NC/SMB 06-11-05
The End Times.
Mt 24 is one of the hardest chapters in the Gospels to understand. Because Jesus speaks of future events.
And he continues on the same theme in Mt 25, with the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
But the bottom line of this parable is this:
“Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour (of Jesus Second coming) Mt25:13
Why did Jesus bother about preaching on the future?
1 The Past
We can understand when Jesus taught from the past . Because we can all learn from the mistakes of history – and try to avoid them.
But there is more. As Michael Green so ably put it:
“ History is going somewhere. It is not meaningless. It is not random . It is not eternal.
There will be a real end just as there was a real beginning. And at the end of it, we will find Jesus Christ. (Michael Green – The Message of Matthew p.253)
History is in a real sense Jesus’ story.
“He made the world, He came to dwell in it. He will return at the end of history to wind it up”
(Michael Green – The Message of Matthew p. 250)
2 The Present
We can also understand why Jesus also taught about the present – because we live in the present.
Jesus used a lot of everyday analogies to teach – relying much on the rural way of life in Israel
For example:
The Parable of the Good Shepherd (Lk 10)
The Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin (both in Lk 15) and
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats,(Mt 25)
3 The Future
But why did Jesus bother to tell us about the future.
3.1. Firstly to warn us so we are not led astray by false prophets
Remember the future of Jesus’ audience is OUR past and present and future.
And Jesus wanted us to avoid being led astray
There has always been a propensity for people to be attracted by prophetic utterances about the future
Story: In the late 19th Century in America there was an enthusiasm for such prophecies predicting the actual date for Christ’s Second Coming.
One such prophet was an Adventist leader William Miller (1782-1849). And it is in his movement that both the JW’s and the Seventh Day Adventists find their roots.
Miller first predicted that Christ would return on 21st March 1842, but then revised the date to April 3, 1843.
When Christ did not appear on 3rd April 1843 you would have thought that the movement would have died. But it didn’t. Rather it continued to grow.
Miller decided to recalculate his date for the Second Coming and soon publicised a new date - April 18, 1844.
When the messiah did not show up on that date, there was again frustration and some followers left the Adventist ranks.
Undeterred by these failures, Miller came up with a fourth date for the Second Coming - 22nd October 1844.
As doomsday approached, the Millerites began to prepare.
One account notes that “Fields were left unharvested, shops were closed, people quit their jobs, paid their debts, and freely gave away their possessions with no thought of repayment.”
William Miller himself began peddling white “ascension robes” to the faithful, many of whom waited for the miraculous event in freshly dug graves.
But as we all know, the Second Coming did not occur on 22nd October 1844.
Jesus was eager to spare his followers the pain of the let down that false prophets bring – and the real sense of loss that accompanies it.
He is warning us to be on our guard – test what you hear
We need to remember that the primary goal of the Church is to preach the message of the kingdom of God – and not to be sidetracked by “idle speculations”.
We must keep our eye on the ball.
3.2 The second reason I believe Jesus gave this prophecy was so we could be ready for the events when they come
It is a bit like hazard lights on a motorway. They warn you of a hazard up ahead before you reach it
Many of Jesus’ hearers were going to live through a cataclysmic event – the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in AD 70. The future was soon going to be real
The siege of Jerusalem in AD 66-70 turned out to be a terrible siege that lasted four years.
The city was defended with fanaticism.
The Romans tried to starve the Jews out and in the end, the inhabitants resorted to cannibalism.
A million Jews were killed and almost 97 thousand were taken into captivity.
Story: The 3rd Century historian Eusebius records an interesting story.
Some Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem got out just before the siege and fled to Pella in Transjordan.
Why – the reason Eusebius gives is that they left in response to “an oracle given by revelation”.
Were they were simply heeding Jesus’ words as recorded in Mt 24 and 25? I wonder?
3. 2. And the third reason I believe Christ gave this prophecy was to remind his Church that to be ready for his return.
In our parable today, the watchword is “Keep watch” because you don’t know when Jesus will come again.
4. The Parable of the Ten Virgins
So let’s try to unpack the parable.
4.1. Who is The Bridegroom
Clearly Jesus is the Bridegroom – and who is his Bride – the Church.
4. 2. Who is The Bride
The theme of the Church being the Bride of Christ
is developed more in the book of Revelation,
where the “new Jerusalem “ represents the church
“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, prepared as a Bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev 21:2)
4. 3. The Wedding ceremony
In Jesus’ day, weddings were an elaborate affairs.
You didn’t just duck into a Registry office for half and hour or into Church for an hour and then bomb off on honeymoon.
Rather it was a celebration that could last a good week if not two
It was a relaxed affair with no set time for the Groom to go down to his parents in law’s house and fetch his Bride.
The role of the virgins was to be the escort of the Bride and Groom back to the Groom’s house for the Wedding Banquet.
Once they got back to the Bridegroom’s house,
the door was shut and there was no longer the possibility of access.
So the foolish virgins with no oil didn’t just miss the meal – they missed a whole week (or two) of celebration! )per Michael Green’s The Message of Matthew p, 260-261)
4.4 Who are the virgins?
I think they represent those who call themselves his disciples
Those who are waiting expectantly for Jesus to return.
Some were wise and bought oil, others were foolish and didn’t
The oil is perhaps a reminder that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily (so the source of oil does run dry)
So many people think church is a sombre occasion, but it shouldn’t be.
Because Jesus preached a lot on celebration and
feasts, with regard to what the Kingdom of God
would be like.
We have the Parable of the Marriage Feast (Mt 22) as well as the Parable of the Virgins (Mt. 25) and Parable of the Wedding Feast (Lk 12).
And in each the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven is likened to the wedding Banquet
And Jesus’ first miracle was in Cana of Galilee in a Marriage Feast (Jn 2)
In conclusion:
1. Jesus gave us prophecy so that we will not be led astray by false prophets.
2. As we see cataclysmic events around us – it is easy to take our eye off the ball .
The Church is called to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom – and not to be caught up in star gazing
Story: As Martin Luther is once reputed to have said: “If I knew Christ was coming tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree.”
3. And finally we need to be ready for the future.
There will be an end to this world – not by our own doings but when God’s time is right.
We don’t need to worry –it is in God’s hands
But the question is – will we be we ready for it?
