My Favorite Verses - Vol III (Aug 16 to Nov 16)
A collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
A collection of brief commentaries on some of the Bible’s most beloved (and least understood) passages, parables, verses & sayings
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Matthew 24:40-42 … Two in the Field<br />
(09/14/20<strong>16</strong>)<br />
“Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left … Keep<br />
Awake, therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is coming.”<br />
~ unknown (Matthew 24:40-42)<br />
If this is not one of the more misunders<strong>to</strong>od passages in the Bible, it is almost<br />
certainly one of the most misinterpreted ... You see, standard Christian dogma<br />
would have us believing that these verses have Jesus saying that God Himself is<br />
coming at some unknown time in the future <strong>to</strong> gather all the righteous with Him<br />
and send them <strong>to</strong> “heaven above” and cast all others in<strong>to</strong> eternal <strong>to</strong>rment in “Hell<br />
below.” And while such an abjectly immoral Soul-sorting might indeed one day<br />
take place, it will most certainly not be the heavenly Father of Jesus Christ who<br />
does that sorting …<br />
For if conservatives are going <strong>to</strong> take this passage “literally” and use it as<br />
license <strong>to</strong> condemn all those who do not worship God as they do, then they are<br />
also required <strong>to</strong> take all other verses in the New Testament with the same level of<br />
exactness – including Matthew 5:48 & 1 John 4:18; two verses that, when<br />
combined and read literally, show quite unequivocally that the celestial Father of<br />
Jesus Christ will never damn anyone <strong>to</strong> Hell for any length of time, much less for<br />
eternity … Indeed, what kind of a deity would ever do such a horrendous thing,<br />
and why would anyone in their right mind (or, better stated, their Right Heart)<br />
worship such a capricious Being?<br />
So, that having been said, what could Jesus be saying here instead? What<br />
interpretation can we give this passage that harmonizes with the words of<br />
Matthew 5:48 & 1 John 4:18 (and indeed all of Jesus' other biblical teachings)?<br />
Well, when we examine Jesus‟ own words in the Gospels, it becomes quite clear<br />
what he is intending <strong>to</strong> say with these verses – namely, that we all choose <strong>to</strong> be<br />
either selfishly taking “goats” or selflessly giving “sheep” in every moment of<br />
our lives, and that we should all err on the side of the latter in as many moments<br />
as possible. For no one knows when death will come for us, and when it does –<br />
and our last moment of consciousness stretches out <strong>to</strong>wards what seems like<br />
eternity during our final, dying breath – we will suffer <strong>to</strong> the degree we were selfcentered<br />
during our lives, and we will know Bliss <strong>to</strong> the degree were we<br />
Generous & Kind.<br />
May we remember this Truth, and may we choose accordingly.<br />
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