~ by James Fire
We started in the Gospel of Matthew and concluded the previous article with Ch. 21.
So, let us continue this most exciting and fascinating study! I don’t mind reminding you that as I pore over such Scriptures, it sets my heart racing with thrilling hope and intense longing to see such things transpire in our near future!
We’ll pick up in Ch. 22 and (hopefully!) conclude Matthew, and in the next article, make comparisons with the other Gospel accounts before we proceed to the Acts of the Apostles and epistles (this will likely be in Part Three).
MATTHEW 22:1-4
And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
Another Kingdom parable is in view, continuing on where we left off in Chapter 21. For a brief summary of all the parables that the LORD Jesus taught, check this out from Easy English Bible site.
Here in Chapter 22 we see that the kingdom of heaven is compared to a king preparing a marriage for his son; the parallel is rather obvious: GOD the Father preparing a wedding feast for His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ. Scripture is abundantly clear that the church, comprised of born again believers, is the bride of Christ (2 COR 11:3; EPH 5:31-32; JOHN 3:29; REV 21:9; 22:17).
The servants that are directed to call the guests to the wedding feast are no doubt the prophets of GOD, ordained to call His people Israel to repent and be drawn back (by the Father who draws all to His Son; JOHN 6:44-45) to the LORD Who is worthy of the saints’ love. The guests ignored the king’s servants.
So the king sent forth more servants – and just as Elijah was ignored, the LORD sent Elisha; as Isaiah was ignored, the LORD sent forth Hosea and Micah, then Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
Just as this marriage is an acknowledgement of this king’s son and his betrothed, so too Israel as well as the people of Gentile nations that survive the tribulation will acknowledge the Messiah and His own bride at the commencement of His Kingdom, the Millennial Reign of Christ. Yet there are those to whom the kingdom was meant, who shall nevertheless be cast out (MATT 8:12) because of their unbelief and rejection of the Messiah (ROM 11:11-20).
MATTHEW 22:5-10
5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
The world is never short of mockers of GOD’s Word, and this will increase as we proceed through these last days (2 PET 3:3): but it’s especially grievous when those mockers are of the nation of Israel, or the professing church – and most especially where the Person of Christ is concerned.
I recall seeing a photo of a man with a sign that said something like, “I Hope Christ Returns In My Life-Time, So I Can Crucify Him Again”.
GOD’s servants, the prophets were indeed treated spitefully and killed; Isaiah the prophet was sawed in half by the evil king Manasseh; other prophets like Jeremiah were stoned to death.
Then there is the Servant of servants, the LORD Jesus Christ!
In this parable, the king becomes wrathful and gives the order to His armies to go forth and destroy these murderers and their city. We know that after the rejection of the Messiah, Jerusalem was destroyed (70 AD); it’s estimated that about 1 million Jews were slain by the Roman armies at that time – and the city itself was devastated! How could Roman soldiers be considered “GOD’s servants”? In the same manner that Nebuchadnezzar was (JER 25:9)!
The king gives the order to his servants to go and bid any who would come – go and find them in the highways and byways and fill my house with guests! These original guests were of the house of Israel, but they were unworthy because they (initially) rejected their Messiah. He then opens the door of opportunity to us Gentiles for salvation (MATT 28:18-20).
The good news is that Israel will receive her Messiah upon His return Who saves them from destruction at the hands of the Beast (anti-Christ).
For more on this, consider The Defense of Stephen and His Messianic Message from ACTS 7.
MATTHEW 22:11-14
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
No garments other than those provided by the king would be allowed at this wedding feast. It was customary for any king to furnish wedding garments for his guests that would both honor the king and bless the guests with lavish clothing that they likely could never afford for themselves.
This man is seen without such a wedding garment, and when the king called him on it, he had nothing to say – so they king ordered him expelled.
Likewise no one becomes a member of the church of the LORD Jesus Christ without being born again; no one enters into a right relationship with GOD unless they repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Once faith is expressed from a repentant heart, salvation is granted; the sinner transformed saint is clothed upon with the robe of righteousness and the garments of salvation:
ISAIAH 61:10
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
I find it fascinating that these garments and robe is compared to the beauty of a bride, which is hardly coincidental; for the bride of Christ herself is adorned with righteousness and salvation that is not her own, but granted to her by her bridegroom, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Then with this guest wearing his own garments, he is caught, questioned, and speechless: so will all who attempt to present themselves to GOD on the basis of their own righteousness. They will be confronted on the Day of Judgment with the Holy Law, before the Holy Judge of all the earth, and “every mouth will be stopped” (ROM 3:19-20).
Later in this chapter, the LORD is inquired of by a lawyer on which of the commandments is the greatest, and the LORD answers him immediately:
MATTHEW 22:37-40
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
It’s a fairly foregone conclusion that these two greatest commandments will be ‘enforced’ during the Millennial reign; you will note I have enforced in quotes, and that’s because on that day, the Spirit of GOD will indwell believing Israel (EZEK 36:26) just as He has the church (JOHN 20:22; GAL 4:6). By the empowering Spirit of GOD, the love of GOD we shall have for one another will be astoundingly profound. What’s just as impressive is that the LORD commands us to love one another even now (while still in this corrupt flesh (See JOHN 13:34-35)!
This love (agape) shall be undiluted by frail human love because we the church as well as those saints of Israel who at the beginning of the Millennium will be resurrected, will not have corruptible but incorruptible (sinless) bodies; pure vessels of holiness through which the perfect love of GOD shall flow! How we long for that day, when genuine brotherhood will be a perpetual joy, infused with the fervent love of GOD, so that war will be learned no more (ISAIAH 2:4).
Chapter 22 ends with Christ asking the Pharisees a question, and when the LORD replies to their answer, I have to laugh because they couldn’t find a reply in return, and not only that, no one dared to ask the LORD any more questions after that day! The question revolved around who the Christ (the Messiah) should be; the Pharisees correctly answered, “the Son of David”. But then the LORD asks them,
“43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”
Essentially if the Messiah was nothing more than a descendent of king David, then the progenitor wouldn’t bow to a descendent (just as a father wouldn’t), and yet David “in spirit” calls the Messiah “LORD”. With this sort of rabbinical question, the LORD was pointing out that the Messiah was much more than a mere descendent of David (as were David’s sons Solomon and Nathan and Absalom) but in truth, the Son of GOD (MATT 16:16).
The Olivet Discourse is documented in the first three Gospels (MATT 24;25; MARK 13;14 and LUKE 21;22). The Olivet Discourse is not recorded in John’s Gospel because that apostle was treated to the entire revelation, whereas the other Gospel writers were given a sort of ‘Reader’s Digest’ version.
This Discourse is all about the same period of time as is designated in the book of REVELATION, that is, the 70th Week of Daniel (DAN 9), otherwise known as The Time of Jacob’s Trouble (JER 30:7). It is a time of darkness and not light – this “Day of the LORD” (JOEL 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14,18; AMOS 5:18-20; ZEPH 1:7-8,10-14; 2:2-3; ZECH 13:2; 14:1-5; MAL 4:5).
Yet once the nation is chastened for her rejection of her Messiah, and the “earth-dwellers” are punished for this same cause, the LORD shall return and touch down on planet Earth exactly where He left it (ACTS 1:11)!
MATTHEW 24:29-30
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
May we heed this most sober warning from the lips of the LORD our Savior Himself, to always be ready for His return:
MATTHEW 24:44
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour [time] as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew chapter 25 contains two more parables which we will review; additionally an account of the coming ‘Judgment of Nations’ (between goats and sheep) is presented.
This first parable expands on the warning that the LORD ended with in Chapter 24. The theme of this parable is about readiness, preparedness, watchfulness, as we will see. We have covered this chapter in our TTUF study on the book of Matthew as well; you may read this commentary here.
MATTHEW 25:1-13
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Remembering that these are parables is helpful; the images seen in all parables are representative of spiritual truth, and if discerned properly, are readily identifiable.
Let’s begin with these “ten virgins” who are going out to meet the bridegroom; the bridegroom is recognized by almost everyone and agreed upon to be the LORD Jesus Christ, the bridegroom of the church.
2 CORINTHIANS 11:2
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
(See also: MARK 2:19-20; JOHN 3:28-29).
I think it’s because the church is described here as “a chaste virgin” that many people identify these ten virgins as the church, but I don’t see it this way.
Jewish weddings were highly structured in their traditions; obviously, the LORD Jesus being Jewish and addressing a Jewish audience (thus, the Gospel account according to Matthew is Jewish, all about the Jewish Messiah as its focus), used these illustrations to evoke an understanding from the Jewish mind.
In any Jewish wedding, there were brides maids in attendance, typically ten in number; these would accompany the bride until the bridegroom came calling (completely unannounced but expected at any time day or night). It was then that the brides maids would lead the bride, approach the bridegroom, and lead them both (along with the bridegrooms attendants – typically ten young men) to the bridegroom’s father’s house (where an addition to the house has been completed, and inspected by the father as being suitable for the wedded couple).
From pastor David Guzik, we have the following:
a. Then the kingdom of heaven: Matthew 24 ended with a parable meant to emphasize the idea of readiness for the coming of Jesus. Matthew 25 begins with another parable upon the same principle.
b. To ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom: There were three stages to a Jewish wedding in that day. The first was engagement – a formal agreement made by the fathers. The second was betrothal – the ceremony where mutual promises are made. The third was marriage – approximately one year later when the bridegroom came at an unexpected time for his bride.
i. “When the bridegroom came, the bride-maids, who were attending the bride, went forth to meet the bridegroom, with lamps lighted, to conduct him and his companions into the house, and to her who was to be the bride.” (Poole)c. Went to meet the bridegroom: In this parable, the first two stages have already taken place. Now the wedding party (the ten virgins) waits for the coming of the bridegroom for the bride.
ii. Some ask why Jesus described ten virgins and not another number. Reportedly, Talmudic authorities said there were usually ten lamps in a bridal procession. It was a common size of a wedding party.
iii. “The point is not these girls’ virginity, which is assumed, but simply that they are ten (a favorite round number...) maidens invited to the wedding.” (Carson)
Back to our own study:i. “To see the bridegroom as Jesus himself seems warranted in light of MATT 9:15. This would be a bold figure for Him to use, as the Old Testament frequently describes God (not the Messiah) as the bridegroom, and Israel as the bride (ISA 54:4-5; 62:5; JER 2:2; HOS 1-3, etc.).” (France).
Thus to say that these bride’s maids are representative of the church – when it’s these ten young women, along with the ten young men and the bridegroom – are all to accompany the bride and lead her to her new home – is a contradiction. The church cannot be both the bride and the bride’s maids.
That being said, who then are these bride’s maids? – bear in mind, this is a parable we’re talking about.
How did the church get introduced to her LORD and Savior? – through Israel, in two ways:
1) It was through the genealogy of Israel’s tribe Judah, and the House of David that the Messiah came.
2) It was the Hebrew Scriptures that the Messiah was correctly identified; His birth, His life, His mission, His character, the means of His death, and resurrection and so much more, were all written down hundreds, or even thousands of years beforehand.
So if this is in fact Israel, what is all this about these lamps and oil?
We know that Israel by and large today is in a state of unbelief; they’ve been reborn as a nation, physically, but not reborn spiritually (EZEK 37:8-9,14; ROM 11:23,32; HEB 4:5-11). Yet as we’ve stated before, they will be reborn spiritually (EZEK 36:26; JER 31:33). We also know that Israel will endure “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” and that through those fiery trials only one third will survive (ZECH 13:9); two out of every three Jews survived the Holocaust).
Yet as these go through the fires – there will be those who recognize, by the Spirit of GOD that Jesus, Y’shua, is indeed the Messiah, and those who will not. I believe those without oil (without the Spirit) are these who are in unbelief regarding Jesus yet hold to a belief in a ‘Messiah’ of some sort, who will be ultimately, tragically deceived and taken in by the false Messiah, the anti-Christ.
Those who know Y’shua as the legitimate heir to the throne of David, the Messiah of Israel, are welcomed into the Father’s house, where the bridegroom – Jesus, and His bride – the church are, and will enjoy the blessed and beautiful time in the Millennium when all the saints will worship the LORD Jesus Christ!
Those who aren’t welcomed in, are those who LORD utters those terrifying words:
“Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
If any would like detailed commentary on the following sections of Scripture, they can read it at the aforementioned article, which I will provide another link for here.
For now I want to point out just a couple things that are pertinent to the Millennial Reign of Christ.
MATTHEW 25:14-30
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In the industry of the saints, working in the Kingdom of GOD not for salvation, but because of salvation; the work we do in faithfulness to the LORD and His nature (grace and truth, among so many countless virtues!) out of the motivation of love (1 COR 13:1-8), there is a spiritual principle and it’s given to us in verses 21 and 29:
Vs. 21 “. . . thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”
Vs. 29 “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. . .”
Scripture teaches us that the greatest in the Kingdom will be the servant of all (MATT 20:20-28; 23:10-12). The LORD Jesus Christ obviously is the greatest, as He served others far more than any other possibly could – He died for the sins of the world!!
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let this mind also be in us – to serve the LORD and others first and foremost even if we ourselves are in dire need: let the LORD care for those things. Let us lay down our lives for our fellow saints and love one another (1 JOHN 3:16). By doing so, we will be highly honored in the coming Kingdom. Certainly not as much as Paul, to say nothing of the LORD Jesus Christ, but still – honored with a position of authority and governorship under the overall rule of the LORD Himself!
I believe our LORD will be abundantly generous to those who’ve laid down their lives for Him and the saints – considering the servant who had five talents, and gained five more; pay attention to what the LORD did with the one talent of the unfaithful servant:
“28 Take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”
You might not see it as it’s not very obvious, but it’s implied; the faithful servants said to the LORD, “Your talents (through my industry) has gained twice as much.” The servants rightly claim that these talents belong to their Lord. Yet the LORD turns around and renders to His faithful servants His own talents and gives the one who gained a total of ten talents one more besides!
MATTHEW 25:31-46
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Between the time when the 70th week of Daniel is practically fulfilled in that Israel is no longer being persecuted by the Beast and the world under his command, and the official commencement of the Millennial Reign, there is this judgment of nations – in which the LORD Jesus, the Messiah of the Jewish people has come as the Kinsman Goel, the Avenger of Blood and rendering judgment upon all people that persecuted “[His] brethren” while also rendering reward to those who blessed the Messiah’s people during their times of cruel hardship.
While this sounds like salvation by works for those commended, it’s really just the outworking of salvation that GOD put into them:
PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
I must conclude that these people, who are presumably under penalty of death by the Beasts’ global forces if they help the Jews in any way (similarly to the Nazi’s who criminalized those who gave aid to the Jews), would defy such an order, render help to the LORD’s brethren and would do so out of faith in Christ Jesus!
These will be ushered into the Millennial Reign of Christ while the others will “go away into everlasting punishment”.
These people, still in their natural human bodies will be granted extreme longevity in years (ISAIAH 65:20), perhaps due to a restoration of what’s been called “the canopy” based on GENESIS 1:7, that will keep out the harmful radiation of the sun that causes aging to increase while at the same time, enabling the Earth to concentrate its oxygen and barometric pressures: the ideal condition that was enjoyed before the flood of Noah (for a fascinating article that gets into this and more re: the prehistoric earth, check out this article: The Pre-flood Atmosphere).
They will be blessed with a world without crime, violence, hatred, war, disease, suffering, poverty – all of the ills of this world will be no more! The blessings of the love of GOD, and His joy, the “peace on earth and good will to men” that was promised two thousand years ago will be realized!
And we who are the church will be in their midst, in our glorified bodies with untold powers and abilities, with which we will properly govern those regions, cities and towns that will be allocated to us by the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords!
The few instances of the Millennial Reign of Christ found in the remainder of the Gospel of Matthew are mentioned in the other Gospel accounts (and elsewhere in the New Testament), so next time, we shall pore through the next three Gospels, cherry-picking crucial passages that relate to this 1,000 Year Reign of the Messiah!
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