The Carcase and the Vultures
Matthew 24:28
For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.


Our Lord says, wherever there is a rotting, dead society, a carcase hopelessly corrupt and evil, down upon it, as if drawn by some unerring attraction, will come the angel, the vulture of the Divine judgment. There are many "comings of the Lord" which on a smaller scale have embodied the same principles as shall be displayed in world-wide awfulness at the last judgment.

I. The first thing in these words is THAT THEY ARE TO US A REVELATION OF A LAW WHICH OPERATES WITH UNERRING CERTAINTY THROUGH ALL THE COURSE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY. God can tell when evil has become incurable, when the man or country has become a "carcase." There may be flickerings of life unseen by our eyes. So long as there is possibility of amendment, "sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily."

II. We have here A LAW WHICH SHALL HAVE A FAR MORE TREMENDOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THE FUTURE. These days proclaim "the day of the Lord." In the prophecies both of the Old and New Testament the universal judgment is seen gleaming through the nearer partial judgments. That judgment is to be the destruction of opposing forces, the sweeping away of the carrion and moral evil. There are many temptations to put the "day of the Lord" in the background; such suppression is unfaithfulness.

III. That this is a law which need never touch you, nor need you know about it except by the hearing of the ear. It is told us that we may escape it. Take Christ for your Saviour and you shall have a refuge from the vultures.

(A. Maclaren,D. D.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

WEB: For wherever the carcass is, there is where the vultures gather together.




Suppression of Retributive Warnings
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