Jesus and the End-Time

The Interpretation of the End-Time
 Things New and Old

And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" Matthew 13:52
Christianity looks forward. There is no point in looking backward, because it is in the future that things must "work out for the best."

But what, precisely, do we expect to find in the future? We declare that God is there, but how will he show himself? What will he do? Are we to be frightened of the future or glad for it, or some of both? Or neither?

We are in something of a fix as we look forward. All we have to go on is the belief that God will be the same in the future as he is now and the general expectation that the world will continue to orbit the sun. Otherwise the future is a blank page, and we are neither prophets nor fortune-tellers with the gifts to write upon it. Even our general expectation is not guaranteed; the world may not continue to orbit the sun. Therefore, any plans we make are only plans and not certainties. "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain'; whereas you do not know about tomorrow" (James 4:13, 14).

So we search for certainty about the future the best we can. Some turn to the horoscope columns, some to insurance agencies, some to "false prophets" and absurd doctrines. But the Christian turns primarily to the Bible, because he believes that in it are all things necessary for his faith, doctrine, and conduct. So if there is anything I must know about the future that is necessary to my faith, doctrine, and conduct, I believe I will find it in the Bible. That search of the Bible is the purpose of this book.

It will not be easy. On many subjects the Bible is clear, and its clarity has led to the development of what is called "Christian orthodoxy"-a common understanding of salvation, of ethics, of God, and of Christ. But in this area, designated "eschatology"1 in formal theological language (which I am calling the "end-time" following the lead of previous teachers), the Bible is more difficult to follow. Instead of pointing happily to the future, discussions of the end-time have often led us smack into quarrels with brother Christians.

So we will rely on a very useful word - interpretation. An interpretation is a considered, careful opinion about a given subject, with reasons stated for holding the opinion. An unfortunate development in discussions of the end-time is that some teachers and writers forget that what they have to offer are interpretations - that is, opinions. Perhaps their opinions are very good, soundly and reasonably supported, but the remain opinions. They are not what the Bible says, but what the interpreter perceives the Bible to be saying. Actually no interpretation is equal to Scripture; every interpretation should be willing to stand the test of open discussion in the light of other interpretations.

I am offering in this study a valid interpretation of what the Bible says about Jesus and the end-time, but from the preceding paragraph you may correctly infer that I do not insist that mine is the only valid interpretation.

In order to understand my method of interpretation we must take seriously Jesus' parable about the scribe trained for the Kingdom of heaven, who is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. William's translation draws a clearer picture: "Every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who can bring out of his storeroom new furnishings as well as old."

Let us assume that I, in presuming to come to you with an understanding of this vital subject, am a scribe trained for the Kingdom. How am I like this householder?

I am like the new owner of a great mansion. In the attic I have discovered many magnificent pieces of furniture and art objects. Some of the items are antiques, some are newer, but all are of great beauty and value. I discover as I inventory my storeroom that I can, out of the resources available, furnish my mansion almost any way I like; apparently the previous owners never threw anything away. The fashions of many generations are there, so I can stick to one period if I want to or I can pick and choose from among many.

I take the second alternative. I bring out of my storeroom new furnishings as well as old, choosing what is appropriate to my best understanding of the use and beauty of the mansion. When I am finished I will inevitably have an expression not only of my own personality but also of the time in which I live' I can escape neither myself nor my generation. Another decorator might have come in and done it all differently with the materials at hand, but just because his would be different it would not necessarily be better. His personality is not mine, and he comes to the mansion with a different perception of what the mansion should look like and how it should be used.

Enough about furniture. The scribe has in his storeroom all the Scriptures: the law, the prophets, the writings, the Gospel. Some of it is very old, some not so old. Jesus told this parable in connection with several others in which he had been shedding new light on the Kingdom of heaven. Now he clarifies that while a scribe must be selective, he cannot be a hobbyist. He has at his disposal the whole counsel of God, and his selectivity must be defensible in the light of all that is available to him. He is engaged in work more significant than furnishing a house to suit his own taste' rather, his task is to bring the Word of God to bear on the situation that confronts him, and for that he needs all the resources and skills at his command-with a large dash of humility thrown in.

The scribe, like the householder, works in the context of his own personality and situation. His interpretation is not going to be permanent' the situation he faces will change, and the changes will demand fresh interpretations. Sermons and theological books become outdated quickly because the reason for them disappears. This book might share their fate, but that will not detract from its value now. My contemporaries are concerned about the end-time, and I write for them.

Two temptations face the interpreter. The first is to force every biblical passage dealing with the end-time into a preconceived scheme. This, in my judgment, is the major fault of "dispensational" interpretation; it does not so much arise out of the biblical materials as it is imposed upon them.2 But this fault lies not only with the dispensationalists; preconceived notions and prejudices are so much a part of us in every area of theology that none of us is pure. SO I can only promise to try to avoid this temptation; I cannot promise to succeed. Generally, we are blind to our own prejudices.

The second temptation is more subtle and more technical. We have already touched on the point that interpretation lies primarily in selection-bringing out of the storeroom what is new and what is old. The interpreter must exercise extreme care that the items he puts together from the Scriptures really belong together. The Bible was written over a span of many centuries by many different persons in varied situations. Ezekiel, for example, was speaking to a group of dispirited exiles in Babylon right at the time their Holy City of Jerusalem was under siege hundreds of miles away. The exiles could sense that they would never again be able to return to Jerusalem as they had known it in the days of the kingdom of Judah. For what central purpose, then, did the word of the Lord come to Ezekiel? Another example: There was Daniel, years later, seeing visions that he himself did not understand. His purpose was not to speak to a congregation but to record his visions for the future, as he was commanded. "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up, and sealed until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:8,9). And still another example: Jesus had the problem of restraining his disciples from believing that the close of the age was upon them, so he told them parables with the message "Not yet."

Ezekiel preaches encouragement, Daniel records riddles, and Jesus urges caution. We must be careful not to assume that they are all talking about the same thing. After all, their situations were entirely different. Why should they all be talking about the same thing?

You can see why so many interpretations become possible. No one really gives equal weight to all passages of Scripture. Rather, what one emphasizes arises out of his situation and that of his hearers. On the other hand, just because one leaves something in the storeroom for the time being, he is not denying its truth or usefulness. He is merely being like the householder, bringing out what is new and old, and that does not imply a judgment on what he leaves in.

In this interpretation there is a dominant motif; it is Jesus. Except for the second part of this chapter on the rules of interpretation and the chapter on evil, Jesus is either the originator or the subject of the passage under consideration. There are two reasons for this. First, Jesus is the principal character in the drama of history; he is the beginning and the end. Whatever happens, he is Victor, he is King, he is Lord. Second, the clearest passages of the Scriptures-to me at least-that deal with the end-time are either those from the lips of Jesus or those which concern him directly. Thus we will be saved a great deal of needless speculation.

1 Eschatology is based upon the Greek words eschatos, meaning "last", and logos, meaning "word." So eschatology means "a word about (or "a study of") last things."

2 Dispensationalism is a system of biblical interpretation that divides history into several sections, or "dispensations," and then divides Scripture into corresponding sections: for example, the Sermon on the Mount does not apply to the present dispensation, but to the "Kingdom Age." Dallas Theological Seminary and Moody Bible Institute are two leading exponents of dispensationalism. The system depends upon the technique of "rightly dividing the word of truth." (See below).

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