Through the decades, in our Bible study assemblies, we have trained ourselves to go through the given text, whether 2 verses or 20, slowly, analyzing each thought and statement. While this is not a bad way to study the scriptures, a problem has been created due to the short attention span of members, who when the hour hand points North, the Bibles begin zipping. The result is that in this .007% of the typical Christian's week spent studying the Bible, very little is gained, and even less is retained from one week to the next; and when it comes to the study of Eschatology, we miss the proverbial forest for one tree at a time, one week at a time. What I am attempting to accomplish with the table below is to display an overview of some of the eschatological 'forest' by laying synonymous texts parallel with each other which pertain to the coming of the Son of man in His kingdom.
As you scroll down through the chart, you can view how each writer records Jesus' words in His Olivet Discourse; and you should note what is most often overlooked, i.e., the same events predicted in the Limited Commission of Matthew 10 are also found in the Olivet Discourse, where in both discussions, He posits the coming of the Son of man during the generation of His disciples. Likewise, Jesus uses the identical analogies in His answer to the specific question of when the kingdom would come (Luke 17:20-37) as He does in exhorting His disciples to be watching for these events indicating the imminence of the consummation of the Jewish age.
Looking at these texts parallel to each other enables us to readily observe that the analogies Jesus uses to answer the question of when the kingdom would come are found both prior to, and following Mat 24:36, and thus the alledged transition verse argument is quashed!
| MATTHEW 24:1-41 | MARK 13:1-32 | LUKE 21:5-36 | LUKE 17:20-36 | MATTHEW 10:17-23 |
1) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. |
1) And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! |
5) And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, |
20) And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said... |
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2) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. |
2) And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. |
6) As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. |
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3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming←[parousia], and of the end of the world←[aion]? |
3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4) Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? |
7) And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? |
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4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. |
5) And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: |
8) And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived... |
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5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. |
6) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. |
8) ...for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. |
23) And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. |
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6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. |
7) And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. |
9) But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. |
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7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8) All these are the beginning of sorrows. |
8) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. |
10) Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 11) And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. |
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9) Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. |
9) But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. |
12) But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake. 13) And it shall turn to you for a testimony. |
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17) But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18) And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles |
10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. |
12) Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. |
16) And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. |
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21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. |
11) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. |
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13) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. |
13) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. |
17) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18) But there shall not an hair of your head perish. 19) In your patience possess ye your souls. |
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22) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. |
14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. |
10) And the gospel must first be published among all nations. |
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11) But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. |
14) Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15) For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. |
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19) But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20) For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. |
15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) |
14) But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,)... |
20) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. |
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16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains |
...then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: |
21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. |
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17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. |
15) And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: 16) And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. |
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31) In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32) Remember Lot's wife. 33) Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. |
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19) And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! |
17) But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! |
23) But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. (cf. 23:29ff) |
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20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: |
18) And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. |
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21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. |
19) For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. |
22) For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 24) And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. |
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22) And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. |
20) And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. |
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23) Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. |
21) And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: |
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23) And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. |
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24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25) Behold, I have told you before. |
22) For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 23) But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. |
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26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. |
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20) ...The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21)Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. |
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27) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming←[parousia] of the Son of man be. |
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24) For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. |
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25) But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. |
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28) For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. |
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37) And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. |
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29) Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: |
24) But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25) And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. |
25) And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26) Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. |
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30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. |
26) And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. |
27) And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. |
22) And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. |
23) But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. |
31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. |
27) And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. |
28) And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. |
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32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. |
28) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29) So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. |
29) And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30) When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31) So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. |
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34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. |
30) Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. |
32) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. |
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35) Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. |
31) Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. |
33) Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. |
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36) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. |
32) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. |
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37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming←[parousia] of the Son of man be. 38) For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39) And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming←[parousia] of the Son of man be. |
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26) And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. |
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40) Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41) Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. |
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34) I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35) Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36) Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. |
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42) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43) But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. |
33) Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34) For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35) Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36) Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37) And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. |
34) And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35) For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. |
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Growing up in the churches of Christ, it was not uncommon to hear Mark 9:1 quoted often to confirm that the kingdom was predicted to come in the 1st century, thereby refuting the denominational theology of a future Earthly kingdom; however, it seems as though the remainder of this text, and particularily the context was studiously avoided. What I am attempting to accomplish with this next chart is to compare the parallel texts / contexts of Mark 9:1 to gain a comprehensive understanding of what Jesus was teaching. As we have noted above regarding the imminence of our Lord's return during His generation, the context of this discussion, recorded in triplicate, provides for us a 3 dimensional view of the coming of the Son of man in His kingdom.
| MATTHEW 16:13-28 | MARK 8:27-MARK 9:1 | LUKE 9:18-27 |
13) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15) He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19) And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20) Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 21) From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22) Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23) But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. |
27) And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28) And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29) And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30) And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. 31) And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32) And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33) But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. |
18) And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19) They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20) He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21) And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22) Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. |
24) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. |
34) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. |
23) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. |
25) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. |
35) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. |
24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. |
26) For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? |
36) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? |
25) For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? |
27) For the Son of Man is about to come with His angels in the glory of His Father. And then "He will give reward to each according to his practice." (KJ3) |
38) For whoever may be ashamed of Me and My Word in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (KJ3) |
26) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that one when He comes in His glory, and that of the Father, and of the holy angels. (KJ3) |
28) Truly I say to you, There are some standing here who will not taste of death, not until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (KJ3) |
9:1) And He said to them, Truly I say to you, There are some of The ones standing here who not shall taste of death, not until they see the kingdom of God coming in power. (KJ3) |
27) But truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God, not at all. (KJ3) |
With a preliminary look at these 3 texts, we see that it is beyond refute that Matthew, Mark, and Luke recorded the identical conversation. Good hermeneutics demand that we harmonize all the Divinely preserved information, for instance, note the highlighted text of Mark 8:31-34 and the parallels, where we find Jesus predicting the Jews' rejection of the Son of man, which confutes the Dispensational theology that God's original purpose to establish the kingdom was thwarted due to the unexpected rejection of the Messiah; also, looking at the conversation in 3-D shows us that Jesus was not only teaching His 12 disciples, but He was also addressing a multitude of people since they were going through the towns of Caesarea Philippi. This pesky little fact demonstrates that Jesus' statement, "there are some standing here which shall not taste of death..." cannot by any stretch of the imagination be construed to mean that half of more of the multitude died in the following week, i.e., this is not referring to the Transfiguration, especially since Jesus did not say, "There are some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see a vision of the Son of man coming in His kingdom."
| MATTHEW 16:27-28 | MARK 8:38-MARK 9:1 | LUKE 9:26-27 |
27) For the Son of Man is about to come with His angels in the glory of His Father. And then "He will give reward to each according to his practice." (KJ3) |
38) For whoever may be ashamed of Me and My Word in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (KJ3) |
26) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that one when He comes in His glory, and that of the Father, and of the holy angels. (KJ3) |
28) Truly I say to you, There are some standing here who will not taste of death, not until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (KJ3) |
9:1) And He said to them, Truly I say to you, There are some of The ones standing here who shall not taste of death, not until they see the kingdom of God coming in power. (KJ3) |
27) But truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God, not at all. (KJ3) |
As we look at this chart again, it's readily obvious as well as irrefutable that Mat 16:27, Mar 8:38, and Luk 9:26 are exactly parallel, and this becomes devastating to the Futurist paradigm in that Matthew's record includes judgment language in conjunction with the imminent ("is about to") coming of the Son of man. Unless and until someone can demonstrate that the coming of the Son of man, with His angels, in the glory of the Father, at the judgment of these 3 parallel texts differs from the coming of the Son of man, with His angels, in power and great glory, at the judgment, recorded in the Olivet Discourse, then these texts are synonymous!
Another one of those pesky little facts emerges as we observe that this judgment language of Matthew's record (v.27) is unquestionably parallel with Mark's record (v.38) which posits the coming of the Son of man in the glory of the Father, with His angels in this generation! As noted above, since Jesus was also addressing the multitude along with the 12 disciples, and says that some of them standing there in His presence would live to witness this Son-of-man-coming; and since half or more of this multitude, nor a single one of the 12 disciples died prior to the Transfiguration, then the inescapable conclusion is this prediction of the coming of the Son of man in judgment was squarely posited during the lifetime of that 1st century audience.
The Futurist paradigm simply cannot survive these very troublesome facts which emerge from consistent exegesis, but it becomes even worse as we consider some more passages!
| MATTHEW 16:26-27 | MARK 8:38-MARK 9:1 | LUKE 9:26-27 | MATTHEW 24 | LUKE 21 | MATTHEW 25 |
27) For the Son of Man is about to come with His angels in the glory of His Father. And then "He will give reward to each according to his practice." (KJ3) |
38) For whoever may be ashamed of Me and My Word in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (KJ3) |
26) For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that one when He comes in His glory, and that of the Father, and of the holy angels. (KJ3) |
30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. |
20) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh...(31) So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. |
31) When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: |
28) Truly I say to you, There are some standing here who will not taste of death, not until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (KJ3) |
9:1) And He said to them, Truly I say to you, There are some of The ones standing here who not shall taste of death, not until they see the kingdom of God coming in power. (KJ3) |
27) But truly I say to you, There are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God, not at all. (KJ3) |
31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. |
32) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. |
32) And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: |
More unavoidable facts jump out at us as we consider this last chart, i.e., the Son of man is about to come (Mat 16:27) in the glory of the Father (Mat 16:27; Mar 8:38; Luk 9:26) in that 1st century generation (Mat 16:28; Mar 8:38 & Mar 9:1; Luk 9:27; Mat 24:34; Luk 21:20-32) in His own glory (Luk 9:26) which is when He would sit upon the throne of His glory for the judgment, (Mat 25:31-46). This exegetical fact confutes the futurist paradigm hands down; but, there's more! As we look at these passages in parallel, the 3-D view given to us demonstrates that at least some of the multitude standing there would live to see the Son of man coming in His kingdom (Mat 16:28), which is synonymous with the kingdom coming with power which is synonymous with them seeing the kingdom coming. Point of fact is, the only coming of the Son of man predicted was to be concurrent with His coming in His kingdom, and as observed above, Jesus said, "the kingdom comes NOT with observation," therefore, it is an egregious and unprovable assertion for anyone to suggest that Acts 1:9-11 says Jesus would or will appear out of the clouds in an ocularly visible body at His second coming.
"And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, (Mat 19:28).
"And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, (Luk 22:29-30).
"Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God, (Luk 14:12-15).
Harmonizing these three passages with all the above parallel passages, I make the following exegetical argument:
The Son of man would come in His own glory in the 1st Century Generation (Luk 9:26; cf. Mk.8:38);
When the Son of man would come in His own glory would be when He would sit in the throne of His glory (Mat 25:31);
Therefore, the Son of man would sit in the throne of His glory in the 1st Century Generation.
When the Son of man would sit in the throne of His glory would be when all nations would be gathered before Him for the judgment (Mat 25:32);
Since the Son of man would sit in the throne of His glory in the 1st Century Generation:
Then all nations were gathered before Him for the judgment in the 1st Century Generation.
The Son of man would sit in the throne of His glory concurrently with the apostles sitting on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Mat 19:28);
The apostles would sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel when they would eat and drink at Messiah's table in the kingdom (Luk 22:29-30);
Eating bread in the kingdom would be at the resurrection of the just (Luk 14:12-15);
Therefore, the resurrection of the just, the judgment, and the second coming of the Son of man occurred in the 1st Century Generation.
To refute this exegesis, it must be demonstrated that Moses and the prophets predicted a third coming of the Son of man, in His own glory, with His angels, in the glory of the Father, to sit on His throne at a second judgment and second resurrection, and a second Messianic wedding banquet.