Parables on The Lord's Return

The Parables on
The LORD'S Return
Luke 12:35-41,42-48

There are two parables in Luke 12
which are very timely and appropriate for
closing our study of the Lord's parables.
We shall commence reading at verse
35 of Luke 12: “Let your loins be girded
about, and your lights burning;
And ye yourselves like unto men that
wait for their lord, when he will
return from the wedding; that when
he cometh and knocketh, they may
open unto him immediately.
“Blessed are those servants, whom
the lord when he cometh shall find
watching: verily I say unto you, that
he shall gird himself, and make them
to sit down to meat, and will come
forth and serve them .... Be ye therefore
ready also: for the Son of man
cometh at an hour when ye think not”
(Luke 12:35-37,40)

After Jesus had spoken these words
verse 41 states: “Then Peter said unto
him, Lord, speakest thou this parable
unto us, or even to all?”
Jesus answered Peter's question by
giving another parable: “And the Lord
said, Who then is that faithful and
wise steward, whom his lord shall
make ruler over his household, to give
them their portion of meat in due season?
“Blessed is that servant, whom his
lord when he cometh shall find watching:
verily I say unto you, that he shall
gird himself, and make them to sit
down to meat, and will come forth and
serve them."

The Lord repeatedly warned and
exhorted those who would be living at the
close of the present age to watch, that is,
to be alert and vigilant.

In Luke 21:34-36 we find the following
spoken by the Lord: “And take heed
to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting,
and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and so that day come upon
you unawares. For as a snare shall it
come on ail them that dwell on the
face of the whole earth.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that
shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man.”

And in Matthew 25:13 we read:
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither
the day nor the hour wherein the Son
of man cometh.”
Why all this emphasis on watching or
being alert and awake in the end time?
And why this special honor and reward for
those who are found watching and praying
at the return of Christ?

Any warning or urgent appeal to
watch and pray would generally be taken
to indicate danger, and so it is in the
Lord's warning to Christians today to
watch and pray.

It is evident from the Lord's teaching
that the great end time danger for
Christians would be “deception.”
In Matthew 24:4,5,23-25 Jesus said,
“Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying,
I am Christ; and shall deceive
many....
“If any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
For there shall arise false Christs and
false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if
it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. Behold, I have told you
before."

It is apparent from these and other
similar passages that the great end time
deception would be religion without
Christ — or religion which would bypass
and ignore the Christ.
.
According to the doctrines of the
Christian faith any religion that is not
Christ centered is an antichrist religion
and a counterfeit and a deception.
In 1 John 2:18,22,23 we read: “Little
children, it is the last time: and as ye
have heard that antichrist shall
come, even now are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it
is the last time ....
“Who is a liar but he that denieth
that Jesus is the Christ: He is
antichrist, that denieth the Father
and the Son. Whosoever denieth the
Son, the same hath not the Father:
(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son
hath the Father also.” Beware of every
and any religion which is not based on the
virgin birth and the blood of Christ. It is
an antichrist religion.

In the second parable we are considering
in Luke 12, we find that the servant
who is found giving out the meat of the
Word at the time of Christ's return is
rewarded with great honor and authority:
“The Lord said, Who then is that
faithful and wise steward, whom his
lord shall make ruler over his household,
to give them their portion of
meat in due season? Blessed is that
servant, whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing.”
“Meat in due season.” What does that
mean? The apostle Paul wrote concerning
the milk and the meat of the Word. He
indicates that the truth relative to personal
salvation is the milk of the Word, and
that the truths in the Bible which require
more study and thought are the meat of
the Word.

Today it is possible for an unsaved person
to receive the milk of the Word — or
be saved — the first time he hears the
Gospel of Personal Salvation. But there is
also the meat of the Word which requires
much Bible study and thought before it is
comprehended; such is the case with the
Gospel of the Kingdom and God's overall
great plan and purpose for this age and
the ages to come.

The reward for giving out the meat of
the Word is to be “He (the Lord) will
make him ruler over all that He
hath.”

The expression “meat in due season”
indicates that God would have special
added light and truth from His Word as
time progressed toward the Kingdom Age.
“The just shall live by faith,” was meat
in due season in Luther's time; now it is
the milk of the Word.

The sanctified Christian life was meat
in due season in Wesley's time; now it is
generally accepted by all Christians.
The special truth and light that is
meat in due season for our time is the
Second Coming of Christ and the Gospel
of the Kingdom of God on earth.

In verse 45 Jesus implied that those
who give forth the meat of the Word would
be beaten by fellow servants who say “My
lord delayeth his coming,” for these servants
are they who do not see the Gospel
of the Kingdom and the soon return of
Christ. Consequently, the negligent servant
will be punished and appointed his
portion with the unbelievers.

Perhaps the most serious words spoken
by our Lord in these two parables are
those found in verse 47: “That servant,
which knew his lord's will, and prepared
not himself, neither did according
to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes.” With this verse we shall
close our study of the Lord's Kingdom
parables.
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