The Second Coming to Occur within the Lifetime of Some of the Disciples

The Second Coming to Occur within the Lifetime of Some of the Disciples Below is the fifth of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia, the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com)

"THE PAROUSIA [SECOND COMING] TO TAKE PLACE WITHIN THE LIFETIME OF SOME OF THE DISCIPLES.

... Matthew 16:28: 'Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.' Mark 9:1: '...Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.' Luke 9:27: 'But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.' "This remarkable declaration is of the greatest importance in this discussion, and may be regarded as the key to the right interpretation of the New Testament doctrine of the Parousia [Second Coming]. Though it cannot be said that there are any special difficulties in the language [of the Gospel verses quoted above], it has greatly perplexed the commentators, who are much divided in their explanations. It is surely unnecessary to ask what is the coming of the Son of man here predicted. To suppose that it refers merely to the glorious manifestation of Jesus on the mount of transfiguration [which took place only a week after Jesus' not-taste-of-death prophecy (Matt. 17:1, "after six days"; Mark 9:2, "after six days"; Luke 9:28, "about eight days after")], though an hypothesis which has great names to support it, is so palpably inadequate as an interpretation that it scarcely requires refutation. The same remark will apply to the comments of Dr. [Johann Peter] Lange, who supposes it to have been partially fulfilled by the resurrection of Christ. ... "It is enough to say that such an interpretation [i.e., fulfillment by the resurrection] of our Saviour's words could never have entered into the minds of those who heard them. It is so far-fetched, intricate, and artificial, that it is discredited by its very ingenuity. But neither does the interpretation satisfy the requirements of the language. How could the resurrection of Christ be called His coming in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels, in His kingdom, and to judgment? Or how can we suppose that Christ, speaking of an event [the resurrection] which was to take place in about twelve months, would say, 'Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see' it? The very form of the expression shows that the event spoken of could not be within the space of a few months, or even a few years: it ["not taste of death"] is a mode of speech which suggests that not all present will live to see the event spoken of [that of the Son of Man's coming in glory]; that not many will do so; but that some will. It is exactly such a way of speaking as would suit an interval of thirty or forty years, when the majority of the persons then present would have passed away, but some would survive and witness the event referred to. "[Henry] Alford and [Rudolf Ewald] Stier more reasonably understand the passage as referring 'to the [A.D. 70] destruction of Jerusalem and the full manifestation of the kingdom of Christ by the annihilation of the Jewish polity [government],' though both embarrass and confuse their interpretation by the hypothesis of an occult and ulterior [more distant] allusion to another 'final coming,' of which the destruction of Jerusalem was the 'type and earnest.' Of this, however, no hint nor intimation is given either by Christ Himself, or by the evangelists [Matthew, Mark, and Luke]. It cannot, indeed, be denied that occasionally our Lord uttered ambiguous language. He said to the Jews: 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up' (John ii. 19 [John 2:19]); but the evangelist is careful to add: 'But he spake of the temple of his body' [John 2:21]. So when Jesus spoke of 'rivers of living water flowing from the heart of the believer,' St. John adds an explanatory note: 'This spake he of the [S]pirit,' etc. [John 7:39]. Again, when the Lord alluded to the manner of His own death, 'I, if I be lifted up from the earth,' etc., the evangelist adds: 'This he said, signifying what death he should die' (John xii. 33 [John 12:33]). It is reasonable to suppose, therefore[,] that had the evangelists known of a deeper and hidden meaning in the predictions of Christ, they would have given some intimation to that effect; but they say nothing to lead us to infer that their apparent meaning is not their full and true meaning. There is, in fact, no ambiguity whatever as to the coming referred to in the passage [Matt. 16:28 and parallels] now under consideration. It is not one of several possible comings; but the one, sole, supreme event, so frequently predicted by our Lord, so constantly expected by His disciples. It is His coming in glory; His coming to judgment; His coming in His kingdom; the coming of the kingdom of God. ...The New Testament knows of only one Parousia, one coming in glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is altogether an abuse of language to speak of several senses in which Christ may be said to come,--- as at His own resurrection; at the day of Pentecost; at the destruction of Jerusalem; at the death of a believer; and at various providential epochs. This is not the usage of the New Testament, nor is it accurate language in any point of view. This passage [Matt. 16:28 and parallels] alone contains so much important truth respecting the Parousia, that it may be said to cover the whole ground; and, rightly used, will be found to be a key to the true interpretation of the New Testament doctrine on this subject. "We conclude then: "1. That the coming here spoken of is the Parousia, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. "2. That the manner of His coming was to be glorious---'in his own glory; 'in the glory of his Father;' 'with the holy angels.' [Matt. 16:27-28] "3. That the object of His coming was to judge that 'wicked and adulterous generation ' (Mark viii. 38 [Mark 8:38]), and 'to reward every man according to his works [Matt. 16:27].' [Blog editor's note: The literal translation of the Greek at Matt. 16:27 is "The Son of man is "about to come" (Greek: mellei)....] "4. That His coming would be the consummation of 'the kingdom of God;' the close of the aeon [Greek: sunteleias tou aionos or ta tele ton aionon, Matt. 13:49, 24:3; 1 Corin. 10:11; Hebrews 9:26]; 'the coming of the kingdom of God with power' [Mark 9:1]. "5. That this coming was expressly declared by our Saviour to be near. ... "6. That some of those who heard our Lord utter this prediction were to live to witness the event of which He spoke, viz., [that is] His coming in glory. The inference therefore is, that the Parousia, or glorious coming of Christ, was declared by Himself to fall within the limits of the then existing [1st-century] generation,--- a conclusion which we shall find in the sequel [upcoming commentary] to be abundantly justified."

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