Troublesome Topic: Jesus Used Double Meanings with Double Fulfillments
JESUS USED DOUBLE MEANING WITH DOUBLE FULFILLMENTS
In the response Jesus gave them, the entire first section has nothing to do with what we call His second coming, and everything to do with the end of the era in which the disciples were living, which was capped off by the destruction of the temple. He was answering their questions, not ours. It is difficult to say with certainty where His discourse begins to use double meanings with double fulfillments, but in my opinion, Jesus begins to make His words refer to both the destruction of the temple and to what we call His second coming in verse 27. In the rest of the discourse, AD 70 and His second coming are both in view. However, there are hints of double meaning prior to verse 27, so I cannot say for sure. His future return may fulfill certain aspects of what He said more fully than did AD 70, but other statements were fulfilled more fully by the destruction of the temple; that is the nature of double fulfillments. His admonitions to be ready found in verses 42-51 apply to the people of that time as well as the people of every era after them. The portions of Matthew 24 that deal with the destruction of the temple are longer and more numerous than the portions that pertain to His second coming. The reason He talked so much about AD 70 is that it would be the confirming sign that His redemptive work had been completed.