Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: MATTHEW #40 - 24:32-51)
2. 24:32-51 SIGNS OF HIS COMING AND NEED OF WATCHFULNESS
a. 24:32-33 THE SIGN OF THE FIG TREE
A-PO de tes suKES [4818]MAthe-te [3129]ten pa-ra-boLEN [3850]:
Now from the fig tree learn the parable:
HOtan Edeho KLAdos [2798]auTES GEne-tai a-paLOS [527],
when her :branch is now become tender,
kai ta PHULla [5444] ekPHUe[1631], giNOske-te HOti egGUS to THEros [2330];
and puts forth the leaves, you know that the summer is nigh;
HOUtos kai huMEIS, HOtan Ide-te PANta TAUta, giNOske-te HOti egGUS es-tin, ePI THUrais [2374].
33thus you also, when you see all these things, know that he is nigh, at thedoors.
b. 24:34 Amen I say unto you, This race shall not pass away, till all these thingscome to pass.
aMEN LEgo huMIN [HOti], ou mepaRELthehege-neA [1074]HAUte, HEos an PANta TAUta GEne-tai.
c. 24:35 The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my :words shall not pass away.
ho ou-raNOS kai hege pa-reLEUse-tai [3928], hoi LOgoi mou ou mepaRELtho-sin.
d. 24:36 THIS LAST DAY IS KNOWN ONLYTO THE FATHER
PeRI de tes heMEras eKEInes kai HOras [5610] ouDEIS OIden, ouDE hoi AGge-loi [32]
But of that :day and hour knows no one, not even the angels
ton ou-raNON, ouDE ho huiOS [5207], ei me ho paTER [3962] MOnos.
of the heavens, neither the Son, but the Father only.
e. 24:37 For just as the days of :Noah, so shall be the presence of the Son of :man.
HOSper gar hai heMErai tou NOe, HOUtos EStai he pa-rouSIa [3952] tou huiOU tou anTHROpou.
f. 24:38-39 THE NATURE OF NOAH'S DAY
hos gar Esan en tais heMErais eKEInais tais pro tou ka-ta-klusMOU [2627]
For as in those :days :before the Flood
TROgon-tes [5176] kai PInon-tes [4095], gaMOUNtes [1060] kai gaMIzon-tes [1060],
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
Achri hes heMEras eiSELthen NOe eis ten ki-boTON [2787],
till theday that Noah entered into the ark,
kai ouk EGno-san HEos ELthen ho ka-ta-klusMOS, kai Eren HApan-tas;
39and they knew not until the flood came, and took all away;
HOUtos EStai he pa-rouSIa tou huiOU tou anTHROpou.
so shall be the presence of the Son of :man.
g. 24:40-41 SINNERS LIKE TARES - TAKEN FIRST
TOte Eson-tai DUo en to aGRO; heis pa-ra-lamBAne-tai [3880], kai heis aPHIe-tai [863]:
Then shall two be in the field; one is taken along, and one is left:
DUo aLEthou-sai [229] en to MUlo [3459]; MIa pa-ra-lamBAne-tai, kai MIa aPHIe-tai.
41two womengrinding at the mill; one is taken along, and one is left.
h. 24:42 Watch therefore: for you know not what day your :Lord comes.
gre-goREIte [1127]oun: HOti ouk OIda-te POIa heMEra ho KUri-os huMON ERche-tai.
i. 24:43 THE NECESSITY OF WATCHFULNESS
eKEIno de giNOske-te, HOti ei Edei ho oi-ko-deSPOtes [3617]
But know this, that if the house-master had known
POIa phu-laKE [5438] ho KLEPtes [2812] ERche-tai, er-geGOre-sen [1127] an,
what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched,
kai ouk an EIa-sen di-o-ruchTHEnai [1358] ten oiKIan auTOU.
and would not have suffered his :house to be dug through.
j. 24:44 A CLEAR WARNING
diA TOUto kai huMEIS GInes-the HEtoi-moi [2092];
Therefore be YOU also ready;
HOti he ou doKEIte [1380] HOra ho huiOS tou anTHROpou ERche-tai.
for in an hour that you think not the Son of :man comes.
k. 24:45 QUESTION
tis Ara esTIN ho piSTOS [4103] DOUlos kai PHROni-mos [5429],
Who then is the faithful and wise bondman,
hon kaTEste-sen [2625] ho KUri-os ePI tes oi-keTEIas [2322] auTOU,
whom the lord has set over his :household,
tou DOUnai auTOIS ten troPHEN [5160] en kaiRO [2540]?
:to give them theirfood in season?
l. 24:46 Blessed that :bondman whom his :lord when he comes shall find so doing.
maKAri-os [3107] ho DOUlos eKEInos hon elTHON ho KUri-os auTOU heuREsei HOUtos poiOUNta.
m. 24:47 Amen I say unto you, that he will set him over :all he has.
aMEN LEgohuMIN, HOti ePI PAsin tois huPARchou-sin [5224]auTOU ka-taSTEsei [2525]auTON.
n. 24:48-51 A WARNING NOT TO BE IGNORED
eAN de EIpe ho kaKOS DOUlos eKEInos en te karDIa auTOU,
But if that evil :bondman shall say in his :heart,
ChroNIzei [5549] mou ho KUri-os; kai ARxe-tai TUPtein [5780] tous sunDOUlous [4889] auTOU,
My :lord tarries; 49and shall begin to beat his :fellow-bondmen,
esTHIe de kai PIne meTA ton me-thuONton [3184];
and shall eat and drink with the drunken;
HExei ho KUri-os tou DOUlou eKEInou en heMEra he ou pros-doKA [4328],
50the lord of that :bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect,
kai en HOra he ou giNOskei, kai di-cho-toMEsei [1371] auTON,
and in an hour when he knows not, 51and shall severely scourge him,
kai to MEros [3313] auTOU meTA ton hu-po-kriTON [5273] THEsei [5087]:
and appoint his :portion with the hypocrites:
eKEI EStai ho klauthMOS [2805] kai ho brugMOS [1030] ton hoDONton [3599].
there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
NOTE: Jesus makes it absolutely clear that no one but His Father knows the last day and hour. Then why is it that through the centuries we have had so many set a date for the end? The Jehovah's Witnesses set 1914 as the return of Christ. When it did not happen, they sought to save their error, by saying that He returned invisibly! Even today we still have those who are date-setters! Too bad they can't read what Jesus says, and believe Him!
Jesus spells out in this passage the type of society that will exist at His return. It will be as in the days of Noah. Then He also states the orderof God's dealing with the tares and wheat. The taresare removed first by the angels. Then why do so many insist that the wheat is looked after first?
For many of us, the Lord's return will seem long-delayed, and we will become careless. Peter warned us to think the way Godthinks! 1000 years in Hissight is but a day! What seems to us as a delay, is but a blink of the eye for God. Look back at 2000 AD, and how many made food storage an issue at that time, and were so concerned about setting computers for the new millennium. This might help some of us. In 1967 Jerusalem fell back to Israel after some 1900 years. Jesus said that the generation living at thattime would not pass away till Hereturned. The issue is - How longis a generation? God told Israel that she would be in Egypt for 4 generations - 400 years - 100 years a generation.
Perhaps that will not help, but it perhaps helps us to understand that we are now in 2010 AD, not 2000 - and that still the signs Jesus promised concerning His return have yet notbeen fulfilled. We do not have “Prophecy Conferences” today as we did during the late 1800's and early 1900's. Yet speculation in many circles still runs rife.
I find that to read over Jesus' words concerning end-time events, and to meditate upon them with prayer, brings a deep-seated peace, even though it may not always be accompanied with full understanding. J.A.W.