Kata Markon

["Antonio Jerez" <antonio.jerez AT privat.utfors.se>]

Phil Campbell wrote:

> One brief comment - whichever "end" we're debating the immanece of, surely
> in its context it must be an END OF ISRAEL. Background like Ezekiel 32:7-8
> use the same apocalyptic imagery to talk about the snuffing out of Israel...
> 
> "7  When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I
> will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.
> 8  All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will
> bring darkness over your land, declares the Sovereign LORD."
> 
> More to the point, Jesus and the disciples as ISRAELITES are talking about
> the demise of the TEMPLE... the prospect of the "end of the world" as a
> whole is not really on view.

Phil, your latest comments makes me wonder if you have ever used a
synopsis of the gospels. Here is another instance where it certainly would
have helped if you took a glance at the parallel passage in GMatthew. What
light does Matthew 24:3 cast on Mark 13:3? The passage in Matthew reads:
"...the disciples came to him privately and said, 'tell us when will these 
things
happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Matthew again clarifies the matter. Jesus answer (and Matthew even lets the
disciples question point more clearly in the same direction) is not solely 
about
the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Israel but also about
the Parousia of the Son of Man which is decribed in more vivid detail in Matt 
25:31-46.
The Last Judgement does not refer solely to the judgement of Israel. Take a 
close
look again at Matthew's text (and Matthew's gospel as a whole) and it will be
obvious that among the goats you will find both bad Christians, Jews and 
heathens.

I must also point out that you are commiting another basic mistake. The fact 
that
an OT text may have had a meaning to the original author does not mean that 
later
readers (Mark, Matthew, Luke and others) read the same things into it. I 
could give
you dozens of examples of this from the NT.

Best wishes

Antonio Jerez
Goteborg University, Sweden