Verses 1-2 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 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.
Remember, when reading Scripture, ask yourself who is saying it and who is it spoken to, what is the topic and why is it being discussed, when was it spoken, and how does it apply today? The return of the LORD is imminent and this chapter deals with this very important topic.
When Jesus departed from the Temple, since He was/is God clothed with flesh, the presence of God also left the Temple. It was now nothing more than an institution of men, run by men, corrupted by men and not representative of the system of worship and governance set in place by Moses. It was desolate. Notice that the disciples, after hearing the entire discourse between Jesus and the religious leaders as recorded in the previous chapter, are not asking Jesus about this discourse, but now have their minds on the things of the world. It did not take them long. In truth, Herod had rebuilt the Temple and it was a magnificent building that people from all over the world came to see. It was a tourist attraction.
Ezekiel 11:22-23 describes God’s glory departing from the temple before its destruction. “Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.” The Mount of Olives is on the east side of the city. In the following verse, the glory of God rested on the Mount of Olives in the form of Jesus just as Ezekiel prophesied.
The Roman soldiers were allowed to be paid by the looting of the battle ground. The Temple was covered in real gold, and when it burned in the Roman siege of 70 AD, the gold melted and ran down the stones and into cracks, etc. So the soldiers broke the stones apart to get the gold as part of their payment for their military service to Rome. Therefore the stones were scattered all over the place just as Jesus said they would be. Jesus, by His words, was showing the disciples that this building was only temporary. Just as it was built one stone at a time, it would be brought down one stone at a time.
Application: All the records of genealogy, land ownership records, and all other records of importance were kept in the Temple in Jerusalem. The word “temple” means “a place where time is kept.” In the Jewish system, every 50th year was the year of Jubilee in which all land was returned to the original families that owned it. If the land had been sold or rented out during the 50 years, the sale or the rental was null and void in the year of Jubilee, so records had to be kept perfectly so that the land could be returned. As a result, the Temple records would also be able to easily establish that Jesus Christ had all the lineage and qualifications to be the Messiah, the Christ. That was why the LORD set up the Jubilee system: to keep the records so correctly because people wanted to get their land back, that the records would be established to prove who Jesus really was. Now that Jesus was on the Earth, the temple wasn’t needed anymore. He was/is the true Temple and all believers are the lively stones in the true Temple.
Verse 3 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?
When an event is coming, the logical question is to ask when is it going to happen. The disciples asked three separate things: when will these things happen, what sign will signal the LORD’s return, and when would the end of the world happen? The disciples seemed to believe that the coming of the LORD and the end of the physical world was synonymous. The Temple had been ransacked before, but it was never destroyed. It was always there generation after generation. In the Jewish way of thinking, the Temple would be in existence as long as the world (kosmos) was in existence and so Jesus’ pronouncement that the Temple would be brought down was very distressing to His disciples. The Greek word translated as “world” is “aion” (not kosmos) and it means age or a period of time.
The Old Covenant was based upon Mosaic law and the worship system put in place by God for the Hebrew people and so there was a Temple. But the promise of New Covenant was written about in the Old Testament books. Jeremiah 31:31-34 states, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: after those day, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” The promised New Covenant was/is on the inside of God’s people, in their hearts and minds, not on a stone tablet. His law is written inside each believer. So there is no longer the need for a Temple, for the rituals, or for the Levitical priesthood. See Ezekiel 36, Malachi 3 and 4. and Isaiah 64.
Verses 4-5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Verses 4 through 14 pertain to the general course of events that will happen over and over again up to the second coming of the LORD Jesus Christ.
The very first thing Jesus said to His disciples was to beware of deception. People will always try to deceive others, partly because they think they know the facts and they don’t, and partly because they are serving their father, the Devil, who is the father of lies and deception.
Verse five above can be understood two ways depending on where the emphasis is. When rendered, “many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ” the emphasis being on the pronoun “I”, it reads that people will claim divinity or equality and claim to be Christ, very Christ. This has happened and continues to happen. For example, every Pope has claimed to be Christ. Every priest claims to be Christ as they teach that they can forgive a person’s sins during confession because they have equal power with Christ. False bibles present a false Christ. Notice that Jesus did not use His name, but His title. Jesus did not say “the” Christ. What does the word Christ mean? Anointed or anointed one. When religious leaders and charlatans claim to be anointed, it is not long before they then start to manipulate people. The only anointing a Christian believer can have is the anointing that is given by Jesus Christ. Proclaiming the word faithfully is an anointing. Preaching the whole counsel of God is an anointing. Sharing the Gospel with others is an anointing. A true believer does not need to claim, “I am anointed” because the Holy Ghost/Spirit dwells inside the believer and is an anointing spiritually. All these individuals and religious organizations claiming to be the anointed ones have different messages that conflict. If they had an anointing from Jesus, they would agree in their message. And what do these people and institutions do? They deceive many, not just a few. So watch out for mega denominations and religious institutions, and watch out for the mainstream ecumenical movement with their mega churches. They have “many” people involved and they deceive many. The small Church or the house Church is more likely to represent the LORD Jesus Christ in truth and love.
The second way verse five can be understood is if no emphasis is place on any word. It then reads that many will come and agree that Jesus was/is who He said He was, the Christ. Church pulpits are full of preachers who do not deny Jesus, but who deceive their congregations through the twisting of the Word of God, through denominational doctrines, through the use of false bibles, and they manipulate the people and make merchandise of them. But because they do not deny Jesus Christ, people have difficulty seeing the deception that is occurring. “He teaches about Jesus so he must be a Christian,” is the usual answer when asked if a person’s pastor is really saved and called by God to minister.
Verses 6-8 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
The world doesn’t end with a war, but with promises of peace. But wars are part of the signs of the coming of many problems. Jesus commanded His followers, when they see these things, to not be troubled. Wars are part of the pattern of the course of the age. Historically, every empire had wars and battles which eventually resulted in the fall of one empire and the rise of another. War always brings a fall. The last empire that exists on Earth cannot have a new one rise up. It will fall when Jesus returns to judge this world. Many disasters often follow these wars: disease and earthquakes, fires and flooding, crop failure, hurricanes, drought, and so on. One thing after another keeps happening and the Christian believer should know Scripture well enough to realize that these things are the signs that time is winding down and the end is on the horizon.
At the time of Jesus’ ministry, there was in existence the Pax Romana or the Roman peace. So a prophecy of wars and rumors of wars was unusual. Rome was a powerful, one world government and no one was looking for it to be attacked by another nation or kingdom. Rome, as an empire, did fall eventually into ten sections, but it took time for this to happen. However, every thing Jesus predicted came to pass just as He said.
Verses 9-10 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
This prophesy from Jesus was fulfilled in the lives of the Apostles. They were persecuted and killed, including the Apostles Peter and Paul, and it continues today. Why? Several reasons, the main one being that the Gospel message is contrary to the lusts of sinful, fleshly people who want to serve Satan and enjoy the rewards of this world that Satan offers. Also, when hard times come, people want someone to blame, and it becomes the Christians’ fault that all the bad things are happening. It is easy to blame Christian believers as they obey the Gospel and usually do not fight back or retaliate. So they are easy targets for the frustrations of the masses and for the evil plans of the power elite. This tends to cause a separation of people. This is seen in Muslin and Jewish families who often reject a family member when they become a follower of the LORD Jesus Christ. Often the family member is killed as an example to the rest of the family and to the religious community in which they live. Persecution and death have been companions of the true Christian church since its beginnings on the day of Pentecost just after Jesus ascended into Heaven. And persecution and death will continue until Jesus returns and time is no more. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth: And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” Revelation 6:9-11
Verses 11-14 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
In the midst of the problems of this sinful world, false prophets always rise up. The Jehovah Witness organization has had prophecy after prophecy regarding the end of the world printed in their Watchtower publication that has never come true and that never will because Jesus said in Mark 13:32, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” But they keep trying to predict a time when Jesus will return and they keep disobeying the Gospel. They are not the only religious group that deceives many with false prophecies from false ‘prophets’. Mainstream, evangelical denominations have their false prophets, most of them in the pulpit teaching a false gospel and using a false bible. So if the true Christian believer is frustrated at the confusion and doctrinal mess out there in the so called Christian community, remember that Jesus said this would happen and it is all a sign of the “falling away” told by the Apostle Paul and a sure sign that Jesus’ return is just around the corner of time. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (the return of Jesus) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3
The Greek word translated as “iniquity” is “anomia” and it means to transgress the law, to be without law, to be ignorant of the law, or to have contempt and violate the law. The law is the law of God, His ten commandments. Iniquity destroys love and produces a hardness of the heart. Today, whole nations equate love with erotic or sexual things and the people have no idea what love really is. Real love is not a feeling. Feelings come and go. Real love is actions: doing good to and for others, even when they do not deserve it. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:44. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
Application: It is humanly impossible to emotionally love unlovable people. Many Christian believers try, unsuccessfully, to feel love for sinful, nasty people, and when they fail, they think they are disobeying the LORD’s command. Read the verse above again. Does Jesus say anything about developing a warm fuzzy feeling for enemies? Of course not. The prescription for loving unlovely people is one of action, not feelings, because in God’s kingdom love is action. The Christian believer is to bless (through their behavior and actions), do good to when the opportunity arises, and pray for nasty people. What should the prayer consist of? It should be a prayer for salvation, nothing else. Until the enemy meets Jesus, there will be no change and they are destined for Hell. A loving act is to pray for their salvation so that they will be saved from sin, death and Hell. If they convert and become Christian brothers and sisters, then prayers of blessings or healings or whatever is needed can be prayed. Remember that anyone who is an enemy of a Christian believer is also an enemy of Jesus Christ. They need salvation first and foremost.
The Gospel being preached to all the world has been fullfilled long ago by the Apostle Paul and the other disciples. See Colossians 1:5-6. Paul reached all of Asia. The harvest was great back then and has been trickling down in size until there is not much being harvested today, just as it was in the days of Noah. The preaching of the Gospel is an ongoing thing right up to the time of the end when the LORD returns to judge this wicked world. Until then, there will never be a time when the Gospel is not preached, so there will always be a voice or a witness. God preserves His word.
Jesus warned and people did not believe Him. Jesus rose from the dead and many did not believe it was Him. All that Jesus said came to pass and yet today people still do not believe Jesus was/is God. The first century Jews did not know the time of their visitation. They just went on living like Hell on Earth and ignored the call to repent. They were destroyed. Do people act in this same manner today?
Application: Notice that verse 13 above states that the person who endures to the end will be saved. Today, many churches teach that all a person has to do is accept Jesus and then life after death in Heaven is guaranteed. Scripture does not teach this. The Christian walk is a race that has to be won. Each believer has to cross a finish line to reap an eternal reward. Quitting or taking time out of that race along the way because the going gets difficult or the things of this world become more important than the walk with Christ will prevent that person from being saved from sin, death and Hell. Salvation is not guaranteed until the end of physical life. Search the Scripture and see that enduring the tribulations of this world and the temptations from Satan according to the commandments of the LORD is what guarantees salvation. It is faith, patience, and obedience that makes a successful finish to this race in life here on Earth.
Verses 15-22 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Verses 15-22 pertain to the actual destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
Some people, because of the teachings of Scofield and other false prophets, put the events of this chapter and these specific verses at the end of time in a seven year period. But the chapter covers over 2000 years even though some of the events have already happened while others are happening continually. What is the time period in verse 15? When the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. This was a local event as the only people who could flee to the hills of Judea were the specific people of Judea. At the end of time, people in France or Canada, for example, cannot flee to the hills of Judea, so to think this prophecy by Jesus is only for the end of time is not geographically reasonable. Jesus was speaking to a specific group of people, the Jews of Jerusalem. Jesus warned that people would need to flee Jerusalem. What happened to Lot when the city of Sodom was going to be destroyed? He took the members of his family that would listen and heed the warning and fled. Likewise, who historically escaped the judgement upon Jerusalem? It was the Christians because they had been warned by Jesus and they heeded His warning. Eusebius book 3 chapter 5 wrote a history of the Church, and in it he supports the leaving of the Christians through the warning of Jesus.
Note: Eusebius of Caesarea was a fourth century Christian scholar who wrote the book called Ecclesiastical History in which he chronicled the history of the Church from the Apostles to his lifetime, and he is known as “the Father of Church History.
What was the sign that the Christian believers would see to know that they needed to flee? Luke 20 reports that it was the surrounding of Jerusalem by the Roman army. Historically, Festius was a Roman general and he surrounded the city for about a week, and then for some unknown reason he left. Just a short time later, Titus, another Roman general came and besieged the city. But the Christians had already left the city after Festius left because of Jesus’ warning. Notice the urgency in the warning. People were not to delay leaving by packing up stuff from their houses or by going back from the fields where they were working to get clothing from their houses. And this flight for their lives was to be particularly difficult for pregnant and nursing mothers for obvious reasons. And any pregnant or nursing mother left behind in the city faced having their children cannibalized. Historically, when the Roman army got into the city of Jerusalem, they found the people eating their children. Instead of surrendering to the Romans who had cut off the food supply, they chose to eat their children. The Roman soldiers were so disgusted with what they saw that they just wiped out much of the people remaining. The Roman soldiers were not barbaric and they had a code of ethics that prohibited cannibalism. This starvation and eating of human flesh was what Jesus was referring to in verses 21 and 22 above. As far as the Jewish nation and Jerusalem were concerned, this time of trouble (tribulation) was the worst that had happened in their history as a nation and it would not happen again as the nation was to be destroyed and the remnant scattered. This tribulation was not the so called 7 year tribulation taught by Scofield.
With this warning came the command from Jesus to pray that this trouble resulting in flight from the city would not be in winter or on a sabbath as that would hinder their efforts to leave. Why? People traveled on foot or on small donkeys if they had them, and winter would be hard for this type of travel. Also, fleeing a city required walking, and the Jews believed that walking was work and work was forbidden on the Jewish sabbath. Notice that the sabbath was Jewish and not God’s. Over time, the Jewish religious leaders had polluted the Sabbath as ordained by God through the prophet Moses by adding massive restrictions that made the day a trial instead of a blessing. The Jews would have tried to kill the Christians as they tried to leave the city. The Christians were subject to the restrictions of the Talmud. It was the evil Talmudic religion that the Jews embraced that would harm those fleeing.
Who protected these Christians, the estimated number of refugees being around 60,000 people? King Agrippa who had settled in the hill country provided sanctuary for the people. Why did he do this? Because he had met the Apostle Paul years before this event when Paul was in prison and was given an opportunity to share the Gospel and plead his case before this king and before his wife, Bernice. “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: and when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” Acts 26: 27-32
The covenant breakers of Jesus’ time were to see the abomination of desolation. What is it? Notice that there are two parts to this abomination of desolation: that which is abominable and then desolation as a result of the abomination. Only the Bible can define what this is. Luke 21:20 explains it. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.” Jerusalem surrounded by armies would be the start of the desolation. God would no longer have His presence in the Temple, it would be destroyed, and the remnant of Israel, Judah, would no longer be His people or be a nation. As stated before, this event would be very local and it has already happened. It is not future and part of an end time scenario as is taught by Scolfield and most evangelical establishment churches. So what was the abomination? In Matthew 23:29-36 Jesus promised disaster would come on the Pharisees and their generation (not future generations at the end of time) because of their guilt in the killing of the prophets. Their rejection of God and the killing of His servants was the abomination. They would have to answer for it. In verses 37-39 Jesus lamented that He would have gathered them to Him, but they had freewill and rejected Him. “Your house” referred to the Temple. Jesus was saying “your building” is desolate and your religion is desolate. Without the Temple and all that it represented, the nation was desolate. When a people refuse and reject God and kill His prophets long enough, it causes their destruction. As long as God was in the Temple it stood, from the time of King Solomon up to 70 AD. When Jesus left the Temple, God was no longer present. Now would come a time of destruction as God (Jesus) would no longer be in it, but through the power of the Holy Ghost, He would be in each believer spiritually. So the killing of the prophets and the rejection of God and of His Word (truth) was the abomination that caused the desolation. When Jesus was speaking the words recorded in this chapter, the religious leaders were getting ready to commit another abomination, the killing of the very Word of God, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ was/is Prophet, LORD and King. So the crucifixion of Jesus was another killing of a prophet. But there was one final prophet in Israel that was going to be killed by the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes, and that was Stephen. This account is recorded in Acts chapter 7. The stoning of Stephen would be the final insult to a holy God who would usher in the destruction of the nation, Israel, and what is referred to as the time of the Gentiles.
Application: Israel was set up by God and strategically located geographically so that His laws and commandments could be spread to the pagan nations from the various continents as they traveled through the land of Israel to other nations for trade. The nation Israel failed to teach and preach what God had given to Moses, His laws and commandments, and instead, adopted the ways of the pagan nations. Once Israel was destroyed and the remnant people of the nation scattered to other Gentile nations, the Church replaced Israel and the Gospel (truth) was preached to all people groups. As a result of the fall of the nation Israel the Church, made up of all tribes and tongues, became/has become the messenger of the Word of God. The Jews refused/continue to refuse the Gospel, but the Gentiles embraced/continue to embrace it, hence the time of the Gentiles.
Matthew records Jesus referring to “the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet”, and so please note that, at the time of Jesus’ discourse the abominations and the desolation of Jerusalem and what remained of the Israeli nation had already happened as a result of the Babylonian conquest. Because mankind is inherently wicked, history tends to repeat itself over and over. Jesus was warning that the Jewish nation, their Temple, their rituals, and their lifestyle was once again going to be destroyed like it was under Babylonian conquest and captivity. The Jews were well aware of their history and would have identified with the words of Jesus.
Application: Wherever there is failure to accept the truth, God’s truth, there is desolation. Today’s religious world is full of confusion and misinformation and there is a lack of miracles from God. Why? Because religion has rejected truth. Any nation that rejects the truth of God will also become desolate in time. What is the condition of the nations today? Do things seem to be upside down and does it seem that there is a lack of common sense and good decision making? Think about it.
Historically, at the time of the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army, the ten northern tribes of Israel had already been taken captive by the Assyrians. Only the two southern tribes, known as Judah, were left free of foreign control. The Babylonians conquered Assyria and then took Jerusalem captive and all of Judah. Most of the inhabitants who were not killed, were taken as captives to Babylon. Daniel and three of his friends were part of that captivity, and the book of Daniel chronicles their lives under Babylonian rule. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel both told of the eventual destruction and desolation of the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel before the Babylonians invaded. “So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.” Jeremiah 44:22 “Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” Ezekiel 33:29 So God brought destruction and desolation on the Jewish nation through the one world government of Babylon because of their evilness and wickedness which included rejecting their God and killing His prophets. The prophet, Daniel, in chapter 9 of his book refers to the prophet, Jeremiah, and to his writings. “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” Daniel 9:1-2 Daniel had been reading the writings of the prophet, Jeremiah, and he had figured out a time table explaining the length of the Jewish captivity and the eventual final destruction of the Temple and the cessation of the animal blood sacrifices that marked the entire religious system as set up by the prophet Moses. The time line was 70 years, the number seven indicating divine perfection. This would be the second time God would use a foreign nation, Rome, to make the land of Israel desolate.
Application: Darius the Mede succeeded to the throne of Babylon after the death of king Belshazzar around 538 BC. Jeremiah was a prophet to Israel for about 40 years, he died around 570 BC and his writings were available to the prophet Daniel fifty or more years after being written, surviving war and exile to a foreign land. Today, people both in the evangelical and non Christian arena are questioning the accuracy of the Scripture. God said He would preserve His Word and if He did so for Daniel, He has done so for His followers today. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:33 The Bible is accurate and trustworthy. Man’s opinions and ideas regarding the Bible are not accurate and trustworthy.
As stated above, the last prophet that the Jews would kill who would usher in God’s wrath and judgement against the nation Israel was Stephen as recorded in the book of Acts, chapters six and seven. The religious leaders stirred up a mob of people with lies, hired individuals to give false witness against him, and then dragged him before the high priest and the council of the Sanhedrin. This atrocity was carried out on Temple grounds, hence the abomination standing in the holy place as recorded in verse 15 above. Stephen preached to them, reviewing their history from the patriarch Abraham up to their present time, including a reminder of their Babylonian captivity and why it happened. He ended his sermon with, “But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” Acts. 7:47-53 How did these evil hypocrites respond? Did they repent and turn back to their God? Read the following verses.
“When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:54-60
Instead of accepting the truth that Stephen spoke and recognizing that his words were from the LORD, these religious Jews got so angry they actually attacked and chewed on Stephen’s flesh with their teeth, and then they threw rocks at his body and broke his bones and tore his flesh until he died. This was the final insult to a holy God who was trying to warn these evil people that their time as a nation was running out. This was Israel’s last chance, and they failed to recognize it. Note: when a king would stand it was to pronounce judgement. Jesus resurrected to Heaven and was sitting on the right hand of Father God, but here Jesus is standing and passing judgement upon Israel and the Jewish people. Also, why did Stephen pray for the LORD to “lay not this sin to their charge”? Because Saul of Tarsus was present, and God heeded Stephen’s prayer and did not lay the sin of the stoning of Stephen on Saul, but changed him into the Apostle Paul.
Before leaving the topic of the abomination that maketh desolate, Daniel 12:9-11 should be looked at as it pertains to the verses above.
“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:9-11
The words were to be sealed until the time of the end. The end of what? Usually it is taught that the end refers to the end of time. But the passage is talking about a nation, not the world. This writer believes it is the destruction and the end of the physical nation of Israel. Bible prophecy is understood by looking back at events. After Jerusalem was besieged and the nation conquered, the book of Daniel was able to be understood and the words were no longer sealed up. So if they were only dealing with the last of the last days as claimed by Scofield, they would have remained sealed and not understood.
Those that would be purified were those Jews and Gentiles living in Israel who accepted Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah. They were made white through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, so the “end” had to happen after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. To be “made white” is metaphor for having sins forgiven so that the LORD views the person as righteous and clean like fresh snow. These believers were wise because they believed in Jesus and accepted salvation and they were “tried” because of the Jewish persecution of the early Church. This persecution has continued and believers remain persecuted today in many places of the world. But they remained/remain faithful and true to their LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Jewish leaders and non believers continued to “do wickedly” and they could not understand the Gospel and the men preaching it. They did not understand the warning Jesus gave in these verses just as they did not understand or heed the warnings prophesied in the verses above from Daniel. The persecution of the Church started and was lead by Saul of Tarsus, the same Saul written about in Acts 7:58 above. His goal was to annihilate the Christians and a decree was given to him from the Jewish religious elite to kill all the Christians and their families. So instead of just killing the prophets, the Jews were going to kill every man, woman and child that named the name of Jesus. This horrible persecution and murder of innocent people made the whole nation desolate. However, all the churches had rest after a 45 day reign of terror by Saul of Tarsus which stopped when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became Paul the Apostle. “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” Acts 9:31 The persecutors then had to deal with the conversion of Saul. What power could change a man so full of hatred and anger and turn him into a follower of Jesus and a friend to the very people he once killed? Once Israel was destroyed and the remnant people of the nation scattered to other Gentile nations, the Church replaced Israel and the Gospel was preached to all people groups.
Daniel’s prophecy states that there would be a time period of 1290 days from when the daily sacrifice done by the Levitical priests in the Temple in Jerusalem would be taken away and the setting up of the abomination that would cause desolation. This period of time represents the 3 1/2 years of ministry of the LORD Jesus Christ culminating with the time of His murder, His resurrection and then the stoning of Stephen which followed. Then there is another 45 day period which was the length of time the Church was severely persecuted by Saul of Tarsus. All of this was the abomination and it happened in Daniel’s 1335 day time period. Scofield says, and most fundamental and Christian evangelical establishment churches teach, that the sacrifice is taken away by a fictional character called the Antichrist. They believe the Daniel passage above is all about the end of the world instead of just about the nation Israel, and that God is accepting Jewish animal sacrifices at the end of the world which the Antichrist will take away or cause to stop. The problem with this doctrine is that, as already explained in other New Testament book studies, the word antichrist only occurs four times in Scripture and it never refers to a person, but only to an evil spirit. There is no Antichrist predicted in Bible prophecy. Furthermore, if there was an Antichrist stopping Jewish Temple sacrifice, this incorrect doctrine taught today is making the assumption God will accept these rituals again. He will not. Jesus was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. He took away the sins of the world once and for all when He was crucified. He stopped the animal sacrificing when He was crucified and rose again on the third day. Religion can’t put a lamb or goat back in the place of Jesus. So who took the daily sacrifice away? Who hung on the cross and rent the curtain in the Temple? Jesus became the sacrifice that ended all others, plain and simple. Think about it.
Verses 23-28 pertain to the time leading up to the second coming of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Verses 23-28 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For 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. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
In verse 24 Jesus warns that in the future there would arise false Christs and false prophets. This has already happened and continues to happen today. The Apostle Paul wrote and warned of this in 2 Corinthians 11: 1- 4 “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” In other words, Paul was worried that through deceit and deception by men presenting themselves as holy men of God, believers might accept another Gospel and another Jesus.
In the late 1800’s and the turn of the 19th century an event occurred that seemed to usher in many false religions and false Christs. Freemasonry, which is a Satanic religion, was very big in the United States, and a man named Captain William Morgan, a high ranking Freemason in the Scottish Rite, decided that if Freemasonry was such a good thing, it should be shared with the public and not kept secret. He wrote a book exposing the secrets of the Lodge and this resulted in his murder. The Freemasons held a trial in the Lodge in New York and he was found guilty. A man by the name of Howard was to carry out the sentence of death, and Captain Morgan, becoming aware of the plot, fled for his life. Howard tracked him down and murdered him somewhere near the Niagara gorge, weighted him down with cement, and tossed his body in the water. His body was later found and it was then proved that the Freemasons had committed this atrocity. This started an anti-Masonic Lodge movement that almost wiped out the Lodge entirely. The Freemasons “went underground” in the North, but remained fairly strong in the South. Because of the outrage against Freemasonry by the public as a result of the murder of Captain Morgan, even the churches and the Republican political party began to be vocally against the Masonic Lodge. So a plan had to be put in place to resurrect Freemasonry. Suddenly, as the Lodges disappeared, different religions began showing up. Captain Morgan’s widow married a man named Joseph Smith who founded the Mormon institution that is going strong today. Joseph and his brother, Hiram, were worshipful masters in the Lodge. In the Mormon elite, the men wear an “ephod” with a compass an square on it, the well known symbols of Freemasonry. Mormonism is Freemasonry in disguise. Charles Taze Russell of the Scottish Rite, founded the Jehovah Witnesses institution. Later, Judge Rutherford, also a member of the Scottish Rite carried this religion forward. Mary Baker Eddie started the Christian Science movement. It is reported that at the death of one of her many husbands, Eddie had a physician cut out her husband’s heart so that she could hold it in her hands. Does this represent Christ like behavior and instill confidence in the Christian Science doctrine? The New Age Religions have a different Jesus Christ, as do the Catholics. Every priest that offers communion says that the wafer they offer up is Jesus, not a representation of Jesus, but the actual body of Jesus. What should Catholics do? They should do what Jesus said to do in the verses above: believe it not. The Unitarians teach that Jesus was just a man, so again this is a different Jesus. Reverend M. J. Divine who was born in Georgia in 1876 and died in 1965 called himself “the messenger” and claimed to be God. He was a false Christ. These are just a few of the religions that formed in place of the Masonic Lodge and these religions have doctrines based on the doctrines of the Lodge. They are Freemasonry disguised in the form of religion, and they are all an antichrist system presenting a false Jesus, and many people have been and are lead astray from the truth of the Word of God because of them.
In the verses above Jesus is clearly warning His followers to not run after individuals or institutions that claim to represent Him, even if there are signs and wonders being demonstrated. The magicians in Egypt showed signs and wonders and they were definitely not of God. Some of these signs and wonders are done by the power of the devil and some are just done by deception. And why should Christians not believe He is at one geographical location or another? Because Jesus describes what His return to Earth will be like, and it will not be a return done in secret. The whole sky will light up and every eye will see Him all at the same time; not just the people, but all the critters too. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. even so, Amen.” Revelation 1:7 The reference to a carcase and eagles simply means that just as birds of prey descend upon a dead thing out in the desert and come from every direction, there will be a great gathering of people from every direction to Jesus when He returns.
The rest of the chapter pertains to the end of the world.
Verse 29 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:
What tribulation is Jesus referring to? The Greek word translated at “tribulation” is “thlipsis” and it means trouble, oppression or distress. It is a thing and not a specific period of time as is taught in the Scofield doctrine. Christian believers have always experienced tribulation. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Romans 8:35 states, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” So “the tribulation of those days” is referring to that which is common in this wicked, fallen world and which believers experience because they are living in the world at the time before Jesus’ return to Earth for His people and for judgement.
Why is the sun darkened and the moon turned off and the stars removed from Heaven and everything shaken up? Because the day of the LORD is one of darkness so that when Jesus returns the sky will be lighted up like lightening flashing across it so that everyone will notice and know that they are seeing Jesus return in His glory with His good angels and with His saints. The Heavens as was established by God at the creation will be destroyed and a new heaven and Earth will be established. Isaiah 60:19-20 states, “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.” Amos 5:20 states, “Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it”
Verses 30-31 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. 31 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.
The Greek word translated as “sign” is “semeion” and it means that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known, and an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature. So this sign would be unusual and would distinguish the LORD from everything else.
Why does Jesus describe Himself as “the Son of man”? Because the body He was inhabiting was fully flesh and bone and therefore it was the Son of man. God has not chosen to manifest Himself in any other human body, so the body of Jesus was/is the “only begotten Son of God” also. All other believers are in physical bodies made of flesh and bone and they have the Holy Ghost of Jesus living in them to guide and direct them, but they are fully human. Jesus was/is God, very God who is a Spirit, living in a human body, so this body was a son of man but at the same time God. As a human, Jesus was limited by the flesh and had to abide by the same “laws of nature” that all humans abide by. He was subject to heat and cold, to hunger and thirst, to sleep deprivation, to fatigue, to pain, to emotional feelings such as sadness and joy, and so forth. So Jesus was/is God in the flesh and He could be seen and touched by everyone. As God, a Spirit, He cannot be seen and touched by everyone in a fleshly body. So it is this resurrected body that God is returning in and He is referred to as the Son of man. It is this person, Jesus, that all the tribes of the Earth shall see coming “with power and great glory”.
The Greek word translated as “tribes” is “phule” and it means descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, a race, a nation, and a people. Notice that Jesus said “all the tribes” of the Earth would see Him. The only way this event can be seen by all peoples of the Earth simultaneously is if the Earth is indeed flat. A globe shaped Earth would prevent this from happening and Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” He does not lie. And as God restricted in form by a body, He cannot appear to everyone living on the Earth unless it is flat. See Genesis chapter one for more discussion of the Bible’s proof of a flat Earth as opposed to the Heliocentric model taught today.
Why does Jesus state that the tribes or people will mourn at His coming again? The Greek word translated as “mourn” is “kopto” and it only appears eight times in Scripture. It means to bewail, to lament, to beat one’s breast for grief, and to cut from or cut off. Imagine how the unbelieving masses will feel and behave when they see with their own eyes this unusual event that has never before happened in human history and when they see the Jesus that they have rejected, scorned, laughed at, ridiculed, denied, persecuted, and whose name they have used as a cuss word. They will know that the end of time has come and that there is no fixing their unbelief and that Heaven and Hell are real places. They will know their own guilt and sin and that they will be cut off from this world and cast into eternity in Hell where Scripture says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is particularly pertinent to the Jews or descendants of Jacob who have rejected their Messiah. “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:12 “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” Luke 13:28 They will mourn because there is no longer any time or any hope for them. It is all over and the knowledge of the truth will convict their minds, wills and emotions. It will not be a happy time for the unbeliever. Jesus will be here on Earth to pass judgement and to set up His kingdom with a new creation of Heaven and Earth and with the believers throughout time, from Adam to the last person converted to faith in Jesus Christ.
Daniel 7:13-14 states, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel the prophet saw the second coming of the LORD Jesus Christ in a vision when a captive in Babylon. The Jews hearing the words of Jesus as recorded in this chapter would have known what Jesus was saying and understood the prophecy. Since Jesus constantly referred to Himself as the Son of man, the Jews knew Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah spoken about by the prophet Daniel. The Son of man is given a kingdom that is everlasting. Judgement is promised upon the covenant breakers but the righteous shall be from all over the world.
The second coming of the LORD Jesus Christ is a noisy event also. There will be the sound of a trumpet that will accompany His return. As stated in other sections of this study, trumpets were used to announce the presence of royalty and to announce and direct soldiers when in battle. This trumpet announces the return of the King, Jesus Christ, and the last battle on Earth where sin, death and Hell will be dealt with once and for all.
Application: Most modern evangelical Christian churches teach the false and perverted Scofield doctrine that Jesus will return a second time and quietly take the believers away in what is called the Rapture. But Jesus said, as recorded by Matthew in the verses above, that His second coming, the only second coming, would be noisy and visually fantastic. The Scofield doctrine goes on to teach that He will return a third time for the battle of Armageddon and then . . . . This writer cannot keep up with the many “Second Comings” that this doctrine teaches. Jesus did not teach this, so ask yourself, “Why do most churches teach something Jesus did not subscribe to and that the writers of the New Testament did not teach?”
The Christian believers will be ushered into the presence of the LORD Jesus Christ by angels sent to gather them with the “great sound of a trumpet”. What an exciting and glorious time for believers this will be! They will see their LORD and King in person, they will be relieved of the burdens of this world, they will be united with their believing loved ones who have died before them, they will be free of their physical bodies and of any physical pain, and they will be finally and completely free. The Apostle Paul gives more information on the LORD’s return in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” Again, Scripture teaches that the second coming of Jesus will be seen and heard by everyone as the Christian believers are separated from the nonbelievers on the Earth and gathered to Jesus. The Rapture teaching is not supported by Scripture, plain and simple.
Application: Jesus stated that at His return He would send His angels to gather his people together unto Him, “from one end of heaven to the other”. Jesus, who created the Heavens and the Earth taught that there was an end to heaven in verse 31 above. The Heliocentric model teaches that there is a massive expanse of “space” out there that extends away from the Earth and which has no ending. Again, who is correct? Fallible human science or Jesus? “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:” 1 Timothy 6:20
Verses 32-34 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
As stated before, the people of Jesus’ day were primarily farmers and keepers of sheep and other livestock. They were an agricultural society and so Jesus used examples that they could relate to that were agricultural in nature. They knew that the budding and leafing of a fig tree would only happen if the weather was warmer and summer was near. So Jesus was telling His audience that when they saw the things He had told them about come to pass, they would know that the events were close to happening. The generation that saw the signs would see the events happen.
Verses 35-36 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Application: There have been many attempts to predict the second coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world, all of which have failed. False prophets and false teachers giving false predictions have led many people astray, and many of these people who were caught up in the deception were negatively impacted to the point that they rejected Jesus, the Bible and the Church. Some of these people sold their houses and all that they owned because they believed the world was ending. To teach false doctrine, including false time tables, causes people who are weak in the faith and who do not know their Bible well enough to know truth from error to fall away from the faith. This is sin. God is not pleased with these false prophets and teachers. Jesus taught that the only one who knew the end of the world time table was our Heavenly Father. Don’t get caught up in deceptive predictions. Look for the signs of His coming and be patient.
Verses 37-42 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
It took Noah 120 years to build the ark and the people in the world at that time were not ignorant of his activity and of why he was building it. There had never been rain on the Earth so the people did not believe Noah’s preaching that there would be a rain that would flood the Earth and that they needed to repent and follow God if they wanted to physically survive. They mocked Noah and paid no attention to the impending doom that was going to come. The verses above spoken by Jesus, Who would know what happened in Noah’s day, record that the people just kept on with their lives as if nothing was ever going to happen. Only when the promised event came did they realize their error, and of course it was too late, the door on the ark was closed by God on the outside and they could not enter. Jesus states that the same thing will happen when the event of His return comes. People have just lived their lives as if nothing is ever going to change and they still are today even though the signs of Jesus’ imminent return are everywhere. People do not believe the Words of the Bible or the preaching of the LORD’s servants. They mock it and pay no attention to the impending doom that is going to come. Just as God shut the door of the ark so that no one else could enter, He will eventually shut the door to salvation and no one else will be able to enter. See Luke 13:25-29
In Noah’s day the wicked were swept away. The righteous were left. The above verses, 40-42, have been read and interpreted backwards to teach that the righteous will be secretly raptured out of the world before final judgement and the wicked will be left behind. But the person in the field and the women grinding that is taken are those that are judged and removed. The righteous are the ones remaining. Jesus said, “so shall also the coming of the son of man be” when He was comparing the days of Noah with the day of His return. Therefore, the righteous are left behind and the wicked are gathered for destruction. This truth is contrary to the teachings of Scofield. Go back to Matthew chapter 13. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares. He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest (the end of time) I will say to the reapers (the angels), Gather ye together FIRST the tares (the wicked), and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat (the righteous believers) into my barn (the presence of God in Heaven)“
Verses 43-44 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
The Christian believers since the apostolic church began and down through the centuries have been anticipating and wanting the LORD Jesus to return. The Christian believers today are instructed to watch for and to be ready for His return. The idea behind a thief robbing a house is that the thief does not announce to the home owner ahead of time that he is going to come on a certain night and break into the house and steal. The home owner would be waiting for him and capture or kill him. If the time of Jesus’ return was announced ahead of time, people would sin right up to that time and then try to repent and be righteous just for the purpose of gaining eternal life in Heaven. Jesus wants His servants to serve Him because they love Him, and not because they know when He is returning to judge this world. So the only thing Christian believers know for sure is that Jesus will return when it is least expected. Even though the sinful condition of the people on this Earth is getting worse and worse, that is not what believers can use to predict the time of Jesus’ return. The deterioration of ethics and morality among mankind is just an indicator, like the leaves on the fig tree, that the time of His coming is getting closer and closer.
Verses 45-51 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 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, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24)
A wise servant who is left in charge of his masters household will perform to the best of his ability in the absence of his master because he does not know when his master is returning, he doesn’t want to get caught shirking his responsibilities, and because he is a faithful servant. When the wise servant proves himself to his master, that he can be trusted and do the job entrusted to him well, the master will exalt him. An unwise, wicked servant will fail to perform his responsibilities well and will get caught by his master who shall take serious steps to discipline him. Jesus is saying that the person who is faithful to Him will be rewarded positively and the person who is not faithful to Him will be rewarded negatively. So watch and pray.