AboutBrad Varvil Expertise I am happy to field questions regarding Lutheran theology and practice, and it's context
within the western catholic tradition. General questions on the Christian faith are also
welcome.
Experience I have served in lay ministry for over ten years, and am currently a pastor in a small, confessional Lutheran communion in the Evangelical Catholic tradition. I have worked with several Lutheran and non-Lutheran communions over the years, and have a particular fondness for catholic ecumenism.
Education/Credentials I have a BA in Religion and Philosophy from a small midwestern Lutheran college, and am completing an M.Div. at a small, independent, Lutheran seminary in the Pacific Northwest.
Question Hello,
What is or are the apposing points of view concerning: Matthew 24??
Which point of view is most widley embraced?
Thanks
Answer Good afternoon, Nerol,
That's a tremendously broad question and subject matter, which has filled volumes and spanned eras. If I understand your general interest in this chapter of St. Matthew, you are asking about the field of Eschatology, and how different Christian groups may apply their understanding of the end of the world to this eschatological revelation from Christ.
As a short answer to a very long subject, I'd offer that there are parts of that discourse that were fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and there are parts that are yet to be fulfilled when Christ returns. There are also aspects in which some of this prophesy is fulfilled in Christ's death and ressurection. Lots of stuff in there.
As with any portion of Holy Scripture, one must be willing to read it in light of the rest of Scripture, and be cognizant of how it has been interpreted over time by the Church. The Scriptures didn't fall out of the sky and into our modern laps, so we need to be sensitive to what the original authors intended to say, how they were received by those who read them in their own time, and how they have been understood over the centuries.
If you have specific questions regarding specific portions of Matthew 24, I'd be happy to guide you through a Lutheran understanding of those passages. I would also recommend a wonderful online Lutheran Bible Commentary located here: http://www.kretzmannproject.org/
