How is Matt 25 (three passages on judgment) to be correctly understood? Matt 24 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem AD 70, and Matt 25:1 links with "at that time" and v.14 "again." Could they (the virgins and talent passages) be referring to a judgment (Jews/Christians) in AD 70? V31 ("Son of Man comes in his glory"), in the context of Matt 24, might also refer to the judgment of AD 70. But v46 seems to be speak of a (future) judgment for eternity. So, does all of Matt 24-25 refer to AD 70, and if so what exactly would the passages refer to? If not, at what point does the transition from AD 70 to a future cosmic judgment for eternity take place -- where are the linking words and how are we to understand them? -- John Atkins (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea)

Please see my paper on The Destruction of Jerusalem at the website. To answer your question more briefly, however, I think all of Matthew 24-25 has application to the Jewish nation. The swing point in the narrative takes place after 24:35. We ought to ask, Why did the evangelist preserve these accounts and place them together in his gospel? Certainly they deal with similar subject matter: judgment.

It is not difficult to appreciate why the early church would have placed together a doom oracle against Jerusalem (24:1-25) with more general (though equally applicable) eschatological material. (Eschatology is the technical term for the study of the end -- judgment, the afterlife, etc.) In fact, there is a fair amount within 24:1-25 which seems to relate directly to the end of the world. However, much of this section is figurative, and since it falls within the apocalyptic genre, will not be accurately understood by those unfamiliar with the Old Testament apocalypses. These occur, for example, in such books as Daniel, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah, to name a few locations.

Once again -- and I am frequently making this recommendation -- please read Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, if you have not already done so.

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