A Review of R. C. Sproul’s The Last Days According to Jesus: An Analysis of Moderate Preterism, Part II -- By: Michael D. Stallard

Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 06:18 (Aug 2002)
Article: A Review of R. C. Sproul’s The Last Days According to Jesus: An Analysis of Moderate Preterism, Part II
Author: Michael D. Stallard


A Review of R. C. Sproul’s The Last Days According to Jesus:
An Analysis of Moderate Preterism, Part II

Mike Stallard

Associate Professor of Systematic Theology
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA

This is the second of two articles critiquing The Last Days According to Jesus. At this point in the study, the author is refuting Sproul’s interpretation of the phrase “end of the ages,” which Sproul believes refers only to the end of the Jewish Age in A.D. 70.

The End of the Jewish Age (cont.)

I Corinthians 10:11 and the Ends of the Ages

Sproul, following Russell closely, notes that one of the most crucial passages to suggest the nearness of the last days to the apostles is 1 Corinthians 10:11, which says “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Concerning this verse in context Sproul comments: “Here is mentioned ‘the ends of the ages’ that have come upon the Jews. This text supports the thesis that “the end of the age” means “the end of the Jewish age.”1 The context of the cited passage is the rehearsing of the sins of the Israelites, which should serve and were meant to serve as a warning to the Corinthians (v. 1–10). Does the summary of verse eleven so readily suggest the end of the Jewish Age as Sproul suggests?

While there is a large body of diverse literature on this one verse and phrase, there are some things in Sproul’s interpretation that need to be checked. First, he says rather casually that the ends of the ages have come upon the Jews. The text does not clearly say this. The antecedent of “whom” (οὓς) is usually taken to be the Corinthians by way of “our” (ἡμῶν) in the phrase “our admonition.” While it is possible that the antecedent is “them” (ἐκείνοις), i.e., the Israelites, mentioned earlier in the verse, the burden of proof is on Sproul to show why Paul’s antecedent would not be the nearest possibility in the text.

There would need to be something in the context to make it plain. The only factor driving Sproul’s conclusion here may be a prior theological commitment. This possibility is reinforced by Sproul’s casual presentation of the passage without comment on the other more likely exegetical possibilities. Consequently, the idea that the end of the ages has come upon the Corinthians does not fit so nicely into a...

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