The Great Second Advent Movement: Its Rise and Progress

The Time when the Parable Applies

The word “then,” with which the parable opens, gives us a clue to the time of its application. It follows close upon what had been stated in the previous chapter, not after the Lord’s second coming, but after the parable of the fig-tree had been proclaimed, announcing that Christ’s coming is “at the doors,” and that the generation has come which will not pass until Christ himself appears in the clouds of heaven. It also applies at a time when some of the servants who have been giving the message say in their hearts, “My Lord delayeth his coming; and begin to smite their fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” GSAM 148.3