06.03.01 - The Gospels

6.3.1 THE GOSPELS

There are a number of references to judgment in the book of Matthew, but the first reference which deals with the events which will take place at the end of time is given in Mat 13:47-50: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Note that the timing of this event is at "the end of the world." It is important for us to determine if there is a 1000 year reign, and, if so, whether it occurs before or after this event. The next mention of the second coming by Matthew is in Mat 24:1-51. Verses from this chapter are often taken out of context, and admittedly, it is difficult to tell whether some of them are talking about the second coming of Christ or the destruction of Jerusalem. However, this should not give us a problem, since our inquiry is limited to an examination of those events which will accompany the second coming. In those which might be questionable, we will see that the premillinialist doctrines are not supported even if we make the assumption that the questionable text is speaking of the second coming.

First, note that there are three issues being considered simultaneously by Jesus as determined in the preface to this chapter (Mat 24:1-3): And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Jesus was dealing with: (1) when the destruction of the temple would take place (we know now from history that it was destroyed when Jerusalem was destroyed in about 70 AD), (2) what shall be the sign of Jesus coming, and (3) what shall be the sign of the end of the world. Now, (2) and (3) might be two different things, since the visitation of God’s wrath upon Jerusalem can certainly be considered an instance of a coming (or presence) of Jesus. (However, this does not fit our definition, and we will not use the term second coming in that way.) In any event, we need to read this chapter very carefully to attempt to determine just which questions Jesus was addressing in each grouping of verses. We ask the reader to verify that those verses that we do not quote are clearly references to the destruction of Jerusalem.

It appears quite clear that Mat 24:4-14 have quite general application. They did apply to the destruction of Jerusalem, but they also apply equally as principles of human nature today. We need to take these eternal sayings to heart; but they do not relate directly to our subject.

It is equally apparent that Mat 24:15-28 applies to the events prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. History tells us the Christians heeded this warning and escaped the city prior to the horrible siege which followed. Indeed, much of the language has no application to the end of the world (e.g., references to those who are with child, and the idea of flight). However, the last few verses are warnings not to believe that anyone at this time is the Christ. He says that many will make that claim, but they should not be believed because (Mat 24:27-28) "... as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." This figurative language make it very clear that when Jesus does come again it will not be a hidden, secretive thing that is known only to an elite few, as some false religions are prone to teach. The second coming of Christ will be obvious, which we will see validated by many other scriptures. The figurative language of the next few verses could be applied either to the destruction of Jerusalem, to the second coming, or both (Mat 24:29-31): "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." If Jesus was speaking about the second coming then it totally fits the scenario proposed in Section 6.2. The fact that Jesus did not literally "send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet ..." to "... gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" at the destruction of Jerusalem is evidence that these verses are referring to the second coming. However, we would not press the case.

Basically, the remainder of Mat 24:1-51 makes it clear that no person knows or ever will know the time of Jesus second coming until the event actually occurs. It is very rich in inspirational figurative language, and we urge you to read it. The summary admonition is given in the last verse of the chapter (24:44): "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." The language in Mat 24:1-51 has been debated by biblical scholars over the centuries, and it furnishes us with a challenging study which can only build our faith. Regardless of whether you lean toward the destruction of Jerusalem, the second coming of Jesus, an intermixture of both, or dual meanings, one thing is certain: there is absolutely nothing in Mat 24:1-51 which in any way contradicts the scenario which we proposed above. Some of the language reinforces it, if indeed it does apply to the second coming.

Mat 25:1-30 contains two parables: the ten virgins and the talents. Both of these refer to a time at which a judgment will take place. Those who are judged are judged according to the preparations which they made and according to the abilities which they were given, respectively. There was no second chance, and those who were not prepared suffered extreme distress. Consider the summary verses to the two parables. First Mat 25:13: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Then Mat 25:30: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." It is clear that the discourse of Jesus, which has continued from Mat 24:1-51, has now turned to His second coming and the judgment. This prepares us for Mat 25:31-46, which is clearly talking about the second coming and the judgment scene: When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Jesus used an example of the fruits of the attitude of love that Christians will possess. It certainly is not exclusive, and the fact that we meet the minimal qualifications given no more guarantees our salvation than the fact that we have failed on so many occasions to meet the minimal qualifications guarantees our damnation. However, what is clear is that we will be judged according to our deeds -- the decisions which we have made while on this earth, which were either motivated by our faith and love for the Lord or our love of ourselves and faith in the teachings of man.

Compare this scene with the proposed scenario given above in Section 6.2. Jesus is clearly talking about his second coming -- "When the Son of man shall come in his glory." There is no mention of any thousand year reign intervening either before or after. The judgment is immediate: "then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." Finally, note that the scene takes place "upon the throne of his glory," which is not necessarily on the earth.

Another reference to the second coming occurs shortly afterward when Jesus was accused by the council (Mat 26:62-64): "And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what [is it which] these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Over and over again we hear Jesus saying that when he appears it will be in the clouds. Let us be very attentive to see if there are any scriptures at all that indicate that Jesus will set foot on the earth. (You might recall that this was not in our proposed scenario.)

Mark’s and Luke’s accounts of Jesus teaching with regard to His second coming reflect Matthew’s very closely. Any good reference bible will show the parallel scriptures. We urge the reader to look them up and verify that they confirm what we have presented above. The gospel of John contains a number of additional teachings of Jesus with regard to His second coming. The first reference is found in John 5:22-29: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all [men] should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Note the following from this passage:

1. Jesus places the timing of the resurrection at the same time as the judgement,

2. "All men who are in the graves shall hear his voice." There will be a general resurrection of all of the dead.

3. The judgment and the resurrection will be very closely connected events: "they that have done ..., unto the resurrection of ..."

Once again, there is no contradiction with the scenario presented in Section 6.2. The next reference we introduced briefly above (John 14:1-3): "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also." This was Jesus’ last night with His disciples before His crucifixion. He was trying to give them assurance that while He was away from them they would be taken care of. He had a reason for leaving -- to prepare a place for them. He promised "I will come again, and receive you unto myself." We need to be careful that we do not allow false teachers to write things into passages that are not there. This passage gives us very little detail compared to the many others which we have. It is a very reassuring passage, which was Jesus’ purpose; however, it tells us very little about the events surrounding Jesus’ second coming.

Another reference in John’s gospel relates to our subject even though it does not describe the events of the second coming. It does relate to the kingdom (John 18:33-37):

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

We quote this passage at this time to introduce a fundamental concept with regard to the kingdom. Some premillinialists believe that it was God’s purpose to establish a literal kingdom in Jerusalem when Jesus came the first time, but that Jesus failed in this regard. (This theory goes on to speculate that he will establish it upon His second coming.) Such a doctrine flies in the face of Old Testament prophecy which predicted the minutest detail of Jesus’ purpose and how He would accomplish it by His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus would have established a worldly kingdom if that had been God’s will. In fact, his obedience to God and failure to please the Jews in this regard is exactly what caused his crucifixion. Jesus makes this very clear here: "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight ..." Further, Jesus asserts that He is a king. If so, it is essential that He have a kingdom to rule over (otherwise His kingship would be a sham). The interrelationship between our understanding of the nature of the kingdom of heaven and the 1000 year reign is very important, and we will discuss issues with regard to the kingdom in a separate section below. At that time we will return to John 18:33-37.