Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
In His usual fashion our Lord Jesus makes such a profound revelation using few words. Yet volumes of commentaries by men have been written to extrapolate and expound on them.
Like Peter, we are faced with such a dire warning; Matt.26:34. But let us not brush it aside, and deny it, like Peter. Let us dive into the deep end of the water and plumb its depths.
IN, a prefix, L. in, is used in composition as a particle of negation, like the English un, of which it seems to be a dialectical orthography
EQ’UITY, n. [L. oequitas, from oequus, equal, even, level.]
1. Justice; right. In practice, equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim. It is the treating of a person according to justice and reason.
The Lord shall judge the people with equity. Psa 98.
With righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity. Isa 11.
Iniquity, therefore, is the sin of not being impartial in distributing justice. At its roots, it is injustice toward some and favoritism toward others.
Two signs of a world in apostasy and total rebellion are: injustice and the loss of natural affections among mankind. The latter being the result of the former. This will usher in the end of the age and the judgment of God. Our Lord is repeating what was issued by the prophet Isaiah seven centuries prior.
Isa 59:14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Isa 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Isa 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
Isa 59:17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Isa 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.
Isa 59:19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
Isa 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
“..Truth is fallen in the street, and there she may lie to be trampled upon by every foot of pride, and she has never a friend that will lend a hand to help her up; yea, truth fails in common conversation, and in dealings between man and man, so that one knows not whom to believe nor whom to trust.” M.Henry
The prophet gives us such a bleak picture of the state of mankind leading up to the appearing of the “Son of righteousness”. Truth was being trampled on by “religious” men; 1Samual 8:3, Jeremiah 6:13, Micah 3:9-11. Justice and judgment were only for the rich; while the poor had no one to intercede for them; Isaiah 3:14,15 ; Ezek 22:29. It was the “Me generation” of old. It is true that there is “nothing new under the sun”. It was a generation of entitlement. To put in modern terminology; It was a “dog eat dog” world.
The prophet lays out why the Lord God came down at such an appointed time. In the passages in Isaiah 59 we are given a glimpse of both the first coming of our Lord Jesus, and the consummation of the “age of grace”. It had been the prophetic style of the prophet; Isaiah 11:1-10. At his first coming we read of the people having no shepherd; Mark 6:34. Even the teachers and religious leaders cared for nothing but their own authority and were more concerned with losing that then tending to the needs of his people; John 11:47,48. There was no other solution to the problems facing man. In His concern for this people, he had to come down to defend and deliver those that were oppressed. He came to be the intercessor offering salvation.
1Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The world at Christ’s first coming was very bleak.
The Jews had no Shepherd
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Gentiles had no hope .
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Christ would have passed us by if not for his compassion.
The account of our Lord walking upon the water in Mark chapter six and Matthew chapter fourteen is a prophetic revelation of the current state of the world and the Savior’s intercession.
Mar 6:47-51 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
- The toil of rowing is symbolic of man’s struggle in this life. The futility and hopelessness from cradle to grave
- The disciples had no hope of gaining any distance against such odds: “the wind was contrary unto them” verse 48. Satan is the “prince of the power of the air”; Eph 2:2
- We are a lavished generation living in a time when every comfort imagined is available to indulge in. It is hard to imagine the hardship of men and women’s lives prior to our own, let alone at the time of Christ’s advent. Though, from the very beginning, man was destined to work, the hardship and toil of life was not God’s original design for man. This was a result of sin.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The fourth watch of the night is a key to understanding God’s prophetic calendar.
- We understand that 1000 years are represented by a day.
- 2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
- It is also referred to as a watch in the night
- Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
- The 12 hours of dark are divided into 4 watches; the fourth ending at sunrise
Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
The darkness shows the spiritual state of the world: both Jew and Gentile.
All of mankind is exemplified in this account. Though the Jew had the Oracles of God, they had apostate from it in part by the religious leaders who had added to it to suit their own end.
Mat 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
Mat 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
[For a more in depth study of the darkness, see the article:
How great is that darkness!]
Our Deliverer, though not affected by our storms, nonetheless, is touched by our infirmities.
“..and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them” verse 48
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.
He first sees: verse 48. He then comes, assures the disciples, enters in fellowship, and calms the storm.
What the future holds for the world and its multitudes of lost people.
Just as it was at Christ’s first advent, the world will become darker, The winds of change, tribulation, and trials will blow harder, and men will continue to reject the light. Just as the disciples were afraid and thought that their salvation was just a ghost; Mark.6:49, the world will not comprehend nor understand that their salvation is nigh. They will even reject such hope and help; John 1:5. “darkness comprehended it not.”.
What can God’s people expect going forward.
We still have a Savior who is not affected by the storms; He is one who can speak peace to our troubled souls. He can also calm the storms of life. Jesus will do all that while condescending to our low estate.
Is Jesus in your boat? All mankind is on a journey called life in which their boat will one day reach that eternal shore. But for most of the world Jesus won’t be with them.
When engulfed by the terror of the tempestuous sea,-
Unknown waves before you roll;
At the end of doubt and peril is eternity,-
Though fear and conflict seize your soul:
When surrounded by the blackness of the darkest night,
O how lonely death can be;
At the end of this long tunnel is a shining light,
For death is swallowed up in victory!
But just think of stepping on shore-and finding it Heaven!
Of touching a hand-and finding it God’s!
Of breathing new air and finding it celestial!
Of waking up in glory-and finding it home!
Finally Home, By Don Wyrtzen and L. E. Singer