Matthew Chapter 24
Verse 48 and 49 “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my lord delays his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.”
If the “faithful and wise servant” is an individual, then so is the “evil servant.” Although there was literally an evil servant, an individual—for example, Judge Rutherford?—the way verses 48 and 49 are worded suggests that the one who was faithful and wise could become an evil servant unless he took heed along this line.
And Pastor Russell regarded these verses as a warning of what could happen to him—that he must be careful to maintain the status of a faithful and wise servant—whereas actually the application was to SOMEONE WHO FOLLOWED HIM.
By omitting the word “evil,” Luke 12:45 sounds even more like a warning to the faithful servant: “But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.”
However, enough details are supplied about the evil servant that we can identify him.
Where or how did the evil servant say, “My lord delays his coming”?
The evil servant did this in his heart, for he did not directly state that he did not believe the Lord was present. This verse reveals his inner thinking. The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement today is an offshoot of this wrong thinking.
“Not only does Jesus intimate that his coming and presence will be unknown to the world, but that many of His servants (professed followers) will be so asleep, and overcharged with the things of this world, that the day of the Lord (His presence) will be upon them as a snare, and some will "begin to smite their fellow servants, saying: My Lord (the Bridegroom) delays His coming" (He’s not here yet), while the ones being smitten (scoffed at and ridiculed) evidently are taking the opposite ground, viz: that the bridegroom does not delay, but IS PRESENT (Even as we proclaim on this forum).
"Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he (ako) has come shall find, giving meat in due season to the household of faith. (The meat due when the Lord has come, would unquestionably be, the evidences or proofs of His presence.)
Evidently the presence is one not recognized by the natural eye, but by the eye of faith, else there could be no disagreement between the servants as to the fact of His presence.” (Matt. 24:44-49.) R123
We finish up with Verses 50 and 51 in our next post.
Verse 48 and 49 “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my lord delays his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.”
If the “faithful and wise servant” is an individual, then so is the “evil servant.” Although there was literally an evil servant, an individual—for example, Judge Rutherford?—the way verses 48 and 49 are worded suggests that the one who was faithful and wise could become an evil servant unless he took heed along this line.
And Pastor Russell regarded these verses as a warning of what could happen to him—that he must be careful to maintain the status of a faithful and wise servant—whereas actually the application was to SOMEONE WHO FOLLOWED HIM.
By omitting the word “evil,” Luke 12:45 sounds even more like a warning to the faithful servant: “But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.”
However, enough details are supplied about the evil servant that we can identify him.
Where or how did the evil servant say, “My lord delays his coming”?
The evil servant did this in his heart, for he did not directly state that he did not believe the Lord was present. This verse reveals his inner thinking. The Jehovah’s Witnesses movement today is an offshoot of this wrong thinking.
“Not only does Jesus intimate that his coming and presence will be unknown to the world, but that many of His servants (professed followers) will be so asleep, and overcharged with the things of this world, that the day of the Lord (His presence) will be upon them as a snare, and some will "begin to smite their fellow servants, saying: My Lord (the Bridegroom) delays His coming" (He’s not here yet), while the ones being smitten (scoffed at and ridiculed) evidently are taking the opposite ground, viz: that the bridegroom does not delay, but IS PRESENT (Even as we proclaim on this forum).
"Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he (ako) has come shall find, giving meat in due season to the household of faith. (The meat due when the Lord has come, would unquestionably be, the evidences or proofs of His presence.)
Evidently the presence is one not recognized by the natural eye, but by the eye of faith, else there could be no disagreement between the servants as to the fact of His presence.” (Matt. 24:44-49.) R123
We finish up with Verses 50 and 51 in our next post.
