In recent studies on the Second Coming of Christ, I have been demonstrating that the presumed gap between Matthew 16:27 and 28 simply does not exist. I have demonstrated this by going into the Old Testament showing the prophecies that Jesus applied to the foretelling of his coming into his Kingdom. I demonstrated the same by arguing that the literary content excludes a break between the two verses, and I’ve also used Jesus’ words that fulfillment of the whole Law (i.e. the whole Old Testament) had to have occurred before the Old Covenant ended. So, if the Old Covenant is no longer in force, then Jesus must have returned, because the Old Covenant predicted his coming in his Kingdom.
Moreover, I’ve also used New Testament parallels that contain the same basic elements as Matthew 16:27-28, and no one argues those parallel scriptures must be divided. For example, notice what Matthew 25:31 states:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: (Matthew 25:31)
What do we have? We have the same basic events recorded in Matthew 25:31-46 as is found in Matthew 16:27-28. Notice:
- Everything that is said in Matthew 25:31 refers to the same event and the same time.
- Both Matthew 25 and Matthew 16:27-28 speak of identical events – the coming of the Lord, the judgment, his coming in glory, his coming with his angels and his coming in his kingdom.
- Therefore, we must conclude that Matthew 16:27-28 is a unified passage in the same manner that Matthew 25:31-46 is, because both scriptures speak of the same, identical things.
What I would like to do in this study is do the same with Revelation 11 that I have done above with Matthew 25:31-46. Notice what John wrote:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which are, and were, and are to come; because thou have taken to yourself your great power, and have reigned. And the nations were angry, and your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:15-18; emphasis mine)
What do we have here? We have the coming of the Lord in power; we have the coming of the Kingdom of God; we have the time of the judgment and the time of the resurrection. Moreover, Revelation 1:1 shows these things must shortly come to pass, which parallels Jesus’ statement in Matthew 16:28 that he would come in his Kingdom before some of the people living at that time would pass away.
| Matthew 16:27-28 | Matthew 25:31-46 | Revelation 11:15-18 |
| Coming of Christ in the glory of the Father (v. 27). | Son of Man shall come in his glory (v. 31). | You have taken to yourself great power (v. 17). |
| To reward every man according to his works (v. 27). | Judgment, (v. 32-46). | The time of the dead that they should be judged (v. 18). |
| Coming of Christ in his Kingdom (v. 28). | The Son of Man… shall sit upon the throne of his glory (v. 31). | You have taken to yourself great power and have reigned (v. 17). |
| Some standing here shall not taste of death until they see the Son of man come in his Kingdom (v. 28). | The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass (Revelation 1:1). |
When would Christ have come into his Kingdom and judged the living and the dead? He did this cir. 70 AD at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Roman armies as foretold in Daniel 9:26. The fact that most people today believe the Apocalypse was written late in the first century AD is in error, and not in agreement with Clement of Alexandria who claimed all of the New Testament was written between the reigns of Tiberius and Nero.[1]
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[1] See Clement of Alexandria; Stromata book 7, chapter 17, paragraphs 3 & 4.
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