Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Matthew 24:1-51
The Intrusion of the World Matthew 24:12 No doubt this referred originally to the great crash of the fall of Jerusalem. But one cannot help seeing that the whole prophecy describes rather the constantly recurring features of all epochs of great change affecting the kingdom of heaven than the details of special circumstances attaching to some one event. I. Observe that it is more inside the Church that iniquity is said to abound. There may be a fair amount of morality and obedience in the... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 24:51
(51) And shall cut him asunder.—Here also, as in the case of the faithful servant, the words have more than one fulfilment. The form of punishment (one which, in its literal sense, belongs to the inventive cruelty of Eastern kings) would seem here to have been chosen for its figurative fitness. The man had been a hypocrite, double-minded, trying to serve two masters, and his Lord, with the sharp sword of judgment, smites through the false, apparent unity of his life, and reveals its... read more