A former student asked me this question on Facebook. It was such a good question, I wanted to share the answer in my blog. Here is the question:
Dr. White, Im reading Matthew and this caught my attention:
“And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left. “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. ” (Matt 24:39-44) How can Jesus say that they must “be ready” and “stay alert” if, according to pretibulationism, it must be at least 7 years before it happens?
Here is my answer:
George Eldon Ladd, a post-tribulationalist who believes the church will go through Tribulation, uses the dispensational view that Matthew 24:36-42 refers not to the rapture but the Second coming of Christ as an argument against the pretribulational doctrine of imminency because the Tribulation believers are commanded to “watch” for the Lord’s return. “Such admissions as these are fatal to the theory of an any-moment rapture and a secret coming of Christ which is based on the argument that the exhortations to watch require such an any-moment return of Christ. If pretribulationists can apply these words without difficulty to the Jewish remnant in the Tribulation and yet admit that they are exhorted to watch for an event which will take place at the end of the seventieth week, although they ‘do not know the day or the hour,’ then two results follow. First, if the exhortations do belong to the Jewish remnant, they do not apply to the Church. Jesus then did not exhort the Church to watch for an unexpected event” (The Blessed Hope, page 114).
The Jewish remnant in the Tribulation are exhorted to watch for the Second Coming of Christ because they do not know the day or hour. The parables that follow this exhortation helps us understand the meaning of “watch.” To “watch” in Matthew 24:42 means be like the servant in v. 46 who will be found “so doing” when the Lord returns. The Jewish remnant is to be faithful right up to the Second Coming.
I agree with the above comment,which is in contrast to George Eldon Ladd’s view. In Matthew 24:42, Jesus spake of Israel when He told them to watch. If we take this passage in the literal sense, I believe that the church is raptured before the Tribulation. Therefore, Jesus’ warning was specifically to the Jews. It is the remnant of the Jewish nation, that this warning to watch was given. It obviously wasn’t to that generation of people to whom Jesus was currently addressing, but to the generation of people who will be there at His coming. Also, for those who are post-trib or even mid-trib.
What biblical reason is there for the church to suffer the wrath of God when believers have been delivered from the wrath to come (I Thess.1:10). Further, what did John the Baptist mean when he rebuked the religious leaders in Matthew 3:7 when he said, ” …who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” What wrath were they in danger of? Could it be that John’s warning to them was a prophecy of the Tribulation?
The wrath to come is for those in the Tribulation. The Church will not experience the Tribulation. The Jewish nation need to head the warning given and watch for the signs. I just hold the sign that they will see is the one of Christ coming, if so that will be a bit to late for them to make their decision to believe in Christ.
Theresa, I enjoyed your response. I see what you are saying about hoping that they will see that the one coming is Christ. My fear is that most of the world missed His coming the first time and continue to miss Him still. Hope may not be enough for those who have turned a blind eye to Him. Are warnings ever enough for those whom choose to ignore?
The Jews need a sign so having them watch is like asking them to wait for the sign. However, if they are just watching and not doing anything to be ready then they will be like the man that should have prepared his house for the robber but did not because he was just sitting there waiting for his arrival.
For the Gentile our job is different, we are to be prepared as the servant gets the house ready for the evening, so to we must be ready for the night.
I like the point you make about the following parables in Matthew. Those parables help to reveal the original intent of Christ saying this. They help to describe what Christ is referring to and help to create a clear understanding of “watch”. Looking at the entire text is always a good idea to help explain one particular text.
I agree. The second coming is the picture in the latter verses. The parable of the servant demonstrates exactly what the Jewish remnant should be doing in the tribu;lation as they look forward to the coming of Christ. Watch is an action word and would include the actions of those that anticipate Christ.
this is a very interesting post according to that scripture reference. I had never thought to ask that question. This is something that is very helpful as I continue to learn and develop my knowledge on end times events and the meaning of certain portions of scripture pertaining to those subjects. I believe in a pretribulation rapture and this definitely helps understand the specific details of the times.
Intersting question and even more interesting answer. I never really looked at it the way that the student addressed it. I am just ever-so-saddened though by the differences in theology for Christians. I know that I have mentioned this numerous times in out blogs over the semesters, but how can Christians truly ever teach non-believers when there are so many different views and teachings amongst ourselves? The Bible is truly not a book that is open to multiple interpretations, yet Christians do it every day. We destroy the very foundation of the Bible and I believe that there are those who will have to answer for it one day.
To be honest i have always struggled with what this passage was referring to. A long time ago I thought it was speaking on the rapture and that the Christian would be taken up and that the other would be left to endure the Tribulation period. Now it makes more sense that these verses are referring to the second coming and to those who will be saved during the tribulation will be left and those who aren’t will be taken away.
I think the issue here is that we cannot let our theology answer the question before thinking through it. Jesus was talking to the Jews there, and so it is natural to take him literally that he was telling the Jewish remnant to be watching for the return of their King. It is useful to look at other passages regarding the rapture to obtain doctrine concerning the rapture, such as 1 Thessalonians 4. Even in 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul teaches that a crown of righteousness is given to those who “love his appearing.” It is still good to look forward to Christ’s returning.
Good point James. Although I’ve read pretribulational theologians that say this is in reference to the Rapture, some pretribulational theologians use contextual support to say that this is in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. While there is a defined time table before the Second coming and events are specified before this event, imminence is still the idea. Jesus doesn’t say exactly when He’s coming back (if He is referring to His second coming), therefore the Jews need still be watchful. Good point with looking into the context to find the interpretation of this verse!
In writing my research paper for Sys Theo IV, I came across this verse and had to do some study on it. It is not only posttribulationists that believe this view is talking about the Second coming of Christ. Rolland McCune, a prettribulationist professor at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary also relates this to the Second Coming. He says that just because there is a time table of 7 years (the Tribulation) it does not necessarily negate the idea of imminency. Although the Second Coming of Christ has scriptural chronology, the exact date is not mentioned. Therefore, one must be watchful and alert for His return.
Chris, I appreciated your comment. Thank you for sharing your research results with us. It is helpful to get a well-rounded view on an issue. It’s interesting when to hear that posttribulationists and pretribulationists agree oh soothing somewhere.
I found this post to be helpful as it defined what these Scriptures pertain to in terms of eschatological events. It also defined what “watch” is to mean. I had a different idea of these Scriptures before reading this post, so I am thankful for it being discussed. It definitely makes sense that to “watch” is to keep being faithful.