Children of the Resurrection

from Google Images

In my previous study I began to highlight Jesus’ discussion with the Sadducees (Luke 20:27-38), which on the one hand called the resurrection into question, but Jesus also placed the resurrection in the context of preaching the Gospel. Many Christians think Jesus spoke of an age when men and women wouldn’t marry or have children, but this is not the point of Jesus’ reply to the Sadducees (Luke 20:34-36). The context of the discussion concerns how men become the children of God (Deuteronomy 14:1). The Sadducees argued that the resurrection couldn’t be valid, because their myth (Luke 20:27-33), if placed in the context of the levirate marriage law, made the resurrection appear as though it were a ridiculous doctrine.

Advertisements

 

Marrying and Giving in Marriage

from Google Images

During the final week of Jesus life on the earth, he was approached by the Sadducees, who deny the authenticity of the resurrection (Luke 20:27). In their debates with the Pharisees, who did believe in the resurrection (Acts 23:6-8), they would often offer a myth or a fabricated story in an effort to express what they assumed to be a silly idea. That is, they thought the resurrection, itself, was a myth and more, simply a silly idea. Therefore, they approached Jesus with a myth (Luke 20:28-33) they no doubt used many times to prove the resurrection was a false claim. Their myth centered around the levirate marriage law in the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). This is the law behind the marriage of Ruth and Boaz, the great grandparents of David, the King (Ruth 4:1-10, 18-22).

 

In The Fullness of Time

from Google Images

Many of the commentaries that I have place Matthew 25:31 and following at the end of time, or the end of the Gospel age. Some don’t even have Christians participating in this judgment, because they had been removed from the earth in the previous age. Yet, nothing like this appears in the plain reading of the scripture. Nothing is said about the end of time. That has to be brought to the table by the person interpreting the scripture. In other words, it is a doctrine of men, because it cannot be found in the scriptures. Neither could the end of the Gospel age be a proper interpretation, because no such thing is ever mentioned in scripture (cf. Daniel 2:44). It, too, is a doctrine of men. What does the scripture actually say?

 

Eternal Inheritance

from Google Images

When we come to Matthew 25:31-46, many scholars believe Jesus was speaking of the end of the world, the end of time—some say even of the universe. Many conclude it is not only the time of the coming of Christ (Matthew 25:31), but also of the time of the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Yet, no writer of the New Testament nor any prophet of the Old, ever taught about or even mentioned “the end of time.” Why would anyone even imagine the end of time at this point in the Olivet Discourse? While I would agree that Matthew 25:31 and following is, indeed, the time of Jesus coming, and that it is also the time of the resurrection and of the Great White Throne Judgment, Jesus did not prophesy of people and events 2000 years removed from the first century AD. After all, he came as the Servant of the Jews for the sake of the truth, in order that God could fulfill the promises made to the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Romans 15:8).

 

Judgment at the End of the Age

from Google Images

Presently, I am looking at the parables of Jesus, with a special interest to their eschatology, whenever Jesus pointed to it. Lately, I have been considering what some call the Parable of the Final Judgment (Matthew 25:31 and following). The context begins with the ‘Son of Man’ coming in his glory, together with all the angels, at which time he will sit on the throne of his glory. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them as a shepherd would his sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-32).

 

Gathering in the Valley of Decision

from Google Images

For awhile, now, I’ve been studying the parables within the Olivet Discourse with a view toward their basis in eschatology. Lately, I’ve been developing that theme in Matthew 25 (also part of the Olivet Discourse, according to Matthew), specifically Matthew 25:31 and following. Here, Jesus spoke of his coming in glory, with his holy angels, in order to sit on the throne of his glory (Matthew 25:31). At that time all nations would be gathered before him, and they would be separated as a shepherd would divide the sheep from the goats (verse-32).

 

Judgment of the Nations

Not long ago I had believed Matthew 25:31-46 depicted a time when Jesus would judge the whole world, i.e. every man and woman who ever lived. The problem with this understanding is, it removes it from the context of the rest of the Olivet Discourse. The Olivet Discourse concerns events that would transpire in the Apostles’ expected lifetimes. Remember, the Apostles were troubled over Jesus’ prediction that the Temple would be destroyed (Matthew 23:37-39; 24:1-2). Therefore, later, four of them approached Jesus privately and asked: when these things would take place, and what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). For Jesus at this point to then speak of universal judgment, i.e. every man and woman who ever lived, snatches this parable out of the context of the first century AD.