[B-Greek] PERI in Matthew 24:36

Robert Garringer christofthenations at hotmail.com
Wed Mar 19 10:18:40 EST 2003


Thanks to both Iver and gfsomsel. The thing the two of you have added to my 
understanding of Matthew 24:6 is, "the DE PERI phrase implies a previous 
question," either written in correspondence (gfsomsel) or written in the 
context at Matthew 24:3 (Iver).

The problem I have had is that some people emphasize the day-hour term and 
say that Jesus is extending His remarks, not referring back to the initial 
question. They argue that, through the "signs" Jesus gave, we can know 
everything except the precise time of Christ's return. Therefore, they can 
tell you that our generation, unlike any previous one, can be SURE that He 
will come in our time though we cannot know the exact moment. The 
information from the two of you supplies me with a basis for teaching my 
church to avoid the mistake of thinking that way.

Pastor Garringer




>From: "Iver Larsen" <iver_larsen at sil.org>
>To: "Robert Garringer" 
><christofthenations at hotmail.com>,<b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
>Subject: RE: [B-Greek] PERI in Matthew 24:36
>Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 12:43:57 +0300
>
>The beginning of Matt 24:36 in the Greek text is:
>
>PERI DE THS hHMERAS EKEINOS KAI hWRAS OUDEIS OIDEN
>
>The PERI DE often introduces an answer to a question. The question is found
>in 24:3 EIPE hHMIN POTE TAUTA ESTAI 	(Tell us when will these things take
>place.)
>
>I don't see the problem. Jesus says that he does not know when it will
>happen, but he did give some signs that would suggest the nearness of it. I
>don't think we can put any emphasis on the fact than only "day" and "hour"
>is mentioned, and not "year" or "decade" or "century".
>
>The day/event will come "soon", but no one knows how soon. Those who have
>tried to fix a date, year or even century have so far been wrong. The whole
>point of the section is: Be ready at ANY time, because you will never know
>when it will happen, and it will come as a surprise in terms of the actual
>time.
>
>Iver Larsen
>


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