Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: Welcome to Thru the Bible, I'm Steve Schwetz, your host on this five-year journey through God's entire word. Now as we near the end of our study in Matthew, Dr. J. Vernon McGee still has a lot of great teaching in store for us.

So get settled on the Bible bus and open your copy of God’s word in Matthew 24 as our study of the Olivet Discourse continues. And while you find your spot, Greg's here, so we're going to open our proverbial mailbag and share a few letters with you.

Greg: It is proverbial because yes, we do get letters like you and I saw a couple handwritten letters sent to us the other day from Canada. That was fun. But today, we’re going to do one of our favorite things, which is read letters from the United States. I call them the home team because without the support from North America, this ministry couldn't reach out in 250 plus languages around the world. Amen.

Steve Schwetz: Let me start with this first one from John. He wrote this to celebrate the completion of his first five-year trip. Way to go, John! I used to listen to Thru the Bible on a Christian radio station that was run by our local Christian school. Around 2000, the school changed to an all-music format. We lost many great teachers like Dr. McGee.

Then I found your app and I officially started my ride on the Bible bus in June. I consider this recent five-year journey completed on April 2nd, 2026, and I'm primed to ride as long as the Lord has me on this earth. The past five years has brought tremendous growth. I used to skip the conversations and fast forward to the teaching.

Greg: Oh, John! Come on! What are you doing? Give us your number; we’ll give you a call. Just kidding.

Steve Schwetz: Fair enough. But the Lord convicted me of missing out on the blessing and not praying for my fellow Christians. I also began to give monthly support and join the world prayer team. I have several friends which I am either directly mentoring or asking questions. I've invited them to this new journey with me. I can't tell you how much your program means to me. Life has been very rocky at points. I was a prodigal son, but the Lord is gracious. Blessings in the name of Jesus.

Greg: Great letter, great heart from you, John. We are just teasing; you can forward through the intros to the program, the ones where it’s just Steve. But when I’m here, come on, man, come on. Now, we would love to hear from Amy and she says this: Hello, I live outside of Pittsburgh. I was so ecstatic to begin the five-year journey with you.

I jumped on the Bible bus regularly a couple of years ago while I was walking at lunch. The program counseled me through a very difficult time. I had heard the program years ago and was drawn in by Pastor McGee’s voice. My Nana and Pop-Pop have the same accent and it soothed me to hear God's word read and studied.

Steve Schwetz: I share Thru the Bible with everyone. Pastor McGee's honesty and integrity with God’s word shines through. Most of all, his compassion in sharing his personal testimony throughout his life is what draws me deeply into the sanctuary of God's presence. His relationship with his earthly father, his marriage, and his loss of a child have touched the depths of my soul. Thank you all for being steadfast in continuing to share the program throughout the decades.

Greg: Such an encouragement, Amy. And one of the things that struck me, she says the program counseled me through a very difficult time. And it wasn’t like the program was specifically tailored to your unique situation. Instead, God’s word is our ultimate counselor, and if you’re studying it and going through it month after month, Genesis to Revelation, you will get counsel from God’s word even though it’s not specifically tailored to your situation because it’s there.

And I think it’s important for us to have a perspective that there are Christians all over the world that need our prayer. We get such great letters of specific people and you can specifically pray for them and be blessed. And the blessing you will get meeting these people and having heaven, I can hardly wait. Father, you're doing great things through your word, and we honor and praise you for that. And we pray as we study now, you'll do great things in our lives in Jesus' name, Amen.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Back to the 24th of Matthew. We go today to the Olivet Discourse and our Lord has now answered two questions: What is the sign of the end of the age? It's the Great Tribulation, and the thing that triggers it will be the appearance of the abomination of desolation, whatever that is, probably the image of the Antichrist, but I’m not looking for that. Hope you're not. And we're looking for the Lord from heaven, that's for the church. Now, the sign of His coming to the earth would be like lightning, it'll be a public display. And the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, apparently that Shekinah glory will hover over the earth right before He comes to the earth.

Now we’ve got down to the place here in the 32nd verse and I’d like to turn and pick up at that point where He gives the parable of the fig tree. I’m reading now verse 32 of chapter 24. "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."

Now I cannot see how the fig tree could be anything other than the nation Israel. I think the vine and the fig tree represent this nation. They're certainly trees and of a vine that grow in abundance in that land even after all that’s happened to that land. The thing that impressed me were fig trees up north of Jerusalem and vineyards south of Jerusalem, right south of Bethlehem. Believe me, friends, they’ve got vineyards. Not as many as Southern California or of the San Joaquin Valley in California, but it's not as big a place. It certainly is filled with vineyards and that is the thing that identifies the land, at least, and I think He’s speaking of the nation that occupies that land.

Now He says, "When the branch is yet tender, putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer's nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Now this is the warning He gives to them: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Now, "this generation" could refer to the race, that is, the nation Israel, or it could refer to the generation then living, one generation of what, 20 years? I think they count about that.

This takes place in a much briefer time than 20 years. My feeling is it could refer to either, but I much prefer that it refers to the race, that this nation will not pass away. Haman was never able to destroy them, neither was Pharaoh, and Hitler did not succeed. And today, no dictator will be able to exterminate these people. God will see to that. Now He goes on, verse 35, to confirm it by saying, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away."

And He says you can just underscore what I've said because heaven and earth may pass away but my words will not. And heaven and earth will pass away and there'll be a new one, but the word of God, He's not going to change it, friends. It’s going to stand throughout the eternal ages. May add to it, but He's certainly not going to change what He's given to us.

Verse 36: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." And the important thing, the day and hour, although they know they’re drawing near to the period, they cannot give the day nor the hour. And I’m of the opinion, since we've had so many in our day that try to pinpoint it, they’ll have them in that day that’ll try to even bring it down to the hour. And they'll know something is coming, but they'll not know at the moment it will come.

Now He uses here the illustration of Noah in the past. "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." He’ll come in a day like the days of Noah. "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

Now the days of Noah were days of gross immorality, days when every thought and imagination of man's heart was evil and evil continually, we're told. But when our Lord says that it was in the days of Noah, He just says that they were eating and drinking. Well, is there anything wrong with eating and drinking? I don't think so. I mean, we're told to whatever you do, whether it be to eat or drink, do to the glory of God, and we can do that today.

Why is that evil? Well, these people were not doing it to the glory of God. In fact, they were eating and drinking as if God did not exist. It's like the little boy that was invited out for dinner first time in his life. Of course, it was just next door, but to him, it was a highlight. And his mother practically had to chain him all that day to keep him from making a bee line to go over the fence to go next door. And finally, the time came and she got him ready and washed his face and he made a bee line to get next door.

It was a new experience for him; he'd never been away from home on his own. And when they sat down at the table to eat, why, he had come out of a Christian home and this was a non-Christian home. And so he just automatically, little fellow, bowed his head. And all of a sudden, he discovered nothing was happening as far as returning thanks was concerned, but they sure were passing the food and he didn't want to miss it and he just opened his eyes and looked.

And not having any inhibitions, he said, "Don't you folks here thank God for your food?" It was embarrassing for a moment, but the lady of the house said, "No," said, "we don't." Little fellow thought a moment and he said, "You're just like my dog," says, "you just start in." A lot of people today just start in, don't they? There are multitudes of people today sat down at their meal and will sit down three times a day, receive a meal that comes from the hand of God.

And this year we're told two and a half millions of people are going to starve to death in this world, but you and I have plenty today. And we have plenty and the godless have plenty because God's not judging them today. They have plenty and they're not thanking God. In the days of Noah, they’ll be eating and drinking. Here they are right on the verge of the coming of Christ and they're living as if it's never going to take place, and the people living like that today.

And then He says they're marrying and giving in marriage. That is all right, isn't it, to be married? Well, they were acting as if God did not exist. Oh, I guess they had a church wedding, but it was very meaningless. It didn't mean a thing to them. And they did it right up to the day that Noah entered into the ark. They lived as if God did not exist. They did not believe that He was coming to this earth again. They were scorners. They ridiculed the fact that He's coming.

They knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Now somebody said to me, "Well, preacher, you finally painted yourself into a corner. You said the church in the rapture is not in the Olivet Discourse and look, here it is."

"There'll be two in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Women grinding at the mill, one will be taken, the other left." I have news for you. This is still not talking about the rapture. This is not the rapture. What makes you think it's the rapture? Well, it's one taken the other left, isn't that rapture? Oh no, my friend, not at all. After all, what’s He talking about? "As it was in the days of Noah." Well, how was it in the days of Noah? Who was taken away and who was left?

"They knew not until the flood came and took them all away." What? Those that perished. This is no rapture of taking the church out of the world, this is removing from the earth by judgment those that are not going to enter the kingdom. One will be taken away, the other left, left for what? To enter into the millennial kingdom. That's the picture that we have here. It's not the rapture at all. Really, I didn't paint myself into a corner after all.

Now will you notice verse 42. "Watch therefore." Now that is the important word, "watch therefore." And that, I think, is a little different than the watching that the child of God is to do today looking for the Lord to come. Today it's a comforting hope. There's a note of fear, anxiety in that day. They'll say, "Would God it were night" when it's morning, and they'll "would God it were morning" when it's night. So that there's anxiety in that day, but today we're to wait for the Lord from heaven. Now somebody's going to say, "But you're splitting hairs, aren't you?" Oh no, I'm not.

The word "watch" in the Old Testament—I've looked it up in Hebrew—it has about 17 different meanings. And we have only one word, but actually watching today has different meanings altogether. Let me illustrate. Now here's a man that's going to go deer hunting. And he goes with his gang at the usual time of the year and he goes up to that same spot and they camp out at night, get up the next morning and he goes up and right over the hogback on the hill at a trunk of an old tree that's down there, why, he takes his usual place because the deer come across there and he sits and waits.

After a while, he hears a noise in a bush. He thinks it may be a deer and he lifts his rifle and he waits. And believe me, it better not even be a deer hunter because he's apt to shoot him, but he's watching, you see, for a deer. Now about two weeks later, you meet this same man down on the street at the main street corner in your town. And you see him there, he's looking down this street, looking down that street, and you know he's waiting for somebody and he sure is watching.

You go up to him and you say, "Well, who you looking for?" "Oh," he says, "my wife, she's 45 minutes late." You see, he's watching for a deer again, but it's different deer, but he's watching in a little different way. Before he had his deer gun. Now he sort of wishes he had it with him again, she's 45 minutes late, but it's against the law for him to shoot her in the no open season. So he doesn't have his deer gun. He's watching in a different way, you see. Now that's two different ways.

Let me mention another. Suppose a month or two after that you go to the hospital and you pass a room and you see him and his wife sitting there by a bedside of a little child and the little child has a burning fever and the doctor says the crisis will come about midnight and they'll watch. My friend, that's a different type of watching than watching for a deer or waiting for his wife on a corner. That's with anxiety. I think it's something like that.

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?"

Now what He's doing in the rest of the Olivet Discourse are giving parables to illustrate the attitude of folk to His coming and what'll happen when He does come. Now I’m going to drop down to chapter 25 because we must finish this chapter today in the Olivet Discourse and I’ll just have to hit high points here as you can see. But the attitude of some will be that, well, my Lord delays His coming, so he just goes on living carelessly. Well, God's going to judge him when He comes.

In other words, in that day—and this is a great principle—we ought to live our life in the light of the fact we're to stand in the presence of Christ. And did you notice I didn't say in light of the coming of Christ? Now I don't care whether He's coming is a hundred years from today or a thousand years, you and I are to stand in His presence. And whether you're saved or lost, you're going to stand in His presence.

If you're saved, you will have to give an account of your life to see whether you receive a reward. And if you're lost, you'll stand there to be judged. So every person should live his life in light of the fact he's to stand in the presence of the Lord. Now that's the big emphasis here in the Olivet Discourse. Therefore, it has an application to us, but the interpretation, I trust we've made clear, is not for us. Now we come to chapter 25 and we read here this parable of the ten virgins.

Now this is the basis of those who believe in what is known as the partial rapture, that only some will be taken out of the world. The partial rapture group, made up of a lot of very fine people. When I first became pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, there was a wonderful Bible class there and they supported me in getting Bible conferences into Nashville. And they had been taught from the beginning by teacher who believed in the partial rapture.

And very candidly, I feel the partial rapture ministers to spiritual snobbery. That is, I never met one of that group that didn't think he's with the five wise virgins. I never met a foolish virgin in all my life, they all wise, that crowd. And as I talked with them and worked with them, I had a feeling that they were not sure that I was one of them; I’m sure that they could have classified me as one of the foolish ones. But it does lead to spiritual snobbery.

Now thank God when the rapture takes place, every believer's going out. And we're all going out, nobody on the basis of merit. We're all leaving because of the grace of God. He saves us by grace, He keeps us by grace, He'll take us out of this world by grace, and when we've been there 10 million years, we'll be there by the grace of God, my friend. So that the ten virgins do not refer to the church, it refers to the nation Israel.

My friend, if you just let our Lord talk to these men who were His apostles with this background, they've raised several questions, let Him answer them, and don't make Him talk to you about something altogether different. You're interrupting Him, as it were. Let Him say what He wants to say to those to whom He wants to say it and let's just listen, and the application is for us but not the interpretation. Let's notice now.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." Now the Peshitto, which is not even a manuscript, it's what's known as an uncial, not a good one, the thing about it that makes it good, it's in the Syriac of that day, is that it certainly reveals the customs of the day. And I would not recommend it at all, but I would say that it reveals the customs of the day.

Now in that translation, they meet the bridegroom and the bride, so that He's coming from the marriage to the marriage supper. Now those of you that were with me in Revelation know that I made the statement, tried to sustain it from Revelation, that the marriage takes place in heaven, the marriage supper takes place on this earth. And I'd like to refer you to a statement in the Gospel of Luke that I'm sure illustrates this in Luke the 12th chapter, verse 35.

Here again, He's giving warnings and parables and He says, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately." Now you see the wedding has taken place. The bride is with Him, and of course, if He's coming from the wedding here in the Gospel of Luke, the bride's with Him.

No man ever went on a honeymoon by himself; if he did, it wasn't a honeymoon. And so here it's the bridegroom that's bringing the bride with Him, and they're waiting on earth for Him to come. You see, while the Great Tribulation is going on on the earth, why, He's yonder in heaven with the church, and He's coming now with the church. And we find and five of them were wise, five were foolish. This is the attitude toward His coming now to the earth.

"They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." Now I believe that the oil is the Spirit of God and I think again in that day as it was in His day, there'll be a lot of phonies, He called them hypocrites. They'll have a lamp but no oil. "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him."

"Then all those virgins arose, trimmed their lamps." They all slept, but some were genuine, you see. Some had oil, the others did not have the Holy Spirit. Now I believe that that is the interpretation of this. And He concludes it by saying, verse 13, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." And it's the day nor the hour now, you see, not the year or the century, the day and the hour, and the attitude during this period is to watch.

That is the important thing for them to do. Now He has another parable, verse 14: "The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey." Now the key to this, of course, and it's for that day.

I think the pounds that He gives in the Gospel of Luke is more applicable to us today, but there's a great principle in both of them, of course. He's judging every man according to his ability and He's to use the talents. Now the talent is not a talent. It may be that God has given you a wonderful open door, and candidly, friends, you don't know how many times I have to go to the Lord and tell Him that I want to use it whether I'm one talent, two talent, I don't know which it is.

But whatever it is, I sure want to use it right. I don't want to put it in a napkin, I don't want to sit on the sidelines, I don't want to bury my talent. There's a great principle here in light of the fact you're going to stand in His presence and have to give an account. Now I'll have to leave off there today. I did not quite finish even today this wonderful Olivet Discourse. We conclude it next time and go into chapter 26. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: If you’re enjoying these great studies as much as I am, why don't you invite a friend to join you? They're available anytime in our app or over at ttb.org. And you can always call 1-800-65-BIBLE to learn more about this fruitful ministry. Jesus’ journey to the cross draws close as next time we pick up our study of Matthew in chapter 25.

I'm Steve Schwetz and I'll meet you back here as the Bible bus rolls along. Today's study is always available, free to stream or download, thanks to the generous and faithful investments from your fellow Bible bus travelers. Just go to ttb.org or download our app to listen again anytime. As always, we’d love to know, what’s God teaching you?