Originally posted by Paul Dirac II
My apologies if this has been discussed here recently.
I have heard more than one interpretation of the following scripture:
[b]Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Matt 16:28).
How about we hear your exegesis on that?[/b]
Thanks PD2 for an interesting question.
The traditional way this passages seems to have been interpreted is to spiritualise the "Kingdom", since Jesus said on several occasions that his kingdom was "not of this earth". The next step is then to identify exactly WHAT this spiritual coming of the Kingdom was during the next twenty years or so. A possibility would be the day of Pentecost.
A more heretical POV could be that the "human" side of Jesus actually made a mistake in thinking that the Second Coming, i.e. the coming to set up his kingdom, was far closer than actually happened. Such a POV could be supported by the scripture which says that "NOBODY knows THAT DAY, not even the Son, but only the Father." So Jesus did not know, and may have speculated...
Clearly, this view would be anathema to any Fundamentalist.
It is however clear from Paul's writings that the early church was literally sitting on the edge of their figurative chairs, and expecting the "setting up of the Kingdom" at any moment. Paul talked of "those of us who remain and are alive", expecting himself to be in that group.