Matthew 10:17-23
you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of
Man comes
Matthew 10:17-23 reads:
"But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge
you in their synagogues; and you shall even be brought before governors and
kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they
deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak; for it
shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak. For it is not you who
speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. And brother
will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will
rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be
hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the
end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to
the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the
cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes."
Obviously the Matthew 10 passage is very similar to the Olivett Discourse (Matt
24; Luke 21). Of course this in itself does not prove they are speaking of the
same thing (even though I believe they are).
First, Christ warns his disciples about being delivered up to the
"synagogues". By itself, of course, that does not demand a first century
fulfillment, though this passage does fit the pattern of first century
persecution and would be very difficult today as synagogues are not terribly
plentiful compared to the Church.
Second, Jesus' prophecy here implies continuing divine revelation and
inspiration: "it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who
speaks in you." Divine inspiration ended after the first century, when such
inspirational gifts were removed from the church. Therefore it would have had to
have been accomplished before that time.
Third, Jesus is speaking to His disciples when He says, "But whenever they
persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall
not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes." Are
we to believe that after 1900 years the disciples are still "going through the
cities of Israel" ???
The Coming of the Son of Man
The only real problem that futurists have here is that, they claim, Christ
did not come in the first century. So what about that? If He did not come, then
this passage must mean something other than what it appears to mean.
The solution from a preterist viewpoint is that Christ can and has "come" in
several ways other than his Second Coming:
- He comes to us spiritually in the person of the Holy Spirit (John
14:16-18).
- He "comes" to God in heaven to receive His kingdom (Daniel 7:13).
- He comes in judicial judgment upon men in history (Revelation 2:5;
Matthew 21:40-45).
So it is completely possible, and contextually probable, that the judgment
coming of Christ in 70 A.D. was what was being spoken of here. I believe the
time frame evidence demands that in Matthew 10 Christ is referring to his coming
to judge Jerusalem, not his Second Coming at the conclusion of earth's history.
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