I’ve been involved in a study of Matthew 16:27-28, showing that it is a single, united statement about Jesus’ coming in his Kingdom and in the glory of the Father, in order to judge mankind according to their works. The problem for futurists is that they absolutely must divide verse-27 from verse-28 in order to maintain their futurist eschatology, because Jesus emphasizes his coming in the glory of the Father with the words: “there are some standing here who shall not taste of death, until they see the Son of Man come in his Kingdom.”
That is an absolutely astonishing statement that cripples futurist eschatology, if they cannot reasonably show that there is a great gap of cir. 2000 years or more between Matthew 16:27 and 28. In over a dozen studies I have been proving that there is no such gap between the two verses. I’ve proved this literally, by drawing from Old Testament prophecies that Jesus based his prophecy upon, and by offering New Testament parallels that contain the same constituent elements as Matthew 16:27-28, but not even a single scholar attempts to divide those scriptures, many of which are Jesus’ own words. In this study I hope to similarly show that the verses are united and do not need a gap inserted between them. I intend to do this by offering yet another parallel scripture, namely, Matthew 24, that contains the same basic elements we find in Matthew 16:27-28.
Let’s begin in Matthew 23 where Jesus is confronting the Jewish leadership in the persons of the scribes and the Pharisees. In verse-29 Jesus condemns the Jewish authorities for beautifying the tombs of the prophets, while saying they wouldn’t have treated the prophets as their fathers had done. In doing so, they had admitted they were the children of those who had persecuted and slain the prophets of God (verse-30-31). Therefore, Jesus told them to fill up the cup of their fathers, because Jesus intended to send to them apostles and wise men, whom they would kill and persecute from city to city. Therefore, upon them and their generation would come the judgment for all the righteous blood, shed from Able to the present time (Matthew 23:32-36). Moreover, upon leaving the Temple complex where he pronounced that judgment, Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be utterly destroyed (Matthew 23:37-38).
The Apostles were astonished and asked Jesus to consider what he was saying, pointing to how great the stones were (Matthew 24:1), but Jesus simply reiterated his judgment that not one stone would be left upon another that wouldn’t have first been thrown out of its original place (Matthew 24:2).
There, the foundation of this study is laid. Jesus has made a judgment, and the Temple would be destroyed. One cannot do that without first conquering the city. Therefore, considering what Jesus had just told them, the disciples later came to him and asked when would these things be, and (given the fact Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed) what would be the sign of his coming (into his Kingdom – cf. Matthew 24:3). Jesus offered them signs that would foreshadow the event, but no single sign meant the time was imminent (Matthew 24:6-8). Only when all the signs Jesus gave were present at the same time would it show that his coming would be at hand, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33). Notice the following chart, as Matthew 24:29-34 applies to Matthew 16:27-28:
| Matthew 16:27-28 | Matthew 24:29-34 |
| Immediately after the tribulation of those days (v. 29) | |
| the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (v. 29) | |
| Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father (v. 27) | they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (v. 30) |
| then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn (v. 30) | |
| with his angels (v. 27) | he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet (v. 31) |
| he shall reward every man according to his works (v. 27) | they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (v. 31) |
| Verily I say unto you (v. 28 | Verily I say unto you, (v. 34) |
| There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see (v. 28) | This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. (v. 34) |
| the Son of man coming in his kingdom (v. 28) | then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven (v. 30) |
Notice that the same constituent elements found in Matthew 16:27-28 are also found in Matthew 24:29-34, and remember, Jesus is speaking about the destruction of the Temple, not the end of the space-time continuum (which the Bible never mentions at all) or the end of the Gospel Age (which never ends; see Daniel 2:44). Remember, no one tries to divide Matthew 24 to make two comings, two judgments, two events where the heavens are significant, or two generations, where all these things come together. Yet, Matthew 24 has Jesus coming in great power and glory, in judgment, with his angels and in the expected lifetime of Jesus’ listeners, the very same basic elements Jesus mentions in Matthew 16:27-28, which all futurists need to divide and place a gap between in order to maintain their eschatology. Therefore, Matthew 16:27-28 are not divided and they prophesy Jesus coming in great power and glory (his ‘Second Coming) cir. 70 AD at the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (cf. Matthew 26:64).
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