Matthew Chapter 24

VERSE 42 and 43 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.”

The “master of the house” or “householder” of the present dispensation is not our Lord, but our Adversary, the devil–“the god of this world,” “the prince of the power of the air,” “the prince of this world,” who now rules in the children of disobedience, blinding the minds of all that believe not–whose eyes of understanding have not been anointed with the Lord’s eye-salve. (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 3:18) This adversary is a wily one, and very cunning; and whatever knowledge he has of the divine times and seasons and arrangements he is prompt (through the use of those agencies at his disposal, viz. the blind guides and those who follow them) to use (these) in opposing the divine plan, as our Lord declares in the foregoing statement.

The Heavenly Father’s course toward Satan has been to let him take his own way, except where it would conflict with the divine plan, and so to overrule his evil devices as to use them for the furtherance of the divine plan. Hence Satan, although he has long known the Bible, has understood but little of it, for the same reason that man has not understood it; because written in parables, symbols and figures of speech. And now that these are due to be understood, the understanding of them is confined to such as have the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which, as our Lord promised, “shall guide you (the fully consecrated) into all truth,” but which the world (and the nominal church) cannot receive.

Satan does not possess the Holy Spirit and is not guided by it, and consequently much of the divine Word is foolishness unto him. But he has learned no doubt as the world to some extent has learned, that–“The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” (Psa. 25:14) We may presume therefore that his representatives, the fallen angels, are frequently present at the little Conferences and Bible studies, etc., of God’s truly consecrated people, to learn something of the divine plan.

In what way Satan would have managed his affairs differently if he had known sooner more about the divine plan, we can only surmise; but we have our Lord’s positive testimony that such knowledge on Satan’s part would have made necessary a different ending of the Gospel age, and a different opening of the Millennial age, than God had purposed and declared. But instead of knowing and setting his house in order, he was taken unawares by the Lord’s parousia (presence) in A.D. 1874, and the “harvest” work then begun: so that with all his wiles and deceptions, all his simulations of the true light, etc., his “house,” present institutions (i.e. Great Babylon both Mother and daughters), will suffer complete collapse. As he realizes this, he puts forth the most strenuous efforts to deceive–even resorting through his deluded servants to miracles of physical healing (“all power sings and lying wonders”), although he is the prince of disease, sickness and death. (Heb. 2:14; 2 Thess 2:9) But a house thus divided against itself is sure to fall: and great will be the fall of Babylon: it will fall as a great millstone cast into the sea. (Rev. 18:21)

 VERSE 44 “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

 Here “you also,” believers, the Lord’s faithful (the fully consecrated), are mentioned in contrast with Satan and his household (the nominal believers). The time of the Lord’s presence could not be known beforehand, even by the saints. Nor was the fact of the Lord’s presence recognized until nearly a year AFTER October 1874, when his knock, through the word of the prophets and apostles, was recognized.

Since that time there are abundant outward signs, evidences, of the presence of the Son of Man; and his devoted ones as they are gathered from the four winds of heaven, are taken into his banqueting house and caused to sit down to meat such as the world (and the worldly church) knows not of, and are served, first of all by the Master himself (through means of his faithful and wise servant, the Laodicean or seventh messenger), and incidentally by each other (as they become acquainted with present truth and the Harvest message). See Luke 12:37. (D611-612)

In our next post we will take a look at Brother Shallieu’s take on these verses and see what further “gems” there are to be gleaned from this study.