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Matthew 16:27-28 - Don Preston Review #24

27 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. 28 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.  -  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 we move closer to the end of this study on Matthew 16:27-28 the recordings seems to be moving towards external defenses and less upon the original text itself. So if you are a late joiner, I strongly recommend starting back at the beginning and do some brief catch up before this particular series is over. All the videos can be found using the Essential Series page.

@1:10: Recognize where this question is coming from. This is not a view associated with traditional dispensational premillennialism. This is more likely an argument stemming from an amillennial/postmillennial perspective or perhaps even some new progressive dispensationalist. I unfortunately don't have the time to address these views but I'll put it out there that this argument would most likely stem from someone who holds a non-premillennial view. So if this argument seems incomplete to you, it may be because of other prior eschatological perceptions.

@2:00: This point is valid. I don't know anyone who would attempt to place both verses being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. However, it could be argued that the two verses described the same eternal event that stretch across historical timelines. I'm not support this argument but I believe it could be argued that what begins at Pentecost (Acts 2:20-21) is only the beginning of what is to be fulfilled in fullness of time almost 40 years later (Matt 24:29-30).

@3:38: While I would agree that it cannot be concluded that Pentecost completed the vindication of Christ and His disciples, all readers of Scripture must understand the importance of Peter's sermon (Acts 2:29-39). Anyone who does not see the miraculous defense of Jesus Christ for the first time by one of His believers is a fool. This is not natural. This is the first step in the vindication of Jesus Christ. It is not complete vindication but surely it is the start.

This is more a closing comment on the whole of the video. You can begin to see the issues I have with Mr Preston's misunderstanding concerning the "coming of Christ". In Daniel 7:13-14 the "son of man" is coming before "the Ancient of Days". This is not a return of Jesus Christ to earth! Instead this is the ascension described in Acts 1. An ascension that validated the kingdom of Jesus Christ being fulfilled. In case we doubt this, Stephen makes it clear that Christ is already enthroned (Acts 7:56) and Paul teaches us soundly (Eph 1:20-21).

Preston's Ponderings: I was raised believing that Matthew 16:28 predicted the establishment of the church on Pentecost. I discovered that this simply cannot be true however. In this video, I give just a tiny bit of the evidence for rejecting the "Pentecost" view of Matthew 16:28.