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by Chuck
Missler |
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Available in the following formats:
DVD
- R 159.00
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This
Generation? - Resolving The Olivet Discourse
It is ironic that Jesus' opening imperative in His
"Olivet Discourse" is "Take heed that no man deceive you."
This is His command, but it begs a question of means: "How
do we avoid that?" There seems to be more conjectures and
misunderstandings over this passage than almost any other in
the New Testament.
The tools to avoid deception derive from a study of
epistemology: the study of knowledge - its scope and limits.
Our exploration of this passage will challenge more than
simply our hermeneutics alone. It will challenge our grasp
of the whole eschatological plan in its entirety.
For many students of eschatology - the study of last things
- the so-called Olivet Discourse has proven to be a
troublesome passage, with many finding it confusing and
ostensibly self-contradictory; a hermeneutical battleground
between the dispensationalists and the preterists, etc. The
preterists insist that this passage - and the Book of
Revelation - has been already fulfilled, and much of it is
dismissed by them as simply allegorical. Yet even those who
embrace a dispensational view have difficulty reconciling
many of the Olivet Discourse passages.In optics, the
resolving power of a telescope determines its ability to
distinguish between two close, but distinct, stars. An
apparent single star viewed with a cheap telescope turns out
to be a pair of distinctly separate stars when viewed with a
telescope of better optical quality. This quality is known
as the "resolving power" of its optics.
We seem to have an analogous situation here. In this case,
we may benefit by setting aside our presumptions and
presuppositions and let the several texts speak for
themselves.The traditional "harmonization of the Gospels" is
part of the problem. Ever since Augustine, scholars have
attempted to meld the four distinct Gospels into a combined
narrative. While this can be useful for a cursory review of
the life of Christ, it can also result in a myopia of sorts
and the "Olivet Discourse" (recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13,
and Luke 21) is a salient example.
Since Matthew was skilled in shorthand, we tend to lean on
his detailed rendering. And yet there seems to be a
substantial disparity between his record and that of Luke's.
Numerous elements appear identical in both accounts, so it
has been fashionable - for 1700 years - to assume that they
both deal with the same event. Attempts to "harmonize" them
have continued to yield a treacherous minefield of
confusion.
It seems that setting aside all of our presuppositions, and
simply trusting the integrity of the texts may improve our
"resolving power" in addressing these passages.
Jesus called us to respect the details, so let's take a
closer look at each of them. They each may be focusing on
different events from a different perspective and maybe even
addressing different audiences on different occasions. The
similarities of expression in the various accounts may have
caused us to jump to premature conjectures, etc. Issues
addressed in this DVD series include:
- Did the Destruction of Jerusalem referred to in the Olivet
Discourse happen in 70 A.D.? Or is it yet future? - What
is the “Abomination of Desolation”? When did it happen? Or
has it yet?
- Other issues include the Great Tribulation, the parable
of the fig tree, and which is the “generation that shall not
pass away...”?
DVD - Running Time 2hrs
