Today we’re going to work on one quote from Craig S. Keener; and while it is a longish quote, Keener likes to drop so many names and additional quotes that it takes a whole post to look at it in any depth. This is the last source from the 20th century:

“Most of the events of 24:5-14 occurred between A.D. 30 and 70 ([Craig L.] Blomberg [MATTHEW]1992a: 356, following [William G.] Thompson [MATTHEW’S ADVICE TO A DIVIDED COMMUNITY]1974). False messiahs seem to have arisen toward the end of this period (Jos. War 2.4444; 7.29; [Gerd] Theissen 1991: 265 [I can’t identify which book this is from]), and more may have arisen or been expected shortly after it (24:23-24).”

²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.   (Matthew 24:23-24; NASB)

Keener speaks as if false prophets and false christs were a thing of the past. A few posts back I made a chart of the false prophets and false christs, with their dates, just from the Wikipedia list: it was quite long, and had far more in modern times than in the older days.

Of course, I don’t agree that the “events of 24:5-14 occurred between A.D. 30 and 70;” and you notice that Keener is quoting non-Bible sources to back up his claim, rather than using the Bible to interpret the Bible.

“A Samaritan prophet gained a significant following in A.D. 36 (Jos. Ant. 18.85-87; [Gerd]Theissen 1991  [I can’t identify the book being quoted here, but I found a reference Theissen made to this prophet on pages 35-36 in his book THE RELIGION OF THE EARLIEST CHURCHES]: 137-38). A major famine struck ca. A.D. 46 (cf. Jos. Ant. 3.320; 20.51-53) and earthquakes ca. A.D. 61 (Fenton 1977: 379 [I can’t find any reference to match this]). When Matthew’s audience thinks of nations rising against one another they may recall the recent conflicts of 66-73, when Judea revolted against Rome (Montefiore 1968: 1:299; Meier 1982: 279 [I haven’t been able to pin down these references at all]) and generals vied for power over the Empire in the wake of Nero’s death.” 

This is Keener’s not-so-clever way of getting us to accept the idea that Matthew was written well after Mark, and even after Luke.  People are now realizing that Matthew was written first, in Hebrew. This is something that should have been figured out a long time ago.

I also want to note that just because I can’t find many of Keener’s references doesn’t mean they don’t exist. But, it probably does mean that they are not the kind of important references that one would prefer to rely upon. Also, if he had provided complete information on his references, I might have an easier time finding them: he just gives a last name, a year (which may or may not be the original publishing date), and a page number. This is very unprofessional, and makes me wonder if he intended to make it difficult to track down his references.

“Some even believe the gospel of the kingdom was proclaimed among the nations in a representative sense (Rom 10:18; Col 1:6; ([Craig L.] Blomberg [MATTHEW]1992a: 356-57; cf. [Johannes] Munck [CHRIST & ISRAEL: AN INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 9-11] 1967: 98). The data can fit the first generation, just as some contemporary popular ‘prophecy teachers’ fit them to current generations.”

But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? On the contrary: “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.”  (Romans 10:18; NASB)

Here’s a quote from the Munck book referred to above:

“Church after church is added to the Gentile group, but Paul’s aim is to complete the work. He does not hold that the apostles are to preach to every single Gentile, but rather that this preaching is to be representatively completed throughout the world, as has now been done from Jerusalem to Illyria. The churches we know of from his letters, and those others we must add, are thus the beginning of that ‘full inclusion’ of the Gentiles discussed in chapter 11. The West remains, and it is there that he will resume work after the journey to Jerusalem and a visit to Rome.

“The churches we know of, with some more added, must therefore warrant the statement that the Gentiles from Jerusalem to Illyria have all heard the gospel. The apostle did not intend that every individual person should hear the gospel and make his decision, but all Gentile peoples were to do so, and by making their decision in Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi the peoples in question would decide for or against Christ. The gospel has thus been received representatively by the peoples in question, and this is enough to allow the apostle to travel on — to the Gauls, the Spaniards, and the Britons…This ‘representative’ idea is a Semitic way of thinking, and Paul may have absorbed it either from his Jewish environment or from the Old Testament.”

I don’t feel the need to argue with this idea of “representative” teaching of the gospel. It’s a fairly believable concept. I do argue with the idea that Paul was traveling around western Europe. Scripture implies that Paul was killed in Rome, and tradition seems to bear this out as there is a tomb for him there, as well as a few stories about his death. The idea that he travelled away from Rome came from a few early Church Fathers; some of the same fathers also talk about his death in Rome; a few make it sound like he just disappeared in the wilds of western Europe. The largest consensus is that he was beheaded in Rome. There are a few though, even in modern times, who say that he left Rome for western Europe, and then returned to Rome and was killed there. 

“The churches we know of, with some more added, must therefore warrant the statement that the Gentiles from Jerusalem to Illyria have all heard the gospel. The apostle did not intend that every individual person should hear the gospel and make his decision, but all Gentile peoples were to do so, and by making their decision in Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi the peoples in question would decide for or against Christ. The gospel has thus been received representatively by the peoples in question, and this is enough to allow the apostle to travel on — to the Gauls, the Spaniards, and the Britons…This ‘representative’ idea is a Semitic way of thinking, and Paul may have absorbed it either from his Jewish environment or from the Old Testament.”

I don’t feel the need to argue with this idea of “representative” teaching of the gospel. It’s a fairly believable concept. I do argue with the idea that Paul was traveling around western Europe. Scripture implies that Paul was killed in Rome, and tradition seems to bear this out as there is a tomb for him there, as well as a few stories about his death. The idea that he travelled away from Rome came from a few early Church Fathers; some of the same fathers also talk about his death in Rome; a few make it sound like he just disappeared in the wilds of western Europe. The largest consensus is that he was beheaded in Rome. There are a few though, even in modern times, who say that he left Rome for western Europe, and then returned to Rome and was killed there. 

As with any other controversy, I must return to the Scriptures. First of all, the Scriptures stop Paul’s story after his 2 years of house arrest in Rome. Secondly, Paul, in his letter to the Romans, speaks of wanting to visit Spain (Romans 15:22-29), but we have no documentation from him, or his usual companions, of having traveled any where west of Italy. Additionally, the Apocryphal Acts of Paul don’t even mention any travel to the west. If you want to go further down this rabbit hole, here are two opposing websites to get you started: matthewmcgee.org/paultime.html and biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2015/paul-s-4th-missionary-journey-and-I-don-t-mean-his-trip-to-rome 

I have one other beef with the Munck quote: I don’t believe that the Bible indicates that God condemns whole people groups for the beliefs of the majority. Munck says: “The apostle did not intend that every individual person should hear the gospel and make his decision, but all Gentile peoples were to do so.” This is saying that the decision for or against God was to be made by people groups, not individuals. God did judge whole people groups, but it was always clear that He did that in cases where all the individuals decided against Him. If there were only a few who decided for Him, they were removed from the place where judgement occurred: think of Moses and Lot. It’s the individual decision that matters to God.

“…disciples should expect persecution and the consequent apostasy of some of their fellow professing disciples (24:9-13; cf. 2 Thess 2:3; 1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:1-9; 2 Pet 3:3; 1 Jn 2:18-19; Rev 13:12-17; Apoc. Pet. Eth. 5.1-2.” 

 [The versions of the APOCALYPSE OF PETER that I’ve found don’t have chapter and verse notations; there is passing mention of coming persecution early in the extant remains of this book.)

Let no one deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction    
(2 Thessalonians 2:3; NASB)

¹But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ²by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, ³who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.     
(1 Timothy 4:1-3; NASB)

¹But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ²For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, ⁴treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. ⁶For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, ⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith. ⁹But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres…¹²Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³But evil people and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 
(2 Timothy 3:1-9,12,13; NASB)

I would say from my reading that most people living since the ascension of Christ would identify verses 1 through 5 with their time period. Christians looking at non-Christians in any age will see these types of traits, and our age is no exception. 

It’s verse 6 that intrigues me: “those who slip into households and captivate weak women.” Who does that? Prior to the 20th century, who could it possibly be? Would this intruder be in the shape of a book? Perhaps. But then we look at the 20th century: TV certainly comes to mind. I would have to say, though, that the personal computer and the cell phone are even better candidates for achieving access to women within their households. The concept of a TV/Computer/Cell Phone would probably escape a first century man; but the idea that it’s something that would “intrude” into the home and “captivate weak women weighed down with sin, led on by various impulses” is definitely something that would be understood. Furthermore, I think women are singled out here, not because men couldn’t be “captivated” in this way, but because in older times, women spent most of their time safe within their households. Not that they never went out, but men made it a point of honor to protect their women, so that they were less likely to be “captivated” than perhaps the men were (who were presumed to be stronger in both mind and body). 

Then there is verse 7, also about the “weak women”: “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Women today are more educated than ever before, but do they know the truth? Some of us do; but we are not the ones following our “various impulses” online. And again, why is this focused on women? Perhaps it is another of saying: ‘even your women will not be safe in their homes.’   

It’s also interesting that those who are deceiving are also being deceived themselves.

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts     (2 Peter 3:3; NASB)

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹They went out from us, but they were not really of us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.     
(1 John 2:18-19; NASB)

¹²He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. ¹³He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. ¹⁴And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. ¹⁵And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷and he decrees that no on will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 
(Revelation 13:12-17; NASB)

“The ‘tribulation’ to which their persecutors would deliver disciples was especially persecution…and this would provide a test of disciples faith (13:21).”

yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away.      
(Matthew 13:21; NASB)

This is an odd passage to refer to. It’s as if the author is saying that most disciples will fall away with persecution.

“Early Christian exhortation regularly portrayed perseverance and apostasy as the alternatives in times of serious testing…Like Mark, Matthew intimately connects the suffering of believers with that of Christ, even by prefacing the passion narrative with the promise of believers’ suffering…

“…true disciples will spread the gospel among all nations (24:14). This is the appropriate response to persecution (cf. [Austin Marsden] Farrer 1956a [according to Wikipedia, 1956 is one of the few years Farrer didn’t publish a book; looking at his titles, nothing jumps out as covering this topic]), probably rooted in the biblical prophets’ image of the conversion and tribute of the Gentiles (cf. [William G.] Thompson 1971 [I can’t find a book by this author from 1971]). Whereas Jesus says that other phenomena do not mark the end (24:6), in this instance he explicitly declares that universal proclamation does mark the end. (Matthew, with his heavy emphasis on the Gentile mission, makes this even more explicit than Mark does — Mk 13:10.) 

And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  (Mark 13:10; NASB)

“The world controls many other factors, but this is the one factor Jesus’ followers may determine: they must complete the commission of discipling all nations before this age will come to a close (28:19-20; cf. Rom 11:25-26; 2 Pet 3:9-15 [see above]; Acts 1:6-11; cf. [Willi] Marxsen [MARK THE EVANGELIST: STUDIES ON THE REDACTION HISTORY OF THE GOSPEL] 1969: 177: ‘this proclamation helps to hasten the coming of the Parousia’).

¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”   
(Matthew 28:19-20; NASB)

²⁵For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”  
(Romans 11:25,26; NASB)

⁶So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time of appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority; ⁸but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” ⁹And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. ¹⁰And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, ¹¹and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”   
(Acts 1:6-11; NASB)

⁹The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. ¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered. ¹¹Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,  ¹²looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.  ¹⁴Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, ¹⁵and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you.     (2 Peter 3:9-15; NASB)

Here’s a quote from the Marxsen reference:

“Whether Mark formulated vs.10 himself or whether he took it over from the tradition, reworked and inserted it, in its context it is still his interpretation. Since such preaching occurs in Mark’s time, and since the haling of Christians before Gentile courts occurs in order to proclaim the gospel to these Gentiles, persecution and defense are taken into the end event. More precisely, they are taken into the event which must precede the end.

“Indeed, this proclamation helps to hasten the coming of the Parousia. It shares in the preconditions, in the fulfilling of the preconditions set for the coming of the Parousia.”

“As in the biblical prophets (e.g., Ezek. 36:24-29), the end would accompany Israel’s repentance (23:39); 

²⁴For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. ²⁵Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. ²⁸And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.   
(Ezekiel 36:24-29; NASB)

For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”  
(Matthew 23:39; NASB)

“but some early Christian texts suggest that this repentance would be completed

following the fulfillment of the Gentiles mission (Rom 11:25-26).

²⁵For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”  
(Romans 11:25-26; NASB)

“Jesus’ claim in 24:14 does not imply that all people will be converted, but that the opportunity to embrace or reject the King who will be their judge (25:31-32). Jesus’ early followers recognized that he would rule a remnant with representatives from all people (Rev 5:9; 7:9), just as the world’s evil leadership would (Rev 13:7)…Many early Christians recognized suffering as a prerequisite for the end (Rev 6:10-11; Col 1:24; cf. 4 Ezra 4:3-37), because disciples’ suffering is inseparable from their witness.”    [from A COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, by Craig S. Keener, 1999]

³¹”But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³²And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats  
(Matthew 25:31-32; NASB)

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation.   (Revelation 5:9; NASB)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands   
(Revelation 7:9; NASB)

It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority was given to him over every tribe, people, language, and nation.   
(Revelation 13:7; NASB)

¹⁰and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?”  ¹¹And a white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also.       
(Revelation 6:10-11; NASB)

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am supplementing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of His body, which is the church.    (Colossians 1:24; NASB)

“²⁶Then he answered me, and said, The more you search, you will see, the more you will marvel; because the age is hastening swiftly to its end, ²⁷And cannot comprehend the things that are promised to the righteous in time to come: for this age is full of sad unrighteousness and infirmities. ²⁸But as concerning the things which you ask me, I will tell you; for the evil is sown, but the harvest of it has not yet come. ²⁹If therefore that which has been sown is not reaped, and if the place where the evil is sown does not pass away, then the field where the tov has been sown will not come. ³⁰For the grain of evil seed was sown in the heart of Adam from the beginning, and how much shall it yet bring forth until the time of threshing comes! ³¹Ponder now by yourself, how great fruit of wickedness a grain of evil seed has brought forth. ³²And when the ears shall be cut down, which are without number, how great a threshing floor they will fill! ³³Then I answered and said, How long, and when shall these things come to pass? Why are our years few and evil? ³⁴And he answered me and said, Do not you hasten faster than the Most High YAHWEH: for your haste is in vain to be about HIM, but YAHWEH the Most High hastens on behalf of many.”   (4 Ezra 4:26-34)

Going back to whether the repentance of the Jews will happen with the end of the world, or at the “fulfillment of the Gentiles mission,” let’s look closer.For the non-preterist, these three things: 1) the repentance of the Jews, 2) the consummation of the Age of the Gentiles, and 3) the end of the world, are all pretty much simultaneous. More than that, Revelation is the story of these three events.

I have one more post for Matthew 24, then I’m pretty sure I’m going to return to where we left off in Revelation. There is certainly more we could cover in Matthew 24, but I think we will do that as we start comparing Matthew to Revelation from the point of view of Revelation.