I am astonished by how people in churches bend over backwards to discredit the words of Jesus on eschatology. This is the same Jesus we claim to be the Son of God and stake our eternal life upon. Yet many don’t believe Him when He speaks on eschatology. Why!? No wonder Muslims, Jews, and Atheists discredit Jesus. We the church are doing the same! Stop it.
Let’s LOGICALLY examine one of His most clear messages ever given on the timing of His return in His kingdom, a kingdom He described as spiritual, not physical, “not observable,” and “not of this world.” Indeed the kingdom that He said would exist “among the tares.”
Luke:
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
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Uh oh, you can already see why pre-trib, pre-millennial futurists DON’T LIKE this passage. And what’s the common response you hear? Transfiguration? That, my friend, is a knee-jerk emotional response from likes of those not ready to restructure their false theories to line up with those of Jesus. It’s actually a sadly comical answer, and here’s why. Let’s look at the 2 parallel passages, remembering that humans, not God, created chapter and verse separations in the Bible. Here’s the inspired text:
Matthew:
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
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Right away, 2 big constituent elements should jump out at you and disqualify the transfiguration at the subject of Jesus’ statement. If you didn’t see them, look at again and make a mental note. Let’s go on.
Mark:
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”—Summary of ALL the constituent elements using BASIC LOGIC:1. Jesus was coming back2. Jesus was coming back while some disciples were still alive3. Jesus was coming back after some disciples had died4. Jesus was coming back in judgment5. Jesus was coming back in His kingdom6. Jesus was coming back in the generation in which He was speaking, to the generation to which He was speaking7. Jesus was coming with His angelsDo all of these elements fit the transfiguration?Absolutely not.
Here are the accounts of that event:
Matthew:
17 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
Mark:
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
Luke:
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
—Let’s check those constituent elements against the transfiguration:
1. Jesus was coming back
No, doesn’t fit, He never left
2. Jesus was coming back while at least 2 disciples were still alive
Sure, but NO ONE had died yet & it was only 6-8 days later, so this would render Jesus’ statement foolish, if this was what He was referring to
3. Jesus was coming back after at least 1 disciple died
No, nobody had died yet
4. Jesus was coming back in judgment
No, nobody got judged at the transfiguration
5. Jesus was coming back in His kingdom
You could say He gave a kingdom glimpse, but He didn’t leave so He couldn’t have come back
6. Jesus was coming back in the generation in which He was speaking, to the generation to which He was speaking
The transfiguration did occur in the same generation, but foolishly soon (7 days), and again, He didn’t leave so He didn’t come back at the transfiguration
7. Jesus was coming with His angels
There were no angels present at the transfiguration!
——Logical Conclusions——
– the transfiguration is disqualified because Jesus hadn’t left, so couldn’t have come back at that event
– the transfiguration is disqualified because none of His disciples died in the 6-8 days between His statement & that event
– the transfiguration is disqualified because Jesus didn’t perform powerful judgment at that event
– the transfiguration is disqualified because Jesus did not come with His angels in that event
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Spoiler alert: He wasn’t talking about His transfiguration. He was OBVIOUSLY talking about His 2nd coming, which was to occur PRIOR to death of all the disciples, which perfectly harmonizes His other statements, especially this one, where He implies that PETER would be dead, but JOHN would be alive:
John 21:20-22—- Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
Guess what? That also fits with this statement of Jesus:
Matthew 10:23
When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
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And you already know the statement from the Olivet Discourse. Turns out “this generation” actually means what is obviously means. Jesus was CONSISTENT.