The Motley Crew Notes for March 9, 2011

The Motley Crew – March 9, 2011

Matthew 24:28-35

Ash Wednesday

The Questions

Read Matthew 24:28-35

1. How will both hemispheres know what is going on at the same time?

2. What do we do with angels?

3. What do we learn from the fig tree?

4. Why does Jesus say “Amen” at the beginning of a sentence?

5. Which generation or race?

6. What does this say about the Word?

7. What sets us free and why?

All citations from the Holy Bible are from the New International Version, 2011, used with permission.

The Motley Crew – March 9, 2011

Matthew 24:28-35

Ash Wednesday

Some Suggested Answers

We opened with prayer.

Today's Bible Study will be a bit shorter than usual due to the scheduled service at noon, which will include both Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes. There will also be a 7 PM service this evening.

Read Matthew 24:28-35

28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[b]

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Footnotes:

b. Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4

c. Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land

d. Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.

e. Matthew 24:33 Or he

Cited Scriptures:

Isaiah 13:10

The stars of heaven and their constellations

will not show their light.

The rising sun will be darkened

and the moon will not give its light.

Isaiah 34:4

All the stars in the sky will be dissolved

and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;

all the starry host will fall

like withered leaves from the vine,

like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

Daniel 7:13-14

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Footnotes:

a. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.

Note: Daniel 7:1-14 is reproduced below.

1. How will both hemispheres know what is going on at the same time?

Both the sun and the moon will be darkened; “lights out!”
All will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud.
All will hear the sound of trumpets blown by the angels.

Nobody will be able to ignore this.

The whole siderial world shall collapse. … All that holds the heavenly bodies in their orbits and enables sun and moon to light the earth will give way. Thus the sun's light will be extinguished, the moon's radiance will disappear in the same instant, and the stars will fall from their places. Let no man try to imagine this cataclysm! It is utterly beyond human conception. Lenski, p. 947.

Dr. Lenski also noted:

Now they see him “coming on the clouds of the heaven” (Dan 7:13) as was promised …. The clouds are God's chariot, Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1, the symbol of his heavenly majesty. This “power” is Christ's omnipotence which was manifested in the heavenly bodies (v. 29); and his “glory” is the sum of all his divine attributes as displayed before men …. At one time the son of man appeared on earth in lowliness and allowed himself to be crucified; but at the end his omnipotence and his great glory will be fully displayed. Lenski, p. 949. [Emphasis added]

That teaching almost always brings tears to my eyes – imagine every knee shall bow: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Mention was also made of Daniel 7:1-14, which is reproduced below.

Those who love the Son of God will rejoice; those who reject the Son of God will be in mourning (v. 30).

Do we know all the details? Of course not. Recalling 1 Cor. 13:12, now we know in part, but then we will know fully, as we are known.

2. What do we do with angels?

Angels are mentioned several times with Jesus at the Judgment. See Matt. 13:39-41; Matt. 13:49; Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:31:

Matthew 13:39-41

... and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

Matthew 13:49

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous

Matthew 16:27

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Matthew 25:31

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.”

And we know that He will send his angels to the four winds, the directions of the compass indicating the “ends of the earth.” All of His believers will be gathered, regardless of where they are (v. 31).

The trumpet shall sound with a mighty tone to call the dead back to life …. The angels shall then gather all the elect, whose souls are now united with their glorified bodies, together, up to one place, namely Christ's right hand. Lenski, p. 949.

Of course, we cannot know how many angels God has created, although we know that Jesus said that he could call on over 12 Legions of angels, if he so desired.

Matthew 26:53

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

I Corinthians, Chapter 15, is instructive, describing the Resurrection of the Lord in some depth.

A couple of books were mentioned. “23 Minutes in Hell” by Bill Wiese, subtitled “One Man's Story About What He Saw, Heard, and Felt in That Place of Torment.” It describes the experiences of a man who died and who went to hell. Not surprisingly, this was a life-changing experience!

Another book that was mentioned was “90 Minutes in Heaven,” by Don Piper and Cecil Murphey, described as:

… one man's experience with death and life. As Baptist minister Don Piper drove home from a conference, his car collided with a semi-truck that had crossed into his lane. Piper was pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, he experienced the glories of heaven, where he was greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually, and he experienced true peace. Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference felt led to pray for the accident victim even though he was told Piper was dead. Miraculously, Piper came back to life, and the pleasure of heaven was replaced by a long and painful recovery. [From the Book Description at Christian Books dot com]

Similar reports have been printed in other books over the years, including Life After Life, the 1975 book written by psychiatrist Raymond Moody, and On Life after Death, written by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

It is said that those who had to return from heaven were never afraid of death, knowing what glory they would experience after their time on this earth is finished.

3. What do we learn from the fig tree?

The story of the fig tree not only tells us that summer is coming, it tells that both the earth and our lives on the earth, come in seasons. Life doesn't just happen. It is interesting that in Genesis 1 and 2, the description of the creation called first called the light “day” and the darkness “night,” descriptions that we use today. This shows us the enduring nature and influence of the Bible, as well.

4. Why does Jesus say “Amen” at the beginning of a sentence?

This is a strong Hebraic expression of affirmation: “it shall be so.” Jesus uses “amen” whenever He is telling the disciples, and us, something that is especially important for us to know and remember. In the 2011 NIV version at the Bible Gateway web site, this is translated as “ Truly I tell you.” In the Concordia NIV Self-Study Bible (1984), it is “I tell you the truth.” In the ESV, it is “Truly, I say to you.” In the KJV, “amen” is rendered “Verily I say unto you.”

When used at the end of a prayer, it indicates approval of the prayer, making that prayer their own.

The Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionaries have this entry for “amen:”

at the beginning of a discourse - surely, truly, of a truth

at the end - so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled. It was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.

The word "amen" is a most remarkable word. It was transliterated directly from the Hebrew into the Greek of the New Testament, then into Latin and into English and many other languages, so that it is practically a universal word. It has been called the best known word in human speech. The word is directly related -- in fact, almost identical -- to the Hebrew word for "believe" (amam), or faithful. Thus, it came to mean "sure" or "truly", an expression of absolute trust and confidence. From www.biblestudytools.com

Because of Jesus' use of this word, He is referred to as “The Amen.”

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” Rev. 3:14.

The Strong's number for άμην (amen) is 281.

5. Which generation or race?

Verse 34: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (NIV).

While the Greek γενεα (genea) is usually translated as “generation” it can also be translated as “one's own kind or race.” Goodrick and Kohlenberger, #1155, p. 1537. Pastor Eddie prefers “race” over “generation” because he believes that Jesus was talking about the Jewish people at that time, not current generation of people (and recall that Matthew was writing to the Jews in his Gospel).

Dr. Lenski writes:

“This generation” consists of the type of Jews whom Jesus contended with during this Tuesday, 21:23-23:39. He foretells the destruction of their nation (24:15-28); and one might easily conclude that this would end the generation of Jews such as these Sadducees and these Pharisees. But no; solemnly we are assured (and this assurance is in place) that this type of Jew will continue to the very Parousia. It has continued to this very day. The voice of Jewish rejection of Christ is as loud as ever. Lenski, p. 953.

In a similar vein, the Lutheran Study Bible has:

Repeatedly rebuked by Jesus for rejecting Him and the prophets, demanding signs, and otherwise failing to recognize the coming of the messianic kingdom. Accordingly, this passage is best taken as a prediction that there will always be a “generation” that rejects the Gospel, demands signs, and dismisses the inevitability of judgment. Lutheran Study Bible, note 24:34, p. 1637.

The NIV Study Bible has this entry for Luke 21:32 concerning “this generation:”

If reference here is to the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred about 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, “generation” is used in its ordinary sense of a normal life span. “All these things” would then have been fulfilled in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem. On the other hand, if reference here is to the second coming of Christ, “generation” might refer to a future generation alive at the beginning of “these things.” It does not mean that Jesus had a mistaken notion that he was going to return immediately. The TNIV Study Bible, note: 21:32, p. 1763.

The question arises whether this section is Law or Gospel? According to most Lutheran commentators, this is the Law.

6. What does this say about the Word?

It will not pass away, and every attempt to suppress it has failed. When the Russian Communists attempted to suppress Christianity, the church merely went underground, and thrived for generations. In the Russian prison system, where no Bibles were allowed, prisoners would memorize entire Books of the Bible, and thereby keep the Word alive.

In Communist China, instead of being suppressed, the Christian Church is growing faster than ever.

In Nazi Germany, when the Nazis attempted to pervert the Lutheran Church, devout Christians including Martin Niemöller, Karl Barth, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer organized the Confessing Church, and maintained an underground existence throughout the war, protecting the Word from those who would pervert its meaning for evil ends.

7. What sets us free and why?

The Truth! It is the Truth that sets us free, because the Truth is the Word, which is Christ Jesus, who paid the ransom to get us delivered from the slavery of sin, and thereby re-established our relationship of love with the Father in eternity.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

We closed with prayer.

Additional Scriptural Reference

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

4 “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’

6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

7 “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

9 “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days took his seat.

His clothing was as white as snow;

the hair of his head was white like wool.

His throne was flaming with fire,

and its wheels were all ablaze.

10 A river of fire was flowing,

coming out from before him.

Thousands upon thousands attended him;

ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

The court was seated,

and the books were opened.

11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

Footnotes:

Parallel Verses

Mark 13:24-31

24 “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c]

26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Luke 21:25-33

25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

For Additional Study

Online Resources

Book of Concord in PDF Format, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod <http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/TrigBOC.pdf> (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

A number of important Lutheran texts can be found in the Belief and Practice section of the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=112

John S. C. Abbott and Jacob Abbott, Illustrated New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/ain/

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/

Harold F. Buls
http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/index.html and
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-bul.html
Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1980

The Adam Clarke Commentary
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/

Burton Coffman, Commentary on the Whole Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/

John Darby, Synopsis of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/darby/matthew1.htm

The Greek Interlinear Bible
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm
Based on NA26/27. A word-by-word translation of the Greek New Testament.

David Guzik, Commentaries on the Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/

The Geneva Study Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/geneva/matthew1.htm

John Gill, Exposition of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew1.htm

Jamieson, Faussett and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew1.htm

B.W. Johnson, People's New Testament
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/johnson/matthew1.htm

John Lightfoot, Bible Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/light/matthew1.htm

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
http://www.studylight.org/com/mlg/

J. W. McGarvey, Original Commentary on Acts
http://www.studylight.org/com/oca/

J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (also known as "Harmony Of the Four Gospels")
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/four/matthew1.htm

Alexander Maclaren's commentaries on the books of the Bible (various titles)
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a2330

The NET Bible. <http://bible.org/netbible/> A completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes. It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Excellent notes, citing both the Greek and Hebrew, as needed. Greek and Hebrew fonts available without cost.

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/

C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
http://www.studylight.org/com/tod/

R.A. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
http://www.studylight.org/com/tsk/

W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/wesley/matthew1.htm

Other Additional Resources:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/Motley%20Crew%20Research%20Resources.html

Other Resources

Barker, Kenneth L., ed., TNIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Readers Edition. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006)

Davies, Benjamin, ed., Baker's Pocket Harmony of the Gospels (Baker Book House, 1975). Formerly printed as Harmony of the Four Gospels.

Goodrick, Edward W. and John R. Kohlenberger III, eds., The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999). This is the second edition, originally published as the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It should be distinguished from The NIV Complete Concordance by the same authors.

Green, Jay P., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Vol. IV. Second Edition. (Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)

Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook. New Revised Edition (24^th Edition). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965)

Hickie, W.J., Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977). This is a reprint of an older edition, originally published by Macmillan, August. 1893. A contemporary review described this as "A handy little volume, compiled on sound principles from trustworthy authorities." The 1911 edition is available online and for download at http://openlibrary.org/b/OL17866849M/Greek-English_lexicon_to_the_New_Testament

Hoerber, Robert G., ed., Concordia Self-Study Bible. NIV (Great Rapids, Zondervan: 1973, 1984).

Lenski, R.C.H., The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943, reprinted 1964)

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Nave, Orville J., ed., Nave's Topical Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979)

New Bible Dictionary. Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1962)

Nicoll, W. Robertson, The Greek Expositor's Testament. Vol. 1. Five Volumes. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1910). Excellent notes on the Greek text and summaries of commentators. Available at Google Books ( www.books.google.com ) and the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org - easier to find here than at Google Books).

NIV Archeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)

Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (Text from Project Gutenberg)

Robertson, A.T., Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000). This “Concise Edition” is derived from the six-volume work by Robertson published in 1933. Robertson was also the author of 45 books, including numerous commentaries, a Harmony of the Gospels, etc. Also available online

Rogers, Cleon L. Jr., and Cleon L. Rogers III, eds., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998). This is the second edition of the excellent work by Fritz Rienecker, A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, translated and edited by Cleon L. Rogers, Jr.

Strong, James, ed., The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)

Vine, W.E., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date). Originally published circa 1940.