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Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 89
Using the analogy of a puzzle, Gary points out that many prophetic systems try to fit biblical facts into their system, but without having the full picture from the front of the puzzle box.
Who does Jesus say will see “all these things”? Certainly not a future audience. “So, you too, when you see all these things.” The first “you” is obviously Jesus’ present audience as is the second “you.” No one reading Matthew 24:33 could conceive that either use of “you” by Jesus refers to an audience different from the audience to whom Jesus was addressing. If Jesus had a future generation in mind, He could have eliminated all confusion by saying, “even so they too, when they see all these things, they will recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, that generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Of course, that’s not what the verses say.
The use of “this” confirms that the only generation in view is the one in Jesus’ day. As Greek grammar books point out, the near demonstrative “this” is always used in the New Testament to describe what is near in terms of time, place, and distance:
The demonstrative[s] . . . are of two kinds: near [this/these] and distant [that/those]. The near demonstratives, as the name denotes, points to someone or something “near,” in close proximity. They appear as the singular word “this” and its plural “these.” The distant demonstratives, as their name suggests, appear as “that” (singular), or “those” (plural).[1]
We can follow the way Matthew uses the near demonstrative “this” throughout his gospel to see that he has his present audience in view and not one in the distant future: “this way” (6:9), “this day” (6:11), “this fellow” (9:3), “this news” (9:26), “this city” (10:23), “this place” (12:6), “this man” (13:56), “this people” (15:8); “this rock” (15:18), “this desolate place” (15:33), “this little child” (18:4), “this mountain” (21:21), “this stone” (21:44), “this image” (22:20), “this gospel” (24:14), “this generation” (24:34), “this woman” (26:13), “this night” (26:31). “This” refers to what’s near.
If Jesus had wanted to identify a future generation, He could have chosen the adjective that to distinguish the generation to whom He was speaking from a future generation (e.g., Matt. 7:22 [“that day” is in the future]; 8:12 [“that place” refers to the place of judgment distant from our place and time]; 10:19 [“that hour” refers to a future time]; 24:10 [“and at that time” refers to a future time but within the time parameters of “this generation”]; 24:36 [“that day and hour” refers to a future day and hour that was near the end of their generation (1 John 2:18; Heb. 10:25), not their present day and hour]; 26:29 [“that day” refers to a time when Jesus is in the kingdom, a future time]).
Wars and Rumors of Wars
A first-century interpretation of the Olivet Discourse was once common in commentaries and narrative-style books that describe the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. There is also a history of skeptics who turn to Bible prophecy and claim Jesus was wrong about the timing of His coming at “the end of the age” and the signs associated with it. A mountain of scholarship shows that the prophecy given by Jesus was fulfilled in exacting detail when He said it would: before the generation of those to whom He was speaking passed away.
Buy NowUsing the analogy of a puzzle, Gary points out that many prophetic systems try to fit biblical facts into their system, but without having the full picture from the front of the puzzle box. Bible prophecy isn’t a stand-alone discipline within biblical interpretation; it must stand alongside everything else taught in Scripture. In other words, it must be consistent with all the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation.
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[1] Cullen I K Story and J. Lyle Story, Greek To Me: Learning New Testament Greek Through Memory Visualization (New York: Harper, 1979), 74. “This” refers “to something comparatively near at hand, just as ekeinos [that] refers to something comparatively farther away.” William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 4th ed. (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1952), 600. “Sometimes it is desired to call attention with special emphasis to a designated object, whether in the physical vicinity or the speaker or the literary context of the writer. For this purpose the demonstrative construction is used… For that which is relatively near in actuality or thought the immediate demonstrative [houtos] is used… For that which is relatively distant in actuality or thought the remote demonstrative [ekeinos] is used.” H. E. Dana and Julius R. Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (New York; Macmillan, 1957), 127-128, sec. 136.