Matthew 16:27-28 - Don Preston Review #2

February 21, 2013 Joshua Torrey

²⁷For 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. ²⁸Truly, 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. - Matthew 16:27-28

Note: Don Preston is a full preterist and therefore his teaching cannot receive full or blind acceptance. His many videos on YouTube are worthy of listening and interacting with in a timeline manner.

As introduction, this video continues with the evaluation of Matthew 16 and its relationship to Isaiah 40. Last time I was unable to see the obvious connection other than a shared theme of judgment. This video did not help me any. Comments are welcome. Otherwise here is some very brief interaction with this video.

@1:47: Mr Preston starts with a very simple truth. John is the Elijah to come if we are willing to accept it,

¹¹Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,[d] and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. ¹⁵He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:11-15)

@3:28: Mr Preston is correct in saying John came to prepare for judgment. We don't need the Isaiah passage to teach this,

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:7-12)

³And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight and the rough places shall become level ways, 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” ⁷He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves,‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.⁹Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” ¹¹And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics[b] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” ¹²Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” ¹³And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” ¹⁵As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, ¹⁶John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.¹⁷His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. (Luke 3:3-18)

In fact the word εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō 2097) in Luke 3:18 is typically associated with the preaching of the gospel. John is effectively teaching the gospel in the midst of his proclamation of judgment.

@4:40: Mr Preston is correct in his evaluation of Matthew 16:27 but I still don't see how it is conclusive that Matthew is linked together with Isaiah?

Preston's Ponderings: On-going examination of key topics and issues related to eschatology, i.e. the doctrine of the last days. Preston's Ponderings will present positive lessons with in-depth exegesis, as well as refuting those opposed to the preterist view of prophecy. www.eschatology.org; www.bibleprophecy.com