Peter Enns had Christopher M. Hays and C. A. Strine explain the thesis of their book When the Son of Man Didn’t Come which (I summarise) suggests Jesus’ prediction about his return indicates he expected it before the end of the first century. In that sense he was mistaken but only if we understand prophecy as prediction. Prophecy is rather conditional and hence:
The Kingdom has not been fulfilled, as Peter explains, because people dropped the ball. Therefore, everyone should bust their butts to speed up the arrival of the Kingdom of God.
I of course have hardly done the book (or indeed the three posts) justice so here are the three posts:
peteenns.com/on-why-jesus-hasnt-come-back-yet-and-the-answer-may-shock-you/
peteenns.com/guess-what-prophecies-arent-predictions-of-the-future-you-can-look-it-up/
peteenns.com/why-jesus-hasnt-come-back-yet-according-to-the-new-testament/
My purpose in picking this up is not to cover the book – the material looks excellent – but to suggest that the coming of the Son of Man is not primarily referring to the parousia and thus I am not convinced that Jesus was predicting that event. And given that I do see prophecy as conditional (and there are unfulfilled prophecies in Scripture – John Goldingay has some great examples of that) and that I am pretty convinced about Open Theism the ‘solution’ presented in the book is not an issue for me. However… here is where the posts began:
“Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:1).
He assured them, “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place” (13:30)—“all these things” apparently including reference to the “Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
In light of that promise he adjured them again and again, “keep alert . . . keep awake . . . keep awake” (Mark 13:33-37), for “truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” (Matt. 10:23).
Admittedly, he said that nobody would know the “hour or the day” of his return, but in general terms, Jesus definitely prophesied that he would be back before the end of the first century.
And since we are still here, it seems like he was pretty wrong!
The coming of the son of Man does seem to be rooted in the Danielic vision of chapter 7:
I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
If we give these verses a Christocentric interpretation then this could be a future vision of final judgement. In the context it is probably giving great hope that a representative will indeed be granted by God to rule when the beastly oppressing nations are judged. If Daniel, in the form we have it, is essentially placed in the Maccabean period then we have here great hope of God’s intervention. In the NT the hope is taken beyond that to the hope of Jesus as Messiah’s rule. I think a question we have to answer is when does that take place? Or maybe does is there one and only one future event that will indicate that has taken place? (Incidentally in the above scriptural quotes from the posts, the Matt. 10:23 one of ‘before the Son of Man comes’ does not even use parousia type language. Jesus uses the verb erchomai probably just referring to his reunion with the disciples in the very near future, after the twelve disciples have gone out in his name and before they head toward Jerusalem.)
Jesus said to the High Priest that in Mark 14:62:
“you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
This is surely not a prediction concerning the parousia but that if they have eyes to see the resurrection will indeed be evidence that Jesus is vindicated and is coming with the clouds of heaven not to earth but to the Ancient of Days.
In the Olivet Discourse we have in the three passages:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matt. 24: 29-31).
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (Mark 13: 14-27).
And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Maybe Matthew’s addition of ‘the sign’ of the coming of the Son of Man is significant, but even if not the coming of the Son of Man is not primarily a coming of Jesus a ‘second’ time from heaven to earth, but of the Son of Man coming to the Ancient of Days, as per Daniel. If we think fluidly, such as the Christ Event being the Incarnation – Baptism – Ministry – Cross – Resurrection – Ascension – Return we can likewise suggest that the ‘Coming of the son of Man’ predictions are not tied into the commonly understood return of Jesus but refers to all evidences that the Son of Man has indeed come in the clouds to the Ancient of Days. The sign and the reality are there to be seen.
In the light of that I do not think we need to posit that Jesus was mistaken. I do though suggest that given the conditional nature of prophecy that we can ‘hasten the day’ of his return. We do not build the kingdom, the New Jerusalem does not rise up, but comes down from the throne of God from heaven to earth, but I tie together the building materials of 1 Cor. 3 and the materials of the New Jerusalem and suggest the delay is because there is as yet insufficient building material for the cosmic temple, the New Jerusalem, the transformed earth. So to quote from the posts I do agree that:
Therefore, everyone should bust their butts to speed up the arrival of the Kingdom of God.