<p>24:49&nbsp;<i>And shall begin</i>- The idea is that only soon after he has begun his misbehaviour, the Lord comes. This highlights the point that because the man was sure that he knew the exact time of the Lord&rsquo;s coming, and that time was not right now,&nbsp;<i>therefore</i>&nbsp;he did these bad things. The whole point of the parable is to explain&nbsp;<i>why</i>&nbsp;we do not and should not ever think we know the date of His coming. For it is this which is portrayed in the parable as the root reason why he begins beating the fellow servants and being self-indulgent, mixing with the unbelievers rather than the believers.</p><p><i>To beat his fellow servants-&nbsp;</i>Smiting the fellow servants is related to keeping other company- with the drunken. It could be that this parable is intended to have a specific latter day fulfilment, in that it speaks of the last few days or little while before the Lord&rsquo;s return. For the evil servant has only just begun to beat, eat and drink, when his Lord comes. The &lsquo;smiting&rsquo; might suggest that the evil servant joins in the persecution of the Lord&rsquo;s servants which will be ongoing in that final period of tribulation.&nbsp;</p><p>The idea of the steward of the house smiting the fellow servant (Mt. 24:49) is referred to by Paul (in the Greek text) in 1 Cor. 8:12, concerning&nbsp;<i>wounding</i>&nbsp;the conscience of weak brethren. Paul's vision of the latter day ecclesia was therefore that materialistic elders would act with no thought as to their effect on the consciences of the flock, and thereby many would stumble. The Lord&rsquo;s only other reference to fellow servants is in 18:28-33, where the deeply indebted servant &lsquo;beat&rsquo; a fellow servant who owed him a relatively small amount. The beating of the fellow servants may therefore be intended to be understood in terms of refusing to forgive, and demanding what is due.</p><p>&nbsp;<br /><i>And shall eat and drink with the drunkards</i>- His duty was to feed his fellow servants, but instead he became obsessed with feeding himself. The Lord has just spoken of &lsquo;eating and drinking&rsquo; as characterizing Noah&rsquo;s world (:38)- and also Lot&rsquo;s world (Lk. 17:28). There&rsquo;s nothing wrong with any of the things Noah&rsquo;s world were doing in themselves, but they were indulged in to the point of obsession. The man called to go in to the ark and care for those within it had instead gone outside into the world and engaged with them in their way of life. The next verse continues allusions to Noah&rsquo;s time.</p><p>Lk. 12:45 adds that the man himself becomes drunk; he is influenced by the company he now keeps. Mt. 24:49 is alluded to in 1 Thess. 5:3-7, where the picture is graphically created of a man who has been hard drinking for a whole evening, now at home stupefied, late at night. It is then that the thief comes; whilst dimly aware of his coming, the man is quite unprepared to meet him and keep his (spiritual) house intact. This will be the tragic position of those who through belief and practice are unready for their Lord. It seems that a materialistic eldership, uncommitted to the real needs of the household, indifferent to guarding the house, will contribute to our latter day apostasy as a community. And note the correspondence between those who are harsh on their brethren being those who are also caught up in the things of the world. The drunken servant starts to beat the fellow servants, using a Greek word which means to punish (Lk. 12:45). This creates the picture of a worldly ecclesial elder over-disciplining others. No wonder there will be so much friction and disunity amongst spiritual Israel of the last days.</p>