Olivet Discourse: Matthew chapter 25 timeline
Setting
With the opening of Matthew 25, there are three parables given by the Lord to indicate the conditions and judgments that will occur immediately upon His return to this world. However, to assist in the understanding of the significant events that lay between today at the time of this writing, and the return of the Lord and His kingdom, there are several major events yet to occur, which are outlined in the timeline below. The following base timeline is used for the book of Revelation, and is useful now for understanding the events yet to occur. Information concerning the construction of this timeline can be found on web site, on the page titled the survey of timelines for the church and Revelation.
The main events to occur before Matthew 25, are:
- The rapture of the church: shown below on the left side of the timeline, with the red arrow pointing up
- The mystery of the rapture 1Corinthians 15:51-58
- The shout of the Lord, and the trumpet of God 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1Thessalonians 5:4-11
- Those in the church will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, 2Corinthians 5:6-10; shown on the left side of the timeline, with the blue vertical box
- Judged for the words we speak, Matthew 12:33-37
- Giving an account before God, Romans 14:7-12
- The seven years of tribulation, in Revelation chapters 6-19: shown in the middle of the timeline
- The marriage of the Lamb; shown on the right side of the timeline, in the silver box before the return of the Lord
- The Gentiles becoming the people of the Lord, Hosea 2:23
- The church as the bride of Christ, 2Corinthians 11:2
- The mystery concerning Christ and the church, Ephesians 5:22-32
- The scene in heaven, Revelation 19:7-8
- The return of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Revelation 19:11-19; shown on the right side of the timeline, in the purple arrow pointing downward
- The call to the marriage supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:9-10; shown on the right side of the timeline, in the silver box below the millennium blue arrow, this will be a 1,000 year long supper
- The glory of the Lord resides in His temple, Ezekiel 43:1-5, more is written on this on the page Mark chapter 13 timelines
- The Lord’s return from the wedding, Luke 12:34-40
The next timeline illustrated the three groups of constituents at the beginnign and during the millennial reign of Christ:
- Survivors of the tribulation, Matthew 24:13, 29-31, Matthew 25:1-46
- The remnant of Israel, Revelation 12:13-16
- The faithful Gentiles, Zechariah 8:20-23, Isaiah 60:1-5
- The unrighteous, Matthew 24:36-41, Matthew 25:31-46
- Those who return with Christ with their resurrected bodies, 1Corinthians 15:51-56, Revelation 19:11-14
- The church (bride of Christ), Revelation 19:7-9
- The tribulation saints slain for the name of Christ, Revelation 20:4
- The resurrected Old Testament saints, Daniel 12:1-3,13
The actual events that are presented in the form of three parables in Matthew 25:1-46 are shown in the following graphic, which builds on the base timeline above.
Finally, the following table provides a list of all the covenants that the Lord made with Israel and mankind. With the Lord's return to be the King of kings on the throne of David, He will have fulfilled every covenant and promise that was made to His people Israel. There were eight covenants that the Lord had made to: Adam, Abraham and the children of Israel, King David, and all of Israel.
| # | Covenant | Verses | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam and his test with the tree of knowledge | Genesis 2:15-17 | Restoration through Christ, Romans 6:4-13, 1Corinthians 15:45-50 |
| 2 | With Adam and Eve concerning the woman’s seed, the Redeemer | Genesis 3:15 | Born of a Virgin by the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:26-33, Matthew 1:17-18 |
| 3 | With Noah, establishing government | Genesis 9:12-17 | The government shall be upon His shoulders Isaiah 9:6-7 |
| 4 | With Abraham to establish the nation of Israel | Genesis 12:1-3 | Restoration and refinement, Zechariah 12:10-11, Zechariah 13:8-9 |
| 5 | With Moses concerning the law | Exodus 19:5-8 | Holiness unto the Lord, Zechariah 14:20-21 |
| 6 | With Israel, to return them to the land for the Millennium | Deuteronomy 30:3-10 | Establishment of the millennial temple and the division of the land, Ezekiel 40:1-49 through 48:1-35 |
| 7 | With David establishing his throne forever | 2Samuel 7:4-17, Psalms 2:6-12 | Return of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Revelation 19:11-16 |
| 8 | With Israel and the new covenant | Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Blood of the new covenant, Matthew 26:27-29, Death of the testator, Hebrews 9:14-17 |