What is the full meaning of Mathew 24:36-51 from a view of Methodists or Baptist

Question

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

From a Baptist or Methodist perspective, is this Jesus talking about Revelation or his death? I have taken many time reading over this but I cannot find a good answer.

Also is it a coincidence that these verses come right after a section about the end of times?

Answer 1

I can only answer from the perspective of the Baptist. That particular passage is considered a warning from the Lord that his second coming will be swift, and that this is the only pre event warning we will get. He points out that life will continue normally, and that we will be totally unaware that the spectacular event of his return is about to happen.

The passage about the unfaithful servant is also a warning that we cannot wait until the end to be a good Christian. He warns us that people will be selected to go to Heaven while someone of similar circumstance will be left behind.

He warns us that we are human and that if we knew exactly when he would return, we would wait until the last moments to become acceptable to go to Heaven, as this is the nature of mankind. So he says for us to be wary and expect that there may not be a next minute to repent. He also warns us that his return will be timed to occur at a time when we least expect it. Who would have been looking for his return during the attack on the World trade center, or another earth shaking event.

The final part of the passage you quoted is the most revealing of all in that he is telling us that he has given us the things that God wants us to do while here on Earth, and it will be good if he returns to find us giving our best efforts to live a life doing those things. He also tells that if he returns and finds us doing things contrary to his teachings he will utterly destroy us.

Although this is an abbreviated synopsis of the meaning of Matthew chapter 24 I hope it is sufficient to let you know how we as Baptists regard the lesson about Jesus return.

Answer 2

This passage is used as evidence for the theological view known as the rapture, which prevalent in America, especially amongst pre-millenialists.

The simple explanation (which you can read about in fictionalised form in the popular Left Behind books), is that true Christians will be spared the tribulations of the End Times, by being taken away to the New Jerusalem. The nominal Christians and non-Christians will be left to suffer, with the intention of giving them a further chance to repent.

Since there is no definite consensus amongst Christians as to whether pre, post or even a-millenialism is the most likely interpretation of Revelation, there is also dispute amongst Baptists and other denominations about whether the rapture is real or not.