Watch And Be Ready

NOVEMBER 15, 2020 STUDY NOTES MATTHEW 24:40-44 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WATCH AND BE READY INTRODUCTION One of the arguments for the pretribulation rapture view is found in this passage The view that believes the church will be raptured before the events of Matthew 24 They believe that there is no evidence of the church existing in Matthew 24 Therefore, there is no thought of the rapture occurring within the time-period of Matthew 24 They teach that Matt. 24:30-31 refers to the 2nd coming and has nothing to do with the rapture And that the ones taken in Mt 24:40-41 are the ones taken for judgment and death And the ones left are the ones who will be left on earth to enter the millennial kingdom They base their interpretation on the previous illustration of Noah’s day (Mt. 24:37-39) Their argument is, keep in mind the context and compare scripture with scripture Which is exactly what we are going to do, but the view will not be the same as theirs As they state, we must compare the previous verses and the following verses of Mt 24:40-44 The ending of Matthew 24 is Jesus showing us how important it is to be ready for His return In verses 40 and 41, Jesus compares two people, one prepared and one unprepared Is the “one taken” prepared or unprepared, is the one “left” prepared or unprepared? Those who are prepared are the saved, saved Jew and saved Gentile, which is the NT church In the previous verses Jesus taught us that there will be those who are unprepared for His return Jesus used the people of Noah’s day as an example of the generation of people prior to His return The people in Noah’s day were unprepared for the coming flood judgment of God upon the earth Noah and his family were prepared because they had obeyed God Do you remember the game of hide-and-seek? Do you remember the words? Ready or not, here I come! That is what Jesus is telling us at the end of Matthew 24 READY OR NOT Mat 24:40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. The pretribulation rapture view uses “then” as a strong point for their view Stating that within the context, “then” refers to the 2nd coming identified in the previous verses But they deny that the previous verses have anything to do with the time of the rapture “Then,” does take us back to the time of His coming, Mat 24:30 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. But at the time of His coming the rapture will take place, Mat 24:31 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 “elect” that is gathered are the saved Jews and the saved Gentiles living in the tribulation Which Jesus will rescue from the Great Tribulation by what is called the rapture, Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. The time of the Great Tribulation will be cut off for the elect Jesus gives us a description of two different types of people living when Jesus returns “In the field” probably identifies those who will be about their normal working duties Which goes along with the illustration of those in the day of Noah, Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. They will be going about their daily activities of life, just as they normally do 1 People will be living their normal way of life, going about their normal duties when He returns, Mat 24:38 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, There will be those who are saved and those who are lost working in the field There is a tremendous difference between them, in fact, an eternal difference Those who are saved will be ready and those who are lost will not be ready for Christ to return There will be a division, one will be taken and the other left The one who is saved will be delivered and the one who is lost will be punished Their daily activities of life will suddenly be disrupted, one will be taken the one shall be taken, Who is the one who will be taken? Will it be the one who is saved or the one who is lost? “Shall be taken” in this verse is not the same original word translated “took” in, Mat 24:39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. The thought or the meaning of “taken” is not the same as in verse 39 In verse 39, the thought is they were all taken unto the judgment of death, a negative “taken” In verse 40, the word translated “TAKEN” means “to take along,” to receive, to accept It is used in the Gospel accounts to mean “taking someone along with you somewhere” The angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream to “take” the young child, Mat 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take (same word) the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he “took” the young child, Mat 2:14 When he arose, he took (same word) the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: Christ uses the same term six times in-reference to future events Twice in Mt 24:40-41 and three times in Luke 17:34-36 Each time referring to one person being taken, and another being left behind Jesus uses the same word again in a very popular verse, Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive (same word) you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (“Take” you unto myself) The word “receive” is the same word translated “shall be taken” in Matthew 24:40 Jesus made that promise to His followers, He will return to receive them, to take them away The word “taken” in Mt. 24:40-41 has the meaning of “being received,” a positive “taken” Which refers to the Rapture of the Church, Christ removing all believers from the earth The one who is “taken” will be gathered with Jesus, which is also taught in, Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Jesus said, “gather the wheat into my barn,” it is the “elect” who will be “taken,” Mat 24:31 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 one “taken” will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, 1Th 4:17 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. In Matthew 24:40, those “taken” are those who are received up into the clouds to be with Jesus When He returns, there will be “rest” and “glory” for the believer, 2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, His mighty angels will gather the elect (Mt 24:31) the reapers are the angels (Mt. 13:39) and the other left. Those who are lost will be “left” on earth to face the Day of the Lord 2 The day of God’s fiery judgment of the world, 2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: They are “left” to face God’s judgment because they did not obey the Gospel of Jesus They will be “left” for destruction, left to face the wrath of God They are “left” with what they lived their life for, to build more barns, Luk 12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. They will be “left” with the same attitude Jesus said they would have, like Noah’s day With the same attitude as the rich man, Luk 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Those “left” will not have given any thought toward God or the return of Christ They will find out what the rich man found out, Luk 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? When Christ returns, earthly things will be of no benefit or value, they will all be destroyed, 2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. MEN OR WOMEN Mat 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. “Grinding at the mill” was another daily task, especially for the women They were grinding wheat or barley into meal for baking bread The women will be going about their normal duties, with the same meaning as the previous verse The woman who is saved will “be taken,” the woman who is lost will be “left” In Mt 25:1-13, the parable of the 10 virgins is consistent with Mt 24:39-42 The 5 wise virgins were prepared and are taken to be with the bridegroom The 5 foolish virgins were unprepared and are left behind, Jesus said, “I know you not” As Christians, we are to watch and be ready WATCH Mat 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. “Watch” means, to “Be vigilant,” be alert, stay awake, pay close attention “Therefore,” tells us why. Because Christians must be prepared for His coming Too often today the emphasis is upon the time of the return of Christ, trying to determine “when” But the emphasis of this passage is not upon “when is He coming” Jesus is strongly telling us to be prepared for His Coming regardless of when it might be The emphasis is upon “being watchful,” being faithful, being prepared whenever He comes IF WE COULD KNOW Mat 24:43 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. Jesus gives us another illustration that is easy to understand Something that all would agree with, something that everyone knows, something obvious The “Goodman” is the “Head” of the house or the owner of the house, the one who is in charge He knew that the coming of a thief was possible, but he did not prepare for it He was not ready for the coming of the thief because he didn’t know exactly when he was coming If he had known he would have watched, by watching he would have been ready To “watch” is the same point made in verse 42 and the same point that will be made in verse 44 Jesus is not saying that He is a thief, His point is that we must be prepared for His coming He is showing us that when the thief comes people are not ready He is telling us how unprepared the world will be when He comes back 3 The return of Christ to the earth will be as unexpected as a “thief” in the night for the lost The same point that Paul makes in, 1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. The world will not be prepared for the return of Christ and the Day of the Lord, 1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. “They” are the lost, those who are unprepared, those who will be left to face the Day of the Lord Christians are to be prepared, 1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Those who are in spiritual darkness will be overtaken, the saved will be taken to be with Christ BE READY Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Because of all that Jesus has said we have a reason to be ready, there is no excuse for not being ready “Ready” means to be prepared, having everything in proper order Being ready is a theme throughout the Bible for God’s people, 1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: The world needs to see that we are ready, they need to ask us why we are ready? And when they ask, we must be ready to give them an answer For three verses (42,43,44) Jesus is telling us to be ready when He comes Christians should live with the expectation of His return, excited that He is coming one day Christians are not to live in fear of the end of the age, we are to live in the hope of His return Today we represent Christ in this world, as His followers, we are to lead others to follow Him We do not know the hour in which He will come, but we can know the times and the seasons, 1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. We know that the time of the Day of the Lord will come (1 Thess 5:2) It will be when Jesus returns, and we know that He will come after the Great Tribulation The Great Tribulation begins with the “Abomination of Desolation” (Mt. 24:15, 21) Immediately after the tribulation, the Cosmic Disturbance will occur (Mt 24:29) The Cosmic Disturbance alerts the world, the Day of the Lord has come (Mt 24:30) Jesus will come after the Great Tribulation and after the Cosmic Disturbance (Mt 24:29-30) At His coming the elect will be gathered, which will be the time of the rapture (Mt 24:31) Jesus has been encouraging Christians to be faithful because of what we know Faithfulness to God is the way to prepare for the return of Christ The Boy Scott motto is “Be Prepared,” the Christian's motto is “Be Ready” Jesus tells us if we are going to be ready, we must be watching (Mt 24:42, 43; 25:13) Listen to the song 4