From the desk of Pastor Ben
Promise of His Return Restated – Part 2

“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
                                    (Matthew 16:28)

It was not uncommon for Old Testament prophesies to combine a prediction of a far distant event with a prediction of one in the near future, with the earlier one even prefiguring the latter. Such prophecies would thereby have near, soon-to-come fulfillment’s as well as distant ones. The fulfillment of the near prophecy served to verify the reliability of the distant one. It seems reasonable to assume that Jesus verified the reliability of His second coming prophecy by giving a glimpse of His second coming glory to some of the disciples before they would “taste death.”

In light of that interpretation — and because in all 3 Synoptic Gospel accounts, the promise of seeing His glory is given immediately preceding the account of the transfiguration (see Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:27-36) and basileia can be translated “royal splendor” — it seems Jesus must have been referring specifically to His transfiguration before Peter, James, and John only six days later (see Matthew 17:1). Those three disciples were the “some” among the Twelve who would not die until, in a most miraculous preview, they would “see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Ask Yourself:
Seeing the layers upon layers of meaning that make up His Word, what does this tell you about the knowledge and wisdom of God, as well as the vastness of His plan for us, for the world, and for time itself? Lose yourself in wonderment at your Lord’s love and compassion!