Chapter 4 - An Examination of the End Times (Continued)
Other End-Times Prophecies from Jesus
Jesus in His parable about a net thrown in the sea that gathered fish of all kinds, He notes that when the net was brought to shore it was then when the fish were separated. The good fish went into containers while the bad fish were thrown away. Jesus said that it will be like that at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (see Matthew 13:47-50).
Jesus lamented over Jerusalem calling it the city that kills the prophets and stones those He has sent to them, how He wanted to gather them together like a hen gathers her brood. But they were not willing. As a result of them not accepting Him as their Messiah, He tells them that their house is left to them desolate. The house Jesus was talking about is the house of Israel, a common term in the Bible (for a few examples see Jeremiah 3:18; 13:11; 23:8; Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9; Amos 5:1, 3; 9:9; Matthew 10:6; 15:24). Israel was indeed desolate, turned into wilderness for many years. Even though they are now back in the land, they still don’t have their Messiah, He won’t be back until they recognize their error and jointly call Him back, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” (See Matthew 23:37-39; Luke 13:34-35, see also Psalm 18:26).
During Jesus’ last Seder Dinner with His disciples in the upper room, He instituted what has been commonly referred to as the Last Supper (also known as Communion and Eucharist). He took some bread that He broke and passed the pieces to His disciples, telling them to “Take, eat, this is my body.” Then He took the cup, and after He gave thanks, He told them drink from the cup, saying “this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.” Then Jesus states, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (See Matthew 26:27-29; Mark 14:23-25; Luke 22:17-18) Jesus tells them that He will not drink the fruit of the vine again until they are all together in His Father’s kingdom. Many believe that is a reference to the marriage supper of the Lamb recorded in Revelation 19:6-10.
When Jesus stood before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas asked Him if He was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus acknowledged that He was just as Caiaphas said, and added, “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” When He returns He will be seated at the right hand of Power (a reference to His Father) and will be seen coming back on clouds. (See Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:67-68).
The parable about the ten minas recorded in Luke 19:11-27, is similar to the parable of the talents, but there are a number of significant differences. It begins with a nobleman (a high-ranking member of royalty) who was about to leave to a distant nation to be made king. But before he leaves, he calls ten of his servants together and gives each one a mina (a Greek weight believed to be approximately twelve ounces of silver) to invest in business during his absence. When he returns he has the servants report on their investments. The first servant reports a ten-fold return and he is rewarded by being made governor of ten cities, the second servant reports a five-fold return and he is rewarded by being placed in charge of five cities, but the third servant returned the one mina without investing it. The king angrily responded, “Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.” (Luke 19:22b-23) The king instructs that the mina be taken from him and given to the one with ten minas. The parable concludes with the king calling for all of his enemies, who did not want him to reign over them (see verse 14), to be brought in front of him and executed. This ending is a dramatic reminder that those that do not accept Jesus will be brought before Him for judgment and then cast into hell for eternity (see Revelation 20:11-15). We know that believers will be given responsibility and rule under Jesus during His millennial reign (see 2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:4, 6). It is interesting to note that what was not used by one individual was given to another. Does that mean if a Spiritual gift is not used by a Christian, it will be given to another?
According to John’s gospel account, shortly after Peter boasted that he would be willing to die for Jesus and then was told that he would deny Jesus three times that evening, Jesus tells His disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1) Jesus knows that they are somewhat dazed and confused after hearing that one of them was going to betray Him. He tells them that in His Father’s house there are many rooms, referring to heaven, and that He is going to prepare a place for them (see John 14:2). Then He tells them, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3) Jesus will come and take them to heaven to be in His presence. Contrasted to Jesus’ earlier references to the His second coming with judgment, we see in this verse a “taking away” which would support the fact that He is referring to the rapture.