In the previous parts to our study in Matthew 24, we’ve seen:
Part #1 – The Lord does not show the exact time of His coming to man, nor angels.
Part #2 – There are ten groups of signs pointing to His second coming in this chapter. All of them currently exist today and many of them are increasing in frequency and intensity.
Part #3 – When Jesus comes back in the clouds, He will take His followers from the earth to live with Him. Then, He will begin the final phase of His plans for earth; judging unsaved mankind and then bringing the world to an end.
Now in our final section of Matthew 24, we will be seeing the results to all of these events and our responsibility concerning them.
THE SCRIPTURE:
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. … The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 24:32-51)
THE STUDY:
The Lord now begins to summarize and complete His teachings on the subject of His coming and the end of the world…
Vs 32-33 – The Lord uses the picture of a fig tree to describe how we are to use the signs of His coming. Just like the leaves on a fig tree is proof summer is almost here; so, too His signs. As we see His signs taking place around us, it is a clear certain indicator that His coming is drawing closer.
Vs 34-36 – The Lord emphasizes the truthfulness of all He has taught to us. I am the first to admit some of these things are hard to grasp and imagine in our finite minds. But by faith, we know these things will take place, just as He said, irregardless of the level of our understanding of it!
In these verses “this generation” is describing the “generation” that exists on the earth between His ascension and His second coming. He is separating this one segment of time from all the other segments throughout history. Why does He single out this segment of time? That is the segment in which the signs of His coming exist.
Vs 37-39 – He compares the status of men in Noah’s day with the status of men in this generation.
Noah’s day is characterized by selfish living, centering on the fulfillment of fleshly desires; in other words, a big “party time”. How did the Lord deal with this attitude? He brought judgment upon an unsuspecting lost world after protecting His people.
In today’s time we see the same basic attitude of man. How will He deal with this again? He will once again, bring judgment upon a lost world after protecting His people!
Vs 40-42 – How will the Lord protect His people from the wrath to come? He will take His people from the earth while He leaves the lost behind. Our responsibility is to be watching the signs and to be always prepared for Him to come and take us home.
Vs 43-44 – The saved will take their responsibility to be ready very seriously. They will make sure their salvation is genuine; they will be ready for the Lord to come.
Those who neglected Christ’s coming by not taking care of their spiritual condition will suffer a loss when He comes. In this way, His coming is much like that of a thief. If the homeowner is not prepared, then the thief can come unexpectedly and cause the homeowner great loss.
Vs 45-51 – Salvation and living a faithful life is needed to live a prepared life. Living a faithful life is wisely investing the time and the opportunity the Lord has given us. This results in receiving rewards at His coming.
The unprepared believe His coming is far off, they will not trust Him, not serve Him with their lives. The reward they receive will be eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.
The person who is prepared to meet the Lord is described as a “faithful and wise servant” for obvious reasons. But, why would those lacking salvation and faithful service be called an “evil servant”? How can he be called a “servant” of God? He didn’t serve Him with his life. This is a very important principle…
By this, the Lord meant that all mankind is under His authority. He is Creator and Lord of both saved and lost. They are all held responsible to serve Him. In other words, they are His “servant”. Are all men responsible to serve Him? YES. “Are all men fulfilling their responsibility to serve Him?” NO. Many choose to rebel and disobey Him. They are still servants but, just as He describes, they are “evil servants”.
SUMMARY:
So to close, let me first thank you for being willing to invest some of your time into reading this 4 part blog. This series was much more in depth, and had much more detail in it, than any of my other blog entries. The subject was so important, and the chapter held so much information, it was hard for me to “skim over it”. Thank you again for your patience.
Next, I would suggest, you should go back and re-read any part that is unclear to you. Also, I’ll be glad to try to answer any questions you may have, feel free to email me.
Thirdly, allow me to offer one question for all of us to answer honestly, and seriously, knowing we are in the presence of Almighty God….
If we would stand before the Lord today and answer for our lives; what title would we receive? Would He say we are a “faithful and wise servant” or are we an “evil servant”?
I believe, after examining this chapter and looking at the world around us, we can see that His coming is closer today than ever before. I see no reason why He could not come today. We must be sure that we have this issue settled before it is eternally too late. Remember, we have no promise of tomorrow. There are some of us who may not see another day on this earth.
So what do we do? How can we be sure that we are prepared to meet our God? The Word of the Lord contains the answers for us and it makes clear that we must totally submit to the Lord trusting in Him, His Word, and His Work…
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”(Heb 12:2)
with Bible in hand, read the following passages…
(Isa 53:1-12, Acts 8:35-37, Acts 13:30-32, Roms 4:20-25, Roms 10:8-11, Eph 2:1-22, 1 John 5:1-4)
If you have any questions about salvation feel free to email me, I’ll be glad to help you any way that I can. Or, you can go to any church that teaches God’s Word, they will be glad to help you as well.
If you have any questions concerning this blog, or if you have a subject you would like discussed, please feel free to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I will answer all emails via my blog, email, or both.
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May the Lord bless your study of His Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”
The second coming of Christ is one of many interesting topics. It is widely believed that before He comes to judge the world, He will bring with Him those who are in Christ. Historically it fit the pattern of what God had done before. Before God flooded the world, He took Noah and his family on the Ark and before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He took Lot and his family out of the city. Once again, everything will be as it was in the days of Noah, it will be totally unexpected for non-Christians because they are not keeping watch the signs of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe phase of the second coming you are talking about is what the second harvest pictures in Rev. 14:16-20. Thanks for the additional information!
ReplyDeleteExcellent overview, I have enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your solution / explanation of when Jesus told his disciples "...This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." and the connection between Jesus' answer as to when the temple would be destroyed and His discourse on end-times events and signs of His coming?
Many see this as an error in the Bible because the temple was destroyed yet close to none of the noticeable things of Jesus's prophecy have happened, mainly His own 2nd coming.
I'm stumped.
I think the key to understanding the phrase “…This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” is understanding the meaning of the term "generation":
ReplyDeleteIf "generation" has to be interpreted to mean "the lifespan of those currently alive", I am the first to agree that it is a confusing situation that I cannot explain.
However, if we look at how the same Greek word translated "generation" is used in other portions of Scripture, it helps us to come to the true meaning of this phrase. In both Matt 12:45 and Luke 16:8, the very same word clearly refers to an extended "age" or section of time characterized by a common condition. In Matt 12:45 "generation" means an extended period of time characterized by wickedness in the lives of men... In Luke 16:8 - "generation" is refering to the extended period of time when lost men have more EARTHLY, CARNAL wisdom than that of God's people. Both verses are clearly not speaking of "the lifespan of those currently alive."
In Matt 24:34, I believe the word 'generation" is used in the same way. In this case, it is referring to what we commonly call "the church age" or the "end times" (ie the period of time between The ascension of Christ to the 2nd coming of Christ. All the events Christ spoke of will take place during this time frame, with the second coming (rapture) bringing the church age to a close. That is the "generation" Christ was talking about... the generation known to most of us as "the last days".
This same generation is frequently called "the last days" in Scripture (Acts 2:17, 2 Tim 3:1, Hebs 1:2, 2 Pet 3:3 etc.)
I hope this helps you. Thanks for another great comment. I appreciate readers helping me to clarify my posts.
Thanks for the information, I have found other Futurists interpreting Generation as the race of the Jews, that they wont pass away or be done away with by evil until the end happens. BTW I am a futurist. However if you mean Church by generation than the Church must be here while all things are fulfilled, this only fits with the Post-Tribulation rapture view.
ReplyDeleteI think the church won't see the fulfillment of all items in the Olivet Discourse, only the beginning of some of them until we are raptured out.
Please keep in mind the way the Second Coming is presented in Scripture... It is shown as ONE event that takes place in two phases (commonly referred to as "the rapture" and "the revelation"). The Bible describes each phase as THE EVENT. As long as you keep the Biblical view of the Second Coming as ONE event that takes place, it helps you to get the entire Biblical frame of reference. Once this is understood, there is no discrepancy in saying that these events take place during the church age. "The rapture" IS the second coming, also "the revelation" IS the second coming. Therefore, it is entirely Scriptural to say that the second coming takes place at the very end of the church age.
ReplyDeleteYou definately do not have to hold the Post-Trib view to have all the events fulfilled during the church age if you keep this principle in mind.
Isn't prophecy a wonderful subject? None of us know with certainty what will take place until all comes to pass. That's why it is so easy to agree to disagree on the many differences in prophetical interpretation. May the Lord continue to bless your studies in His Word!