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MATTHEW CHAPTER 25 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Mat 25,1-46 (49m) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Condition of the Church in the last days Mat 25,1-30 (5k) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your strength through perseverance – We are living in the days of the Ten Virgins. Endurance is the flipside of perseverance, and though they are opposites, they have many things in common. Question: Is the parable of the ten virgins about perseverance or endurance? Perhaps it is both, perseverance in gathering enough oil to endure the long night. The wise distinguished themselves from the foolish by collecting extra oil for their lamps. The Bible speaks about both perseverance and endurance in equal doses as requirements in getting through the tribulation. We must fight for the will of God (Perseverance) and against our flesh (Endurance) at the same time. See also: Gathering oil; Mat 25,1-13; 7l (84c) Thy kingdom come >> Be on the alert >> Be faithful till Jesus comes >> Invite the return of Christ Mat 25,1-23 (32f) Gift of God >> Father will honor you if you die to self >> In His service (236e) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Invest your strength into the kingdom >> Invest your labors KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25,1-13 (7l) Responsibility >> Use time wisely >> Get ready >> Use this time to gather – The ten wise virgins collected a large repository of oil for their lamps because they knew how important it was to meet their bridegroom with their lamps trimmed, and because they did not know how long it would take their Master to return. However, the fact that the foolish virgins took no extra oil with them indicates they made a prediction about when their bridegroom would return. That is, they gambled on an early Rapture and lost. Both the wise and the foolish had the same amount of time to gather as much oil as possible, but gathered different amounts. So, what were the foolish virgins doing with their time and money instead of gathering oil? What they did speaks volumes about their lack of faith. The Master stood outside the door and waited for the foolish to run out of oil before He called them, so they might not receive the reward of the wise, because their foolish hearts were not with Him. See also: Prediction; 214b / Gathering oil; 172g (8e) Responsible to interact with God >> Prepare to meet Jesus by living a holy life (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed -- These verses go with verses 28-30. This parable is about the last days. Thousands of years have passed since Jesus was crucified, with many generations living and dying, and all the while God has been filling up His heaven with their souls, but in the last generation those who mimic the complacent, their laziness will be their downfall. Jesus said that the coming tribulation will be the worst time in human history, suggesting that many will become martyrs. Put that stress on lazy-spirited people and they will turn tail and run, but those who have been faithful throughout their lives will be prepared for the test. They will know that to be martyred is not the worst that can happen to them. Although their flesh is killed, their spirit will continue, and suddenly they will be in paradise, so what have they lost? To live in this world is actually more fearful than death! This life is fraught with treachery, anxiety and concern, but death for the Christian is a release from these things. The foolish virgins apparently saw things differently. See also: Prepare for His return; 172g (106a) Thy Kingdom Come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Knowing the sound of His voice >> God speaks in the darkness to shine the light – Some people make faith in Jesus look easy, while others make it look very difficult. Faith in Jesus is the flame in our lamp that God has charged us to keep burning, like the perpetual burning of incense in Israel's temple of worship (Exodus 30,1-10), which represented prayer. We must occasionally purchase oil so we don’t run out of fuel, referring to our relationship with Jesus through the word of God and prayer. God has not given us authority to light our lamp; only He can spark our lamp to life, and His spark is our faith. We must maintain this flame throughout our lives, but how do we convince God to light our lamp in the first place? By dedicating our lives to doing His will, we promise to live for Him and for His cause and purpose forever. If we have this sincere attitude, God will light our lamp so we may see how to serve Him in a world of darkness, and we will shine for Him, but if we allow our light to die, how will we light it again? (140a) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> The doorway -- The foolish virgins will plea to be raptured with the wise, but their plea will fall on deaf ears. Before the Rapture occurs a door will be opened (Rev 3,8-10), leading to the Spirit realm wherein the wise will venture, as students of the word and disciples of prayer, engendering faith. Within this door the Church of the last days will have a relationship with Jesus unlike any relationship of any generation, greater even than the early church. This doorway leads into the Most Holy Place in the temple of God made without hands, and in Rev 11-2 it says, "Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don’t measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months." This courtyard refers to the foolish virgins who didn't collect enough oil to last the long night and the door was shut on them. They refused to serve the Lord in times of ease, and when the tribulation caught them unprepared, they were forced to face the dragon apart from the Lord's protection, outside the temple in the courtyard where the animal sacrifices were performed, only they will become the sacrifice. Therefore, when the Bible speaks about the martyrdom of the saints, it is referring mostly to the foolish virgins. God will use their ultimate sacrifice as cause to judge the nations, and He will add to it all the sins of man committed since the crucifixion of our Lord. (172g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Hypocrites among the just >> Lazy among the prudent -- These verses go with verses 24-33. This parable depicts two kinds of Christians: those who get saved and are faithful, and those who supposedly get saved and are lazy. Some lazy "Christians" depend on an experience they had on the day of their salvation. They remember it as a moment of confidence, an epiphany, or perhaps a spot of porridge stuck in the craw. Recalling a spiritual high they once had will not keep the flame burning in their hearts when hard times come and test their faith. When Satan tests them, they might pull out the date of their salvation and say, ‘The Lord rebuke you,’ but memories fade and Satan will get them to doubt whether they ever believed. In contrast, the prudent used the day of their salvation as a seed that they planted and nurtured and watched it grow all their lives. Like building a house, each day they added another board to the structure, so the prudent gathered oil for their lamps one day at a time, and they also had a canister filled with oil. They were prepared. See also: Gathering oil; Mat 25-3,4; 82k / Rapture (Preparing for His return); 214b (174i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of a servant but denying God your loyalty -- These verses go with verses 24-30 (186a) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Unwilling to obey the revelation from heaven >> Unwilling to walk in God’s ability -- These verses go with verses 24-30. The oil represents the virgin’s relationship with God. Jesus placed oil in their lanterns and provided the spark on the day of their salvation and commanded them to replenish the supply of oil filling an extra canister, but the foolish neglected to do this, and their lamps went out just before Christ returned. They never sought to enhance their relationship with God; they never became students of the word or disciples of prayer, and they never made good on their commitment to remain faithful. (186e) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> Man’s role in becoming a reprobate >> The fool does nothing with Christ (196j) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Replacing God’s standard of excellence with yours >> Sleeping in the spirit (197i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithful to God -- These verses go with verses 24-30 (204d) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> The apostasy (206k) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish in your sin >> Perish in your omission of righteousness -- These verses go with verses 24-30. The wise and the foolish collectively represent the Church. When Jesus delayed and the foolish were running out of oil, the time came when they didn’t expect to be here anymore, and they didn’t understand why Jesus wasn't coming for them as they were taught. This lack of oil represents their lack of diligence; it also represents their lack of faith. Both the wise and the foolish became drowsy and fell asleep, and then awoke to a loud noise of the first Trumpet. Jesus taught us to give without expecting anything in return, but that did not apply to their oil. If it were like worldly possessions, they would have given whatever the foolish needed, but this was their oil. We can share the products of our faith: love, joy, peace, patience, etc., but faith itself is nontransferable. Jesus called them virgins because they hadn’t taken the mark of the beast. The person who takes the mark will have in essence given his virginity to the antichrist, suggesting that God views those who take the mark as having spiritual intercourse with the devil, and not even the foolish virgins were willing to do that. They were well versed in the Scriptures; they went to church; they heard about the antichrist and his mark, and they knew better than to receive it, but they were not interested in a relationship with God, and this was the fault that Jesus had with them, going back to Rev 2-4, “you have left your first love.” See also: You can lose your salvation; 226a (214b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time does not make sense to the natural mind – The parable of the Ten Virgins is about the return of Christ, which occurred in the middle of the night, referring to spiritual darkness and apostasy. This is the time we would least expect Him to return in that many will have quit waiting for Him by then, which was the very reason of His delay. We would like Jesus to return in broad daylight, for that is when we would be most prepared and alert; instead, He will come at a time when even the prudent will not expect, having become drowsy and spiritually fallen asleep. Being asleep is not what distinguished the wise from the foolish; what distinguished them is the amount of oil they had on reserve. Since they didn’t know when He was coming, the wise virgins prepared for a time longer than the foolish virgins predicted, who believed He would come sooner. They believed in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, though they were warned of His delay. Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour. Anyone who is a student of the word knows not to set dates, yet they did. See also: Prediction; 7l / Prepare for His return; Mat 25-3,4; 82k (223k) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >> Missing the train >> Miss the return of Jesus Christ – The door was open for a long time before the owner of the house got up and shut it, so those involved had all the time they needed to repent but didn’t do it. The time God gives is sufficient, so if they don’t repent by then, they never will, and that is the message God will bring to their judgment. They can complain, but they had no intension of repenting, and that is why God shut the door. The moment had come and gone, and when they meet God at the judgment, they will be without excuse. (225k) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about the wedding feast (226a) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about lamps – Jesus did not know the foolish virgins. They ran out of oil and went to the dealers to buy more, but it doesn’t say they returned with more oil; they just returned. Even if they did make a purchase, Jesus still didn’t know them, because they let their lamps die. Jesus filled their lanterns with oil and lit their lamps on the day of their spiritual birth, but he never gave them any matches. They suddenly discovered themselves estranged from God. If their lamp was not lit, He doesn’t know them; however, the fact that their lamps were lit at one time means they were once His children, and now they’re not. His true children do not let their flame die. See also: You can lose your salvation; 206k (232f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> Procrastination (236l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> The Rapture >> The day of the Lord KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25,1-10 (194c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation – The two parables describing the Church in the last days is the Prodigal Son and the Ten Virgins. The parable of the prodigal son is different from the Ten Virgins in that the prodigal son still loved his Father and still believed in Him, but he fell to temptation. His problems were of a fleshly nature, whereas the problem of the five foolish virgins were of a spiritual nature, which is much stickier. The double-minded prodigal son spent his inheritance on loose living, forfeiting his rewards in heaven, though heaven itself was still in sight, whereas the foolish virgins spent their faith on doubt and unbelief. Another difference between these two parables is that the prodigal son did not lie to himself or to God. He knew what he was doing was wrong, whereas the five foolish virgins were like the Church in Sardis (Rev 3-1,2) who developed a name for itself in the world. Sardis believed it was still serving God while it was seeking acclaim from the world. Rom 2-29 says, “He is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” The church in Sardis lost its interest in being an inward Jew; they no longer had a heart circumcised by the Spirit, and they no longer sought praise from God. They considered themselves doing great exploits for God through their worldly name and reputation. The same was true of the five foolish virgins, but it was not true of the prodigal son. Mat 25,1-4 (251b) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Making plans according to the will of God >> Making plans according to the counsel of His will Mat 25-3,4 (82k) Thy kingdom come >> Power of prayer >> Prayer prepares you to meet Jesus – It says in verse 7, “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps,” meaning everyone had oil. Why did the wise need extra oil in flasks along with their lamps? There was a shout of the First Trumpet, then they all arose and trimmed their lamps to burn brighter (referring to revival at the end of the age), indicating that all ten virgins had oil when they heard the shout, so in what way did the foolish virgins not have enough oil? They appealed to the wise to give them some of their reserves, and they refused. Apparently, they thought they needed every drop of it, suggesting they didn’t think their Master was coming the moment they heard His voice but knew there was still a long wait ahead of them. Most people would say this shout (v6) referred to the Rapture, according to 1The 4-16, but the shout they heard was the First Trumpet, and Paul said that the Rapture will not occur until the Last Trumpet (1Cor 15-52). The wise had oil in flasks along with their lamps and were expecting to go through the 3½-year period of the Trumpets, and this is why they refused to share their oil. They could not afford to give them any because there was still a long wait ahead of them. When they heard the shout, it was the angel of the First Trumpet, and what did he say? “Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Midnight is the mid-point between dusk and dawn, just as the First Trumpet is the mid-point between the beginning of the Seals and the end of the Trumpets. That means they were midway through the Great Tribulation. Amazingly, it says that all ten were spiritually asleep through the Seals of Satan’s wrath, but at the First Trumpet they awoke, referring to a spiritual awakening. There will be a Great Endtime Revival during the trumpet judgments, and the angel said to them, “Come out” as it also says in Rev 18-4, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.” Come out of “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth” (Rev 17-5). God will call His people to abandon the major cities of the earth where Satan’s grip is tightest, for his world-empire is dependent on technology that has no jurisdiction in the wilderness. The centerpiece of his one-word government / economy / religion / military is the Mark of the Beast; it is how he keeps track of everybody, and when God says for us to come out of her, He is referring to leaving the cities and migrating to the wilderness (Rev 12-6), where God will take care of her, and there she will reside for 3½ years. God will supply her physical needs during that time, but He will not supply her with more oil, and for this reason, the five wise virgins took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Their flame represents their relationship with God through the word of God and prayer, and their oil represents an anointing, a spiritual unction that expresses itself as zeal. They are required to maintain their faith by ensuring they have enough oil with them to make it through the long, dark night. See also: Gathering oil; Mat 25,1-30; 5k / Prepare for His return; Mat 25-10; 202e / Rapture (Last trumpet); Rev 3-10; 49m Mat 25-5 (237c) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Rapture is delayed – The Church will remain in the world throughout the tribulation in that it refers to the tribulation of the saints (Mat 24-9). That is, we literally define the tribulation, meaning we must be there; otherwise, there would be no tribulation. What is the implication of the bridegroom’s delay? There was an approximate 2000-year period between Adam and Abraham (1949 years), there was an approximate 2000-year period between Abraham and Christ (2007 years) and there was an approximate 2000-year period between Christ and our own time (2016 years, courtesy of matthewmcgee.org). Adding up the three blocks of time equals 5,972 years, giving 28 years to fill exactly 6000 years since Adam and Eve. That puts us at the year 2050, and Jesus promised to delay from there, but of course none of this presumes to set a date of Christ's return; it is just an exercise in mathematics. It is currently 2022 and the clock is still ticking. It doesn’t say how long He would delay; He only promised He would. When the foolish virgins went back to the world to buy oil, who was waiting for them? While the antichrist is in power, nobody can buy or sell without receiving the Mark of the Beast. When they returned, the door was shut, and Jesus spoke from the other side of the door saying, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you” (Mat 25-12). The last message of this parable is a warning to stay on the alert, for we do not know the day or the hour. See also: Time (2000-year periods); Jn 17-24; 219e Mat 25,8-13 (165a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world rejects God Mat 25-8,9 (24h) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Being envious of your brother – The oil represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is priceless, and anointing refers to the zeal of our faith. They had oil to spare for themselves but had none to share with the foolish. They wanted the wise to give them their oil, but only God can impart the anointing; it cannot be transferred from person to person, so they were really asking for something they couldn't give. The wise persevered; they were diligent; they sacrificed fun and games for commitment and devotion to Christ. Jesus commanded us to give to the poor, but He also taught that when it comes to the anointing, we are to be wise about it. We should protect it with our lives, as Paul said in 2Tim 1-14, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” The wise were diligent to hold onto their oil, and they learned diligence in the process of obtaining it. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25-10 (23a) Sin >> Pride closes the windows of heaven (202e) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Laziness has plenty of ambition to run from God -- This verse goes with verse 18. Here lies one of the many ironies of the Bible: If we witnessed the bridegroom coming while the foolish virgins were leaving, we would say that the foolish virgins were running from the bridegroom, when in fact they were going to buy oil for their lamps in a vain effort to prepare for His return. Jesus warned them to be prepared to meet the bridegroom with oil in their lamps, burning brightly, but the foolish virgins were found running the other way with their lamps quenching. This told the bridegroom they were not interested in coming with Him. Perhaps they did want to join them, but their actions spoke otherwise. See also: Prepare for His return; Mat 25,11-13; 209c Mat 25,11-13 (209c) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Counterfeit relationship through religion >> I never knew you – They were willing to ask their brother for oil but were unwilling to ask oil from God, because they were strangers to Him. Where do you think the wise got their oil; they didn't buy it at any store; and what were the foolish virgins doing when the wise were stockpiling their resources? They were reveling in the world, and as a result they were unprepared to meet God. We have no choice but to live in the world, but we should not partake of it anymore than necessary (1Cor 7,29-31). The wise virgins said, ‘Go and buy oil for yourselves,’ meaning this oil has a price, and the wise virgins paid the price to obtain it, referring to a lifetime of service to God that developed into an anointing over a course of many years, like the person who worked his whole life and saved for retirement. This is not something that happens overnight; we don’t just go to the store and come back prepared for the Kingdom of Heaven. The foolish virgins, when they left to make the purchase, walked aimlessly into the darkness, confused and afraid. After leading a secular life of carnality, they knew there was nothing that would prepare them to meet the Lord. See also: Prepare for His return; Mat 25,1-13; 49d Mat 25,14-30 (4h) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Everyone who has shall more be given – Jesus ascended to the Father and entrusted all His possessions to His slaves. His possessions are people whom God had chosen from the world to be His true worshippers, and His slaves are those who go into the world with the gospel and preach Jesus to them, so they may respond to God’s word and be saved. When we think of the level of responsibility that God has given, having left us with all His possessions, knowing how much He values them, it is a daunting task to bring the gospel to this world. We will always question whether we have done enough. Even Paul the great apostle and evangelist never thought what he did was enough, and it spurred him to the next town and to the next country and cross the sea to the next people. We too should be driven to convey the gospel to others, so when we meet God, He may tell us, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (115f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God through your ministry >> In your gift (121f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Hope >> Expecting good things based on God’s character >> Expectation based on God’s generosity (128k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Living a fruitful life >> It is a way of survival (225c) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about wealth >> Parables about a rich man Mat 25,14-23 (31j) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Being responsible with it (101i) Thy kingdom come >> Ambition >> Be an ambitious businessman for God >> Investing spiritual currency (102c) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> God’s servants are dependable – Since God put us in charge of people in this life, why wouldn’t He do the same in heaven? God will not put us in charge of ourselves, a lot of chiefs and no Indians; He intends to put us in charge of a people He will create in the future. After He creates a new heavens and a new earth, He will create a new Adam and a new Eve, and this time He will leave out the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, so there won’t be any sin. They will live in a perfect world and have perfect bodies, yet they will still be capable of doing wrong. They won't know sin, because God gave them no commandment. They will be like babies, who don’t know they're innocent. Babies can exploit their parents when they learn that crying gets them what they want. Still they haven’t sinned, because they are not capable of the knowledge of evil. Doing evil is not enough to merit sin; we must also know that what we are doing is wrong before it is technically sin. Even if the little baby learns to manipulate its parents, it still hasn’t sinned, because it doesn’t know that what it's doing is manipulative. In the same way, we will rule over people who cannot comprehend evil, because they have never received a commandment from God to violate, and if they rebel against our commands, they have only sinned against us, not against God. He will give us the task of teaching His creation right from wrong, for if God did as He did to Adam and Eve and they rebelled, they would find themselves in the same place as us, rebelling directly against God, and we know how that ended. Instead, He will create a people and put us in charge of them, and when they do wrong, we will correct them. We will mother God's creation and Christ will be our Husband, and our authority will be a reflection of His authority. Like a mirror reflects an image of the person and is not the person himself, the new creation can only rebel against God's reflection. That way sin cannot enter the world, allowing God to create a universe full of free people that we as stewards will manage through the manifold grace of God. See also: New heavens and a new earth (We will teach the new creation right from wrong); Jn 4,20-24; 252f Mat 25,14-21 (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money -- These verses go with verse 34 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25-14,15 (136d) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Variation in the body Mat 25-16,17 (101g) Ambition (Key verse) (192d) Die to self >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Receiving from God by substitution >> Wheeling and dealing in God’s spiritual economy – The one who received five talents traded and gained five more talents. “Trading” is the word they use in the stock market when they trade stocks. These talents represent time and ability. We invest our lives into the preaching of the gospel, trading our time and effort for human souls. That is what we were called to do, and the people won to Christ negotiate with us, essentially doing the same, trading their temporal lives for eternal life. These two parties trade with each other, meaning that those who receive eternal life through the gospel are giving the preacher their lives, so when His Master returns, they become His offering. The slave will hand them to his Master, having traded His life for them, transforming his five talents into ten human souls and the other transforming his two talents into four human souls, so what they received from their Master multiplied. Those who get saved will become slaves themselves, who will receive talents from the Lord and commissioned to reach people with the gospel, that the Church may exponentially increase. They were faithful with a few people, now Christ will put them in charge of many, “enter into the joy of your Master.” Mat 25-18 (21h) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no intensions of doing the will of God -- This verse goes with verses 24-30 (197b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling Against what God wants you to do >> Refusing to take on responsibility -- This verse goes with verses 24-30. The slave that received one talent, God thought he was able to do something with it, but he was unfaithful, being unwilling to do anything with the talent he was given. Instead of using his Master's gift and ability it to reach others for Christ, he dug a hole and buried it, so his Master buried him. How many Christians do we know who supposedly got saved, but whose lives never changed? This is the description of the vast majority of Christians in the Church today; the gospel simply doesn’t change their lives, because they have buried their gift, and those who bury their talent don't go to heaven (v30). (202e) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Laziness has plenty of ambition to run from God -- This verse goes with verses 24-30 Mat 25,20-30 (226h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our faithfulness Mat 25,20-23 (100j) Thy kingdom come >> Devotion in your ministry to God >> Fulfill God’s calling in your life (155kb) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their fruits >> You will know them by their good deeds >> Good works prepared before the foundation of the world -- These verses go with verses 34-40 (208bb) Salvation >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus -- These verses go with verses 31-46. From a glance it would seem this topic (you can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus) has no connection with this passage, but when we take it into context with verses 31-46, which describes how God intends to judge the world, based on how we treat God's elect, it makes more sense. In that passage Jesus described the judgment of God solely based on our actions without any reference to faith or knowledge or truth. Essentially, these verses assert that everyone who cares about the needs of the saints will go to heaven, whether they have heard the gospel or not, and their faith in action is the same as caring about Jesus (Mat 10,40-42). KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25-20 (234j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Sold out >> Relinquishing your assets to Christ >> Investing every asset into Christ Mat 25,24-33 (172g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Hypocrites among the just >> Lazy among the prudent -- These verses go with verses 41-46 Mat 25,24-30 (21b) Sin >> Disobedient to the call (21h) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no intensions of doing the will of God -- These verses go with verse 18 (55l) Paradox >> Gain the world to lose your soul >> live this life to Lose eternal life -- These verses go with verses 41-46. The man with the one talent was told to do the simple task of taking a stroll downtown with his talent and depositing it in the bank, staving off the wrath of his Master, but he was too lazy even to do that. Instead, of hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master,” he was confined to eternal judgment. Instead of taking an hour from his day to run the Lord’s money to the bank, he ran into his garage for a shovel and buried his talent in the backyard. This actually took more time and effort than it would have taken to run his money to the bank. He figured he was doing something commendable protecting his talent from robbers, but his Master didn’t tell him to protect his talent but to invest it. In the volatile world of investing we know that money is anything but safe. Jesus would rather we lost everything to poor investments than to bury what He entrusted to us with no expectation for return. He would rather we lose the principle while doing what He commanded, than to discover that we disobeyed Him. Had the servant placed his talent in the bank, he would have earned less than one percent interest, which is almost the same as burying it, revealing the fact that Jesus was not so much concerned about making a profit as seeing us walking in faith. See also: Disobedience; 173f (157e) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Being displeasing to God >> Walking in disobedience (173f) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Unholy sacrifice (Penance) >> Offering sacrifice without God’s approval >> Sacrifice against the word of God -- This slave who was given the one talent buried it, sacrificing the will of God, like some religious people make abominable sacrifices as part of their ceremonial rituals. People don't invent religions to make serving God easier, but to avoid serving Him altogether, while attempting to appease their conscience. See also: Disobedience; 197b (174i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of a servant but denying God your loyalty -- These verses go with verses 41-46 (179j) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Unworthy servant >> Unworthy of eternal life (186a) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Unwilling to obey the revelation from heaven >> Unwilling to walk in God’s ability -- These verses go with verses 1-13 (197b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling Against what God wants you to do >> Refusing to take on responsibility -- These verses go with verse 18. The man who buried his talent was like King Saul in the Old Testament, who wanted to serve the Lord his way and not the way he was commanded by God (1 Samuel chapter 15). Saul was commanded to utterly destroy his enemies, men, women, children and even the animals. The Amalekites were an evil people, provoking the Lord to anger. Even their animals needed to be exterminated, being disease ridden for reasons too depraved to mention. Instead of obeying the command of the Lord, Saul decided that he would spare the sheep, using them for sacrifice to the Lord. The Law of Moses commanded Israel to take the best sheep for the Lord’s offering, spotless and without blemish. For Saul to present contraband as his offering to the Lord was just as insulting as the man who refused to take an hour from his day to run his talent to the bank. God could not invite the lazy slave to heaven, being unable to trust him, after giving him an entire lifetime to run a single errand and He was unwilling to do it. 1Samuel 15-23 says, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” See also: Disobedience; 202e (197i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithful to God -- These verses go with verses 41-46 (200f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Selfish ambition >> Having more important things to do (202e) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running to your sinful nature >> Laziness has plenty of ambition to run from God -- These verses go with verse 10. The talent represents our lives, what we do with the resources of our time and talents. Instead of investing his, the lazy slave buried it, and it displeased the Lord. The man had an inaccurate perception of his Master, apparently thinking He would be happy to receive His talent back, soiled but intact, but that was not what his Master told him to do. Many people do the same thing; instead of studying Scripture that tells them plainly about God and His will, they choose to perceive Him a certain way with their fleshly mind, but when He returns and imposes His expectations on His servants and found that the lazy slave buried his talent, God's real identity was suddenly disclosed to him. We think God should have been lenient on the slave with one talent, indicating a low expectations of performance, but running to the bank was not much to ask. Besides, God’s expectations were just as high on him as the one He gave five talents. What God has given us, whether much or little, does not change His expectation of us, which is to obey Him. We might not think we received much in life, but we are still obligated to be productive in whatever capacity God has given us. See also: Disobedience; Mat 25-24; 209b (206k) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish in your sin >> Perish in your omission of righteousness -- These verses go with verses 1-13 (223h) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >> Missing the mark >> Miss the will of God for your life KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25-24 (209b) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Counterfeit relationship through religion >> Knowing about God, but not knowing God -- There was no Master/slave relationship in the heart of the person who received the one talent. The slave did what he wanted with his life and with his Master's possessions; he was no one's slave but that of his own sinful passions and desires. The slave returned his master's money thinking it would placate him, but it didn't. A Talent of silver was worth 6000 days wages. The talents in this parable represent the measure of faith that God has given us at the onset of our salvation, and He absolutely expects us to spiritually grow throughout our lives. If we don't, it indicates we have a false perception of God and are in for a rude awakening. See also: Disobedience; Mat 25,41-46; 55l Mat 25,28-30 (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed -- These verses go with verses 41-46 Mat 25-28,29 (222j) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> Give to him who has >> Take from him who does not have -- This is one of the few biblical Principles that works the same in the world as it does in the Kingdom of God. Verse 29 says, "Everyone who has shall more be given." We all understand that it takes money to make money and that the more money we have the more we can make. God could have given the lazy slave's talent to the poor, but He gave it to the rich. The talents in this parable represent our faith. Jesus taught us to freely give our earthly sustenance to the poor, but to surrender our faith to no one. Remember the lesson of the ten virgins, also in this chapter; the wise did not give up their oil to the foolish, which may be Jesus' main point of these parables, being what they have in common. Mat 25,31-46 (38k) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Resurrection of the righteous and the wicked (202k) Denying Christ >> Running from God >> Wicked men cannot approach the throne of God >> Goats are unsaved church attendants (208bb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus -- These verses go with verses 20-23. See verses 20-23 for commentary. Mat 25,31-40 (32k) Gift of God >> Father will honor your devotion to Him >> Honor a fruitful life – The poor of this world are more likely to get saved than the rich, as a principle of Scripture. James said it best, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” Jesus was saying that we reach the world with the gospel of Christ by feeding and clothing the poor. They won’t all get saved, but many of them will. The poor are lost in this world; nobody gives them a break; they don’t know how to live and they don’t know what to do. Meanwhile the rich do not feel at all lost in this world, though spiritually they are just as lost as the poor. Those who don’t have the circumstance of poverty to help them see their deep failing with God find it far more difficult to get saved. (219e) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God transforms the world into the Church >> God selects us from the world (236k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the treasures of the kingdom >> Invest in the fruit of the kingdom Mat 25,31-33 (40b) Judgment >> Jesus judges the world’s disobedience -- These verses go with verses 41-46. This verse makes it sound like Jesus was talking about the Millennium. When it says, “When the son of man comes in his glory,” He is loosely alluding to the Great White Throne Judgment, written in Rev 20,7-11, “When the thousand years are completed… then I saw a great white throne.” This judgment therefore happens after the Millennium and before God creates the new heavens and the new earth. So when Jesus says in Mat 25-31,32, "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne," the statement, "All the nations will be gathered before Him,” is talking about two events separated by a thousand years: the event of initially acquiring His throne at the beginning of the Millennium and final judgment after the Millennium. The White Throne Judgment will not happen the way Jesus depicted it in Matthew chapter 25, for Jesus mentioned both the righteous and the wicked, whereas the White Throne Judgment pertains only to the wicked. Therefore, this passage in Matthew is meant as a general overview of events. (66l) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> The authority of Jesus’ second coming -- Jesus came the first time as an infant in swaddling clothes and grew up as the lamb of God who did not resist His murderers, but His second coming will be quite different. He is ready to return to judge the world for rejecting the attributes of God's character seen most clearly on the cross. In these verses, when Jesus testifies that He will separate the sheep from the goats, He is referring to the White Throne Judgment depicted in Rev 20,11-15 that occurs after the millennium. Jesus is coming to set up His throne and His Father's kingdom here on earth, from which He will reign for a thousand years. During this time He will prove to mankind that throughout the centuries man could have lived in peace with one another, had they only served the Lord. (212j) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> God is all knowing >> God knows everything about you KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25,34-40 (9j) Responsibility >> Strengthen one another >> Bear one another’s burdens – There were those who visit their fellow saints in prison, not like prison ministries today where people dedicate themselves to criminals and sinners, most who come to hear the preacher just to get out of his cells for an hour. There are some who get saved and follow Christ after they are released, so jail ministries have their place, but we shouldn’t confuse them with what the Bible teaches about visiting godly people who were persecuted for their faith and thrown in prison. It is good to have a jail ministry that helps sinners find their way to Jesus, but it is better to visit our fellow saints in jail who are persecuted. (86i) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Live the truth (87l) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Minister to people through obedience (127b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Be kind like God >> Kindness is meeting the needs of the saints – Jesus referred to “the least of these” (v45) as those who are least in their estimation of themselves. We should remember the Good Samaritan who helped the man on the street after he had been assaulted and robbed; there was no indication that he was a Christian, and so Mat 25-40 also applies to non-Christians, "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." Remember what Jesus said in Mat 10-41,42, "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." Therefore, those who are kind to the disciples of Jesus because they believe in Jesus are ready to believe in Jesus themselves. See also: Brother versus neighbor; 130f (129c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Feed the people with the fruit of your walk – Jesus was teaching us how to evangelize the world. Missionaries are angels from God, but nowadays with so many constraints on missionaries to the point of their own mission board working against them, they must go incognito, but the Kingdom of God was not designed to grow that way but in full view of everybody, and that unfortunately comes at the cost of persecution and human souls martyred for their faith. Christianity flourishes by martyrs who fertilize the soil with their own blood to produce a healthy church they helped build. (130f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Committed to caring for the needs of the body >> Committed to supporting one another – When Jesus said, “even the least of them,” He meant, ‘especially the least of them,’ and the word brother is best understood to mean fellow Christian, but many people misinterpret this, loosely applying it to mean just anybody. This is a costly mistake. First, how is the Church supposed to fix poverty in the world when 6 of 7 people are poor and only 1 of 7 is Christian, and those estimates are generous? We are to help our fellow Christians first and foremost, and then help curb poverty in the world. Horrific doctrines are often created from minor misinterpretations of Scripture, just like the astronomer who cannot find a certain star because his telescope is pointed a fraction of a millimeter off course. For example, people interpret the word brother in verse 40 to mean Neighbor. The difference seems innocent, but Neighbor holds the connotation to mean anyone in the world, lost or saved, but Jesus meant the word "brother" to mean Fellow Christian. Jesus was reinforcing the words He spoke in Jn 13-34,35 about loving one another as proof that we are the children of God. See also: Brother versus neighbor; 155kb / Interpreting the Bible; Col 1-1; 248b (155kb) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their fruits >> You will know them by their good deeds >> Good works prepared before the foundation of the world -- These verses go with verses 20-23. Jesus provided a list of things the righteous did: feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, helping the sick. These things the righteous did, not to earn their way to heaven but to prove they are the true children of God. Jesus knew who were His brothers and sisters based on their compassion for others. He called Himself the son of man instead of the Son of God. The Son of God has all power and authority, whereas the son of man is the servant of all, and the two are the same person, suggesting that the more we serve, the more authority we can expect from God, because God can trust us with it. See also: Brother versus neighbor; Mat 25-40; 29i (224i) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Traits of the people who make it to heaven (250l) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Lists >> Terms of graduating to the next level >> List of prerequisites Mat 25-34 (36h) Gift of God >> Inheritance >> We are heirs according to the will of God (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money -- This verse goes with verses 14-21 Mat 25-40 (29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother – When the Bible speaks of our brother, some historians claim that the early Church included their neighbor in the definition, referring to strangers as well as their brother in the faith, but when we look at Scripture, what we see is the priority reversed. Our brother foremostly refers to our brother in the faith and then to strangers on the street. The order is important, because how we interpret this word “brother” is how we will use our resources. Our brother in the faith whom we know and trust when he has a need will use our resources for good; but strangers off the street we know almost nothing about them. We can only assume they have dire needs because they live on the streets, but how did they get there, and do they have a real interest in the gospel? Too often we give our resources to the wrong people who convert our hard-earned cash into products to feed their addictions and have no interest in the gospel. Most pan handlers are con-artists. If we give them material goods, they know how to sell them and use the money to buy their vice of choice. Needy people come to us with grandiose stories, manipulating us to surrender our resources to them. Meanwhile, there are people who have genuine needs, and some of them are brothers in the faith and we are neglecting them in favor of people who lie to us. We need to make a commitment to the brethren before we give another nickel to charlatans. Jesus sees no difference between Himself and His brethren, saying that if it were Him on the street, they would have treated Him the same way. See also: Brother versus neighbor; Mat 25,41-46; 197i / Lk 10,30-37; 242j KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mat 25,41-46 (1a) Avoid Offending God (Key verse) – This passage is a major pillar of the Responsibility chapter, illustrating that the most common way to offend God is to offend people. He takes it personally when we hurt someone. We know how we want to be treated, which dictates how we ought to treat others. When He had Peter fish up the money to pay taxes that He technically did not owe to a band of licensed crooks (Mat 17,24-27), Jesus avoided offending the tax gatherers, even though they were in the wrong, because He didn't want to offend them and inadvertently shut them out of the kingdom for the sake of protecting His petty rights. The preaching of the gospel is offensive enough to outrage people without trying to offend them. (40b) Judgment >> Jesus is the judge >> Jesus judges the world’s disobedience -- These verses go with verses 31-33 (48b) Judgment >> Eternal judgment >> God's eternal judgment on the world (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed -- These verses go with verses 1-13 (55l) Paradox >> Gain the world to lose your soul >> live this life to Lose eternal life -- These verses go with verses 24-30. This story is an extension of the parable of the talents that Jesus gave His servants and told to invest them, and now we see the application of their investment; we see that we are supposed to invest in helping people who are suffering and need our help. According to these verses, we are to invest ourselves in a life of compassion for others, for those who have no compassion will be thrown into the lake of fire. If we don’t have compassion for others, then God will have no compassion for us. He will treat us the same way we treated our fellow man, so if we have compassion on them, He will have compassion on us. If we view our lives as something that God has given us to spend on ourselves only, and care nothing for anybody else, if we pass those who are suffering without thinking twice about them, this is the kind of life that ends up being thrown into hell. Being without compassion is how to describe a psychopath, someone without remorse, without a conscience. Anybody who remotely bears the characteristics of a psychopath has no place in heaven. See also: Disobedience; 157d (157d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Being displeasing to God >> Leading a fruitless lifestyle – God’s standard of acceptable service is very low, according to the man with the one talent who refused to walk downtown and deposit his talent in the bank that it might accrue a little interest (v24-30). There are many people in the world just like him, who would rather spend their time and labor burying their talent than using it to help people. The Bible teaches that they have no future in heaven, regardless of what they believe. They might believe in Jesus, but if they have no compassion, they will never see the Kingdom of Heaven. He calls them righteous who have compassion (v46); therefore, compassion is tantamount to righteousness. Isn’t that what Paul said about faith? "Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness!" Consequently, faith and compassion are essentially the same. There is one righteousness and there is one way to achieve it, and that is by faith. This means faith must work in order to be real. If our faith never translates to compassion, Jesus says we don’t believe at all. A workless faith is a worthless faith. See also: Disobedience; Mat 25,24-30; 55l (172g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Hypocrites among the just >> Lazy among the prudent -- These verses go with verses 1-13 (174i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of a servant but denying God your loyalty -- These verses go with verses 1-13 (184j) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Unwilling to honor God’s grace (197i) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithful to God -- These verses go with verses 1-13. We can view this phrase, “To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (v40), as a sliding continuum to mean that the more we drift from the least of these, the greater our self-estimation, and the one who considers himself the greatest, the less we should feel obligated to help him. With pride and arrogance come abuse, mistreatment, and an opportunistic mindset. Jesus is saying that we are more obligated to help those who are humble in heart than we are to help those who are proud for a couple reasons: first, the humble are likely brothers in the faith; and second, they are more likely to respond to the gospel. If we spend our resources on an egomaniac, he probably wouldn't even show gratitude; what good have we done after we have spent our nickel on the proud, and the humble are still in need, who may have gotten saved if we helped him. Therefore, when helping someone, we should look for humility, which is a sign of a Christian or a willing convert. See also: Brother versus neighbor; Mat 25,34-40; 127b (203a) Denying Christ >> Running from God >> Wicked men cannot approach the throne of God >> God chases them away from His presence (223i) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Miss God >> Missing the mark >> Miss heaven (224k) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The people of heaven >> Traits of people who don’t make it to heaven Mat 25-41 (47a) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of sorrow >> It is a great fire prepared for the devil and his angels >> The lake of fire -- This verse goes with verse 46. People who don’t believe in Jesus, when they die, will be cast from His presence into a place where nothing lives or grows, where there is no beauty or goodness or righteousness of any kind. If they cannot believe in Jesus in this life, where there are good things to enjoy, sunny skies, a tall glass of cold water, good health and food to satisfy the appetite, how will they believe in Him in hell? All of God’s blessings are the very things people use to deny Christ, because they are too busy enjoying this life to care about any afterlife. What they don’t know is that this life was given to them as a seed, and they were expected to invest it, that it might grow and produce much fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, they ate their seed, and in the end, after enjoying a life of happiness and pleasure apart from God, they discover themselves separated from their bodies with no one coming to escort them to heaven. They find themselves in darkness with no direction and nowhere to go. They find their place in Hades, where there is misery, sadness and depression, torment, demons and people hateful as themselves. They are shoved into an environment of anger and rage, hate, guilt and shame, a place where believing in Jesus is impossible. If they cannot believe in Him in this life, where there are good things to enjoy of His creative ability in His love for mankind, with ample opportunity to repent of their unbelief, how will they believe in hell? God cannot accept their unbelief, and the only alternative to heaven is its opposite. God is unable to allow wickedness in His presence, so He cannot invite them to heaven to see if they would repent. Mat 25-46 (47a) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of sorrow >> It is a great fire prepared for the devil and his angels >> The lake of fire -- This verse goes with verse 41 See next page