The Great Eschatological Discourse

Abstract

The great eschatological discourse of Matthew xxiv is a thorn in the flesh of the interpreter. The divergence of opinion can be seen in examining G. R. BEASLEY-MURRAY's work Jesus and the Future 1). After reviewing the many courageous attempts to deal with the passage as BEASLEY-MURRAY treats them, one can sympathize with the words of A. B. BRUCE who said, What is said thereon is so perplexing as to attempt a modern expositor to wish it had not been there, or to have recourse to critical expedients to eliminate it from the text 2). One of the problems in Mt. 24 centers around the words of verses 32-34 with special reference to v. 34: Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be accomplished. The verse seems to imply that all of the preceding 31 verses must come to pass in that generation or the lifetime of the auditors.