Jesus opened his exhortations to watchfulness with a judgment in the distant past: the flood. He closes them with one in the distant future: the sheep and the goats.

For most of church history, Christians have read Matthew 25:31–46 as the final judgment at the end of history. In the last two centuries, two very different groups have moved away from that reading. Dispensationalists make it a sorting for entry into a future millennium. Extreme preterists like J. Stuart Russell confine it to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, and that view has led many to deny the bodily resurrection and the final judgment.

In this episode, Michael explains why Russell's reading nearly destroyed his own faith. He then works through four of Russell's five arguments:

• Why this passage isn't a parable, and why that matters • Where inmillennialism agrees with Russell: the connecting link and the coming of the Son of Man in that generation • The key distinction Russell misses: the Son of Man coming to reward (Matthew 16) versus coming to reign (Matthew 25) • Why "all nations" (ethnē) can't be reduced to "the tribes of the land" (phulai)

Along the way, we'll see how Jesus' words to Caiaphas tie it all together. We'll also see how inmillennialism lets us keep Jesus' "this generation" time statement and still confess, with the historic church, that he "shall come to judge the quick and the dead."

Next time: Russell's final argument, and how the passage points to a judgment at the end of history.

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

In this episode, we continue our journey through Matthew 24 by focusing on Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ “when” question—uncovering the powerful timing statements at the heart of the Olivet Discourse. Through the parable of the fig tree and the unmistakable declaration that “this generation will not pass away,” we explore how Jesus placed the fulfillment of these events squarely within the lifetime of His original audience. This episode highlights the beauty and structure of Jesus’ teaching, the historical fulfillment of His prophecy in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, and the purposeful tension between knowing the general timeframe but not the exact day or hour. We also address common modern misunderstandings and show how a straightforward reading of the text clarifies and unifies the text. Ultimately, this teaching reveals how certainty about God’s timing is meant to produce urgency, watchfulness, and faithful action—setting the stage for Jesus’ final exhortations in the next episode.