[UntoHim]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Some readers who do not believe the Lord will discipline believers, quickly and erroneously assign the status of "unbeliever" to those unfaithful servants, foolish virgins or guests without a wedding garment. Yet context, common sense, and other verses throughout the entire Bible clearly indicate they are in fact, true, genuine believers.

I find it rather ironic, my friend Raptor, that while you are claiming that some Christians "quickly and erroneously assign the status" of the subjects in Matthew 24, at the very same time you are quickly and erroneously assigning interpretations and attitudes that have never even crossed the minds of those of us who may hold to a different interpretation of these passages in Matthew. Many (most?) of us went through a lot of pain and suffering in leaving a place where our fellow Christian brothers and sisters were belittled, mocked and even accused of "misunderstood concepts of going to heaven, eternal salvation, hell, lake of fire, reward, discipline, the judgement seat of Christ and the judgment of the great white throne."

I think many, if not most, Christian scholars, authors and apologists believe that it is extremely important to properly identify the audience to whom the Lord Jesus was speaking. The audience that the Lord Jesus was addressing in these later chapters of Matthew was clearly the Jews, and specifically the "Scribes and Pharisees". To be sure, there are warnings and lessons which are applicable to those of us in the church age, but to make a strong claim that everything that was addressed in these passages apply to Christians here in the church age would be making the same mistake made by one Witness Lee, when he mockingly challenged his detractors "just how many life-giving Spirits are there?"
~