But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare. Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you have received and heard. 5:2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 5:3 When they say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 5:4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a. In verse 2 Paul says that the day will come like a thief in the night. The timing and the conditions surrounding the return of Christ are not known. We live in a time where people are often trying to predict the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. Many people thought it was surely the end when we came to New Year’s Day in 2000.
By Lambert Dolphin
Our Sunday morning Forum Class at my church has just completed a four weekstudy of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24). In giving us this sweeping lookdown through two millennia of history between his first and second advents,Jesus highlighted the violent and turbulent course of the age we are living in.Five times hetold his disciples to 'Take heed.'(
The main predictive teaching in the Olivet Discourse culminates in a briefdescription of the dramatic events which bring our age to a close.
'Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will bedarkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall fromheaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the signof the Son of man 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 andgreat glory' (23:29-30)
James Boice comments on the main purpose of theOlivet Discourse as follows.
'About half of Matthew 24 deals with signs that are not true signs ofChrist's return (vv. 4-26, 32-35). A very small section describes the return ofChrist itself (vv. 27-31). But a third of chapter 24 (vv. 36-51) and all ofchapter 25 (vv. 1-46), a total of sixty-two verses, warn us to get ready sincewe do not know when that day of final reckoning will be. Or to put it yetanother way, Jesus stresses this single essential point with seven historicalreferences, verbal pictures or parables--four in this chapter and three in thenext. The application is clear: Are you watching? Are you ready for JesusChrist's return?'(The Gospel of Matthew, BakerBooks 2001.* )
Three parables by Jesus close this great discourse and they are each veryprovocative. Reviewing the first of these parables in the sermons of RayStedman--dating from 40 years ago--I was struck by the extraordinary relevanceof Ray's insights for the times in which we now live. Ray wrote,
'It is evident that the Lord now finished, for the most part, thepredictive part of his discourse. Except for a few details concerning the finalscene of the nations, there are no new events described in the rest of hismessage.
But it is extremely important that we understand these parables,for if we do not understand them we will not watch in the way he expects. Andif we do not watch we will be deceived and miss much, if not all, of theexciting possibilities of the present hour. So let us listen carefully to hisparable of the household, verses 45-47:
'Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has setover his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is thatservant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly, I say to you,he will set him over all his possessions.'
This parable is clearly for the instruction of those who are awaiting theLord's return. The master of the household is gone but he has entrusted certainwork to his steward until he returns. That work is primarily a ministry to therest of the household, and notably, 'to give them their food at the propertime.'
It is clearly addressed to the disciples and to those who will follow in theirfootsteps --footsteps of ministry, of feeding and shepherding the
Since this is the first parable in the series it probably points up the mostessential aspect of what it means to watch. The wise servant is given one majorand primary responsibility: to feed the household at the proper time. If thisis rightly done, the household will keep watching; if it is neglected, thehousehold will languish and starve, and will not be ready when the Lordreturns.
The task, therefore, of any leader within the church is to unfold the messageof the Bible. Every pastor should set a loaded table before his congregation,not only that they might eat and grow, but also that they might learn from himhow to draw from the Scriptures for themselves the spiritual nourishment theyneed. The Bible is wonderfully adapted to this purpose: there is milk for thebeginner, bread for the more advanced, and strong meatto challenge and feed the mature. It is so designed that when books of theBible are taught through consecutively they will cover a wide variety ofsubjects and yet keep truth marvelously in balance.
It is clearly
'All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, forreproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of Godmay be complete, equipped for every good work.'
Be careful that you do not conclude from this that the Bible itself is the foodfor believers. Itis not the book but the Lord which the book reveals that is our food. Christ is found in theScriptures, both Old and New Testaments. But Bible study alone can be most dulland uninteresting if one does not expect the Spirit to take the words and fromthem cause the living Christ to emerge. That explains why some Bible studentsare such dull and dry people; they have concentrated on the Word alone, withoutthe Spirit. And yet it is impossible to know the Lord Jesus in the fullness ofhis being without the revelation of the Word. We cannot neglect the Bible andgrow in Christ; but we can grow in the knowledge of Scripture and never feedupon a risen Lord.
Imagine the joy ofthat servant when his lord returns and finds him faithfully at the task heassigned him. 'Blessed is that servant,' says Jesus.The Greek word for 'blessed' can also be translated 'happy.'What a satisfying feeling it will be to know that he did his work well in theeyes of the only one who counts. What shall be done for such a man? What theLord says next is truly amazing. Listen to it: 'Truly, I say to you,he will set him over all his possessions.' In another place Jesussaid, 'You have been faithful over a little, I will set you overmuch' (Matthew 25:21). This is the invariable rule of the
When you consider who this master really is, it becomes almost incredible thathe should reward this servant by setting him over all his possessions. How muchis that? Well, Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:21-23:
'All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollosor Cephas or the world or life or death or thepresent or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ isGod's.'
There is a staggering thought in Paul's letter to the Ephesians which sums allthis up in the phrase, 'the unsearchable riches of Christ.'Who can tell what boundless opportunities, what indescribable adventures ofservice, what fabulous vistas of challenge, are involved in a phrase like that?Surely one thing is clear: the commitment and labor required to fulfill theministry of teaching which the Lord has left for us to do will not be worthy tobe compared with what shall belong to a 'faithful and wiseservant' when the Lord returns.
The Unfaithful Servant
Unfortunately notevery servant of the Lord proves to be wise and faithful. With the utter candorthat characterizes him, Jesus gives the negative side of the picture in verses48-51:
'But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,'and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken,the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him andat an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with thehypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'
It is evident that this servant has the same ministry committed to him as thefirst one. He, too, is expected 'to give them their food at theproper time.' The same storehouse of the Word is at his disposalso that he too can feed the hungry of the household whenever they need it. Thehealth and welfare of the household is his responsibility and depends upon hisfaithful ministry.
But this servant is different. When his lord does not come as soon as heexpects, he says to himself, 'My master is delayed.'There is more than a hint here that the return of the Lord Jesus will bedelayed far beyond the expectations of men. The apostles expected him in thefirst century, but he did not come. Now many centuries have gone by, and theeffect of that long delay has been what the Lord here predicts. Many who claimto be his servants have given up hope of his return. The former bishop of theEpiscopal Church, James Pike, himself one who had given up such a hope, statedthat 'only 24% of Episcopalians, by survey, believe it.' Theeffect of that lost hope is immediately apparent.
Theservant, says the Lord, begins to beat his fellowservants, mistreat them, criticize and complain continually, neglect hisministry, and indulge his appetites to the full. It is a vivid picture of whathappens, in one degree or another, when the expectation of the Lord's return isabandoned. There is a precise sequence of failure that can be traced. First,the hope of the Lord's return grows weak and eventually is lost.
Becauseof this there is little motivation to the ministry of feeding the household,and therefore it is neglected. When the Word is not taught the people growspiritually weak, and therefore full of weakness and carnality. This then manifestsitself in quarreling, injustices, and excesses of every sort, in which theservant responsible for the feeding also joins.
It should be obvious from this that the fact of Christ's return is moreimportant as a doctrine of the church than may at first appear. As we havealready seen, it is an indicator of the degree to which the Lord's presentindwelling life is being experienced. If there is little desire for hisappearing, there is little concern to walk in the strength of his life. Whenthe hope of the Lord's return crumbles, then it is already apparent that theexperience of his life has largely ceased, if it existed at all. That is whythe Lord lays such stress upon this and underscores it as the primary cause forthe neglect of Bible teaching and the subsequent weakness of the church.
But though the servant has given up on the Lord's return,that does not prevent the Lord from returning. Suddenly he appears at anhour which the servant does not know and at a time when he does not expect him.Undoubtedly this will be one of those occasions when the servant will say, 'Lord,Lord, have I not done mighty works in your name?' There may indeedbe other things he has done which he felt would be impressive to the Lord if hereturned. But it is all to no avail. He has specifically not done the one thingthe Lord required of him. He has been faithless to his commission. Therefore heshall be punished and put where he belongs-with the hypocrites! He is himself ahypocrite, for he has assumed the name of a faithful servant of the Lord, buthas proved false to his trust.
It is obvious from what our Lord says of this man, that he has never been atrue servant at all. His destiny is to be put in the place where men will weepand gnash their teeth. Further on, in chapter 25, verse 30, the Lord describesthat place as 'outer darkness.' It is a place offrustration and defiance. Men weep because of their lost opportunities; theygnash their teeth out of bitter rage and defiance. It is not a pleasantpicture, but let us remember, it is the Lord JesusChrist who thus describes it to us.
A Demoralized Household
The Lord hasmade crystal clear by this parable that it is a very serious thing to fail infeeding the household of God. It is not because the man's personal failure hasa demoralizing effect upon the household. This has been most apparent in thechurch. One of the haunting problems in the church today is its identitycrisis. In many places it seems to have lost the sense of what it was intendedto be. Instead of a body, with each one 'members one ofanother' and ministering to one another in love and concern, ithas become an organization operating various programs. Paul wrote to theGalatians, 'Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law ofChrist' (Galatians 6:2). But today's Christians often touch eachothers' lives on only the most superficial basis, and do not want to hearanother's problems because they 'don't want to get involved.'
This widespread ignorance of the church's true nature is directly traceable toa lack of systematic Bible teaching. Many passages in the New Testamentepistles plainly detail the true nature of the church. Its 'bodylife' is clearly described and illustrated from actual experience. Itssupernatural endowment with spiritual gifts as the basis for allits ministry is described in half a dozen places. Its unique power,deriving from the presence of an indwelling and active Lord, is set before usagain and again. The way to the consistent exercise of spiritual power, makingits impact upon a decadent society, is detailed in many places.
Results of Biblical Ignorance
But how much does the average Christian know of this? The blunt answer is:scarcely anything!The degree of biblical illiteracy, prevalent in churches, is beyondbelief. And the widespread effect, visible everywhere, is a powerless,quarreling, materialistic church whose knowledge of its Lord's living presenceis almost nil, and whose hope of his soon return has long ago burned out intogray embers.
The cause for this sterile mediocrity is, says Jesus, faithless and wickedservants who have never assumed or have given up the task of feeding thehousehold at the proper time. He views this failure with the greatestsolemnity. There is a sobering word from Paul in I Corinthians 3:17: 'Ifany one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy,and that temple you are.' Consequently we should not be surprisedto hear Jesus say that when the master of the house returns he will confrontthe faithless servant and 'will punish him, and put him with thehypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'
The Secrets of the Heart
In both of these cases, that of the faithful and that of the faithless servant,it is evident that the return of Jesus Christ simply reveals what men have beenall the time. 'Each man's work will become manifest,'says Paul, 'for the Day will disclose it' (1Corinthians
C.S. Lewis said,
'God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfereopenly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when Hedoes. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks ontothe stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right, but what is thegood of saying you're on His side then, when you see the whole natural universemelting away like a dream and something else--something it never entered yourhead to conceive--comes crashing in; something so beautiful to us and soterrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time itwill be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strikeeither irresistible love, or irresistible horror into every creature. It willbe too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to liedown, when it's become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time forchoosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really havechosen, whether we realize it or not. Now, today, in this moment, is our chanceto choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It willnot last forever; we must take it or leave it.' (Mere Christianity)
More Notes from James Boiceon this section of Matthew 24
'An important contrast exists between the verses we looked at in the laststudy and the opening verse of the section of Matthew 24 to which we now come.It is the difference between 'you know' in verse 33 and'no one knows' in verse 36. What the disciples were toknow is that 'when you see all these things' the endwill be 'near, right at the door.' 'These things'refer to the terrible characteristics of their age, and ours-false messiahs,wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions, apostasy, and false prophets. Havingseen these things, we should know that the return of Jesus Christ is near, evenat the door. That door could be flung open by Christ at any moment.
On the other hand, we do not know when Christ will return. When Jesus said, 'Noone knows about that day or hour' (v. 36), he did not mean thatsmart Bible teachers are nevertheless able to calculate the year or the decade.Those who have tried to do so have always been wrong.
This deliberate contrast reinforces what I have been saying about this chapter,namely: (1) that the return of Christ to gather his elect and judge the worldis yet future; (2) that we do not know when this will be; and that, therefore,(3) we must keep watch and be ready, since we will be lost and perish if we donot. Jesus said, 'He who stands firm to the end will be saved'(Matt.
Everything in this last discourse, even the prediction of the fall of
Let me make this point another way. About half of Matthew 24 deals with signsthat are not true signs of Christ's return (vv. 4-26, 32-35). A very smallsection describes the return of Christ itself (vv. 27-31). But a third ofchapter 24 (vv. 36-51) and all of chapter 25 (vv. 1-46), a total of sixty-twoverses, warn us to get ready since we do not know when that day of finalreckoning will be. Or to put it yet another way, Jesus stresses this singleessential point with seven historical references, verbal pictures orparables-four in this chapter and three in the next.
The application is clear: Are you watching? Are you ready for Jesus Christ'sreturn?
The Days of Noah
The first story Jesus uses to emphasize the suddenness of his coming and theneed to be ready for it is the destruction of the earth by the flood in thedays of Noah. This was a well-known example of God's judgment of wickedness,and it is referred to quite naturally by Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah(Isa. 54:9) and Ezekiel (Ezek. 14:14,20) and by NewTestament writers such as the author of Hebrews (Heb. 11:7) and Peter (1 Peter3:20; 2 Peter 2:5).Jesus refers to it in verses 37-39.
The point of these verses is that the waters of the flood came suddenly andthat those who were not prepared drowned. But this also points to a world thatwill be largely unbelieving at the time of Christ's return. I emphasize thisbecause some hold that Christ's kingdom will eventually triumph in the world.This view is usually referred to as postmillennialism. The word millenniumrefers to the reign of Christ (for a thousand years, if interpreted literally),and postmillennialism means that Jesus will return only after his role has beenuniversally established. According to this view, Jesus reigns in and throughthe church and will return only after the church's mission is fulfilled.
Postmillennialism was popular in former centuries when the supposedly 'Christiannations' were extending their colonial power. It is not as populartoday, when the West is in evident decline. True, the mission of the churchdoes not depend on Western Christianity, and a great growth of Christianity istaking place today in the third world. But even when we turn from history andrestrict ourselves to explicit scriptural teaching, not much encourages us tothink in this falsely optimistic way. On the contrary, those who were taught byJesus say that there will be terrible wickedness and even widespread apostasyin the church when Christ returns.
Peter wrote of the presence of false prophets in the last days, saying, 'Theywill secretly introduce destructive heresies' (2 Peter 2:1).Again, 'In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following
Jude is almost entirely about such times, and the author seems to echo Peterwhen he writes, 'Remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christforetold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers whowill follow their own ungodly desires.'These are the men whodivide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit' (vv.17-19).
Paul wrote,'TheSpirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and followdeceiving spirits and things taught by demons'
None of these passages teaches that we are to be pessimistic. We must preachChrist everywhere, knowing that all whom God has elected to salvation will besaved. Not one will be lost. But neither do these passages teach anincreasingly successful expansion of the gospel, still less a triumphantexpansion of organized Christianity throughout the world. Rather, they encouragea faithful adherence to and preaching of the gospel in spite of the fact thatit will not be universally received and in spite of the fact that there will beincreasingly entrenched unbelief.
It is such a time Jesus envisioned when he told his disciples, 'Asit was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of
A Sudden Separation
The second picture Jesus paints to describe the nature of things at his returnis in verses 40 and 41. 'Two men will be in the field; one will betaken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one willbe taken and the other left.' Here we find the idea of a suddenseparation. Two men working in a field would be coworkers. Two women workingwith a hand mill would probably be closely related, most likely a mother anddaughter or two servants in the same household. Outwardly they would seem to bein identical situations and even identical in their relationships to Christ,but at his return one will be taken and the other left behind.
The verbs taken and left raise questions that Jesus does not answer in thispassage. Does taken mean taken away in judgment and left mean left behind toprosper? That would not be an unreasonable way to understand these words. Ordoes taken mean taken to heaven when the Lord returns in glory with his angelsand left mean being left behind on earth? Those whobelieve in a sudden 'rapture' of the saints before a finalreturn of Christ and the final judgment choose this second possibility.
It does seem clear that the idea of being taken to be with Christ at his returnbest fits the chapter, since Jesus had earlier spoken of sending his angels to 'gatherhis elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other' (v.31). Yet the verses do not specify how this will happen, and they certainly donot say when. The point is only that 'persons most intimatelyassociated will be separated by that unexpected coming,' as JohnBroadus says.
That alone should encourage serious soul-searching. For one thing, itdemolishes any fond hope of universalism, the idea that in the end everyonewill be saved since God could never send anyone to hell. No one in the entireBible speaks of hell as much as Jesus. In fact, he does so in this verychapter, saying in verse 51 that the servant who is found to have beenunfaithful when the master returns will be 'cut.. . to pieces' and assigned 'a place with the hypocrites, where therewill be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' In the next chapter 'weepingand gnashing of teeth' is joined to 'darkness,'eternal fire,' and 'eternal punishment,'meaning hell. When Jesus says that 'one will be taken and the otherleft,' he means that not all will be saved. Many will be lost. Be surethat you are not among those who perish when Jesus returns.
And there isthis point too: No one will be saved simply by being close to or even relatedto another person who is a Christian. Salvation is not a hereditary matter. Onthe contrary, you must believe on Jesus, and you must be ready.
This parable also teaches the sudden and unpredictable coming of the Lord andis used this way in four other New Testament passages. Paul wrote, 'Theday of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying,'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on apregnant woman, and they will not escape' (1 Thess.5:2-3). Peter said, 'The day of the Lord will come like a thief. Theheavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, andthe earth and everything in it will be laid bare' (2 Peter
But the image of a thief adds two additional factors. First, it adds the matterof value, since the thief comes to steal what is worthwhile. Almost everyonevalues his or her possessions. No one is careless with money, cars, or jewelry.That is why we lock these things up. We have safe-deposit boxes. We installanti-theft devices and alarms on our cars. We insure especially valuablepossessions. If we take such great care about these items, things that will allbe lost to us or decay over time, shouldn't we take at least that much careabout things that are eternal? Shouldn't we be at least equally anxious for thesalvation of our souls?
Jesus said on an earlier occasion, 'What good will it
Second, the picture of the thief emphasizes the necessity of being watchful. 'Sinceno one knows at what time, or during what 'watch,' the thief might strike,constant vigilance is required,' says D. A. Carson.
The Day Of The Lord Will Come Like A Thief
Theneed to watch is explicitly stated both in the verse that precedes the wordsabout the thief and in the one that follows. 'Therefore keep watch,because you do not know on what day your Lord will come' (v. 42)and, 'So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come atan hour when you do not expect him' (v. 44).
Are youkeeping watch? Are you ready?
The Need to Be Ready
Each of these pictures is alike in stressing the sudden nature andunpredictability of Christ's return, but each also adds its own uniqueelements. The picture of the flood reminds us that many persons will be lost.The picture of the two men working in the fields and the two women grinding atthe mill points to a radical separation and reminds usthat we are not saved by knowing or being close to a believer. The picture ofthe thief reminds us that our souls are valuable and that it is simple prudencefor us to be ready.
What about this next picture. The contrast between the twoservants? This picture provides an explanation of what being readymeans. Being ready means loving, trusting, and waiting forJesus Christ, of course. The faithful servant is faithful because he isexpecting his Lord's return. But it also has to do with faithful
How are we to evaluate the service of these two men? Not much is said about thegood servant, only that he gave the other servants their food at the propertime. Jesus may be thinking of spiritual food and of the service of ministersin teaching the Bible. On the other hand, a great deal is said about the badservant. His service is marked by three vices.
1. Carelessness. He neglects his work because, he says, 'My masteris staying away a long time' (v. 48). This reminds us of 2 Peter3:4, which I referred to earlier: 'They will say, 'Where is this'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes onas it has since the beginning of creation' It always seemslike that to unbelievers. Jesus has not returned yet, so they are careless.But, says Peter, they 'deliberately forget' that Godjudged the world in ancient times by water and that he has promised to do soagain by fire at the final day (vv. 5-7). Besides, 'with the Lord aday is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day' (v.8). What seems delayed to us is not a delay with him. Therefore, says Peter, 'Beon your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless menand fall from your secure position' (v. 17).
2. Cruelty. The second vice of the wicked servant is cruelty to his fellowservants, because he began 'to beat' them (v. 49). Thisis like the Pharisees whom Jesus said would pursue, flog, kill, and crucify hisservants (Matt.
3. Carousing. Finally, the Lord denounces the wicked servant for his carousing,noting that he has begun 'to eat and drink with drunkards'(v. 49). He is behaving like those living in the days of Noah who were 'eatingand drinking' and 'knew nothing about what would happenuntil the flood came and took them all away' (vv. 38-39).
The passage says of the good servant only that it will be good for him when hismaster returns. But of the bad servant it says, 'The master of thatservant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is notaware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites,where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth' (vv. 50-51).
Are You Ready?
There is an oldfable in which three apprentice devils were talking to Satan. The first onesaid, 'I will tell people there is no God.' Satan replied, 'Thatwill not fool many; because they know there is a God.' The seconddevil said, 'I will tell them there is no hell.' Satan said, 'Youwill never fool many that way, because they know thereis a hell.' The third said, 'I will tell people there is nohurry.' Satan said, 'Go, and you will ruin millions.'
So I ask again; even as Jesus asks over and over again in these chapters: Areyou ready for his return? Are you watching? To be ready when Jesus returnsmeans salvation; not to be ready is to perish.'
The Day Will Come Like A Thief In The Night