| Scripture |
Additional Comments |
| |
|
| 1 And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. |
|
| 2 But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things? truly I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
|
|
| 3 And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy presence, and of the end of the age? |
The sign of thy presence – In the KJV this word is translated as "coming." That the correct translation is "presence" is made clear by noting its use in Phil. 2:12. |
| 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray.
|
|
| 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray.
|
|
| 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet.
|
|
| 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places.
|
|
| 8 But all these things are the beginning of travail.
|
|
| 9 Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake.
|
|
| 10 And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another.
|
|
| 11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray.
|
|
| 12 And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold.
|
|
| 13 But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
|
|
| 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end have come.
|
|
| 15 When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, having stood in the holy place (let him that readeth understand),
|
|
| 16 then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains:
|
|
| 17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house:
|
|
| 18 and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak.
|
|
| 19 But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days!
|
|
| 20 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath:
|
|
| 21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be thereafter.
|
Great tribulation – Armageddon. Diii:1 |
| 22 And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
|
For the elect's sake – Br. Russell suggests (in several places – see Expanded Bible Comments) that this phrase should read "through [by] the elect." Since we could find no translation which supported the thought that the shortening of the trouble of those days would be by the elect (even though this is exactly what the scriptures indicate will happen,) we set about to see how this would work that the shortening of the days would be for the sake of the elect.
As Jesus (the Bridegroom, the Husband of the Church) is to step in and and bring order out of the chaos. Jesus is "the everlasting father" of the human race. He achieved this by purchasing Adam (and thus the entire race still in his loins. 1 Cor. 15:21-22; Heb. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:6; Rom. 5:12,18,19) That makes his wife (the church) the everlasting mother. As such the world of mankind become her children. Therefore it is for the sake of the elect (the church, the mother) that those days will be cut short (so that her children may be saved.)
– After coming to the above conclusion this verse was carefully examined again in the Greek. The word "for" is Strong's G1223. In most cases (by far) when Matthew uses this word it is translated as "by" or "through." – In other words, Br. Russell's "translation" is valid.
A further validation:Recognizing that sentence structure is different between Greek and English, this portion of the verse should be:
"but by the elect, the selfsame days shall be shortened." |
| 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or Here; believe it not.
|
|
| 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
|
|
| 25 Behold, I have told you beforehand.
|
|
| 26 If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not.
|
|
| 27 For as the breaking sunshine cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the presence of the Son of man.
|
|
| 28 Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
|
|
| 29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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:
|
|
| 30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
|
|
| 31 And he shall send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
|
He – Our returned Lord Jesus.
Send his angels – His messengers, the saints living at the time of His return.
Great trumpet – The message of Jubilee.
Gather together – In one condition, not necessarily one location.
His elect – The little flock.
The four winds – Before the time when the four winds (wars, tumults, fallen angels) are loosed. See Rev. 7:1-3
One end of heaven to the other – Throughout the entirety of Christendom, especially the religous element, the 'heavens.' |
| 32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh;
|
Fig tree – Natural Israel. See Jer. 24. |
| 33 even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors.
|
|
| 34 Truly I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished.
|
|
| 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
|
|
| 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.
|
|
| 37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the presence of the Son of man.
|
|
| 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
|
|
| 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the presence of the Son of man.
|
|
| 40 Then shall two be in the field; one man is taken, and one man is left:
|
|
| 41 two shall be grinding at the mill; one woman is taken, and one woman is left.
|
|
| 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
|
|
| 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.
|
|
| 44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.
|
|
| 45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season?
|
The faithful and wise servant – Because he was faithful, the Lord made him wise. He was indeed a servant, of the Lord and of His Truth.
For those who think there were more than one servant, or that it was a class, we suggest they consider the Greek breakdown of verse 45.
In due season – This last phrase "in due season" is from two Greek words: Strong's G1722 ("in" or "at") and G2540.
This text should be translated: "Who then is the servant, faithful and wise, whom the master appointed to be over his household, to give them the meat at the set time." |
| 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
|
Strong's 1565
This verse might be better translated: "Supremely blessed is the servant, that one whom, when his master comes, shall find so doing." |
| 47 Truly I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.
|
|
| 48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord tarrieth;
|
|
| 49 and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;
|
|
| 50 the lord of that servant shall have come in a day when he expecteth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not,
|
|
| 51 and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
|
In R1000 Pastor Russell applies this to the Great Company. |