[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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