Where Is the Promise of His Coming?: The Delay of the Parousia in the New Testament

by David L. Mathewson

The New Testament contains numerous statements by Jesus and New Testament authors that seem to suggest that Jesus was coming back soon, in their lifetime! But two thousand years later here we still are. How do we handle this apparent “failed prophecy”? Did Jesus and his followers get it wrong? Did they miscalculate the timing of Jesus’ return? Or were Jesus and the authors of the New Testament anticipating something else? The purpose of this book is to examine this issue by looking in detail at the New Testament texts that seem to promise that Christ is coming back right away. It will provide a possible answer to these questions in light of the tension between the promised imminent return of Christ and its delay.

Genres: Theology

130 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2018

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mathewson is repetitive and unconvincing in many areas. His conclusion regarding the various passages of the NT that seem to indicate a "soon" or "near" return of Christ is that while these indicate a hopeful expectation, they fall short of actually predicting that Jesus would return to earth within the lifetime of the NT audience. In other words, the statements that seem to assert a "soon" and "near" second-coming are really just reminders that the coming of Christ could be any time--imminent or delayed. As such, they didn't necessarily expect Jesus's return in their lifetimes, even if it was a legitimate hope.

Admittedly, some passages that Mathewson treats can be explained this way. He's also helpful in pointing out a tension that exists in some authors' writing that seem to indicate the possibility of nearness while expecting some measure of delay.

However, this means of interpretation doesn't seem to work in all examples, which makes Mathewson's exegesis quite strained in places. His refrain that, even after 2,000 years, it's still legitimate for Christians to say, "Christ is coming soon" rings hollow because it has, in fact, been 2,000 years since the writers of the NT made the claim and Christ hasn't returned. This leads me to believe that there must be better explanations for those passages that do not easily conform to Mathewson's explanation.

[Philip Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the topic - why has it taken so long for Jesus to return if the NT predicted it would be “soon”? Really solid stuff. I still think RT France has the best take on Matthew 24, but overall, Mathewson has provided a very stimulating book.