Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 181:724 (Oct 2024)
Article: The Ascension-Return Of Jesus In Lukan Redaction: Acts 1, Luke 21, And Preterism, Part 2
Author: Elton L. Hollon

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The Ascension-Return Of Jesus In Lukan Redaction: Acts 1, Luke 21, And Preterism, Part 2

Elton L. Hollon

Elton L. Hollon is a philosophy instructor at Ventura College in Ventura, California.

Abstract

The Son of Man’s return in Luke 21:20–28 parallels the ascension and promised return of Jesus in Acts 1:9–11, clarifying Luke’s eschatological expectations. This article considers alternative interpretations, particularly preterist interpretations that suggest Acts 1 describes Jesus’s spiritual vindication or supernatural return around 70 CE. The parallels explored in this article render these interpretations improbable. Luke recapitulates futurist eschatology for the visible and physical return of Jesus, free of precise temporal designation.

This study explores the connection between Jesus’s return in Luke 21 and the ascension in Acts 1. Part 1 examined redaction in Luke 21:20–33, revealing a separation between Jerusalem’s destruction and the Son of Man’s eschatological coming, with the church age introduced between these events. Part 2 now examines parallels between the return of the Son of Man and the ascension in Acts 1, arguing for a literal, visible return of Jesus and challenging preterist interpretations.

Luke’s Connection Between The Coming Son Of Man And The Ascension

The ascension answers the question of Jesus’s whereabouts after the resurrection. Early Christians pointed to Psalm 110:1, claiming that Jesus reigns at God’s right hand until his return. The syntactical

BSac 181:724 (October-December 2024) p. 473

construction of Mark 14:62 supports this explanation, inserting Psalm 110:1 and adapting it to the syntax of Daniel 7:13. The result of this adaptation is that the Son of Man is “seated” before his “coming.”

Table 1. Comparison of Daniel 7:13, Mark 14:62, and Psalm 110:11