Teacher’s Choice – “This Generation Shall not Pass, Till all These Things be Fulfilled”

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“This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled”

A study with Matthew 24 – Part 6 (Verses 44-51)

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The blessing that God’s elect are called unto as His first fruits and little flock is manifested through eyes and ears that have been given to hear the simplicity [“singleness“] that is found in Christ (2Co 11:3), that makes it possible for us to be more than conquerors through Him. (Joh 6:68)

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtiltyG572, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity [singleness] that is in Christ.

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. [singleness that is found in the words of eternal life, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth of 1Co 5:8]

subtiltyG572  hap-lot’-ace  From G573; singleness, that is, (subjectively) sincerity (without dissimulation or self seeking), or (objectively) generosity (copious bestowal): – bountifulness, liberal (-ity), simplicity, singleness.

Christ, who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27), tells us that this singleness of mind is going to occur and be maintained as we grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18). We are caused to stop trusting in our own righteousness by way of that grace and faith we receive from God (Eph 1:12, Eph 2:8-9). It is God’s grace that causes us to stop trusting in our own works so that we can rest in the Lord while we believe and experience his powerful and mighty hand (Mic 6:8, Zec 4:6) doing the exact works that God has ordained for us from the foundation of the world (Php 3:9, Eph 1:4).

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

That trust spoken of in Ephesians 1:12 can only be developed through the fiery trials which cause the precious tried faith of Christ (1Pe 1:7) to be formed within us; tried faith that acknowledges the righteousness of Christ within, and that without Him we could do nothing (Joh 15:5, Joh 5:30).

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

We all start off trusting in ourselves, and that is what God has ordained; that the beast on the throne reigns supreme for the longest time as we are filled with our own (caused) thoughts of how we can overcome. We build up our own religious lives separate and independent of Christ (Mat 19:22), wearing our own apparel and eating our own food, while maintaining the name ‘Christian’ as our spiritual calling card. As we know, God is the one deceiving the prophet within us at that time in our walk (Jdg 21:25, Psa 127:1, Isa 4:1, Eze 14:9).

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Jdg 21:25  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Psa 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Even after we come to see that we’ve been deceived of the devil, and that the Lord has ordained that ongoing deception, it is only the beginning of the great battle of overcoming. The Lord orchestrates what seems like endless tribulation and wars in our heavens (Heb 10:32, Mat 24:21), and we learn through those tribulations to no longer lean to our own understanding, and we overcome the world within us through Christ, our hope of glory (Joh 16:33). It is through the suffering that God provides a way for us to bear, that we will cease from sinning, and we are told to arm ourselves with the same mind of Christ who anticipated that suffering and yet knew that our Father would be faithful to deliver Him through it all (1Co 10:13, 1Pe 4:1, Luk 9:22).

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

Luk 9:22  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

God has to show us that we naturally lean to our own fleshly devices which we must overcome through Christ, and unless there is a struggle, and unless He shows us the wretchedness within us and the need to be delivered from it, there will be no overcoming (Eph 6:12, Rom 7:24-25, Gen 32:26).

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Gen 32:26  And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me [1Pe 3:9].

This is the last part of our Matthew 24 series, and this last section focuses on the readiness that is required of God’s servants,  the sacrifice of our life and time that is required in order to be that blessed servant who is providing spiritual meat in due season when our Lord returns (Mat 24:45-47).

The subject in these verses is about overcoming and how it has been ordained from the foundation of the world that God’s elect will overcome, and that nothing would ever prevail against us (Mat 24:24). We are of that generation within whom all these judgments are being fulfilled, and it is through those judgments that Christ’s righteousness will be formed within us, and the gates of hell won’t prevail against us (Mat 16:18).

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Mat 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

God’s word is written for the elect, and it admonishes us at every turn with a primary message of overcoming through Christ (Rev 2:7). Our flesh is never ready, and that is why it says “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh“.  We “sleep on“(Mat 26:45) as the disciples did the night Christ was betrayed, and it takes conversion, the receiving of God’s holy spirit, to keep us ready with extra oil which God simply gives (Mat 25:4-5) to those whom He has ordained to be made ready by His grace through faith which will save us (Eph 2:8-9).

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We would be sorely missing the point of the gospel if we thought we were somehow profitable to God and able to watch and be made ready of our own accord. That is the self-righteous spirit we have been called to overcome and conquer through Christ, and as we do, we come to acknowledge more perfectly each and every day, as we die daily, of how the Lord has to build the house and deliver us from ourselves through the seven last plagues, or else we would simply slumber and sleep (Rev 15:8).

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

We just read the answer to this question “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?”, and again there is a simplicity here we will miss if we don’t just take God at his word. The faithful and wise servant is the one who took oil in his lamp (Mat 25:4), but now we see who it is in this section of scripture that provided the oil to light the lamp which symbolizes the word of God or the spiritual meat we are blessed to give one another in due season.

The answer is “whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season“. This person who has been blessed to do this is the Christian who is partaking of God’s goodness in this age. He is not experiencing the severity of God as others will for our sakes not being ordained to recover from that moment when “they all slumbered and slept”. This is something we must never boast in but see with very somber hearts as the work of God, His severity and goodness being revealed, which applies to each of us in our own order (Rom 11:18-21). We are not excused from feeling that severity of God; not by any means.

Luk 13:4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

I should say they are blessed if they’re doing this when the Lord comes, because it simply means the Lord had ordained this from the foundation of the world that they would be doing this work and in a moment and in a twinkling of an eye be blessed to be in the blessed and holy first resurrection (1Co 15:52, Rev 20:6, Rev 4:8).

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Rev 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

That’s wonderful news to hear that you have been called to a blessing (1Pe 3:9), and it is important to see the word “holy” included in “blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection”. If not for that holiness, that process of overcoming through the judgment which is upon this generation with whom God is working, we would not be there in that first resurrection (Rev 15:8, Rev 4:5 Act 20:35).

1Pe 3:9  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Without Revelation 15:8 being fulfilled in our lives we would not be able to administer Revelation 4:5 in the lake of fire at the great white throne judgement.

Rev 4:5  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Act 20:35  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goodsG5224.

What “all his goods” symbolize for God’s elect is to have the mind of Christ, to have peace that passes all understanding, to be in harmony with our Creator and our Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately that “possession” or “substance” is what all men will have when God is all in all, and those who are blessed to experience this gift first in this age are first fruits who have lost their life today so that they can be used to help bring in the rest of God’s creation in time (Mat 16:25-26, Mat 19:29-30).

goodsG5224 huparchonta: neuter plural of present participle active of G5225 (to make a beginning, to exist) as noun
Thayer: possessions, goods, wealth, property
Strong: things extant or in hand, that is, property or possessions: – goods, that which one has, things which (one) possesseth, substance, that hast.
Total KJV Occurrences: 14

goods, 7  Mat_24:47, Mat_25:14, Luk_11:21, Luk_16:1, Luk_19:8, 1Co_13:3, Heb_10:34
hath, 2  Luk_12:44, Luk_14:33
hast, 1  Mat_19:21
have, 1  Luk_12:33
possessed, 1  Act_4:32
possesseth, 1  Luk_12:15
substance, 1  Luk_8:3

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23  And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

Joh 16:15  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Psa 37:29  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[The point being it is not the inheritance of physical things that God’s elect are interested in but rather inheriting the mind of Christ, the family of God, and being as Christ recognizing that all things are ours, and those all things are the loving and eternal relationships that he has given us through Christ.]

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49. And shall begin to smite hisfellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

These last few verses of Matthew 24 describe the other side of the pillar in the dark wilderness of our minds out of which we have to be dragged to have any hope of seeing the light of life in Christ (Joh 6:44). Light has to come out of darkness, and God has ordained that we all start off in darkness and cannot escape that darkness unless the son of man sets us free (Joh 8:36). If we are of the generation which shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled, we will also have to recognize ourselves at our appointed time as “that evil servant [who] shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming” in need of growing in patience and overcoming without the ability to possess our souls in patience except through Christ.

We have all smitten our fellow servants in our own way and eaten and drunk with the drunken. That saying simply typifies the time in our walk in Christ when we were immature babes who were yet carnal and struggling with lust and envy and pride, not yet able to partake of the strong meat of God’s word (Heb 5:14). We were deceived by our many wonderful works, and not having come behind in any good work, how could we possibly be “The lord of that servant [that] shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of” (1Co 3:3).

Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

The point being made is that if we are cut “asunder” today by not having the sword (2Sa 12:10) which exposes all these weaknesses in our lives depart from our house, and if we are shown the hypocrisy in our flesh today: “appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, then that will be a good thing as well. It tells us the Lord is judging us and maturing us so through that crushing experience He will create within us the mercy and love and compassion and understanding that can’t be formed any other way within God’s elect (Mat 21:44). It will bring us to cry out to God, as Christ did with strong tears, and “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 26:75), but in the morning there will be healing and a conversion that will make it possible for us to drink the cup and endure until the end through Christ (Luk 22:32).

Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Mat 26:75  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Luk 22:32  But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

The end result is that if God will grant us to see our indebtedness to Him and to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are “the man”, it will be through God’s righteous judgment (Rom 2:5) and plagues that have to be poured out upon us (Rev 15:8) to make us ready to be kings and priests who will be able to administer God’s judgments in all the earth of humanity at an appointed time (Oba 1:21).

The “till all these things” be fulfilled of “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” is what God’s elect have been called unto. We suffer so that we can rule under Christ. We experience his judgements today in our life so that we can fill up what is behind of his afflictions for his body sake the church (Col 1:24). That is what must be fulfilled in our lives before Christ returns, and He promises us that we can drink this cup of suffering and that all that he has written in our books to endure has been accompanied with the promise that we will indeed be able to drink this cup (Mat 20:23).

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