The Hand of God in Prophecy
By Glenn Davies & Clay Willis
Jesus’
Parables as Prophecy
The
Olivet Parables
Preface to the
Olivet Parables
The fact that Jesus’ spoke to the people in parables is often misunderstood. Many people think of these parables as “little stories” told to illustrate a point and, in one sense that is true. But that is not why Jesus spoke in parables.
I will repeat for you what God said about Moses:
"When a prophet of the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD." NIV Numbers 12:6-8
Why did Jesus use symbolic language in the parables, in the 4 gospels as well as in the book of Revelation, and not state things in plain language as is done elsewhere in the scriptures?
Jesus Himself
gave a “plain” answer:
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around
him asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom
of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in
parables so that, "`they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever
hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'
"
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand
this parable? How then will you understand any parable? NIV Mark 4:10-13
What is also very clear is that the people of the general public of that day and age were either not ready for conversion or simply not meant to understand at that time. However, it is obvious from other scriptures surrounding other parables that Jesus explained the parables to His disciples and through them explained them to us.
After the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension back to heaven [Acts chapters 1 and 2] there is no more misunderstanding.
Therefore today, with hindsight and the New Testament scriptures provided by His disciples, we should be able to understand the parables of Jesus
The context for the parables in Matthew chapter 25 is of vital importance. Many people, because of the arbitrary division, do not realize that these parables are just as much a part of the “Olivet Prophecy” as the things recorded in chapter 24.
The arbitrary, though most often logical, division of the Bible into chapters and verses leads most people considering these parables in isolation – to consider their meaning to be self contained. These parables are a continuation of the answer that Jesus gave to His disciples to their three-part question and pertain to the question, “What will be the sign of your coming”, and relate to (as we’ve pointed out above) His coming to establish His world-ruling kingdom and not to His “coming in the clouds”.
Parable of the Faithful and Wise
Servant
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the
master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their
food at the proper time?
Then Jesus contrasts two types of “servants” in our future day and age – one type that may be teaching true prophecy:
46 It will be good for that servant
whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Another type apparently doesn’t understand prophecy correctly
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and
says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he
then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him
and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:45-51 NIV
Mark records a much shorter
version of this passage [Mark 13:32-37]
Arbitrarily, whoever divided the original translations into chapter and verse decided that the Olivet Prophecy ended at verse 51 but both parables that follow in Matthew 25 are covering only slightly different aspects and themes of these scriptures in Matthew 24 dealing with what the conditions of His servants will be like immediately before or just prior to His return.
As you will see, that arbitrary division has caused some problems in understanding.
Parable of the Ten
Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of
heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the
bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took
their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil
in jars along with their lamps. 5 The
bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him!'
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and
trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil; our lamps
are going out.'
9 “`No,' they replied, `there may not be enough for both us
and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the
bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. `Sir!
Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!'
12 “But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know
you.'
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or
the hour. NIV Matthew 25:1-13
This parable is found only in the book of Matthew.
The parable of the 10 virgins is part of Jesus’ answer to question 2 from His
disciples: what will be the sign of your coming?
We know this because of the reference to “the kingdom of heaven” [v. 1] the reference to the “bridegroom” (Jesus) coming [v. 6].
The King James Version adds some words not found in the original manuscript but which show that the translators knew to what Jesus was referring.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor
the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
KJV Matthew 25:13
If we apply the reason Jesus gave for speaking to the public in parables, why did He speak to the apostles at this time that same way? Jesus told them before:
"The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, "`they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' “Mark 4:11-12 NIV
These parables are speaking to the Kingdom of God so Jesus fully expected His disciples to understand their meaning. And they did understand but appear to have confused the “coming in the clouds” with the “coming” to establish His kingdom.
The reason may be part of what the parables show as confusion on the part of God’s people at the time of His return to establish His kingdom. We’ll speak more of this later.
The parable of the virgins is a prophecy of the time of the return of Jesus showing the state of God’s people at that time.
It is quite understandable that many ministers or leaders of Christian churches simply don’t have the time in their busy schedules and other duties to study prophecy as intensively as they perhaps should – which may be part of the reason that Jesus saw fit to show in the ten virgins parable that all of Christianity’s churches are pictured as “asleep” at the critical time of His “second” coming.
There is another prophetic parable however that shows there would be 11th hour servants of God that would be “awake” at the critical time of Jesus’ return. This parable will be dealt with later.
We’ll now closely examine the parable of the 10 virgins for its prophetic content.
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took
their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
The “ten virgins” represent all true believers. The bridegroom represents Jesus. The first verse coupled with the last verse shows the “time” or age that this prophecy covers and that is clearly at the time of the second coming
2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
This is self explanatory.
3 The foolish ones
took their lamps but did not take any oil with them
What are the lamps and what is the oil? Some have claimed that the “oil” mentioned here is the Holy Spirit but in verse 9 the foolish virgins are instructed by the wise to go and buy some oil for themselves from those who sell it.
There is an example in of an individual – Simon, the sorcerer – who tried to “buy” the power of the Holy Spirit from the apostles.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on
of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this
ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy
Spirit."
Peter answered: "May your money perish
with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You
have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before
God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive
you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that
you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." NIV Acts 8:18-23
What was the purpose of the oil? It provided the fuel to create light in the lamps. Where does the Bible speak of this light?
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill
cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” NIV Matthew 5:14-16
The “oil” that provides the light comes from understanding the Bible, what Jesus and His disciples taught, including the prophecy contained therein. All of these believers had some understanding but through the course of waiting for the bridegroom to come, there was not enough understanding for the five “foolish” ones to last through that time. They were not prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom.
So the foolish virgins (Christians) had the means (lamps) with them to produce “spiritual illumination” but failed to take the “oil” of “prophetic understanding” with them because they simply didn’t have it.
4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with
their lamps.
Those who have prophetic understanding (the wise) apparently take it with them to meet their Savior along with the means to keep their spiritual path illuminated (lamps).
5 The bridegroom was a
long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Because Jesus has indeed been a long time coming all of Christianity has not maintained its concentration on the things that are really important and have simply “dozed off” where it comes to spiritual truth and especially prophetic accuracy.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the
bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
If all of Christianity is “asleep” at the time of Jesus’ coming to establish His kingdom, then quite clearly this announcement in the “midnight hour” suggests that that announcement is made by someone outside the recognized ranks of Christianity. The body of believers is evidently taken by surprise as they are “rudely awakened” by that announcement.
7 Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their
lamps.
With the announcement of Jesus’ arrival, the body of believers “wakes up” and begins to provide the “light” – the knowledge, the understanding – of what is happening.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us some
of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
Those who are not prepared for His arrival cannot provide the “light” of understanding of what is happening.
9 “`No,' they replied,
`there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil
and buy some for yourselves.
Why are the foolish denied the sharing of the oil by the other half of Christianity that has the understanding? Why the advice to go to those that sell prophetic understanding? Do people sell or peddle prophetic understanding? They certainly do. It’s everywhere. Religion has become a big business. And those who claim to understand prophecy and the teaching of the Bible market their products on television, radio, in their tracts and publications (many of them “for sale”) and today on the Internet.
However, the “oil” (understanding) that they sell is not sufficient to last through the wait on our Savior’s coming. This is why the “wise” ones had the extra oil to be prepared for that event.
The “foolish” ones relied on the insufficient understanding provided to them and it ran out while they slept. They were sent to the ones who provided their initial oil to obtain more.
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil,
the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the
wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
It’s likely that the half of Christianity that had brought along the extra oil – the prophetic understanding that they had provided for themselves – realize it is too late for the others and that if they took the time to teach the others they themselves would be late for the wedding supper and miss greeting the bridegroom by doing so.
11 “Later the others
also came. `Sir!
Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!' 12 “But he replied, `I tell you the
truth, I don't know you.
Half of Christianity misses out and Jesus doesn’t know them – but why?
Perhaps this prophecy from Daniel of this same time provides the answer:
He replied, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words
are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made
spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the
wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. NIV Daniel
12:9-10
The Hebrew word translated as “wicked” is rasha’, which means “those who do wrong”, i.e., those that don’t keep God’s commandments. Are Christians today keeping God’s commandments? Some of them are keeping all of the commandments to the best of their ability; some are keeping some of the commandments to the best of their ability; some keep a few of the commandments.
According to Jesus’ prophecy, 50% of them will be considered “wicked” and Jesus will not recognize them, even if they obtain the understanding after His arrival.
13 “Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
The KJV adds, “wherein the Son of man cometh.”
It is a consistent theme throughout the teaching of Jesus that only those who keep on striving to do God’s will – who do not grow “weary of well-doing” [Galatians 6:9 et al] – are the ones who will be rewarded by God.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put
to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many
will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false
prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the
end will be saved. NIV Matthew 24:9-13
This prophecy of Jesus the tells us that half of the “true believers” will have no understanding of what’s happening when He returns to establish His kingdom but will have been either led astray by teachers who don’t supply enough oil (understanding) or by their own lack of preparation for His return. They will be left out of at least the immediate celebration.
The Parable of the
Talents
14 “Again, it will be like a man going
on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted
his property to them. 15 To one he gave
five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each
according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man
who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and
gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained
two more. 18 But the man who had received
the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of
those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man
who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said,
‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also
came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received the
one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting
where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25
So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here
is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I
have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well
then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I
returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘Take the talent from him and give
it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For
everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw
that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)
This parable is found only in the book of Matthew.
Jesus is still speaking of His return and how those who are “servants” will be treated at that time.
What are the “talents” that Jesus gave His servants? It is highly unlikely that Jesus would be speaking of material wealth. What does God give His people in this life since the time of Jesus?
The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different
kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each
one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
To one there is given through the Spirit the message of
wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one
Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another
distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
gives them to each one, just as he determines. NIV 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
The first two servants put their “gifts” (talents) to work and by the return of the Lord they had gained even more. These are people who were given wisdom who through study and hard work gained knowledge; who were given faith and used it to heal; who were given the spirit of prophecy and learned to distinguish between spirits.
The third servant was given a gift but instead of putting it to use chose to hide it. We’ve seen those who firmly believed in God who were highly intelligent (wisdom) but who never put that “talent” to work. They were too fearful of what other men would think of them and never share their wisdom and intelligence with others.
As Paul wrote, the gift of the Spirit is “given for the common good”. Not putting those gifts to work; not working for the good of all of God’s people; these result in Jesus referring to them as “wicked” and “lazy” [v. 26] and in their being excluded from the celebration at the time of Jesus’ return just as were the “foolish” virgins who were not prepared for that return.
The Parable of the
Judgment
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the
sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on
his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I
was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I
needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something
to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you
the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you
did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his
left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me
nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I
was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not
clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in
prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the
truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these,
you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46 NIV
This parable is found only in the book of Matthew.
There can be no doubt that this prophecy is for the time of Jesus return [v.31]. It follows the teaching of the first two parables in that it calls for His followers to prepare for His coming, to put their “gifts” to work and this parable gives a demonstration of how that preparation and those gifts are demonstrated.
The Lord’s physical brother James wrote:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless
is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world. NIV James 1:27
In these parables Jesus prophesies that
many of those who appear to be following Him are not truly doing so and will be
shunned by Him upon His return – at least for the immediate celebration. He also teaches His followers that the appearance of being “religious”, of
gathering together and teaching some form
of Christianity in their human religious organizations is not going to be
enough to warrant their salvation.
Building ornate facilities in which the
church meets, wearing robes and collars to distinguish position in those organizations
and performing rituals mean nothing to Jesus.
It is those people who go through life
striving to make life a little better for their fellow man who are following
the example of Jesus and it is they who will inherit “the kingdom of God.
The Meaning of the Olivet Parables
Jesus Told His Disciples That His “Coming” Would
Be Delayed
A common denominator in these Olivet parables is that all show that Jesus would delay His coming a long time.
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and
says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and
he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
NIV Matthew 24:48-49
The bridegroom was a long time in
coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. NIV
Matthew 25:5
“After
a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with
them. NIV Matthew 25:19
Jesus Told His Disciples Why Many Would Not
Inherit the Kingdom
Another common theme is that those who do not provide “food” for their fellow servants; those who do not prepare; those who fail to use the gifts that God gave them; those who do not practice what James called “pure and faultless” (taking care of our fellow man); all these suffer a similar fate.
He will cut him to
pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 24:51 NIV
“Later the others also came. `Sir!
Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!'
“But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.
Matthew 25:11-12
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30 (NIV)
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life.” Matthew 25:46 NIV
These parables show that about a large portion of all those
who profess “Christianity” and their “leaders” and” followers” depicted in the
very next parable that don’t “gain by trading” in their understanding through
the holy spirit become “unprofitable” servants and therefore not fit for the kingdom of God.
By the time of Jesus’ seconding coming, Christianity as a whole will have
failed to practice what Jesus preached and to live the way of love that He taught in general.
It doesn’t matter whether or not you perceive this as applying to a single Christian group [denomination] or all Christians because there are no doubt true Christians in all groups whom Jesus calls His “elect”, i.e., those He chooses from all the others who “profess” Christianity but have the true potential to actually follow Him faithfully in “practicing” what he taught when they understand fully exactly what he taught.
That brings us
to a critical point concerning what Jesus taught, both during His 33 years as a
human being living on this earth and the point that He, as the “God of the Old
Testament” has been trying to get across to His people for thousands of
years.
There is only
one “true” religion. That religion is
not just for Jews, as it was under the terms of the Old Covenant, and not just
for Christians as many who wear that name mistakenly believe,
but for all of mankind. It has nothing
to do with human religious or social organizations; it has nothing to do with
rituals performed; to some extent, it has nothing to do with the education
(formal, informal, religious or secular) of God’s people; it has to do with
what we believe, in Whom we place our faith, and what those beliefs and that
faith inspire us to do in our everyday lives. We will try to explain what we’ve
learned over the past several years regarding God’s “true religion”.