
proof that Jesus is talking about the destruction of
Matthew 24:21 "For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this
time, no, nor ever shall be. 22
"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for
the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
At this point, I want to point out little bit of
history. Starting in A.D 66. the Jews and Romans began to fight one another.
Most believe the Zealots were the instigators of this struggle. Josephus in his
book of the war of Jews Book 2 chapter
19 tells about how the roman General Cestius surrounded
This is an ugly scene, but it was just as Jesus
said it would be. Again, it is also interesting to note that not one Christian
is recorded as be put to death by the Romans during this siege in A.D. 70. Josephus
also tells us that the temple was destroyed on the same day and month as
Solomon’s temple was earlier in history.
One more interesting point is that when the temple
caught fire the gold ran down through the stones of the temple and this is one
reason the soldiers did not leave one stone unturned because they wanted to get
all the gold they could. Here is where we see history and the Bible in perfect
harmony.
Matthew 24:23 "Then if anyone says to you,
'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. 24 "For false christs and
false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if
possible, even the elect. 25
"See, I have told you beforehand. 26
"Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out;
or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 27 "For as the lightning
comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son
of Man be.
Jesus is re-emphasizing His point from earlier. He
tells them, don’t be fooled by false Christ or false prophets because when I
come, it will be like lighting that flashes across the sky. This shows that
when Jesus comes everyone will know about it and it also show that it will
happen suddenly.
28 "For wherever the carcass
is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
This a proverb. I believe the carcass is speaking
the Jewish nation which was dead immorally and spiritually just as Jesus told
them they were in Mat. 23. Now we all know birds of prey will be attracted by a
dead carcass and they come in and devour it. This word eagle or vulture in some
translation was used in the OT to describe a foreign nation coming against the
Jewish nation for punishment."
(cf. Deut. 28:49; Hos. 8:1; Hab.
1:8). So, This is talking about the Romans coming to devour the Jewish nation
by destroying their city in A.D. 70.
We have covered a lot information this morning,
and I hope you have found it helpful and that it has made things clearer for
you, but there is much more to be said in our study, so I hope you come back
tonight ready to listen and to think as we continue working our way through
Matthew 24.
A CLOSE LOOK AT MT. 24 & 25 (part 2)
If you were not here this morning, we began taking
a close look at Mt. 24. we examined the first 28 verses. My may main goal is to
show that this chapter is talking about the destruction of
Our next few verse can be very confusing when you
simply read them because they were written a prophetic language known as Apocalyptic
Language.
Matthew 24:29 " Immediately after the
tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens will be shaken.
Now taking this literally makes a very scary
scene. However, I will show that this is just a pronouncement of the
destruction of
First, let’s compare Isaiah’s prophecy of the
downfall of
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their
constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened
in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. See
Isa. 13:19-20
Ezekiel talks about the
downfall of
Ezekiel 32:7 When I put out your light, I
will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun
with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the bright lights of the
heavens I will make dark over you, And bring darkness upon your land,' Says
the Lord GOD.
Now using the whole council of God, we can see
that our verse in Mt. is simply describing the downfall of the Jewish nation
just as the this language was used to describe the downfall of these other
nations. Also the word immediately shows that this was happening immediately
after the tribulations of those days.
Matthew 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son
of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
This is another verse that can be easily
misunderstood as well. It is important to note that it does not say that Son of
man will appear in heaven but that sign of the sign of the Son would appear.
This sign of Jesus’ coming by way of judgment was done through the Roman army. Our
verse in no way indicates that Jesus was literally going to come and this goes
hand in with what Jesus told the Jews at His trial in,
Matthew 26:64
Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you,
hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power,
and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Here we have Jesus
sitting and coming at the same time. This shows us that that Jesus would remain
in heaven and that the destruction of
Isaiah 19:1 The burden against
Here we see the Lord was
going to come into
Matthew 24:31 "And He will send His angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now if you were to read
this verse by itself, it would be easy to think that this is talking about the
2nd coming. However, in context, in cannot be talking about that and
this is why; it is important especial when looking at symbolic language to keep
it in context. These types of symbols like the trumpet and the four winds are
used in other places symbolically as well. The other difficulty with this verse
has to do with the word angel because this word simply means messenger and it
can mean a heavenly messenger or an earthy messenger.
But again, since the
context of our verses has to with things on the earth, the most logical
approach to this verse is that it is referring to God’s people or messengers
taking the gospel throughout the world. The term four winds usually used to
describe the entirety of the world.
If I am wrong and the
word angel is referring to the heavenly messengers, then I would have to say
this is simply stating that the God’s angels played some part in helping the
Christians escape this siege and be gathered together at places of safety so
that not one Christian died.
Whatever meaning you may
apply to this passage, I am confident that it cannot mean the second coming of
Jesus and the end of time especial when consider the next few verses.
Matthew 24:32 Now learn this parable from the fig
tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know
that summer is near. 33
"So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near
-- at the doors! 34 "Assuredly,
I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these
things take place.
Jesus makes it easy for us to understand that all
things He just said would happen in their lifetime in their generation. Just as
you can look at tree the starts growing leaves, you can know that summer is near.
In the same way, those living during that day could know without a doubt when
the destruction of
This is important because Jesus just said that all
these things he just spoke about were to take place in their generation. Real
quickly notice how this term is used over and over again,
Matthew 23:36 "Assuredly, I say to you, all these
things will come upon this generation.
Matthew 24:2 "Do you not see all these things? Referring to the buildings of the temple.
Matthew 24:3 "Tell
us, when will these things be?
Matthew 24:6 See
that you are not troubled; for all these things must come
to pass
Matthew 24:8 "All these are the
beginning of sorrows.
Luke 21:26 "men's hearts failing them from
fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth
Luke 21:31 "So you also, when you see these
things happening, know that the
This shows without doubt
that these signs had to take place in the 1st century and that these
signs were all fulfilled in the 1st century and have absolutely
nothing to do with the end of the world. Finally, our phrase “those days” is
also used within these verse as well.
Matthew 24:19
19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who
are nursing babies in those days!
Matthew 24:22 "And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days
will be shortened.
Matthew 24:29 " Immediately after the
tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened …
Please remember that these
things were to happen in their generation in those days.
Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass
away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Jesus is just reaffirming that His words are truth
and everything He said would come to pass. So far, only one topic has been answered
by Jesus and that was when would
Next, Jesus is going to answer the next topic,
when would He come and bring an end to the world and what signs can they look
for?
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not
even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
Here a major transition from what Jesus had just
been talking about and the word “but” show that now Jesus is talking about something
completely different. I just pointed out that the previous verses were talking
about those days plural and that
there were signs of when those things
were to take place. But notice, this verse is focusing on that day and hour.
Jesus spoke many times to His disciples about that day,
Matthew 12:36
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will
give account of it in the day of judgment.
Matthew 10:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, it
will be more tolerable for the
John 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not
receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will
judge him in the last day.
John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the
Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
These are just a few
verses out many that show that the final judgment and end of the world will
happen on the last day. Also, Jesus points out that only the Father knows when
that day will occur. The angels don’t know and Mark’s account tells us that
Jesus doesn’t know (Mk. 13:32), So when someone tells you that they know when
Jesus is coming again, you can know for sure that they are wrong because only
the Father knows.
Matthew 24:37 "But as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 "For as in the days before
the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 "and did not know until the flood came and took them
all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Again. we can see the
Jesus is talking about something different here than before. Before there all
kinds of tribulations and horrible things going on, but Jesus says when He
comes, which is referring to His second coming, it is going to be like it was
in Noah’s day. Everyone is going to be doing their own thing. They are going to
be eating, drinking, and marrying. Notice this is peaceful setting and life is
going on as normal. But just like the flood began unexpectedly and took the
people so will be Jesus’ second coming. This is why Peter tells us,
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a
great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and
the works that are in it will be burned up.
Just like in Noah’s day,
many have been warned that Jesus is going to come, but they fail to take heed
to the warnings, which in the end will cost them their soul. Next, Jesus gives
us an illustration:
Matthew 24:40 "Then two men will be
in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 "Two women will be grinding
at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Those who teach the rapture theory will say this
shows the rapture of how one will be taken and one be left behind, but it does
no such thing. Again, keeping things in context and using the whole council of
God, we can know that just and the unjust will be raised at the same time on
the same day.
John 5:28 "Do not marvel at this; for
the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 "and come forth -- those
who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil,
to the resurrection of condemnation.
As Peter pointed out in 2 Pet. 3:10, the earth
will be burned up on the day of the Lord, so there will be no place for someone
one to be left behind on the earth. Jesus is just giving an illustration that
life is going to be going as normal, but when He comes suddenly without any
signs, those that are prepared and have lived a faithful live will be taken up
to be with the Lord, but the unprepared will be left behind with all sinners
who will be judged and spend eternity in hell.
Matthew 24:42 "Watch therefore, for you do
not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43
"But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the
thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken
into. 44 "Therefore you
also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
One of Jesus’ main
points we see expressed many times throughout Scripture is to watch and make
sure you are ready for Lord at anytime. Once again, He emphasizing that there
are no signs that will show when He will come again but we must always be ready
for His return at any given hour.
Matthew 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in
due season? 46 "Blessed is
that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 "Assuredly, I say to you
that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48 "But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My
master is delaying his coming,' 49
"and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with
the drunkards, 50 "the
master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and
at an hour that he is not aware of, 51
"and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus drives His point home, but this time, He adds
that a faithful servant is one that remains faithful until He comes again. Some
will have the attitude that Jesus is not coming anytime soon so they will sow
their wild oats, engage in all kinds of sin, and tell themselves they will get
right with God later, but Jesus warns against this kind of behavior because no
one knows when He will come again, and you certainly don’t want to be caught
living in sin when He comes again or He will send us where the rest of the
sinners will go where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus has answered His disciples questions. He
taught them about the things that must take place before the destruction of
As we have learned in this lesson, there is no
room for false claims of those who teach the rapture theory from Mt. 24. So as
you can see there is no room for the false claims that rapture theory teaches
on Mat 24.
In Mat 25., Jesus expounds even more about his
second coming and the end of the world and how important it is that we as
Christians remain watchful and ready for Jesus’ return at any given time.
In Mat. 25:1 – 13, Jesus tells the parable of the Wise
and foolish virgins. There were 10 virgins in all who were waiting for the
bridegroom. 5 of them were prepared will full lamps the other 5 were unprepared
as they had no oil for the lamps. Because the bridegroom was delayed in coming
it was late, and 5 foolish virgins had to leave and try and find some oil for
the lamps, but while they were gone the bridegroom came and the 5 prepared
virgins were allowed to go into the wedding with him but the 5 foolish ones
found themselves locked out from the wedding. Jesus concludes this parable by
saying:
Matthew 25:13 "Watch therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Again the idea is to be continual prepared like the
wise virgins so that when Jesus comes you will be invited to be with Him
heaven.
In a similar vein, Jesus gives another parable
about the talents in verses 14 – 30. In this parable, He stresses the idea of
Christians being faithful and using their ability they have for the Lord, and
if they don’t use what they have been blessed with and do nothing, then they
will not make it to heaven.
In the parable, 2 men take the talent their master
gives them and they double it by the time their master comes again. But one man
digs a hole and hides his talent and tries to give it back to his master and
this was his response.
Matthew 25:26 "But his lord answered and
said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have
not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 'So you ought to have deposited
my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own
with interest. 28 'Therefore
take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 'For to everyone who has, more
will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even
what he has will be taken away. 30
'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
This parable teaches us not be lazy servants of
God or else we face the consequences and again this parable is dealing with the
end of time because when our master comes back we will all stand before Him and
be judged:
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in
the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Finally, the
rest of the chapter deals with what is going to take place when Jesus comes again.
Lets us read these verses.
Matthew 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory. 32 "All the
nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 "And He will set the sheep
on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand,
'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: 35
'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I
was a stranger and you took Me in; 36
'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in
prison and you came to Me.' 37
"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You
hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 'When did we see You a stranger
and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 'Or when did we see You sick,
or in prison, and come to You?' 40
"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you,
inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did
it to Me.' 41
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 'for I was hungry and you gave
Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 'I was a stranger and you did
not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did
not visit Me.' 44 "Then
they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' 45 "Then He will answer them,
saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one
of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "And these will go away
into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Again, we are left with
the picture of when Jesus returns that there will be a great separation between
the sinner and the saint and this will happen at the same time because the
righteous will spend eternity in heaven on that day and unrighteous will spend
eternity in hell on that day.
I hope this lesson today
has been helpful and has brought some clarity to these often misunderstood
chapters. I also hope I have shown you how the rapture theory is not true and
cannot be found in the Mt. 24 or 25. As Christian, let us never forget to
remain prepared for the coming of the Lord because whether it happens today or
10,000 years from now, we must always be ready so that we will be found
faithful in the end.