The Olivet Discourse Part 4, the concluding parables concerning Israel's Tribulation and Deliverer

The Olivet Discourse.

 

M. Parables Urging Watchfulness, Readiness, and Laboring— Matt hew 24:43 -25:30; Mark 13:33-37

 

In order to reinforce His closing point in the previous section, the Messiah presented five parables, all having as their main point the urging of watchfulness, readiness, and laboring. In all these parables, the distinctions are not between different kinds of believers, but be­tween believers and unbelievers.

 

They express differences of attitude in believers and unbelievers toward the Second Coming, not the Rap­ture; the former will be ready, while the latter will not.

 

In the parabolic method of teaching, a parable or a series of parables are given and then the application is made. The application of these parables will be made to the judgment of the sheep and goats.

 

1. The Parable of the Porter—Mark 13:33-37

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark 13:33-37

"Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. 34 "It is like a man, away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 "Therefore, be on the alert —  for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrowing, or in the morning —  36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 "And what I say to you I say to all, 'Be on the alert!'"

 

The first parable emphasizes watchfulness, or alertness and He used the term “alert” four times. This parable refers to the Second Coming.

 

The phrase, for you do not know when the time is, is further clarified by the phrase, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning. Although the day of the Second Coming will be known once the Tribulation starts, the time of the day is not.

 

The main point of this parable is the emphasis on the watching for the Lord’s return. As was already noted, watching is always in the sense of readiness, and readiness is always in the sense of salvation; only those who are saved are going to be able to escape these things.

 

 

2.  The Parable of the Master of the House—Matthew 24:43 -44

   

Matt 24:43-44

"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

 

Again, being ready can only be obtained by means of salvation.

 

3. The Parable of the Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant—Matt hew 24:45-51

 

Matt 24:45-51

"Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 "Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' 49 and shall begin to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and shall cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; weeping shall be there and the gnashing of teeth.

 

The emphasis of the third parable is on laboring. In order to make sure that the believers do not misconstrue the previous emphasis on watching as meaning, “just to sit there and look at the sky” the third parable emphasizes the necessity of working while one is waiting.

 

When the Messiah returns, it will be while believers are busy laboring. The believer will be found laboring, but the unbeliever will be found not laboring. What this “laboring” entails will be discussed in the applica­tion of the parables.

 

Again, the parable refers to believers and unbelievers and to the Second Coming. The phrase, a day when he expects not, refers to the unbeliever who is not expecting the Second Coming. The next two parables provide a more extended treatment of the emphasis of the first three parables.

 

4. The Parable of the Ten Virgins—Matthew 25:1-13

 

Matt 25:1-13

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 "And five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 "But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 "Then all those virgins rose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 "And the foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 "But the prudent answered, saying, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.' 10 "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 "And later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.' 12 "But he answered and said, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

 

The emphasis of the fourth parable is on both watchfulness (watch therefore) and readiness (they that were ready). The virgins represent neither the Church nor Israel in this parable, but simply serve to illus­trate a point.

 

From the Old Testament, the contrast of the wise and the foolish is a contrast between believers and unbelievers.

 

In the Jewish wedding system, when the marriage was to be con­summated, the bridegroom would go to the home of the bride to fetch her and bring her to his home.

 

 

 

As he approached his own home, he would be met by a procession of virgins who would conduct the bride and groom for the marriage ceremony to be followed by the marriage feast. This is the background of this parable.

 

When the bridegroom, the Messiah, returns to earth with His Bride— the Church—for the marriage feast, the virgins will be responsible for both watching for His return, and being ready to light the lamps upon His return.

 

The five virgins who were wise will be the ones who are believers; hence, they will be both ready and watching. They are the ones who have the oil, a common symbol of the Holy Spirit.

 

Only the wise ones enter the marriage feast, the common symbol for the Messi­anic Kingdom. Because the Messiah is pictured as already with His Bride, the Church which had been raptured, these who have the oil are people who became believers during the Tribulation.

 

They are saved and invited to the wedding feast as guests. The five foolish virgins will be the unbe­lievers and, therefore, will be neither ready nor watching. They do not have any oil. It should be noted that the text does not say that the foolish virgins ran out of oil, but that they have no oil with them. They never had the oil or the Holy Spirit to begin with.

 

That is the whole point of this parable, and it would be wrong to try to develop too many details from a simple parable. In this parable, there is an extended emphasis on watching and readiness, both of which are accomplished by faith in Jesus the Messiah. Only wise ones enter the marriage feast.

 

5. The Parable of the Talents—Matthew 25:14-30

 

Matt 25:14-30

"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 "But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master's money. 19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 "And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.' 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.' 22 "The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.' 23 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.' 26 "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.' 29 "For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 "And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

The point of the fifth parable is to reemphasize, in an extended way, the necessity to keep on laboring while watching and waiting. Again, the distinction is not between different kinds of believers, but between believers and unbelievers. The believers will keep on laboring while they are watching for the Lord’s return; but the unbeliever cannot labor in the work of the Lord, and therefore will have nothing to show at the time of the Lord’s return. He is declared to be the wicked one. He ends up in the place of outer darkness and the place of the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, the descriptive phrases of the Lake of Fire.

 

N. The Judgment of the Gentiles—Matthew 25:31-46

The Olivet Discourse comes to an end with the Judgment of the Gentiles and it is here that the application of the five parables is made:

 

Matt 25:31-46

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "And all the nations [Gentiles] will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are 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 something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 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 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

 

The time of the judgment will be after the Second Coming of the Messiah when the Throne of David will be set up (v. 31).

The place of the judgment is not given in this passage, but it is given in a parallel passage found in Joel 3:1-3. This is a judgment that will take place just outside the City of Jerusalem in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which lies between the city and the Mount of Olives.

 

Joel 3:1-3

For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 I will gather all the nations,

And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Then I will enter into judgment with them there

On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

And they have divided up My land.

3 "They have also cast lots for My people,

Traded a boy for a harlot,

And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

 

 

The subjects of the judgment are individuals; this will be an indi­vidual judgment rather than a national one (vv. 32-33). The Greek word translated nations has the primary meaning of “Gentiles” and is so translated elsewhere in the New Testament.

 

All the Gentiles who survive the Tribulation and the Campaign of Armageddon will be gath­ered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat and will then be separated by the Messiah; some are brought to His left side and some are brought to His right side. Those brought to His right are called the sheep Gen­tiles, and those brought to His left are called the goat Gentiles.

 

The basis of this judgment is going to be anti-Semitism or pro-Semitism. The individual Gentiles will be judged on the basis of their treatment of the Messiah’s brethren, namely, the Jewish people during the Tribulation (vv. 34-35).

 

 

 

Some have tried to make the term brethren refer to saints in general, but this would render the passage meaning­less. There are three specific groups mentioned in this passage: the sheep Gentiles, the goat Gentiles, and the brethren. If the brethren are saints in general, then who are the sheep, since they, too, have eternal life?

 

It would be very confusing to make both the sheep and the breth­ren as saints of the same caliber. From this context alone, it should be very evident that the brethren must refer to Jewish people because the saints are the sheep and the unsaved are the goats.

 

Furthermore, the parallel passage of Joel 3:1-3 makes it certain that these brethren are the Jewish people of the Tribulation. The term brethren here is used in the sense of “brethren in the flesh.” The fact that only Matthew records this segment of the Olivet Discourse also teaches the same truth since his is the most Jewish of the Gospels and his primary concern has been how Messiah’s coming has and will affect the Jewish people.

 

The sheep, who are the pro-Semites, are clearly stated to be the righteous ones. Will they be saved, then, because of their pro-Semitism? This cannot be, for that would mean their salvation was purely on the basis of works.

 

This passage is an example of James 2:14-26, proving one’s faith by one’s works. Because these Gentiles are already believers in the Lord Jesus the Messiah, they will refuse to join the policy of the Antichrist in his attempt to destroy the Jews.

 

So while Jews will un­dergo a great persecution, these believing Gentiles will do what they can to help the Jews under these conditions.

 

Their works toward the Messiah’s brethren will prove their faith, and the works are as simple as giving them dinner, or a glass of water. In this manner, they are the ones who will be watching, ready, and laboring in accordance with the admonitions of the five parables.

 

Because they are saved Gentiles, they will be allowed to enter into the Messianic Kingdom, and they will be the ones who will populate the Gentile nations during the Messianic Kingdom (vv. 34-30).

 

 

On the other hand, the goats will be the anti-Semites who, be­cause of their unbelief in Jesus, will join the ranks of the persecutors under the Antichrist’s authority. They will show their lack of faith by their works. They are the ones who will not be watching, ready, or laboring, in violation of the five parables. For this reason, they will be killed at this point and will be excluded from the Messianic Kingdom (vv. 41-45).

 

The ultimate and final result after the Kingdom is that the believ­ing Gentiles will enter into eternal life while the unbelieving Gentiles will enter into eternal punishment (v. 46).

 

Conclusion

The Olivet Discourse is the most detailed teaching that the Mes­siah gave concerning future things. It was His last great discourse as a prophet because from this point, He went into a transitional period from prophet to priest as He offered a sacrifice, that of His own blood, and then began to function as our High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek. When He returns to fulfill the rest of the Olivet Dis­course, He will come as King.

 

The Olivet Discourse contains words for believers today: to look up, for our redemption draws near; and words for unbelievers today: to believe on the Messiah. It also has words for those who will be living during the Great Tribulation: for Jews to flee; and for Gentiles to watch, to be ready, and to labor.

 

That completes the activities of the 3^rd day of the passion week.