Pre Ten Virgins

(The kingdom of Heaven)
Post 221

Required reading: Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21
* * *

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” Matthew 25:1.

The word “then” has been a curiosity to me in this parable; Why start a parable with “Then”?
Clearly Jesus was structurally building from the foundation established in the conversation of the previous chapters and so to properly understand the parable we must understand the previous concept that results in the “then”.
The concept of the previous chapters (23-24), from beginning to end was the foundation of the question “When? How do we know when?” (Matthew 24:3).
What brought on these questions was what Jesus had said to them, but because we are shown the part about the destruction of the temple just before the questions, we wrongly assume this was the whole topic of the questions, but no. Their questions clearly show they understood the discussion to be regarding the period of “the end” (Matthew 24:3). Mark 13:3 gives us the clue that the discussion lasted longer than a casual passing of the temple buildings or a random comment about its destruction, and by the flow of the Matthew passage (excluding the chapter breaks later inserted) we see that there were 8 woes also proclaimed upon “this generation” (Matthew 23:36). All this was included in their questions.
* * *

When what?
“…Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end 4930 of the world 165?” Matthew 24:3.
“Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” Mark 13:4
“And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things come to pass?” Luke 21:7

It is curious that Matthew (the Gospel to the Jews) is the only one that words it with “the end of the world”. The other tellings of the same questions ask specifically about the signs of the events he described as related to his second coming and not “the end of the planet” and we get the concept that they understood the events were the signs of something else. So what “The end” are we actually talking about?

To shortcut the confusion, let me say; I’m going to show that there are two meanings to this whole passage, both are completely fulfilled in their respective times. In otherwords by careful composition the passage completely means both meanings. The first is regarding the age of the Jews and the second is regarding the Gentile age, and the miracle is that the same words at that exact time in history can mean both concepts as Jesus walking on the earth had brought the seed of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:2) while at the same time the Romans had brought the final diverse (4th) beast (Daniel 7, Zechariah 1:19) of the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24, I Peter 4:3-4) which will only end upon Jesus' return and the establishment of his Kingdom of Heaven as the 9th GDE (Global Dominate Empire) (Daniel 2:44-45).
So lets explore both meanings of “The end” in order to understand the passage:

End 4930 sunteleia; from 4931; entire completion, i.e. consummation (of a dispensation).
World 165 aion; from the same as 104; properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specifically (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future).

We see by the original meaning of the Greek words used in Matthew 24, these words have potential to mean different things when used in this combination, so we must investigate further.
The original Greek word aion; (165) used here, was also used in Acts 3:21, Hebrews 6:5 and clearly is not the “known world” word (3625) of Acts 11:28, Hebrews 2:5, Revelation 16:14, nor the “created world” word (2889) used in Hebrews 10:5, Revelation 13:8,17:8, I John 4:14, 5:4 (in fact every use of the word “world” in I John). The disciples clearly had a different meaning in mind from these by the specific use of aion; we would call an “age”.

The word “world” as NOT used in this passage:
World 3625 oikoumene; feminine particle press. Passive of 3611 (as noun, by implication of 1093); land, i.e. the (terrene part of the) globe; specifically the Roman empire:- earth, world.
World 2889 kosmos; from the base of 2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants literal or figurative).

These unused options of the Greek language would make this passage mean what most assume that it means; “the end of the world”, but by using the specific word “aion”, both Jesus and the disciples were clearly discussing an age, though the disciples probably did not actually understand the fuller meaning Jesus meant. The Mark and Luke versions of the same discussion are now not seen as strangely missing reference to the end of the world as a planet because that is not what was discussed. It seems evident that the 1st layer meaning was that of the end of the Jewish age which ended in 70 AD at the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple within the generation Jesus was talking to;
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” Luke 21:24.

Since that seems to be a very specific landmark that will end the trodding down, we need to ask...
* * *

What are the times of the Gentiles?
Ephesians 2:11-12 gives us a clue;
“Wherefore remember, that ye being in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
and again;
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:” I Peter 4:3.

We see then that the times of the Gentiles is a period when the Godless mindframe of the ungodly, rules in opposition to the provided option of the promised covenants through Christ.
What are those promised covenants (not singular)? They are the covenants of fellowship with God through the law and again through grace and still later through the combination of the two (Jeremiah 31:31-34), all three provided in Christ through Israel (and America as her offspring) as a society different from that of the Gentile mind without God. This is a difficult bit of "data" to understand because it is a "concept" that needs to be ingested not just learned.
This is the concept of the kingdom of heaven which we are learning in this passage.

The Jewish age came to an end after the rise of Rome and the fall of Israel in 70AD not because they were driven out of their land, but because the scepter was removed and Israel was no longer a sovereign nation of God’s rule; That time was the rise of the 4th diverse beast in three distinct parts as I have shown previously. Indeed that Generation did not pass until the eight woes befell Israel fulfilling Matthew 23:36 in the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans and the end of Israeli sovereignty; The scepter had been removed (Genesis 49:10) and the Jewish age of God’s direct influence on the earth through them had ended. Now God influences the world through the Gentile Christian nation of America in the times of the Gentiles. But like Israel, America has failed in her Job, conforming to the I Peter 4:3 Gentile will and we are now heading into our own punishment before our own "scepter" by analogy if you will, is also removed. The result is a world free of godly influence and so the kingdom of Hell will be free to rule unopposed for a time. This is the great iron beast kingdom of unspeakable destruction.

This "Times of the Gentiles" is complex because obviously the world dominate Gentile kingdoms of Assyria and Egypt ruled before Babylon took the Jewish nation captive, before they were brought back to Israel, before Rome finally destroyed the nation and dispersed them into the world, so how can I say the times of the Gentiles did not begin until Rome? I didn't.
I said that the nation of Israel; God's kingdom on earth if you will, did not end even while in captivity in Babylon, until Rome removed her sovereignty. The point in time is very significant to scripture and to the Jews, and is what paused the 70 week clock of the Jewish nation (Daniel 9:24, [representational prophecy of John the Baptist, II Kings 14:25], Matthew 11:12-13, Matthew 12:39-41,16:4,21:25-26, Luke 7:28. The times of the Gentiles was already under way while the Jewish age was still ending. But at the destruction of the Jewish sovereignty the Times of the Gentiles was established as the sole spiritually ruling kingdom on the earth, undisputed by another spiritual kingdom.
"For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation." Luke 11:30. It is amazing to read the gospels (especially that of Matthew) to see that from the very beginning the concept of warning to "this generation" remains persistent. Jesus was talking very specifically to the last generation of the Jewish age as a first layer.
Although America has been indeed very influential over the whole earth after that transition, it is not a ruling kingdom but simply a Godly nation of Gentiles among the Pagan nations as a type of remnant of the Kingdom that was.

Without going into a lengthy rabbit trail, it is unfortunate the KJV translators chose the word “world” for this verse when in other places of scripture the same Greek word was translated “ages” to a more ready comprehension for us modern English speaking people (Ephesians 2:7, Colossians 1:26). But the fact that aion was used only in the Matthew telling of the three narrations is a clue to “What age?” The non- “Jewish age” gospels only asked about the events Jesus described and were not concerned about an “age” as the Jews are. Although I greatly value the KJV as perhaps the most reliable English translation available, it is only a translation of the original and we should be careful not to worship the translation but only the God that it reveals (“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” John 5:39).

It is not a difficult search to conclude the actual end of the planet earth was not implied or meant or possible by their question or the Lord’s response, so the only question that remains is; “what age?”
Yet still the “When what?” of this passage has been a rather difficult thing for scholars to accurately answer in agreement for a number of reasons that scholars such as RC Sproul in his 10 part “Crisis in Eschatology” *1 have done a great job expounding and I will not address here in my attempt to reach sooner the foundation from which is built the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
* * *

The Deeper "When?":
By divine purposes the disciples asked three somewhat different questions regarding Jesus comments, and Jesus gave them the answer to their questions, but it’s most probable they didn’t actually comprehend the 2nd layer that Jesus was talking about as he gave them the prophetic answer to what they didn’t know they had asked. It is clear that Matthew 24 is very, very deep with prophetic meaning regarding far more than a simple timeline of one generation and discussing far more than the destruction of the temple in 70 AD that began the long dispersion of the Jews. This is a pivotal prophecy.
So realizing that we will barely scratch the surface of its deeper meanings lets run through the simplistic prepwork focusing on our discussion of the parable that followed:

To the questions of “when?” and “how do we know when?” (signs), Jesus answered:
Bla bla bla…
“…but the end (5056) is not yet.” Matthew 24:6
bla bla bla…
“All these things are the beginning of sorrows. Then…” Matthew 24:8-9
bla bla bla…
“And then…” Matthew 24:10
bla bla bla…
“But he that shall endure unto the end (5056), the same shall be saved.” Matthew 24:13
bla bla bla…
“…and then shall the end (5056) come.” Matthew 24:14
(I mean no disrespect for the holy words of Jesus by inserting a representation; this is only to more clearly focus on the intended points for their's and our discussion of WHEN?)

Jesus said quite a lot here, and between what he said he gave us several recognizable locations (signs) on the timeline of approaching the “when” events.
Then that last verse pretty much seems to be a terminus and an answer to “what shall be the sign of… the end (4930) of the world? (age; or present continuance at the time)” Matthew 24:3.
Again we find here, that by verse 13 with 14 following it, the concept of “patient endurance” not “immediate rescue” seems to be the mindframe intended that modern Christians love to assume.
But note; Jesus’ answer does not end there but continues for some time more, so did he jump the gun by inserting verse 14 when he did? I don’t think so.
There seems to be two possible answers to why he put v.14 where he did:

1- Like the Genesis chapters 1 and 2 debate, we can either conclude that the thought was completed at this point and a new thought began (which supports the two creations theory) or
2- we can conclude that the general concept was completed at this point and then re-covered in different details showing an additional line of purpose for the same events.
This second approach fully conforms to all root scriptural concepts while the first conflicts with them and so we reject the first option as flawed.

I believe that in Matthew 24:1-14, we see the big picture of the coming of “the end” but
I believe that in Matthew 24:1-12, we see the detailed picture of “the coming” of the end,
or in otherwords; The pre-game warmup as the “…but the end is not yet” stuff (v.6), before Jesus drops “the arrival of the end” storm (not bomb) in verse 14 “…and then shall the end come” which begins a new period identified as “the end” and described in more detail by verses 15-28.
Starving to death or being shot dead are two ways to bring an end, one is sudden as a bomb and the other drags on for a long time as a storm. In the lengthy idea, this “end period” is further defined with its own multiple periods or stages of the events all identified as “the end”:
I believe that in Matthew 24:15-22 we see the description of the “before Christ’s second coming arrival” portion of “the end”, and from 23-51 we see the “as Christ arrives” portion of “the end”, separated by the cosmic events of verse 29 as a recognizable landmark of demarcation; a sign.
Simply put, I think the first 14 verses are written to the Christ-followers, and 15-31 is written to the Law abiding Jews with specific periods identified as signs of his coming, which is not the same thing as the signs of the end of the Jewish age that ended about 37 years after their discussion that day. Therefore we see this prophetic passage has two layers as many prophecies do; A soon fulfillment and a much delayed second meaning for the last days which ends the “times (age) of the Gentiles” by the arrival of the physical Kingdom of Heaven upon this earth.

I wrestled for some time with the apparent discrepancy of order by verse 14 until I realized it was verse 13 that was giving the problem. Without verse 13 the timeline flows easily, so what is verse 13 doing stuffed in there, messing up the simple flow?
The answer becomes obvious when we comprehend “the end” mentioned as still future, does not actually begin until verse 15; “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…” (see Daniel 9:27, 11:31 specifically, and chapter 11 generally) declared to have officially begun the end period by the fulfilled restraint of the pre-game required event of verse 14; “and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (3625)…and then shall the end come.” Until v. 14 is actually fulfilled in proportion to the specific prophecy, v.15 as the end cannot come.
Now we have a tiny unknown verse hidden in Habakkuk 3 that prophecies although all the signs seem to be in place, the 2nd layer completion will not come to pass in the premature event of the 1948 nearness of summer as per Matthew 24:32. The tree will fail to produce long after expected not because the prophecy failed, but because its the wrong time; all the signs are not perfectly fulfilled.

"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines... yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" Habakkuk 3:17-18 (as related to Matthew 24:32 which we will discuss later).

I’m sorry this is getting a little thick as I am addressing both first and second layers at the same time as well as briefly. Before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Gospel was indeed preached to all the “world” as the specific word Jesus used there allows:

World 3625 oikoumene; feminine particle press. Passive of 3611 (as noun, by implication of 1093); land, i.e. the (terrene part of the) globe; specifically the Roman empire:- earth, world.

Acts 8:25 and others tell us this required fulfillment was met in the 1st layer only and so "the end" was proportionally related to the age of the Jews, and yet by the specific word used we see that it also allows for a 2nd layer meaning and fulfillment of the Gospel preached to the whole earth, which is today being completed by several bible translator organizations with this specific intent, that will allow for the global "the end" to come on the times of the Gentiles in the fuller fulfillment of v.14. So we see both layers of the prophecy as they are to be fulfilled have a traffic light regulation of travel between the pregame events up to v.13 and the end events beginning with v.15. Verse 14 is a significant sign of "when what?".
* * *

Bad Enough:
So if whatever comes in the pre-game warmup of Matthew 24:4-14 is not yet “the end”, it is still apparently quite bad to need the encouragement of verse 13; “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” In otherwords verse 13 tells us that the events of verses 4-12 will become almost unendurable especially just before the end begins as the worst labor pains come at the end before the actual birth process begins, using the growing birthpang analogy of v.8 (beginning of sorrows, Romans 8:22, Revelation 12:2) we understand these pre-game events will increase in intensity by cycle and it has proven to be so from then until now; Hard times, respite, hard times, respite, progressively getting worse in the general direction; Rise and fall, rise and fall, but always steadily climbing in the general trend of increase.

Now understanding “the end” is also a somewhat prolonged period described from 24:15-51 we understand verse 13 is not including any of the end; Just endure UNTIL the end gets here. In otherwords; “endure until verse 15”. Since by this verse there is no need to endure THROUGH the end to be saved, Who then will be saved as described in verse 13 vs. who is the rest of the chapter talking about that was not saved by said enduring to v.15?
Obviously since we can easily see that everything after verse 14 to 31 is talking specifically to the Jews regarding Jewish things and concepts, we can conclude that verse 13 is talking specifically to the Disciples of Jesus Christ; the Church age we call Christians. Verse 13 therefore alludes to the rapture which apparently comes when the pre-great tribulation signs arrive; i.e. the Abomination of Desolation.
Disciples of Jesus, endure until then and you will be saved seems to be the message. But clearly, by the focus on enduring until then (v.13), we can be sure to see a significant portion of lesser tribulation that will nonetheless cause many to fail in the attempt to wait until then. It’s all about the proper waiting perspective. I know many Marines while I was on Okinawa who got “Dear John” letters from wives who got weary of waiting. Selfish love cannot endure and these are the ones the waiting is designed to weed out.
What I find curious is that there are seem to be those who will fail to endure until the end as v.13 directs, but will then heed the warning of 16-20! How is this possible?
It is because the Jews have been blinded (Acts28:26-29) until they see the Christ coming in the clouds as they have long anticipated (II Corinthians 3:14-16, Matthew 23:39), and so rejected the Christ who first came as a Son of man (John 10:33).
* * *

Hard Ball:
Again, Notice the immediate post v.15 warning speaks of a specific place and therefore to a specific people; the Jews.

"Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:" the housetops and the flight on the Sabbath are Jewish related and specifically said to Judaea.

The Christian idea we see in the books and films produced about the rapture tend to promote the idea that the great tribulation is all about Gentile Americans who failed to get it right in the first try and so get a second try through the great tribulation.
While this idea may be perhaps possible on an extremely small scale, the whole context of the prophecy is that the Church age is passed and this end period is for the Jews. In relation to the extreme grace extended to the Church age Gentiles in general; the Jews have really been given a horrible load to carry through great suffering over a very long period. And while we Church age Gentiles may experience some significant suffering in these last days it cannot be compared to the suffering of God’s People because the cause is completely different and for a different reason. And the worst part of their suffering is yet to come even after our suffering is finished!
Does this sound unfair? You bet it does! But is it unjust of God who is the creator? No.
God has a completely different thing he is doing in the Jews for his own reasons that will magnify His greatness in the end just as will his utter and complete rejection of Esau or his extension of grace to the Gentiles.
Fair is man’s perspective of temporal events much as religion is man’s perspective of the spiritual. God is not about religion and he is not about fair (Genesis 37:4). He is about faith and justice (Romans 3:28, 4:5, 5:1, Galatians 2:16, 3:8, James 2:24-26) which are completely different things and cannot be properly applied to a mind and spirit of selfish acquisition. This is a concept that is foundational to the faith, which modern self-centered Christians simply have no understanding. Selfish love cannot endure and these are those whom the waiting is designed to weed out. Christ wants those who are madly in love with Him and not themselves! (Thus the parable of the 10 virgins).
The divorce rate within the church today is a sure sign of this self-love problem and is a mirror in which to see our love of Christ or lack thereof (I John 4:20).
Even though the passage transitions quite smoothly from part one to part two at verse 14, Jesus is speaking of two different people in the 2nd layer of the latter end times we are now approaching (Isaiah 41:22). Yes, many world Gentiles will be saved in the second part of this passage through the Jews, but the Church age is over and for us who failed to see Christ in our opportunity of Grace, the second opportunity will probably be but an illusion as unattainable as salvation through grace was for the Jews in our time of offering. From here on out the passage speaks to the 70th week of Daniel Jews and the world related to them.
* * *

False Christs… Oh, I almost forgot; And a great tribulation:
Now leaving behind the v.4-14 pre-game Church age events and the concluding rapture, we see that the Great Tribulation actually doesn’t begin until Matthew 24:21 following the abomination of desolation and it ends in Matthew 24:26 with the presentation of false Christs. (The short transition period of fleeing in verses 15-20 is not included in the great tribulation but is included in “the end” which just began by the abominable open declaration of war against God and his people. But notice the primary topic of this defined section as “the great tribulation” is almost exclusively a warning against following false Christs:

Matthew 24:21 barely refers to a horrific great tribulation, and verse 22 casually mentions it will be so bad that the days themselves must be shortened so that anybody might survive it at all, but it doesn’t go into details of the events that make it so bad (many other parts of scripture go into detail). Then verses 23-28 spend all their time talking about the coming of false Christs as opposed to the real Christ, and then suddenly the great tribulation is declared over by verse 29 even though we have many other passages that tell us the great cleansing of wickedness comes after v.29 making it clear that God’s wrath on wicked man is not the same event of Satan’s wrath on man that comes first in the great tribulation. Clearly the tribulation and the Great Tribulation are of Satan primarily aimed at the children of God though not really concerned about the wicked either, while the wrath of God that follows is specifically to the wicked that enacted the tribulation and God protects His own in the process.
This neglect of the horrible details of the great tribulation is because of the three questions they asked in v.3; they did not ask for details of what the end would be like, just when it would come and what would signify the various events including his coming. This whole chapter 24 is about timing and the details included are simply there to aid that end.
We see then that the beginning of the end overlaps the end of the pre-game events (v.13-14), and the coming of the Messiah overlaps the end of the Great tribulation (v.27-28) and the actual arrival of the Messiah comes somewhere at the end of his coming (v.31-34) but apparently not at the very end of his coming (Daniel 12:11-12).

THEN: we have one single verse in 24:29 describing some very amazing cosmic events that are not a part of the great tribulation but come right after it ends while Messiah has already begun his coming:
* * *

The Coming of Christ:

“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:” Matthew 24:29 (Isaiah 13:9-7, Revelation 6:13= Isaiah 60:19, Acts 26:13) (Isaiah 30:26 seems to suggest a kind of supernova type burnout of our sun.)
Again, the event is described here because it importantly identifies the “when and signs” of the timing of events on either side.
This cosmic stuff would sure seem like a part of the great tribulation but it is declared NOT to be because they are not for the purpose of tribulation on the saints as the events that just ended were, but are rather perhaps the first signs of the Wrath of God.
Will they be fearful to witness for the saints of that day? Of course; “And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear” Matthew 14:26. These are very real and very horrible events to affect the earth after enduring such a struggle, and just looking at the fear of simple "Global Warming" that is so insignificant that the data had to be manipulated to get the people to fear, what will they do with real problems?! (Luke 21:26).
As a later deeper study of this boat trip will show; This whole Matthew 14 event of crossing is a prophetic representation of the last days our world has already set sail into and the seas have been progressively building since John the Baptist (Matthew 11:13, Luke 7:26), The cosmic events initiating the signs of Jesus coming are represented by what the boating disciples first thought they saw which made them afraid which turned out to be Jesus himself coming to them. In the same way the Jews of that day will tremble with the world at the apparent cosmic disaster coming upon them, but Jesus will call out to them "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." Matthew 14:27, yet Peter representing the raptured Church is the only one who went to him as he came, while the others waited in the boat in the stormy sea. Very exciting stuff hidden in that boat trip.

Now as a shocking and sudden punch I will simply declare here that Jesus coming in the clouds over time as seen by the world to be something like a destroying comet, will be the coming of the New Jerusalem with Christ as the seat of the kingdom of heaven the 9th and final GDE (Revelation 3:12, 21:2-3, Daniel 2:44-45, Revelation 17:14, Luke 21:31). There is just simply no way to explain this event in any scientific understanding currently known but it will in fact happen in our known reality. This is why Jesus confirms that what he says will happen, will indeed actually happen even though it seems impossible (Matthew 24:35, Revelation 21:5), and here for the first time in this blog I must depart from reason of logic alone and appeal to the reason and proofs of all the scripture we have covered thus far. The scripture has proven itself utterly reliable.
* * *

Interrupting Parable:
It seems that Jesus spends a very significant period from Matthew 24:23-51 describing the signs of his coming as was part of their question, but for some reason he inserts an interrupting parable in v.32-35 seemingly in the middle of describing his signs of coming; “Now learn a parable of the fig tree;…” What is with that? By inquiry we see that what comes before the parable describes things related to recognizing false Christs before we see the Genuine Christ arriving, and then we see the final gathering of the Jews in v. 31.
If the section after the parable was related to the same topic of his coming doesn’t it seem to confuse the order? The parable should be at the end of the chapter. With this in mind we explore the pre-figtree-parable points:
* * *

Identifying the coming of Christ: Luke 21:29-36.
We see that Jesus did indeed answer the three questions asked by his disciples and the signs of his coming including “when” are the actual primary focus of the whole chapter;
The signs of his coming include:
1- the pre-game warmup of the Church age tribulation, (Matthew 24:3-14) and
2- the great tribulation of the Jews in the times of the Gentiles, (v.21-28) and
3- the great cosmic events that follow the great tribulation (v.29) and
4- the actual signs of his coming process (v.30) and
5- then we have the gathering of the Jews by the angels, as still another sign of his coming (v.31).
Before he tells the fig tree parable related to his arrival as the arrival of summer (v.32-33+).

Now don’t get confused with semantics; his coming is shown to be a process; these are not just signs that his coming will start soon; there are also signs that his coming is in progress, and signs that his coming will conclude soon after the sounding of the gathering trumpet. In that v.31 later sign of his nearly-complete-coming we see him as an advancing general breaking off commanders into a fan formation with the purpose of gathering in his own from among the enemy before he goes to war upon his arrival (Revelation 6:12-17).

“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.” Matthew 24:31

But clearly he has not yet completed his coming at this point in the narrative by the parable of the fig tree in the next verse.

Verse 31 is often confused with the rapture of the Church (alluded to back in v.13) and so the meaning and order of the whole chapter is confused and therefore the parable is too. This v.31 is indeed a gathering, but FROM “the four winds”. This is the final calling or gathering of the 4th scattering of the elect (Zechariah 1:18-21) back to Jerusalem after which they will never be scattered again (Zephaniah 3:15-20, Malachi 3:17-18). This return will finally be the fulfillment of the long awaited return that has not been fulfilled by the 1948 return of the faithless Jews who still fail to rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17a, Jeremiah 33:7-9) and therefore ensures they will be scattered a 4th time so that he can call them at that trumpet.
With this in mind lets read Isaiah 27:13

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”

Don’t make the mistake of supposing this passage has been fulfilled and so is now ignorable history. It is not finished. And now we can see Matthew 24:34 is a very commonly misused landmark parable because of the misapplication of verse 31 to mean what it does not mean.

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:34.

What generation? What things? Just what is the parable of the fig tree talking about that would end in such a verse?
This is the question. But we will have to wait until the next post to answer it.

* * * * * * *
*1 Produced by the ministry of RC Sproul through his Ligonier organization; Renewing Your Mind podcasts are found on line at http//www.Ligonier.org