Matthew 24, Part Six
BY PGF
2 years, 9 months ago
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
“A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.” – Matthew 16:4
Again, in Matthew 16, Jesus makes His charge against that generation. The Jews saw many signs and wonders, but we are saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to all who would believe by faith. We are His church. We don’t need tongues and signs and miracles, and neither do the lost; they need to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel of salvation through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
That’s the sign, as was Jonah in the belly of the whale three days, so was Christ in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. This is the only sign we need today; Jesus died for your sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day to offer eternal life.
“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” – Matthew 16:28
The prophetic futurists ignore this verse, but we don’t know how. Who is Jesus speaking of? The people that were standing there listening to Him or some distant generation? Some of them there with Christ must have still been in Jerusalem just before the siege. They were warned and told to prepare to leave Jerusalem (Matthew 24:16-18).
Christ was coming in great power and judgment in the first century against those that claimed to be God’s heir over Christ and were trying, knowingly or unknowingly, to stop the birth of His church. Jesus is the heir, and you too can be a joint heir with Him. Now is the kingdom in spirit and in truth!
The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven are instructive.
“31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” – Matthew 13:31-33
How can this be some time other than now? Even the dispensationalist says that at His return, it will be sudden. In the parables of the Mustard Seed and Leaven, the body of Christ grows over time with care and tending. Don’t be slack, brothers; the commission is indeed great. Nor do we understand the Amillennialist position on this.
Yet, it’s not what it shall be, and neither are we, for we shall see Him as He is. Sure enough, He’s coming back again. This is a massive problem of interpretation today, rightly understanding the spiritual kingdom that He set up at His coming in judgment in the first century as the church was born and the final domain at the end upon His return. We confess to not being able to unravel it completely. Some aspects of the spiritual kingdom that now is are a type of the final glorious presence of Christ when God will be all in all. You have to be ready, in your heart. As much as His followers love the Scripture, and there’s no end to the knowledge of God found in them, it’s with the heart that men believe unto righteousness by faith.
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” – Jesus in Matthew 15:7-8
As our Lord relates how Isaiah spoke of that generation, let it not be said of us. Though the American Churches are apostate, some still hear the Masters’ voice.
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On March 24, 2022 at 7:31 am, blake said:
Maybe it’s just me, but the book of Jonah always makes me laugh.
Why?
Because Jonah thought he could flee God. For some reason, no idea why, I find that hilarious. However, the message is serious, in that if you’re called by God to do something, best do it and not try to avoid it.
See also: Adam and Eve hiding from God in the Garden.
On March 25, 2022 at 3:24 pm, SGTUSMC said:
Thanks for these excellent pieces, there is much to consider here.
While I agree that the murican “churches” are apostate, I wondered if you had previously gotten into the hows and whys of it. For me, there are major issues with an overarching feminist outlook, women leaders in the body, being preached at in a school like setting, which is more attuned to females than males, and the constant drug like seeking of a weekly revival high, then going back home to beer, football and being of the world.
I’d also be fascinated to read more of how you view the scriptures in light of such obvious mistranslations like submitting to world authority etc, ie how then are we to read the Word, translations etc. -S/F Sgt. USMC
On March 25, 2022 at 5:00 pm, PGF said:
@SGTUSMC, the root of all you mention is obviously sin but this doesn’t help us to understand which sin and how we got here, which is your point, I think. The femininization of the Churches is a failure of leadership at home. The man is to be the leader of the family, that is FIRSTLY the spiritual head as Christ is to the church (Eph 5:25, the Fifth Commandment of Holy God). The women have taken over the home, and therefor have taken over spiritual leadership. In this they decide what church to attend as the men are largely checked out spending their down time on porn, watching sports, and playing video games. The Church now appears to be no different from any other gathering of people and it isn’t.
The Churches are incorporated. They own property and with that a mortgage to pay. Since the women decide what Church the family attends, and the Church Corporation must pay bills to a banker all the services and activities including the preaching and leadership are geared toward women or bankruptcies follows.
There’s more, much more. Stay tuned. We have some posts coming on the three pillars of society which Christ is to be head over; Family, Church, State. I believe addressing these squarely is important if God’s men are to do the hard work to save our civilization. But knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, not the end, the work must be done.
Here’s a quote from an upcoming installment of this series on Matthew 24: “Is God worth it? How badly do you want the truth in the face of what the American Churches are teaching? Something is wrong with Christian teaching in America. The church is not supposed to be scrimping by cowering in fear of the world. Christian victory over sin and the world start with correct doctrine. I believe the false teaching of Matthew 24 and the entire gospel narrative is a critical reason that His church is not dominating family, culture, society, business, and government. If the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church, why are we losing?”
Thanks for reading and great question(s).
On March 26, 2022 at 8:52 am, SGTUSMC said:
PGF,
Thank you for the reply. I am in agreement. My “go to” answer for most concerns is -follow the money-. One slight point of contention is that US “churches” as 501c3s charities and are afforded significant financial incentives to include no property taxes, shielding from taxes on salaries (pastor salaries seem to often exceed comparable positions)and more often than not, companies doing business with these state run organizations will provide services probono or nearly so, writing off such expenses as losses or charitable donations. The “churches” paying the bills isn’t the same as what you and I might do. SGTUSMC
On March 26, 2022 at 9:43 am, PGF said:
Yes, and there are more layers beneath those that we could peel back. For instance; the congregants names are on the loan at the bank as collateral. But these details aren’t really that important; the sin is that Christ alone is be atop the local body of believers not the IRS’ Internal Revenue Code, and not a bank. No man can serve two masters, or he is unstable in all his ways (Matthew 6:24 and James 1:8)
Blaming sinners (the IRS and Bank) for sin is silly. Sin is what sinners do. They need the Gospel. Christ’s men are at fault. Judgment starts in the house of God.
On March 26, 2022 at 12:16 pm, Herschel Smith said:
The “feminization” of churches, the abject interest in social issues, the fealty to Hollywood, etc., etc., are all signs, not causes of the failure of the American church.
The root causes can be traced back, ALWAYS and FOREVER, to rejection of proper theology and God’s law.
From German so-called “higher criticism” (source, form and redaction), to liberation theology, to anything else you want to bring up. It’s all merely substitutes for God’s created order, and His way of managing His moral and social economy, under His law.
Focus on the root causes, not the specific consequences. See these things and ignore the results of the failure so that you can focus on the causes. Teach your family, Sunday School, church and on the street corner GOOD THEOLOGY.
That’s always the solution to the ills we face.