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Covenant Eschatology - Spirit of the Word - Introductory Note - New Stuff
A Study of the Resurrection
Part 3
by Don K. PrestonIT IS THE LAST HOUR
Undeniably John 5 anticipated a consummative last hour--the hour of the resurrection. This coming hour would occur in the "last day" [John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 12:48f]. Most commentators insist that the hour of 5:28-29 and the "last day" of these passages must be the last day of time. While this is no where stated in scripture it is assumed nonetheless. Amillennial commentators are fond of chiding the millennialist: "There can be no days after the last day. But if there can be no days after the last day then there is no time for a millennium. Therefore the millennial theory falls." But this challenge soon backfires on the amillennialist.
In 1 John 2:15-18 John, the same writer of the gospel of John, said "the world is passing away, ...Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, whereby we know that it is the last hour." The writer who in the gospel anticipated the consummative hour to come, writes in his epistle that the last hour was upon them!
If there can be no "hours" after the "last hour" here is a severe problem. John wrote two thousand years ago saying the last hour had come; yet there have been many "hours" since then! It is amazing how exegetes attempt to disassociate the final hour of John 5 from the last hour of 1 John 2!
Stafford North argues that because the words "last hour" in the original do not have the definite article this means that "John is speaking in a qualitative or categorical way and not of any definite last hour." In other words, "John was not saying `This is the last hour of time' but rather, `this is a critical time.'" [ibid] Besides begging the question and assuming an end of time, North's suggestion proves far too much.
The definite article does not appear with the "hour" in John 5:28 either! Would North suggest that because the definite article is missing there this would indicate that passage is not speaking about the consummative hour? Further, in 1 Peter 4:17 Peter said "The time has come for the judgment [to krina] to begin." Here we have the use of the definite article. North implies that if the article were present in 1 John 2:18 this would indicate the consummation was at hand. Will he now suggest that Peter was saying THE judgment was at hand? This problem is compounded by other passages.
In Matthew 10:15 Jesus said it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in "the day of judgment" than for those who rejected him. See also Matthew 11:22, 24. Jesus said it would be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon and Sodom "in the day of judgment" [KJV] than for Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. North applies these texts to the "end of time"; yet, THE DEFINITE ARTICLE IS ABSENT! Per our brother's logic therefore these passages cannot allude to the "final judgment."
In 1 John 2:8 John says "the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining." [NKJV]. This imagery is directly associated with the coming of the Lord, Romans 13:11, 1 Thes. 5:1-6; and was "a vivid expression of the eschatological consciousness of the church." John's confident [inspired] statement that the day was already shining is tantamount to saying the coming of the Lord, [i.e. the last hour!] was at hand!
Please observe the presence of the miraculous work of the Spirit,
vs. 20, 27. We will see below the connection of the miraculous work of the Spirit with the resurrection. In 1 John the apostle writes to the Spirit endowed church reminding them that the Spirit "abides in you"; he encourages them to "abide in Him," vs. 28, until the Parousia, the time of the resurrection, 3:1-3, and tells them "it is the last hour." The reference to the miraculous work of the Spirit in 1 John inextricably links John's "last hour" with the parousia and resurrection. There is no way to divorce the work of the Spirit from John's eschatology; therefore John's declaration that "it is the last hour" is a direct commentary on John 5:28-29.Finally, John specifically speaks of the then present resurrection. In 3:14 he said: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren." And in 3:1-3 he anticipated the consummation of the resurrection. The resurrection of 3:14 involved becoming Sons of God; that of 3:1f involved the manifestation of Sonship. Not two resurrections, but one.
Just as in John 5:24-29 we find the initiation and anticipation of consummation; in 1 John we also find the "in the process" resurrection and declaration of the imminent consummation.
Contents - Part 4 - Don Preston's site - Covenant Eschatology
Spirit of the Word - Introductory Note - New Stuff
Undivided Version
Part 1 - Resurrection From What Death?
Part 2 - Two Resurrections?
Part 3 - It Is the Last Hour
Part 4 - The Hour of His Judgment Is Come
Part 5 - The Hope of Israel
Part 6 - The Kingdom Does Not Come With Observation
Part 7 - Resurrection and the Law
Part 8 - The Prophetic Background of John 5
Part 9 - What Is Resurrection?
Part 10 - Resurrection When?
Part 11 - Problems With Tradition
Part 12 - Objections Considered
Part 13 - Summary and Conclusion