Heavenly Father, we thank you for the freeness of justification by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. We also thank you for the freeness of sanctification as we live by grace through faith in Christ alone. And to see your fruit produced in our lives as we yield to you, depend on you, living that faithful Christian life, help us to expand the sphere over which we can trust. so that we have greater and greater victory in the Christian life. And help us as we study the Gospel of Matthew to understand your kingdom program for the ages and why it is that when Messiah came he did not in fact bring the kingdom because that generation rejected and he is still waiting for a generation of Israel to receive him so that the kingdom can come. And for us to understand the church and the interregnum as a preparatory stage as we prepare and get ready to reign with Christ in his coming kingdom. So help us understand this great plan to have a lot of these pieces in place so we're understanding what you are doing with history and where things are moving. And we ask all this in Jesus' precious name. Amen. All right, if you'll turn to Matthew chapter 25, Before I do, I've got several things here I wanted to announce through the live stream as well. And that's, the first one is there's free Chafer Theological Seminary courses that are now available via distance learning. So this is a development in the curriculum at Chafer Seminary. And many more courses are being offered via distance learning. And since we support them as a church, they have decided to give churches that support them up to certain value, which we meet, their people in their church can take courses. I think there's fees and things like that, but relative to all the course costs, it's nothing, right? So if you're interested in that, you might go to www.chafer.edu and consider some of the courses there, and there should be more courses coming in the future. The second thing is that next Wednesday night is going to be the annual Q&A night. I usually do one every year. I've never called it the annual Q&A, but now it is because I just named it that. And so you'll want to write down questions that you may have, questions about salvation, questions about prophecy, questions about sin, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity. There's lots of things in the Bible, passages or something. And write these down on a three-by-five card or a piece of paper. You don't have to put your name on it. But if you get those to me tonight or Pam or I on this coming Sunday, or even that night, you know, just bring your questions and have them written out clearly, articulated, so I can answer your question and not something else that you're not really interested in. And live streamers, if they have my phone number, because I'm not going to give that out, but if you have my phone number, you know, chime in. Or before that, you can, if you're a live streamer, you can go ahead and email those to my email address which is on the website jthomasatfbgbible.org. So jthomasatfbgbible.org. So that way, you know, it's always a fun time and who knows what will come up, right? And hopefully we'll be able to have a good time. Okay, so we are studying in the Olivet Discourse details of the judgments that will take place when Jesus returns at the second coming. So let's be clear. The second coming is not the same as the rapture. The rapture relates to the church. When Christ comes for his bride, the church, and takes us to the Father's house. The second coming relates to Jews, and Gentiles who are left behind after the rapture and enter into the time of the tribulation. So here are three groups on this slide, the church, Jews, and Gentiles, okay? And these have to be kept distinct. They're not to be confused when we study the Bible. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 32, give no offense, Paul said, either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. There are three groups there. separated by the particle or. Jews, which are racial descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and especially Jacob. And then there are Greeks. Greeks are simply non-Jews, so they're not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the key being Jacob. And the church, the church is distinct because it's believing Jews and believing Greeks in one body, united by spirit baptism, okay? So you wanna keep these three groups distinct in your thinking the church will be raptured before the tribulation. Okay, what's commonly called the tribulation. So it's complete, okay, before the tribulation. No one is ever going to be added to the church once it's complete, because it's complete. You can't add anything to that which is already complete. But after that, of course, there's Jews and Gentiles who are left behind, and they may or may not come to faith during the tribulation time. But those who do come to faith, they're not going to be a part of the church. I just call them tribulation saints. And when Christ comes at his second coming, then he's going to enter into judgment with the living Jews and Gentiles at that time. He's going to determine whether they enter the kingdom. He's also going to determine the rewards for those who are entering the kingdom. And what we're dealing with in the Olivet Discourse is the judgment of those Jews and Gentiles when Christ comes back at the second advent, okay? So we're not dealing in here with the rapture of the church. And I've actually been surprised at how many people read the church in the rapture into these two chapters, Matthew 24 and 25. Most of them that do this are post-tribulational, so they believe the rapture is coincident. It takes place at the same time as the second coming. As he's coming down, the people of God are going up, and then they come right back down. But others are mid-trib. They believe the rapture is the mid-trib. That's a minority group. Some are what's called pre-wrath, which again is another minority group. But some that see the church and rapture in here are even pre-trib. It's especially troubling to me that folks that are pre-trib see the church in here, because you would assume they understood the distinction between Jews, Greeks, and the Church of God. And you would assume they understood the context here is overwhelming. It's the Second Coming! It's the Second Coming, and we don't confuse the rapture with the Second Coming. They're two distinct events. But what they like to do The way they bring it in is they say, well, you know, it sounds like when he talks about the flood, and one will be taken and one will be left, that sounds like the rapture, right? Well, it sort of does, I'm not going to deny it. But when you point out here that it's the second coming that's being compared to the flood, it's not the rapture. But what they want to do then, this is a slippery way of argument. They say, well, the second coming is a multifaceted event. Or they'll at least say two phases. And that way, the rapture is one phase of the second coming. And then his coming to earth is the second phase of his second coming. And that way, they can include the rapture in the second coming and get it into this passage. Okay? So to them, it's just a matter of, well, which phase of the second coming you're talking about? Is it the rapture in view or the actual second coming to earth? And that's how they think it's all right to find that in here. Okay? Now, the reason they want to find the rapture in here is because Jesus says numerous times, well, no one knows the day or the hour, right? And they think, well, the second coming to earth, that can be known. Because Daniel told us it's seven years of 360 days. All we have to do is add those number of days to the day that the treaty is signed by the Antichrist in Israel, and then we know the exact day of the Second Coming. Okay, but this is a mistake of gargantuan proportions. Not only, first of all, note chapter 24, verse 42. 24, 42. It's talking about the people that live in that time, that live in the tribulation, and it says, you're not going to know the day. So if you come along as a Bible commentator and say that, well, they'll be able to figure it out, Well, I'm sorry, but the Bible's right, and you're wrong. That's just a flat contradiction of what the Bible says. It says they're not going to know. I would add to that that it's highly unlikely that anybody could calculate from the moment the treaty is signed, because the treaty is going to be signed behind closed doors, and nobody's going to know the exact moment that it is signed. And finally, I would add that even if they did know the exact time, The cosmic disturbances in that time, which are unparalleled even by Hollywood's imagination put to the screen in apocalyptic films, is going to cause people to lose track of time. So what is in view in this discourse is the day of the second coming of Christ to establish his kingdom, even though I agree that there are similarities to what sounds like the imminent rapture. I realize that fully, right? But you will never find a church in the Olivet Discourse, and the reason is because Jesus was not a psychologically disturbed individual. That is why. They didn't ask about when the church is going to be removed or anything of that nature. They asked, what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? That is, of course, to establish the kingdom. So Jesus is not out on a limb answering questions that are irrelevant to the question. And so the entire thing is about the second coming of Christ to establish the kingdom over the face of the entire earth and the cosmos. And Jesus' answer was very simple in verse 30. There's going to be a great sign of light against a black backdrop in the sky immediately preceding his coming, which will be like lightning, in great terror, a great terrible judgment. Okay, so the church is, of course, not gonna be present on earth during that time. The church will have already been removed before the tribulation, as this slide is showing, taken to the judgment seat of Christ, will already be rewarded, and then will be on to the Father's house, right, for the duration of the tribulation, and then we're actually going to come back with Him at the second coming on that great day, which is the greatest day in the history of the world since the creation. That is what Isaac Watts wrote about in that great hymn, Joy to the World. He wrote about his coming to establish the kingdom, which is, of course, still in the future, and Isaac Watts actually believed that. And so when he returns to earth, there are going to be Jews and Gentiles, as I have here, some believing, some unbelieving. They will be stunned by his awesome presence. He will take them to judgment, and this judgment will determine their fate of entrance or non-entrance into the kingdom of God. And that entrance is based on faith alone, in Christ alone, period. Now the rewards, which are spoken of here in these judgments, are for those who have faith alone, and they will be based on faithful service during the tribulation time. The rest who are not prepared for salvation will be totally cast out of His presence forever. Forever. And so the judgments we are studying by way of parables relate primarily to the division of believers and unbelievers in that time. And then on top of that, the rewards that are issued to believers in that time for faithful service as they prepare for Christ's second coming. Okay, now a scriptural principle is that the Jewish people are the privileged people of God. Romans 3, 1 and 2. Romans 9, 1 to 5. To them was granted the covenants and the scriptures. They were given the oracles of God, the adoption as a people, the messianic promises. All that was given to the Jewish people wasn't given to the Scandinavians. they are privileged people. Because they are privileged, guess what? That makes them more responsible as a people group. Now, as such, who is going to be judged first? Well, with great responsibility comes great judgment. And so, the first group that will face judgment will be the Jewish people. But, among the Jewish people, there's another scriptural principle here, and that is, the leadership of a people, they have a greater responsibility than the average the average bear, let's say. So the leadership are going to be judged first among a people. And so the first judgment when he returns is described in Matthew 24, 45 to 51. It's a description of the judgment upon the Jewish leadership. And this is a parable of a master and two slaves whom he put in charge of the rest of his slaves. And of course the master is Jesus. The two slaves represent Jewish leaders. The other slaves represent the Jewish people in general. And the first Jewish leader, in verse 45, he is the one who recognized the signs of the times and the tribulation, that they indicate Jesus is near, and they direct the Jewish people to faith in him. So he's a sensible leader in that he prepared himself with salvation by faith, and he's also faithful in that as a believer, you see, his life as a believer, he prepared others in the nation. Now the second leader, down a few verses, called evil, he doesn't recognize the signs of the times in the Tribulation. He fails to direct the Jewish people to faith in Jesus as the Messiah. And so you see the contrasts between Jewish leaders who believe and are faithfully preparing for Christ's coming during the Tribulation time and Jewish leadership who do not believe and are not faithful preparing others for Jesus's coming. So the first judgment when Christ returns will be upon the Jewish leadership. The second judgment is upon the Jewish people in general, as described in the parable of the ten virgins, chapter 25, verses 1 to 13, and then also in chapter 25, verse 14 to 30. But this first parable here, the parable of the ten virgins, picks up on this characteristic of being sensible, as the leader was in the prior parable. And it develops this concept of Sensibility. The groom, of course, is Jesus. The five virgins who took extra flask of oil represent a sensible Jew who's prepared for Jesus's arrival whenever it may take place. Because nobody can know the day or the hour. So you have to be ready. The five virgins who did not take extra oil, they represent foolish Jews because they're not prepared with extra oil for Jesus's arrival. They're not prepared. So to be prepared here means to be prepared with salvation, and you need to be prepared Previous to Jesus's coming that's the main teaching and those who were prepared went into the kingdom We read down. I think in verse 10 or so those who were not they were shut out They did not get entrance and they will never see him. They can say Lord Lord or whatever. He'll say I never knew you I mean, it's over. Okay, then look by the way, there's only winners and losers here Everybody wins you either win or you totally lose you lose everything Everything you have nothing if you lose here. So you have these two groups. This provides the context for the third parable in 25, 14 to 30, which is again another one about just judgment on the Jewish people in general. And it's the parable of the talents. This is perhaps the most difficult of these parables. And it takes up the characteristic of the Jewish leader who was faithful back from 2445. It takes up that characteristic of faithfulness, and it develops it. Two Saints, and then later we'll get to the Gentiles. So they're not here. We haven't got to Gentiles yet. That's why everything tonight is going to be about Jewish judgment. Gentiles will be next time. But Two Saints said in the first, he's speaking about 25, 1 to 13. He's talking about the parable of the 10 virgins. In the first, spiritual preparation for the coming of the king is emphasized. In this parable, speaking of the talents now, 14 to 30, service performed in preparation for Christ's coming is set forth. So the first one is spiritual preparation. Second one is service performed in preparation. First one's really salvation. The second one's really about faithfulness and rewards for them in the main. So in other words, you see then, right here in the middle, there's two parables related to the judgment on Jewish people in general at the second coming of Christ. The first one emphasizes the need for them to have faith in Jesus in order to gain entrance into the kingdom. The second one emphasizes the need for them to live faithful lives in order to have a rich kingdom entrance, you know, enter with rewards. And the point of dispute here in this talents parable is the identity of this third slave, the one who buried his talent. You read about this. And the dispute is over, is he an unfaithful believer or is he just an unbeliever? And we'll deal with that. So we come to the parable of talents in verse 14. For it is just like a man about to go on a journey who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them." Now that word for connects this sentence, okay, and this parable with the previous parable of the virgins. And since the prior parable in verse 1 is a kingdom parable, then guess what? This is also a kingdom parable. And that means that there's some comparison being made here from well-known and ordinary life of the Jewish people at this time being thrown down along some spiritual truth that is related to the kingdom. And the thing that was well known was that a master in that day might go on a journey. And when he would go on a journey, since you don't have, you know, El Al or Delta to, you know, zip you around the planet, you may be gone for months or even years at a time on a journey. And what are you going to do with all of your possessions during that time to ensure they are there and increasing in your absence? Well, you're going to turn it over to your servants, your slaves, okay? And that's what every Jew would know reading this parable. And the spiritual truth that's being taught is the importance of the slaves being faithful servants during that time of absence. And the time of absence is the tribulation time. And they don't know when he's going to return, the master or the king is going to return, and so you're to be faithful throughout that period. In this parable, a man is about to go on a journey. It says he called his own slaves to him and entrusted his possessions to them. And the verb entrust is the key, entrust, because this word means to hand over something of great personal interest. And embedded in this concept of handing something over to someone else is the fact that they are assuming responsibility for it. They're to be responsible for this master's possessions during his absence. And they are responsible, of course, to manage it well. And so this master had great possessions. Rather than putting them all in one basket, so to speak, he dispensed varying amounts to his three slaves. Verse 15, to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability, and he went on his journey. So what's a talent? Well, a talent is a measurement of weight between 58 and 80 pounds. In verse 18, the last word in that verse is money, okay, argyrion, and that is the Greek word for silver. And so we know that the talents, this weight, is weights of silver. And he is entrusting three different amounts of silver to three of his slaves. And to the first, he gave five talents of silver. Now that's about between 290 and 400 pounds of silver, depending on if it's 58 or 80 per talent. Now, current silver prices, which I checked today, which were $16.50 an ounce, which is very depressing, right? But that is between $76,000 and $105,000. That's a significant amount of money for the first slave to manage. But in verse 15, according to the master's evaluation of the slave, he could manage this. To the second slave, he gave two talents of silver, which is between 116 and 160 pounds of silver. And that, at current prices, is between 30 and 42 thousand dollars. It's less, but it's still obviously a significant amount of money for him to manage. But according to the master's evaluation, this slave was able to manage this. And then to the third, he gave one talent of silver, which is between 58 and 80 pounds of silver, and that's, again, that's about $15,000 to $21,000. It's less, of course, but it's still a significant amount of money. But according to the master's evaluation, this slave could manage this sum. So an important point is that there was an unequal distribution of silver, but the distribution was according to the master's evaluation of the ability of each slave. He assumed each could manage this, right? And obviously, he expected a return on his money when he came back. So in verse 16, we come to the first slave and what did he do with the silver? Well, immediately, the one who had received the five talents, he went and traded with them and he gained five more talents. The word immediately indicates the slave's promptness in investing the silver well, knowing that the longer you invest, the greater likelihood you'll get a good return. And in the end, he gained five more talents. So he doubled the master's silver allotted to him. That's a significant increase. It would be like taking about $100,000, and now you're returning to your master $200,000. I would be happy with that slave, wouldn't you? In verse 17, we come to the second slave, and what did he do with his silver? Well, it's stated to be in one sense the same. In the same manner, the one who had received the two talents gained two more. Okay, so since he acted in the same manner, then we would say he also immediately invested the silver. Because he reasoned that, you know, the longer I invest, the better likelihood I'm going to get a good return. And he, too, doubled the master's silver allotted to him. He went from two talents to four talents. So if that's, say, $30,000 or $40,000, it's now $60,000 or $80,000. However, in 2518, we come to the third slave, and what he did with the silver is very different. And the word but signifies, there's a significant contrast here, but he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. Now the verb went away seems significant, especially when you compare it with verse 16, the first, and likewise the second, who simply went. See, he went away, they went. And the words are different in the Greek. The first one is pariouamai, and it just means to go. It doesn't really specify, but in the context, it seems that they went somewhere nearby, because this word is ap-erkamai, and ap-erkamai means to go away, in the sense of going a great distance. So he's taking this talent a great distance away, and this is where the ill intent of this third slave begins to surface. Something is fishy. The second thing, then he dug a hole in the ground, and he hid his master's money. Digging a hole, okay? Now, in the ancient world, this was considered the most secure way of securing money. That's why you have buried treasure, right? People assume this is a great way to secure money, bury it in the ground, nobody can find it. But this is the second indication that some ill intent is involved. Why are you digging a hole and burying it? And especially when you observe it's not his money, it's his master's money. It's somebody else's money. You're digging a hole and putting somebody else's money in it. So the question arises, of course, at this point, is he hoping at some point to make it his own money? Then we read that he hid his master's money. And this is the third thing. Look at the word hid. This is another indication that there's some ill intent here. So in the end, three things. He went far away, he dug a hole, and he hid somebody else's money. Now it seems that this slave did not expect or he hoped that the master would never return Why? So he could make the money his own. Now, these observations that I've just made before you, while I think are tremendous in shedding light on the identity of the third slave, are almost always, almost always totally overlooked in the commentary literature. In fact, I never saw them. Well, Walvoord got really close, let's say that. And something he said tipped me off to thinking along this line of what is here. In verse 19, Now after a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, Master, you entrusted five talents to me. Look, I've gained five more talents. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master." So the first slave rose to the occasion of his responsibility. He doubled the five talents. Now he has ten. He's eager to meet his master and show him what he had done with the master's silver. And the master then gave him a verbal commendation, and it involves three things. First of all, a simple, well-done, good, and faithful servant. So the master evaluated him, first of all, as good. The Greek word is agathos. And in this context, it means having merit. In the eyes of the master, the servant had merit because of his management of his possessions. And the second thing, he's also said to be faithful. And the word is the main word in the parable. It's used four times in this parable, twice in this verse and twice two verses later. In this context, it's the concept of being reliable, being a reliable individual, or being dependable, being a dependable person. And this man, the first slave, has shown himself to both have merit and dependability in the master's eyes because he managed the master's possessions so well. So far, so good. No trouble, right? The second thing, though, here that we read is that the Master gave him charge over many things. He says, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Now think about it. He had given him about, let's say, $100,000. You say, that's just a few things? That seems like a lot to me. But you see, for the Master, once we determine who he is, we will realize that this is basically nothing to him. This is just very little. And he's going to put him in charge of many things. So if $100,000 is a few things, can you imagine what many things are to the master? In the kingdom, this man is going to manage many things, okay? Now this passage, of course, it doesn't directly relate to Christians, but in principle, there's an impact on the doctrine of rewards here, in that you see the reward ratio relative to the management. The reward is so much greater And it is showing us that the investment that we make here in this world will be rewarded far beyond our wildest imaginations in the kingdom to come. And so, of course, we should make the most of every opportunity that's given to us. Now, the third thing we see here is the master-granted entrance to this slave. He says, enter into the joy of your master. So this slave is given entrance into a joyous celebration put on by his master. So what a delight, right? I mean, everything here is wonderful. In verse 22, then we come to the second slave. And it says, also. Also, the one who had received the two talents came up and he said, Master, Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, look, I've gained two more talents. And his master said to him, well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. The word also there, verse 22, doesn't that indicate that the second slave came in the same way as the first? Also. The only difference is this slave only had two talents initially. But guess what? He doubled the money just the same as the first. And so, yeah, they began with a different portion, but they increased their portion by the exact same proportion, didn't they? 100%, a doubling. As such, this slave receives the exact same verbal commendation as the first. Verse 23 is identical, word for word, with verse 21. Both slaves had merit and dependability in the eyes of the master based on their management of his possessions. Two, both received a greater charge of responsibility in the kingdom. Both entered into a joyous celebration of their master. Worsby was right. He said it was not the portion that they initially received, of course, but it was the proportion that made the difference. Everything else is the same. And this, of course, is also very interesting for the doctrine of rewards because it shows that it's not about how much we receive initially. That's not what makes the difference in the end. But it's the proportion of increase relative to what we began with. And that gives us all something to ponder. I mean, how many people do we look at and we say, man, they are just the greatest Christian ever. You know, because they're on radio, or they write books, or whatever. That is such a human way of evaluation. It could be just believers like all of us here in general, you know, gifted in very general ways, but increase of that relative to the initial proportion of gift, that's what determines the reward, not how much you started with. Now things change dramatically when we come to the third slave in verse 24, and this of course is the individual that's caused so much contention. And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, Master, I know you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you scatter no seed. And I was afraid, and I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours. But his master answered and said to him, you wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to put my money in the bank. And on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore, take away the talent from him. Give it to the one who has the 10 talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given. And he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness, in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Okay, notice in verse 24, the third slave, he comes to the master with a very different approach than the other two. Rather than an admission of the responsibility entrusted and an eagerness to show the master what they had done with his money, he comes with a condemnation. of the master. Master, I know you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you scattered no seed." Now, it's doubtful that the master really was a hard man, despite the fact that in verse 26 he repeats this formula, and he has a reason for doing that. And the reason it seems very unlikely that he's a hard man is because look at verse 27. the master would have been pleased with the trivial interest of putting the money in the bank. That would have been sufficient. This was the third slave's perception of the master. He judged him or condemned him to be a hard man. That is a wrong perception of the master. But because he perceived the master wrongly, he had a wrong response to the master. And verse 25 states that response. The response was, I was afraid, and I went away and I hid your talent in the ground. His response is, he's afraid, first of all. Now, did either of the two prior slaves manifest any of this type of fear of the master? No. Now, both did have a healthy evaluation and respect for the master. They understood that he's an exacting man. They understood there was an action that they needed to take to please him, but they did not view him as a hard man to be afraid of in the sense that this third slave did. In fact, they were excited to see him when he came, number one, and they were eager to show him what they had done with his money, right? So they had a joyous visit with him. Now, the master's response in verse 26 shows the futility of this third slave's reasoning based on his own flawed presupposition that the master was a hard man. He says, you wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. In other words, on the basis of your own presupposition, slave, which is a flawed one, that I'm a hard man, nevertheless, on that presupposition, you still did not act in accordance with your presupposition. I'd like to make a major point here, which I've made over the years many times, but that is this. Unbelief cannot even function consistently within their own principles. Unbelief cannot even function consistently within their own principles. This is so powerful, and of course Francis Schaeffer and others saw this, and they seized this point with great prowess in their apologetics. They noticed that unbelief is internally inconsistent. And because of that, it's futility. It's not a big point I want to go into now, but it's a giant point. And the master saw this inconsistency in this third slave, and he seized it. I mean, he didn't let it go. So he's basically saying, look, if this is your presupposition, say, A, that I am a hard man, then logically, B, you should put your money in the bank. But you did not act consistently with your original presupposition that I'm a hard man. You hid the money in the ground. This, again, shows ill intent. The slave was condemned on the basis of his own standards. He ought, it says, you ought to have put my money in the bank. There was a moral imperative here, and he failed. He failed on that imperative. Now verse 28 describes the consequences for the third slave. Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. I found this to be interesting. The one talent now added to the man who had ten talents, so now he has eleven talents. And the explanation in verse 29 is, For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance. But for the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Well, look at this, verse 29, it couldn't be any clearer. There are winners and they get everything, and there are losers and they get nothing, nothing at all when Jesus comes back. I mean, that is it, okay? But it's important to note that, guess what? Everyone at some point had something. Everyone. All three of them had something to begin with, didn't they? But in the end, you're either a winner or you're a total loser. And this is where it counts. All three of the slaves initially have been given something, some responsibility. But in the end, only those who are good and faithful with what was given them or even only gained a little, as if one just put the money in the bank, will receive more so that they have an abundance. And those who do not have even what they did have shall be taken away Verse 30, throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Note, the first two slaves, it says, enter into the joy of your master. This one, it does not say, enter into the joy of your master. It says, you'll be cast into outer darkness. In that place, there's not going to be any joyful celebration, but there's going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And before, since we've seen these phrases so many times, The outer darkness, we said, is outside of the light, which is the kingdom. These people are outside, this man is outside the kingdom, altogether. And weeping and gnashing of teeth, that is a place, according to verse 51, 2451, it's a place, it's a place of suffering and torment. Okay? That is how we've dealt with that before, that's how we'll deal with it now. Now, there's no question, I don't think in anybody's mind, that there's a contrast between the first two slaves and the third slave. I mean, everybody can see that. And I think everybody does see that. The first two slaves were commended, given more responsibility, entered the joy of the master. Third slave was condemned, lost everything, was cast in outer darkness, and into suffering and torment. Now this is a contrast, but what exactly is being contrasted? I mean, this to me is where people just go haywire in the commentaries. Now, here's a thing that's important to remember when you come to a parable, and it's this. You do not build doctrine out of parables unless you have a clear teaching of it elsewhere. You just don't do that. Here's what Alma McLean said, and I think this is so wise. I had to share it with you. He says, even the most spiritual and well-taught among students of the Word may go astray here. He's talking about parables. And many an error has found its basis in some parabolic detail. It is never safe to use either a type or a parable to teach something that is not elsewhere taught directly and clearly in the Word of God. And I don't think we would have so much controversy over this third slave if this principle were being followed consistently. It is not safe to originate a doctrine out of this parable based on some detail. As we said before, a parable always has one major point. And all the other details have to, in some way, support that point. But they can't be, you know, all these other points, okay? You can't press them into that much service. And what happens if you do is you begin to teach strange doctrines. Okay, Paul warned, right, in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, that in the last days, the last days of the church, people are going to swarm after strange doctrines. Don't be one of those people, okay? Strange doctrines, some of which I have held, sound interesting. They tickle your ears, but Paul says they're nothing more than myths. Myths that human nature wants to go after. Believe some newfangled, interesting, obscure idea. That is not commendable in God's sight. That is condemnable. And in terms of this parable, I'm just amazed at some of the details that are picked out here and there and pressed into so much service, while others, such as the ones I mentioned earlier about the ill intent of the third slave, you know, going far away, digging a hole, burying somebody else's money in it, go almost completely overlooked by people. Almost completely overlooked. And to me, it just smacks of people just trying to find their theology in this text, rather than just let the text speak for itself. So with that precaution in mind, that we have to be so careful with parables, who is the man about to go on a journey? Well, that's the Lord Jesus. It's not too tough. He's going away on a journey. The reason he's going away on a journey is because the nation Israel in the first century rejected him, and he's going away until generation of Israel repents. Is this taught anywhere else in the Bible? Sure it is. Hosea chapter 5, the last two verses, and Hosea 6, 1 through 3, it's taught that he's going away. So where is he now? Well, he's at the right hand of the Father. Who are his slaves? Well, we already said judgments on the Jew first, so individual Jews in the future tribulation. That's who the slaves are. These aren't Gentiles. They'll be in the next parable, right? The whole parable, verses 31 to 46, deal with the sheep and the goats judgment, and that's a judgment on Gentiles when Christ returns. So this is Jews. What are the talents? Well, this is the most difficult, probably, to see, but it makes sense when you see it. It's all the working capital that God has given Jews during the future tribulation. I stole that working capital from Tom Constable because I thought there was no other way I could sum up in two words what the talents really are. It's all the working capital God has given Jews during the future tribulation. What are we saying here? We're saying that God is the author of every human life. Yeah? And he gives gifts to every human being. a variety of resources to be used for His glory. That's true for believers and unbelievers. This is just humans in general. Although we'd be quick to add that, of course, believers are given more resources. The moment we have faith in Christ, we receive more resources to glorify Him with. But we wouldn't want to limit the talents. Like this, the constable said, to limit the talents to something like spiritual gifts, I was just talking about spiritual gifts, or natural abilities, or the gospel, or opportunities that people have for service, or money, or just whatever. That limits the scope of what Jesus probably intended by the talents. It's just all the working capital that God has given a person. Period. And as verse 15 suggests, verse 15, This is going to vary from Jew to Jew in the future tribulation, just as it varies for all of us. Some have greater capacity, others have less. That's just the way God designed it. And the fact that some are going to have more working capital means, of course, greater responsibility. all have a responsibility. See? Whether they're believers or unbelieving Jews in that time, they're going to have responsibility to God. That is the nature of being human. You are a creation of God. Okay? I'm a creation of God. So that's what the talents are. They're just all the working capital that God has given the Jewish people during the future tribulation. Okay? Now, who's the first slave? The first slave is a believing Jew involved in faithful service to the master, right? To Jesus Christ. Who's the second slave? Another, this again, easy. Another believing Jew who is in faithful service to Jesus Christ during that future tribulation. And there is a principle here. We'll state it again. It's well stated by Walvert. He said, that rewards are given according to faithfulness is illustrated well in this parable. Because, right, the first slave, he started with more, five talents, and the other guy only had two, but guess what? They both doubled. So the principle is rewards are given according to faithfulness, and not how much you started with. And then we come to the third slave. Who's he? Who's the third slave? Well, for now, let's just say he's a Jew, right? There's no question about that. But let's look at some of the facts. He was given some working capital, just like every human being, and just like every human being, he's responsible to administer that for the Lord. But what did he do with his working capital? Well, he took it to a faraway spot, he dug a hole, he hid it in the ground. Question, what does that suggest? I've already said it. He wants to keep this for himself. He doesn't think the master is coming back, or if the master is, he's hoping he's not going to, and therefore he's just going to be able to keep this money, go collect it, and use it for himself later. I thought Walvoord had good insight here. The wicked one-talent man likewise reasoned. This is how he's thinking. If my lord returns, I'll be able to give him back his talent and cannot be accused of being a thief. But if he does not return, there will be no record that the money belongs to him. Now, I didn't comment on this, but remember the part about you should have taken it and put it in the bank? Okay. In the ancient world, if you took money to a bank, it had to be written down whose money it was. If he had taken it to a bank, then he would be admitting that the money belonged to someone else and not himself. This is another idea in here that something's not right with this third slave. There is something fishy going on. Okay, so he's pointing that out here. It is such as would be true if I deposit in the bank, and then I will be able to use the money myself. This is the way he was reasoning. Now look, his basic problem, and I think this is the key to solving the whole problem of this guy, His basic problem is he does not believe that Jesus is coming back. He doesn't believe that. Now, if someone who doesn't believe that Jesus is coming back, are they a believer or an unbeliever? They're unbelievers. And I think that's the crux. I think this is where you have to come to. He did not want to think that Jesus was coming back to settle accounts. In other words, he didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Because I don't know anyone who is a genuine believer who doesn't believe Jesus is coming back. I really can't think of any group. Okay? What was his explanation for digging the hole and hiding the capital in verse 24? What did he think about the Lord? about Jesus. What do you think? He's a hard master and he's afraid of him. Those two things. Now is that perspective of God, does that come from a believer or an unbeliever? In the sense here. I mean, I know we have reverential awe and respect and fear in that sense, but the sense here, okay, where you run far away and dig a hole and hide all your assets, you know, this is not the response of a believer to God. This is a perspective of an unbeliever of God. In fact, it's a misperception, of course, of who God is. And what is so interesting, this is exactly where all unbelievers are right now, if you have unbelieving friends. They know God. Did this guy know there was a God? Yeah, he knew there was a God. But they don't expect that Jesus is coming back to establish his kingdom on earth. In fact, they're even afraid of God. And their entire lives are organized around this fear of being exposed and found out by Him. This is one of the most penetrating looks at the heart of an unbeliever in all of Scripture. I mean, all that he has, all that he is, this third slave, has been given to him by God, but he doesn't use it for him. And he hopes that he'll never come back, and he can use it all for himself. I do not know a more penetrating look at the lost human heart anywhere in Scripture. I know some others that are pretty close. John 3, 21, 22, 23 is very powerful in this respect. Romans 1, of course, is very powerful in this respect. But this is a very penetrating look into the heart of a sinful lost person. So to claim that the third slave is a true believer is really to gloss very important details in this parable. And it's to latch on to other, you know, less important details like, well, he's a slave, like the other two of the master, and therefore he must be a believer. I mean, do you realize how surface that is? Let me ask you this. How would it be a parable if they all three weren't slaves? I mean, how could the parable even work? Masters in that time did not entrust their possessions to people who were not their slaves. They don't say, oh, hey guy, you walk down the street, hey, do you think you could help me out and take care of $100,000 for me for the next two years? They didn't do that. It would be nonsensical. It couldn't work. Of course they all had to be slaves. That's what they would know from common life. But it doesn't mean they're all believers. That is one of the most trivial deep connections that anybody could make looking at this text. It is deplorable. It is deplorable that that kind of connection is winning the day in this passage in Bible churches across our country. Oh, it's got to be a believer. So everything you hear that happens, that could happen to you at the judgment seat of Christ. That's where all this is going. You know, you could be cast into outer darkness and suffer weeping and gnashing of teeth. Based on that... Now, the Lord completely exposes... There's more. The Lord completely exposes the folly of this man's unbelief in verse 26 and following. He shows that this man did not even act in accordance with his own principles. Because if he had, he would have leased a part of the money in the bank. Right? Now, my thinking here, this is just my thinking, I don't know for sure, but, is that, look, if he had at least deposited the talent in the bank, what might that have signified? That he was a believer. But he would not. Because then he would have to admit that the assets he had been he had were given to him by God. And you see, this man did not want to admit that. He hid from God in the same way that Adam hid from God. I mean, under no plausible scenario is this man a believer. Further, he's called a wicked and lazy. And then he's cast into outer darkness. He's not going to enter the joy of the Master. Okay? Here's a list of all these things. Okay? What is the joy of the Master? in the kingdom. He's not going to enter the kingdom. He will be in the same place as the evil Jewish leader in verse 51, who is a hypocrite just like all the Pharisees, who did not believe Jesus is the Messiah, who will be in a place where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is not only difficult to imagine that all these evidences don't add up to saying that this Jew is an unbeliever, but is a travesty that interpreters could even imagine that this is an unfaithful Christian. Two or three other facts. Every parable beginning in 2445 and following grows out of the comparison in 2437 and following. What's the comparison in 2437 and following? It's the coming of the Son of Man in his kingdom is going to be just like the flood. Just like it. The contrast of the flood is between what? Faithful and unfaithful believers? No. It's between believers who were saved in the ark and unbelievers who were swept away in judgment. All these parables ultimately have the same contrast. To say that this one does not, and it's just all three are believers, is inconsistent with all the other parables. So to meet this inconsistency, guess what they're doing? They're saying, well, all the others are only talking about believers too, and only believers. That's what they're doing. I just read it. I think this context completely demolishes that idea. There's no justification further for bringing the church in here in the rapture. The subject again is this is the second coming. I mean, this is life or death. I mean, this is forever. If you don't go into the kingdom at this point, you're going to end up in the lake of fire after the great white throne. I mean, that's all there is to it. You have nothing. The audience in view is not the church, is it? It's Jews and Gentiles. When Jesus returns, what, all remaining Jews and Gentiles are going to be judged for entrance into the kingdom? Guess what? All believers are going to enter the kingdom. What did Jesus say to Nicodemus? Unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. You have to be born again. To be born again is to be one who has had faith in Christ. Those with faithful service, on top of that, are going to be rewarded. Those who are unbelievers, of course, are not going to enter the kingdom. Guess what? This isn't creative, fancy exegesis or strange doctrine, because all these things are taught both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. When Jesus comes in the second coming, he's going to judge all who are living. And only believers are going to enter, and all unbelievers will be cast out. Joel 3, 2 and following, Malachi 4, 1 to 3, Matthew 21, 43 to 44, Matthew 22, 11 to 14. These things are taught multiple times in the scripture. In conclusion then, what can we learn? Okay, now I'm gonna make application here, right? So just because these things all relate to believers or unbelievers in the tribulation time, and the church isn't there, that doesn't mean there's no application for us. Of course there is. I've been leaving a lot of this out because I don't want you to be confused about what is here. But there is. I mean, all Scripture is for us, though it's not all directed to us, right? So there are principles here for us. First of all, all people, all. All human beings are given different amounts of responsibility. The three slaves were given five, two, and one talent respectively. Of course, they're just Jews, but it's true that everybody has a lot of responsibility. Some of us have been given more natural gifts than others. I mean, just turn on sports, you'll see who has a gift in that area. You know? And those of us who are believers, some of us have been given greater or lesser spiritual gifts. Romans 12. He determines the measure of the gift that each of us receives or gifts. That's up to him. Accordingly, then, we have greater or lesser responsibilities to fulfill. I mean, the one for me is, you know, James 3. Teachers will face a stricter judgment than non-teachers. And a teacher who has a greater giftedness than I will have a greater responsibility than I. The reason teachers are so strictly judged is because of the nature of what they're handling, right? The Word of God. But in the end, guess what? No matter what gifts God has given us, whether they're natural gifts like money, time, and influence from being in powerful positions, or spiritual gifts like insight, discernment, or mercy, we are responsible to use all of these gifts for the glory of God. Even unbelievers, are responsible to God to do something with what He has given them. The problem is that if they don't even believe, they lose everything. It is a total loss. So that's the first thing. Second, it is not the portion we receive that determines rewards, but it's the proportion we use of that portion. Slaves who received five and two talents both doubled. And guess what? They both got the same reward. See, some of us may have lesser portion. But because of our faithfulness with a small portion, we may end up with greater reward than those who started with a bigger portion than us. Because it's about the proportion of increase. It's not about the portion you're originally given. That's an important point. And I hope it encourages you. and to use your natural gifts and abilities as well as spiritual gifts and abilities. Okay, so just keep going. Three thing, third thing. Even the believer who does the very least with his gifts is still a believer. This, I think, is illustrated by the master's statement down there that, you know, you should have at least deposited in the bank. That at least will give you some return, okay, See, on this point, which is hardly ever brought up, it's been my suspicion for a long time that all believers will have something rewardable. Even if it's minuscule, even if it's for something no other human being saw. I'm not saying anything like lordship salvation. You have to have works in order to prove your faith. I'm not saying anything like that. It just simply means that something is going to be there for all believers. Because the Lord is gracious and He gives some increase, even if that increase is never seen by anyone else except for Him. Ryrie suggested this when in his book, So Great Salvation, he said, even the thief on the cross. You know, Jesus said today, I will be with you in paradise, right? I mean, the guy believed while he's being crucified next to Christ. I mean, he couldn't have been alive much longer. But Ryrie said, even he died with peace, knowing where he would spend eternity. And peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. And thereby he would be rewarded for it, see? Even if it's minuscule. And I think that is what is being pointed to here, where he says, you should have just put it in the bank. I would have been pleased with that. There would have been some return. But as it is, you lose everything. Fourth, the amount of reward is not proportional to the increase, but many times greater. Again, another hugely encouraging point. They were faithful with little. It says they'd be given much. I mean, you should know that. You should know that the amount of increase for whatever you invest here, is going to be far and away more than your wildest imagination. I think one of the hardest things in the Christian life is imagining that it's real. We are so rooted in thinking that the way this world seems down here is real. And I think that what we are struggling to do is break out of that and make what is said in here the reality. It is the reality, and we taste it now and then. but we never seem like really feast on it for long periods of time. You know, we're here for ministry. We are here to invest in people with the love of Christ. I mean, all people, all of us here have problems. I get reminded of this every once in a while when someone will share with me the struggles that they're going through. It reminds me that, you know, These things become such great issues in our life, whatever we're struggling with. I feel like when you come here, and you're hearing the Word of God, or you're in your own personal study of the Word of God, your mind, at least for that period of time, is off of those struggles, and it's on the Lord, who is the one who solves those struggles. It gets off the problem, and our view gets pointed to the problem solver. That's ministry! That's what it is. If you can just for a few hours in the week come here and get the focus on the problem solver rather than the problems, at least for that time, see, you've been ministered to. I've been ministered to. We've all been ministered to. All right, fifth. Oh, but the point there is, of course, greatness, greatness of reward, way beyond the proportion to whatever is invested here. Fifth, just so we don't lose the forest for the trees, the main teaching is living a faithful life with the gifts that God has given us. Use them for His glory. Ephesians 5, 15 says in the original Greek, buy up the time. Buy up the time. Use it wisely. Use every moment. That's what you're here for. It's what I'm here for. And yeah, this is an urgent plea. It is an urgent plea. Okay, let's close with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, We thank you, Lord, that you've given us lives and extended them to this point in history. Certainly, we are in so many ways, by parallel, by principle, in our time before the rapture, to live lives that are faithful, realizing every moment we've been given, every gift, every natural or spiritual, is given to us to be faithfully administered to you. And of course, it'll be rewarded far beyond the proportions that we invest here. We also pray that we always keep in mind what this passage is really about. It's about those Jews who live in the future tribulation, and what's coming, and the dire nature of the decision to trust in Christ during that time, and then of course to invest time in faithful service. Because for those who don't even trust in you, it's a total loss. It's a total loss. Their entire lives are lost. They can take nothing. But for those who trust and faithfully serve, Ours is the world to come. We give you praise and thanksgiving for these things. We pray you'd help us to keep the world that you are painting in the scriptures as the one that is the true one in our everyday thinking. In Christ's name, amen.