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Text Sermons : R.A. Torrey : Jesus’ Prophecies Concerning His Own Coming Again Matt. 24:29–51

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(Compare Mark 13:24–37; Luke 21:25–36)
DISCOVERY OF THE FACTS

1. The Events Accompanying the Second Coming of Christ, vv. 29–35
What other tribulation did the tribulation connected with the siege of Jerusalem suggest and typify? Immediately after the great tribulation typified in the tribulation at the destruction of Jerusalem, what appalling events will occur? Will the true church be on earth at this time? (1 Thess. 4:16, 17.) To whom will He appear in this way at this time? (Rev. 1:7; Zech. 12:10–14; 13:1; 14:1–5.) What signs shall appear in the heavens? What will be the effect upon the tribes then living upon the earth (v. 30)? What wonderful sights will they see? How will the Son of Man come? Who usually is spoken of as coming in the clouds? (Ex. 19:9; 34:5; Ps. 97:1, 2; Matt. 17:5; Ps. 104:3; Luke 21:27.) What then is taught about Christ by saying that He is coming in the clouds? What shall He do when He comes (31)? Does this refer to the gathering of the church or to the gathering of Israel?
Does any man today know where the major part of Israel is? Does God know? Shall any one of them be overlooked? (Amos 9:9.) What will Israel then be like (v. 32)? How long a winter has Israel had? After the signs given in vv. 29, 30 how fast will things ripen (v. 34)? Does “this generation” in v. 34 refer to the generation living upon the earth at the time Jesus spoke these words, or the generation living at the time that these signs appear, as the early buds on the fig tree portend the near approach of summer? (Note context carefully.) What remarkable statement does Jesus make in v. 35? Did it seem at all probable that heaven and earth should pass away but the words of an obscure Jew, such as Jesus seemed to be when He spoke these words, would stand? Has His astounding and apparently preposterous utterance proved true? What does that fact prove?
2. The Time of Christ’s Second Coming, vv. 36–51
When is Jesus coming again (v. 36)? Who alone knows when He is coming again? Why does not man know? (Acts 1:7.) Did Jesus Himself as a man know the hour of His coming again (v. 36)? If Jesus as a man voluntarily renounced the knowledge of the exact time of the second coming, what is it on our part to try to find out? As far as we know, when may Jesus come for the church to receive it unto Himself? What will men be doing when Jesus comes again (vv. 37–39)? Will they be standing upon the hilltops looking for Him? As what will Christ come? (v. 43; compare 1 Thess. 5:2.) What is our proper attitude toward His coming (42, 44)? Is there any special blessing awaiting those servants whom the Lord finds watching when He comes? (Compare Luke 12:37.) If He came today, would you have part in that blessing? If we are ready when He comes, what privilege will be ours? (Matt. 25–10, R. V.) If we are not ready, what doom will be ours? (Matt. 25:10–12.) What constitutes readiness? (Compare Matt. 25:4, 10, 16; Luke 12:35; 21:34–36; 1 John 2:28.) What important practical question does Jesus ask in v. 45?
What is a steward’s business (v. 45)? Do all those whom Christ has appointed to this office, do this? Whom do some He has called to be stewards feed? (Ezek. 34:2, 3.) With what does the wise and faithful steward feed the household? (1 Peter 4:10, 11; 2:2.) Do all stewards give the household this food? With what do they sometimes try to feed the household? When should the steward give the household their portion of food? What word is used to describe the experience of the wise and faithful steward at the coming of his Lord? In what will his blessedness consist (v. 47)? Wherein lies the appropriateness of this reward? Who is placed in contrast with this faithful and wise servant? What lies at the bottom of his evil doing (v. 48)? What is the practical effect upon the church and individual believers of regarding the coming of their Lord as a far-away and unreal event? What is the effect of thinking of it as a most real and possible, imminent event? (c. 25:6, 7.) What is one great cause according to vv. 48, 49 of the worldliness and laxness in evangelical enterprises, and the oppression and self-indulgence among the many professed stewards of Jesus Christ? What was the great cry of the early church as it pushed the evangelization of the world? (Phil. 4:5; James 5:7, 8; 1 Cor. 16:22.) Where was it the unfaithful steward said, “My Lord delayeth His coming” (v. 48)?
Can we have a head faith and a heart unbelief in the coming of the Lord? How can we show we have a heart faith in it? Is there any step beyond saying, “My Lord delayeth His coming”? (2 Peter 3:3, 4.) Are there any of these mockers in the church saying this today? How, first of all, did loss of faith in the near approach of the Lord show itself in the unfaithful steward (v. 49)? For what is that a figure? Is there a warning against this anywhere else in the New Testament? (1 Peter 5:3.) How, in the second place, did loss of faith in the near approach of the Lord show itself in the unfaithful servant? Have these faults in the actual history of God’s people been seen in those whom God has set over His own household? (1 Sam. 2:13–16; Ezek. 34:3; Matt. 7:15; Acts 22:29; Titus 2:10, 11; 3 John 9, 10.) How are these unfaithful servants to be brought to their senses (v. 50)? Will the day of Christ’s coming be a joyful day for all who have been in authority in His church? What will be done to the unfaithful servant? With whom will his lot be eternally cast (v. 51)? Why? (Acts 1:25.) What will be the occupation of that place to which he goes (v. 51)? To whom may this solemn and terrific warning be justly applied? (1 Peter 4:10.)
CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHINGS

1. Jesus Christ
(1). His nature:
Divine, 30; human, 30, 36, 39.
(2). His words:
Inerrant, 35; shall never pass away, 35.
(3). His coming again:
(1) Its certainty, 30–35.
(2) The manner:
With power and great glory, 30; as a Divine One (in the clouds), 30.
(3) The purpose:
To gather His elect, 31; reward His faithful servants, 45–47; punish His unfaithful servants, 48–51.
(4) The time of His coming:
No man knows the exact time, nor the angels, not even the Son, 36; a time when men are going about their usual avocations, 37–39; a time when He is not expected, 42–44; may be any time, 42–44; very soon after the appearing of the signs, 29–34.
(5) Our attitude toward His coming:
Watching, 42; ready, 44; longing for, 48.
2. Christ’s Servants
(1). Should always be:
Watching for His coming, 42; ready for His coming, 44; engaged in the work which He has appointed them, 45, 46.
(2). Should never:
Say “My Lord delayeth His coming,” 48; exercise oppression over those under their authority, 49; practice self-indulgence, 49.
(3). Their opportunity and responsibility:
Over Christ’s household, 45; the welfare of Christ’s family under their keeping, 45.
(4). Their duty:
To watch, 42; to give the household their food in due season, 45.
(5). Their blessedness, 46.
(6). Their reward:
Dominion over all the Lord hath, 47.
3. The Unfaithful Servant
(1). His theology:
“My Lord delayeth His coming,” 48.
(2). His practice:
Tyranny, 49; self-indulgence, feeds himself instead of the household, 49, compare 45; neglects to give the household their meat, 45, 49.
(3). His destiny:
Surprised by Christ’s unexpected coming, 50; driven into the outer darkness, 51; weeping and gnashing of teeth, 51.





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