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NASB | Matthew 16:28 ¶ "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 16:28 ¶ "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." |
Subject: Preterism refuted using Scripture alone? |
Bible Note: Dear Coper, You asked, "Who gets to determine which truths to pursue and which truth is beyond pursuit?" "Beyond pursuit?" I did not use this wording. What I wrote was "we aren't assured of possessing all truth." You have brought up an entirely different subject. All that the Bible contains is true, but the Bible does not contain all truth. In that sense, there are things that we know to be true that Paul, for example, did not know. Some of the doctrines we hold as commonplace today, were not so conveniently articulated even by the apostles. In the intervening centuries, by careful, considered, contemplation, and cogitation of the revelation of Scripture has yielded a great deal of fruit. "Now we see darkly, as in a mirror." But occasionally, by exertion and debate, we are able to see a bit more clearly. For in this process we have Biblical precedent. The prophets desired to understand many things that we now see clearly, because God has provided further revelation (1 Peter 1:10-12). There's even indications in verse 12 that the angelic host of heaven desire for their knowledge to be expanded in some areas. There are a myriad of things to which we simply are not meant to be privy (Deuteronomy 29:29). The old divines deemed that this included the "secret will of God." Some of that will be revealed in time. But there are other things that we simply will never know, even in glory. Isn't that obvious, given our nature and given the nature of our Maker? You asked, "Did they believe Jesus would return in their lifetime?" Yes, they did. Look at John 28:18-24. Here we have John explicitly refuting such a misunderstanding of the words of Christ Himself. Also, as you've pointed out, the Thessalonians were expecting His imminent return. But aren't all the redeemed? And aren't we commanded to do so? (cf Mark 13:31-32) You asked, "If so, didn't they believe it because an inspired apostle or the Lord himself told them that he would return soon, in their lifetime?" (sic) See above. You asked, "Did they believe that the coming of Christ would bring relief to them from the afflictions they were suffering? (II Thess. 1:6-8)" Yes, there is great hope in Christ's return. We long for it because we so deeply desire to behold the Object of our devotion. We long for it because it represents the beginning of the consummation of the final stage of our transformation. I quoted Moltmann just the other day when I posted, "Eschatology means the doctrine of Christian hope, which embraces both the object hoped for and also the hope inspired by it. From first to last, and not merely in epilogue, Christianity is eschatology, is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore is also revolutionizing and transforming the present. The eschatological is not one element of Christianity, but is the medium of Christian faith as such, the key in which everything in it is set, the glow that suffuses everything here in the dawn of an expected new day." You asked, "Aren't we really reading someone elses mail and trying to apply it to ourselves?" (sic) Yes, some of it was "someone else's mail." (Take for example the pastoral epistles.) But how do you think we got that mail? We aren't just snooping! :-) Certainly the Holy Spirit was responsible for the Word being made available to us. (There are many, many other letters and sermons that haven't made it to us... they simply aren't Scripture!) From a purely human standpoint, clearly Timothy and Titus recognized the value of the letters they received from Paul for subsequent generations. Some mail contained explicit instructions for its dissemination (Colossians 4:16); some were written to survive their writers (2 Peter 1:15); some were written directly to all of us (John 20:31; Revelation 1:3). In Him, Doc |