Context!: Evangelical Views on the Millennium Examined by Gary Long

Author:Gary Long [Long, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-12-13T23:00:00+00:00

c.Concerning the consummation of the kingdom of God. Representative of the Lord's return being imminent yet delayed, Hoekema believes that the sayings of Jesus in Mark 9:1 (and parallels in Matt. 16:28 and Luke 9:27), Mark 13:30 (and parallels in Matt. 24:34 and Luke 21:32), and Matthew 10:23 teach that the disciples were to be watchful regarding Christ's return, but he says that it—

is clear that Jesus did not set a date for his return. . . . Jesus did, however, teach that within the lifetime of his hearers he would come in kingly glory (Matt. 16:28); these words referred to his resurrection, which would be a prelude to and a guarantee of his Parousia. Jesus therefore taught the certainty of his Parousia, without giving us its exact date. Some of his sayings [and parables in Matt. 13; 25] leave room for the passage of a considerable amount of time before his return [Matt. 24:7, 14; Mark 13:7-8, 10; Luke 21:10-11]. But since the exact time of the Parousia is unknown [Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32], constant watchfulness is required. This watchfulness does not mean idle waiting, but requires the diligent use of our gifts in the service of Christ's kingdom.58

POINT: What Hoekema says in regard to the nature of the kingdom of God may be summed up in his understanding that the New Testament expresses the already-not yet tension in “its doctrine of the two ages: the present age and the age to come. . . . It is, in fact, impossible to understand New Testament eschatology apart from this tension.”59

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.