The Days of Vengeance
Matthew 24 and 25
By Allen Bailey
Old School Baptist Preterist
"...That
all things which are written may be fulfilled..." Luke 22:27.
"...For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of
the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other
part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must
he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the
days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man..." Luke
"...But as the days of Noe were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of man be. 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, And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be..." Matt 24:57-39.
"... For these be the days of vengeance, that all
things which are written may be fulfilled.... "... And then shall they see
the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these
things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
red emption draweth nigh.Luke
22...27-28
"... And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was
made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in
that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee..." Acts
"... Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for
the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For
this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his
people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye
people. And again, Esaias saith,
There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise
to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust..." Rom
15:8-12. ...."
It is said that Thomas
Jefferson, being a Deist, as he indeed seemed to be, believed in a
"watchmaker" God - that is, he believed that God had created the
world and wound it up like a watch, and now it was more or less just running
(down) on it's own inertia and momentum. Probably some
of his ideas of government, along with Thomas Paine and his Rights Of Man also
stemmed from these same ideas, which were becoming popular in that age and were
being espoused by many adherents to the French and American revolution and The
Age of Reason, because he probably got many of his ideas from this movement, as
he was also said to believe that it was the best policy to just leave people
alone, and by human reason they would always do the right thing. There may some
merit in these philosophies from a civil and political standpoint, but from a
Scriptural and spiritual perspective these ideas are clearly repudiated. Try
this for example:
"... For he will finish the work, and cut it shor
t in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord
make upon the earth.
And as Esaias said before, Except
the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been
as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha..." Rom 9:28-29.
"...The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame..." Prov
29:15.
It is good when we can refrain from getting in the habit of tending to conform
our beliefs and views of the Scriptures merely to those of any famous
theologians, preachers or others that we believe to be otherwise reputable in
doctrine, or to any tradition in general unless we are firmly convinced of the
truth of their teachings within our own heart and minds - when the counsels of
the hearts of all will be made manifest in God's own time, and when everyone
shall have their own praise of God. - Even if these views be from those who are
and were considered to preach the doctrines of grace or otherwise; but may we
receive the analogy of faith as it appears to our own mind and conscience, and
how these things fit together in our own mind as the context of them in the Scriptures
appears to us. Let every man be persuaded in their own
mind of the truth, for if they are not, what good does the truth or at least,
their comprehension of it, really do for them? True, we are not warranted to go
aside from the Holy Scriptures as the written word of God and drift into vain janglings and mere philosophies of men, whether they be
from ancient or modern sources - Neither should we have a disposition to be
zealous of those things only as they are received by tradition from the
fathers, or from the mere human wisdom of the greats of this world; for without
divine inspiration, or the wisdom that comes from above, no one knows any more,
or can understand these (spiritual) things more than any did in any age of
time; because the "world by wisdom knows not God." And God has
ordained that the believer be delivered to the glory of the tr uth as it is in Christ
Jesus through the Gospel by the administration of the Spirit sent down from
heaven, and not as it comes from the earthly level.
The writer trusts that we have no undue prejudice (or any personal prejudices)
toward those people that were once identified as
"...To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven..." Ecc 3:1..."... I have seen
the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in
it..." Ver 10
"...Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say
then, The branches were broken off, that I might be
grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: For if God spared not the natur al
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness
and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness,
if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt
be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be
grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again..." Rom 11:18-23. .
And it eternally stands that "...This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner.
"...Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved..." Acts
The old heavens and earth have passed away with a great noise for the called of
Jesus Christ, and they have entered into that rest that remains for the people
of God who are made partakers of Christ and His Glory;
"...And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be dest royed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever..."Dan 2:44. "...For he that is entered into His rest, he
also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His..." Heb 4:10.
Therefore they labor to enter into this rest, lest they find themselves in
neglect of these promises of God, and thereby fall into that unbelief and error
of the wicked in departing from the living God. Their experience has taught
them that their fleshly nature is prone to this, and like "Murphy's
Law", things left to themselves always go from
bad to worse, including their own evil hearts of unbelief. They, still in their
carnal nature, like the Jews of old have...
"...Committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no
water..." Jer 2:13. - When they are thus
inclined not to trust in the Lord for all th ings (1st evil), then the 2nd evil follows: They hew out
their own cisterns, erect their own idols, serve and praise the creature more
than the Creator, etc., etc.
Since I can remember, it has been common to hear the above (opening) text as
referring to the "end of time" or to the dissolution of the physical earth,
if not the whole material universe. Why God would make such a stupendous
revelation to such a worm as mankind, I cannot fathom, and I don't believe that
He has. For one reason I believe this, is that I cannot find such a fact
presented in the Scriptures, and secondly, because I doubt if man in his
present state could contain or even comprehend such information, not to mention
that man has no present "need-to-know- basis, just the same as the world's
own militaries practice their business. The creation and dissolution of the
Universe are no doubt matters of such vast proportion that not even those
supernatural beings called angels have no or little capacity to enter into the
mysteries thereof, then how or why should or could puny man arise or be brought
to the knowledge of the greatness of these things; But if the scripture refers
to the events surrounding that period, (that is, the final destruction and the
last days of ancient Jerusalem,) then it makes perfect sense within the general
context of the above Scriptures.
If the "this generation that shall pass away" in Matt 24 be
"that" generation, or the present generation that then existed, (and
I believe it was) then the following "day and hour" refers to the
same thing; Not the dissolution of the physical universe, or even the material
earth is under consideration here. In the same consistent manner to keep the
context, the following "days of Noah" also applies. The Jews at that
time generally held that at the appearance of the Messiah, his kingdom would
take on the nature of a political establishment, (which it already was, of
course) where Christ would rule as kings did in ancient tim es, but in a much more
powerful and glorious manner. This is clearly established by the Scripture
itself in many places and by secular historians such as Josephus. These
rabbinical ideas and teachings seem to have carried right on down through
history with the remnant of the culture which calls itself Jewish, and to this
day has significantly influenced a great part of the socialist movements
throughout the world, The latest being Marxism or communisim. Zionism is closely allied with this philosphy, though Zionists attempt to gloss over this fact.
The doctrines of Judaism are again having a considerable influence upon Chrstiandom in general to the affront of the Gospel of The
Lord Jesus. Ah well, now the seducers of this age, at least are more and more
showing their true colors, and with the seducers of that age under
consideration, are "waxing worse and worse, even to the end" - of
those times.
Jesus's "Days of Noah" Matt 24:36, Peter's
"Longsuffering of God waited" 1 Pet 3:20, Paul's "Vessels of
wrath fitted to destruction" Rom
This day overtook that generation that persisted in their sins just as the
judgment of God did the antediluvian world when that world persished
in a flood of waters. Therefore Jesus, Paul and Peter make these comparisons
between those judgments and the present ones that are approaching the
generation that Paul said "... Both killed the Lord
Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God,
and are contrary to all men..." 1 Th
Paul deals with this subject extensively in his letters to the Thessalonians,
and to my mind that many, if not most are accustomed to apply to "after
times" or times of the far distant future from the apostolic age, but
which were actually predictions of those events that would attend the
termination of the Law economy, and would usher in in
it's fulness the gospel dispensation. The things that
John the Apostle deals with in the Book properly called The Revelation Of Jesus Christ also deals with the same things, and spans
the relative part of the Old Testament also.
A Falling Away First
It is commonly taught that the "falling away" referred to by Paul
concerns the Gentile church, which of course to have any sensible meaning would
have to take place in a far-away future from the Apostolic Age; But if the
falling away refers to the "falling away" of the Law Economy or to
Old Jerusalem which represented her - then to my mind, the whole context of
these Scriptures makes perfect sense.
The "
"... And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city,
which spiritually i s called
These dead bodies seem to be the dead bodies of the Law and the prophets,
represented in all of the holy prophets that had been murdered by the wicked
Jews. Wherefore the Law was now manifested as being fully dead, powerless and
therefore of no effect for the natural or fleshly Jew, Jesus having broken down
the middle wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile and abolished the
requirements contained in carnal and conditional ordinaces
ordained for those who kept not the Law; Jesus having fulfilled the law and the
pro phets, and at the same time exposing the
unbelieving Jew to the full wrath and fury of the judgment of God that had been
accumulating against them. And like the unclean spirit that His presense with His disciples and that of John the Baptist
had caused to go temporarily out of them for a season, returned in a seven-fold
force after His crucifixion and resurrection to fiercely persecute the
Apostolic church of God, and brought to full manifestation the children of the bondwoman
in Galatians that was born of the flesh, and therefore, like Ishmael,
persecuted the true spiritual children of promise (Isaac), born of Christ's
Spirit.
"... Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or
be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that
the day of Christ is at hand..."
When Paul was inspired to write this epistle to the Thessalonians (about t he year
66 A. D.) The remains of the old economy was yet standing, (though in a few
short years would come to a final end), and as the progress and establishing of
the Gospel by the Apostles was continuing throughout the known world at that
time, including Jewish and Gentile, and as Christ had foretold that this word
must first be preached throughout the world by them, and then (not before) the
end of that dispensation would come.
Some think that the coming of Christ here referred to is to take place in a far-
away future, because Paul would not have them to be too "soon shaken in
mind, as if this "Day of Christ" were at (immediate) hand - Something
"at hand" is in present existence and appearance, not just right
around the corner, at least in the substance of it. It seems to me, that if
Paul was speaking of the "Day of Christ" as Christ coming in
"The Last Day Judgment" to judge the whole world of humankind, as it
commonly believed by most all, then they as true believers in Christ and His
grace to them, would have no reason to fear, for if Christ comes or appears to
His people in salvation (as He always does and will continue to do) - That is
reason that He says"
"... For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God..." John 3:17-18.
"... Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust..."John
-For we already have one to judge us in a way of condemnation, and that is the
Law. Christ will always appear to them in their deliverence
and rejoicing glory in Him as their consumate Savior
and not as a Terrible Judge. The judgment for them in this sense is past. I
would not apply that judgment that was reserved for the ungodly of this earth,
and that was of a dispensational nature, to a judgment that every human
creature is yet awaiting for in "A Great White Throne Judgment" at
"The End Of Time". If Jesus has died for
them and them alone as His elect - If He has exonerated them from all
indictments so that none can lay anything to their charge, then pray tell me
what is such a (future) judgment all about when they no longer inhabit the
shores of time? This is an idea that even The Jews themselves held, and many
other religions of this world that are not even connected with Judea-Christian tenents aways did and still hold
- But mainly, because to my mind, I cannot find it substantiated by the Holy
Scriptures, within the highly allogorically and figuatively written Book of Revelation, or otherwise. The
judgment of the separation of the "sheep and goats" was then, and yet
is now - in this time world, and is yet being experienced by those who are
called by grace from out of the elements of this fallen mass of sinners. It
seems t o me that every enlightened child of God should be able to observe this
separation taking place in a similar way as the Apostles were experiencing the
separation in their day, and which, from their human and cultural relationships
with those they loved in nature, and caused them such conflict at times that
they were made to say (as we too sometimes are made to say)
"..For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen according to the flesh:... " Rom 9:3.
And when they were being brought out of the legalism of the Old Law Covenant,
which in their time was then "Waxing old, and therefore ready (but not
already vanished)) - away" As it related to those who were and are being
called to grace and the glory of Christ's spiritual kingdom not made by hands
by works, efforts and merits of men, but through the intercession of Christ's Own
Spirit within them, working in them that which is well pleasing in His sight.
For it is " ..Not by might, nor by power, but by
my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.,
"And the zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall accomplish this" and not the
blind natural zeal of unregenerate men.
"...And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father
the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them
to be put to death. "...And ye shall be hated of
all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to
the end shall be saved...
"...But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for
verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the
cities of
"... And he said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these
signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serp ents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and
they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was
received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God..." Mark
16:15-19..."
All of these things were completely fulfilled during the times of the Apostolic
Age - that is the 40 year period that followed the ministry, crucifixion and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and when these things were fulfilled according
to the Scriptures, the final end came upon the present generation of that
dispensation.
"...But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting
and blaspheming.
"...Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the
word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from
you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles
For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto
the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and
glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed..."Acts
"...Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition "... 2 Th 2:1-3.
By rejecting The True Messiah, they had in effect declared themselves to be
their own saviors, and thus had usurped Him and His Divine Authority as God,
which He had clearly demonstrated before their very eyes (though their hearts
were blinded to His glory and Power) and thereby they manifested themselves as
an idol that sat themselves in the temple of God, showing themselves and their
system to be God (2 Th 2:4) .These things must come
to pass, because they were the fulfillment of the word of God, whose word cannot
be broken: (John 10:35)
"...And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which
ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is
spoken of in the prophets;
Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a
work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you."
Acts 13:39-41.
"...What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And
that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which
he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles?..." Rom 9:22-24.
The remainder of this Scripture portion refers to the election of grace and the
calling to the glory of the gospel among the remnant of the elect Jews and
Gentiles."... Esaias also crieth
concerning
"... Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the
son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is
God. 2 Th 2:3-4.
What "day" is the Apostle here referring to? If the "falling
away" is the falling away of that old economy, attended with the final,
literal and physical destruction or perdition of that ungodly generation, it
seems to me that it all comes to light: Who else (not even the popes of Rome
with all of their admitted embodiment of a false Christ )
could better characterize this figure than that present wicked generation,
which was at that time the prime movers and persecutors of the true church of
God? - Because they yet arrogated to themselves the position of the rulers of
the Law, as they sat in Moses' seat; But the Law had now been abrogated by the
death of Christ and had become of none effect on believers as a condemning
instrument, for they were no longer under the law of works, but under the law
of grace and love of Christ; for greater was He that was in them than he that
was cast out into the world, where there was to be weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth not many days hence.
"... And I say unto you, That many shall come
from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out
into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth..." Matt
8:11-12.
"... But if I with the finger of God c ast out devils, no doubt the
Again, if these Scriptures do not relate to the unbelieving Jews of that
generation, then who do they point to? "... And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they a ll might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This "standing" (of Old Jerusalem" with that economy) and the
manifest revelation of her as being "the man of sin" and the
"mystery of iniquity" "The Great Whore", whom all the kings
of the earth had committed fornication with, whose "merchants were the
great men of the earth", and " had waxed rich through the abundance
of her delicacies" ,Who would " weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more", " who were
made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and
wailing, "The fallen Babylon (though had at Paul's writing, not yet
fallen) yet attended with power and signs and lying wonder in them that perish
in their sins, who received not the love of the truth, which truth in Christ
can only save and deliver men unto the knowledge of the True God. Therefore,
strong delusion from God against them must prevail, and did unto her final destruction.
"... Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for
God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great
millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that
great city
"... Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias
said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they
should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be
converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias,
when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless
among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For
they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God...John
As we look around the religious world today, we could almost say that we can
see the same conditions o f some time already prevailing as they did in the
days of Christ and the Apostles. Could we not make a secondary application to
our times to those of the Apostles? God in in His
purpose, as The Scriptures and history shows, had commanded "men
everywhere" to repent of their idolatry, which did to an extent take place
within that age and afterward; but times again have changed among civilization
seemingly to bring on the return of such a world, and the relapse into gross
idolatry - what can our generations expect "but a certain fearful looking
for of judgment and fiery indignation, that shall devour the adversaries"
of righteousness as God has demonstrated from time to time in ages past upon
those who were set forth as an example of eternal judgment?
I hope to continue with "The Son of Man in His Day" in the Gospels,
"The falling Away" and "Day of the Lord" of Thessalonians
later.