Jesus has told his disciples that the temple will fall within their generation, but no one will know the day or the hour. What comes next? He tells them to watch.

In this episode, we begin the last section of the Olivet Discourse, where Jesus gives five exhortations, each built around a judgment. Matthew arranges them in a mirror pattern (a chiasm). At the outside are the flood in the distant past and the final judgment in the distant future. In the middle are three parables about a division that was about to happen in Israel. At the center of it all is entering the kingdom.

We look at the first four:

• The Flood: how the days of Noah picture the judgment coming on Jesus' own generation
• The Two Servants: God's Mosaic-age household and the handing over of the kingdom
• The Ten Virgins: why all ten represent Israel, and what the sputtering lamps mean
• The Talents: what "after a long time" really means, and who was cast into outer darkness

Along the way, we'll see why these parables fit only one moment in history: the generation when the old and new covenants stood side by side. We'll also see why that brings great assurance to believers today.

The judgment of the sheep and the goats is saved for the next episode.

Scripture: Matthew 24:37–25:30; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 21:28–46; Daniel 7:13–14; Jeremiah 31:4

Based on Inmillennialism: Redefining the Last Days by Michael A. Rogers. More at www.AD70Ministries.com