| Scripture |
Additional Comments |
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| 1 And, Jesus coming forth, from the temple, was taking his departure, when his disciples came forward to point out to him the buildings of the temple. |
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| 2 But, he, answering, said unto them–Are ye not beholding all these things? Verily, I say unto you–in no wise, shall there be left here, stone upon stone, which shall not be thrown down. |
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| 3 And, as he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him, privately, saying–Tell us, when these things shall be,–and what the sign of thy presence, and the conclusion 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. |
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| 4 And, answering, Jesus said unto them–Be taking heed, lest anyone, deceive, you; |
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| 5 For, many, will come upon my name, saying–I, am the Christ,–and will, deceive many. |
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| 6 Moreover ye will be sure to be hearing of wars, and rumours of wars: Mind! be not alarmed, for it must needs happen,–but, not yet, is, the end; |
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| 7 For there will arise–nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,–and there will be famines and earthquakes, in places. |
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| 8 But, all these things, are a beginning of birth-pangs. |
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| 9 Then, will they deliver you up into tribulation, and will slay you,–and ye will be men hated by all the nations, because of my name |
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| 10 And, then, will many be caused to stumble, and, one another, will deliver up, and will hate one another; |
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| 11 And, many false prophets, will arise, and deceive, many; |
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| 12 And, because of lawlessness being brought to the full, the love of the many, will grew cold. |
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| 13 But, he that hath endured throughout, the same, shall be saved. |
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| 14 And this glad message of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the inhabited earth, for a witness unto all the nations,–and, then, will have come, the end. |
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| 15 Whensoever, therefore, ye shall see the abomination desolation, that was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place,–he that readeth, let him think, |
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| 16 Then, they who are in Judaea, let them flee into the mountains; |
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| 17 And, he that is on the house-top, let him not come down, to take away the things out of his house; |
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| 18 And, he that is in the field, let him not turn back, to take away his mantle. |
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| 19 But alas! for the women with child, and for them that are giving suck, in those days; |
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| 20 But be praying that your flight, may not happen in winter, nor on sabbath; |
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| 21 For there will be then, Great tribulation, such as hath not happened, from the beginning of the world, until the present time, neither in any wise shall happen. |
Great tribulation – Armageddon. Diii:1 |
| 22 And, except those days had been shortened, no flesh had been saved; but, for the sake of the chosen, 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, unto you, say–Lo! here, is the Christ, or, there, Do not believe it; |
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| 24 For there will arise, false Christs, and false prophets,–and they will show great signs and wonders, so that, if possible, even the chosen, should be deceived:– |
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| 25 Lo! I have foretold you. |
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| 26 If therefore they should say unto you, Lo! in the desert, he is, Do not go forth; Lo! in the chambers, Do not believe it. |
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| 27 For, just as the lightning goeth forth from the east, and shineth unto the west, so, shall be the presence of the Son of Man. |
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| 28 Wheresoever, the corpse, shall be, there, shall be gathered, the vultures!
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| 29 But, straightway after the tribulation of those days, the sun, will be darkened, and, the moon, will not give her brightness, and, the stars, will fall from heaven,–and, the powers of the heavens, will be shaken; |
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| 30 And, then, will be displayed–The sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and, then, will smite their breasts–all the tribes of the earth; and they will see the Son of Man–coming upon the clouds of heaven, with great power and glory. |
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| 31 And he will send forth his messengers, with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen–Out of the four winds, from heavens' bounds, unto their bounds. |
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.' |
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| 32 Now, from the fig-tree, learn ye, the parable:–When, already, her young branch, becometh tender, and the leaves, may be sprouting, ye observe, that, near, is, the summer: |
Fig tree – Natural Israel. See Jer. 24. |
| 33 Thus, ye also, when ye shall see all these things, observe ye, that, near, he is, at the doors. |
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| 34 Verily, I say unto you–In nowise, shall this generation, pass away, until all these things, shall happen: |
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| 35 The heaven and the earth, shall pass away, but, my words, shall, in nowise, pass away. |
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| 36 But, concerning that day and hour, no one, knoweth, neither the messengers of the heavens, nor the Son,–save the Father only. |
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| 37 For, just as the days of Noah, so, will be the presence of the Son of Man; |
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| 38 For, as they were in those days that were before the flood, feeding and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage,–until the day Noah entered into the ark; |
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| 39 And they observed not, until the flood came and took away all together, so, will be, the presence of the Son of Man. |
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| 40 Then, shall there be two men in the field,–one, is taken near, and, one, is left behind: |
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| 41 Two women grinding at the mill,–one, is taken near, and, one, is left behind. |
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| 42 Be watching, therefore, for ye know not, on what manner of day, your Lord is coming. |
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| 43 But there is, one thing, ye know–That, if the householder, had known, in what watch, the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert, and not have suffered his house to be dug through. |
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| 44 Wherefore, ye also, be getting ready, because, in what hour ye are, not thinking, The Son of Man doth come. |
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| 45 Who then is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master hath appointed over his household, to give them food in 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 Happy! that servant, whom his master, 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 Verily, I say unto you–Over all his substance, will he appoint him. |
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| 48 But, if that wicked servant should say in his heart–My master, delayeth, |
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| 49 And begin to be striking his fellow-servants, and eating and drinking with the drunken, |
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| 50 The master of that servant, will have come, on a day when he is not expecting, and in an hour when he is not observing,– |
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| 51 And will cut him asunder; and, his part, with the hypocrites, will appoint: There, shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth! |
In R1000 Pastor Russell applies this to the Great Company. |