Matthew 24:29-51 Lesson 50

Matthew 24:29-51
Lesson 50

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The Olivet Discourse (part two). This entire passage is Jesus speaking.

Signs of the Second Coming (24:29-31).
Parable of the fig tree (24:32-35).
Not even the angels know when Jesus will return (24:36).
The lesson of Noah (24:37-44).
Be watchful (24:45-51).

Noah
By an unknown artist

Who was Noe?

Noe was an Old Testament patriarch commonly called Noah (Matthew 24:38). Noah was the tenth descendant of Adam and Eve (Genesis 5:5-29). Because of humanity's sinful nature, God regretted creating man (Genesis 6:6-7) and warned Noah, described as "a just man" (Genesis 6:9), about a coming flood that would destroy "wickedness" (Genesis 6:5), "violence" (6:13), and all mankind. Despite living in an arid region 500 miles from the sea, Noah believed God's warning (Genesis 6:9). He obeyed God's seemingly silly instructions to build an ark (Genesis 6:14-16) large enough to carry two of every unclean animal (such as pigs) and seven of each clean animal (Genesis 7:2-3).

When the rains came, Noah, his wife, three sons - Shem, Ham, and Japhet - along with their wives took refuge on the ark and were saved from the flood (2 Peter 2:5). After the floodwaters receded, Noah built an altar and offered a sacrifice to God (Genesis 8:20). This pleased God, and He promised never to flood the earth again (Genesis 9:11). God sealed His promise with a rainbow (Genesis 9:13-15). Noah lived to be 950 years old (Genesis 9:29).

Just as in Noah's day, when few believed that disaster loomed, no one will be expecting Christ's Second Coming (Matthew 24:35-39). You can read more about Noah in Genesis 6:1-9:29.

Study Tip:

The margin notes in blue and the links are helpful tools; take advantage of them.

The Gospel According to St. Matthew

The King James Bible

Matthew 24:29-51
Stay watchful

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.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

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

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?

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

47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

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,

51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Margin notes:

"The tribulation of those days." (24:29) - "The trouble of those days."

"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." (24:30) - Just as Daniel saw the first coming of Jesus in his vision 500 years earlier (Daniel 7:13).

"Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." (24:30) - "Then all the people of the earth will mourn." Why? Because "every eye shall see" Jesus' return and recognize the truth (Revelation 1:7). Jesus promised to return multiple times (Matthew 16:27; 24:27; 24:31; 24:37; 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 17:28-30; 21:27; John 14:2-3.

"He shall send his angels." (24:31) - Revelation 8:2 tells us there will be seven angels.

"They shall gather together his elect." (24:31) - "They (angels) will gather His chosen people." See also Mark 13:27.

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree." (24:32) - Means "learn a lesson from the fig tree."

"Ye know that summer is nigh." (24:32) - "You know that summer is near."

"Know that it is near." (24:33) - "Know that the Second Coming is near."

"This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (24:34) - The generation alive during the tribulation will not die until all Jesus' prophecies come true.

"My words shall not pass away." (24:35) - Biblical truth is eternal.

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man." (24:36) - No one knows, except God, when Jesus will return. Not even Jesus or the angels in heaven (Mark 13:32).

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (24:37) - Except for Noah, no one expected a flood. Similarly, no one will be expecting Jesus' return. Jesus also discusses His return in Luke 17:26-27.

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." (24:42) - Jesus will repeat His warning to be prepared for His return again in verse 25:13 and Revelation 3:3.

"The goodman of the house." (24:43) - "The owner of the house."

"Would not have suffered his house to be broken up." (24:43) - "Would not have allowed his house to be broken into."

"Be ye also ready," (24:44) - Be spiritually ready to meet Jesus. Jesus reinforces His message to always be prepared for His return in the parable found in Luke 12:35-40.

"His lord hath made ruler over his household." (24:45) - "His master put him in charge of his household."

"Give them meat in due season?" (24:45) - "Give them food at mealtime."

"He shall make him ruler over all his goods." (24:47) - Jesus will repeat this message in verse 25:21.

"Smite his fellowservants." (24:49) - "Hit his fellow servants."

"Cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites." (24:51) - "Cut him to pieces and send him to his place with the hypocrites."

New Living Translation

Matthew 24:29-51

29 "Immediately after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world-from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

32 "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.

33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.

35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

36 "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

37 "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day.

38 In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

39 People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

40 "Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.

41 Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

42 "So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't know what day your Lord is coming.

43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.

44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

45 "A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.

46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.

47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.

48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, 'My master won't be back for a while,'

49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?

50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected,

51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. Will the sun go dark when Jesus returns? (24:29)

The most important step in Bible study is applying what you learn to your life.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Jesus' first coming was marked by incredible signs, such as the star that guided the wise men to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9-10), earthquakes (28:2-4), the appearance of angels (Luke 2:8-14), and darkness that enveloped the earth when Jesus died on the cross (Luke 23:44-45). Because of these events, we can believe that extraordinary things will occur again when Christ returns.

While we wait for His return, Jesus tells us to keep watch, walk in fellowship with Him, and to work for His glory.

Additional note: The Old Testament frequently talks of darkness blanketing the earth (Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; 2:31; 3:15; Amos 8:9). The New Testament predicts even more startling events to come (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 6:12-13), including the worldwide destruction (2 Peter 3:10-13) predicted in Isaiah 13:11.

Application thought for the day:

Jesus teaches us to apply God's truth to our life.
What lessons can we take from the fig tree (24:32-35), the days of Noah (24:36-41),
the householder (24:42-44), and the wise servant (24:45-51)?

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Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen, published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series," published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur, published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Atlas of the Bible" edited by Joseph L. Gardner, published by Readers Digest, Pleasantville, New York; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible," published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The New Testament" Recovery Version, published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, California; "The Living New Testament," published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation," published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; the "Life Application Study Bible," published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible," published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The New Scofield Reference Bible," published by Oxford University Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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