Did Jesus predict His second coming — or was He speaking about His ascension in Mark 8:38? In this episode of Exploring the Language of Scripture, Daniel Mikkelsen — founder of NT Greek Tutoring and PhD candidate in New Testament — sits down with Murray Smith, lecturer in biblical theology at Christ College, Sydney, to examine one of the most debated questions in Gospel scholarship: what did Jesus mean when He spoke about the Son of Man coming in His Father's glory?

The traditional interpretation holds that Jesus is prophesying His second coming. But scholars like R.T. France, N.T. Wright, and Michael Bird argue Jesus is speaking about His ascension and heavenly enthronement, not His future return to earth. This reading claims Daniel 7:13 describes the Son of Man going to the Ancient of Days in heaven, not coming from heaven to earth.

Murray walks through the Greek text of Mark 8:38, the Old Testament allusions to Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 14:5, and Mark's Gospel context to show why the traditional interpretation remains compelling.

This matters beyond academics. If Jesus didn't prophesy His return, where does the doctrine come from? And what does His promised return mean for how we live today?

📘 Free Greek Guide — 'Why Learning Greek Could Be a Struggle and How to Move Forward' Discover common pitfalls in learning biblical Greek and Daniel's three-step framework to read with confidence. 👉 https://ntgreektutoring.com/why-struggle-with-greek

Don't Miss the Next Episode: 

Daniel welcomes John Nelson to discuss Jesus' physical appearance in the Gospels — what can we know, and why does it matter?

Chapters

00:00 Coming Up...

01:05 Meet Murray Smith: Gospel Scholar and Pastor

05:37 How Biblical Languages Opened Up Scripture

10:14 The Power of Slowing Down with Greek

15:21 How to Spot Old Testament Allusions

20:25 Finding A Potential Hidden Chiasm in the Greek of Mark

25:57 The Big Debate Explained: Second Coming or Heavenly Enthronement?

34:02 The Advantage of Arguing for An Heavenly Enthronement

43:06 The Importance of Daniel 7 in Acts 1: What Is Going on?

45:32 Unpacking Daniel 7: Heaven to Earth or Earth to Heaven?

53:19 Mark 8.38 in light of Daniel 7 and Zechariah 14

01:00:30 Does "This Generation" Mean Jesus Was Wrong?

01:04:53 What About Mark 9:1? Some Will See the Kingdom

01:10:17 How Does "Coming of the Son of Man" Function Across Mark?

01:12:52 Solving Mark 13: One Or Two Events?

01:19:57 How Matthew and Luke Handle the Same Material

01:25:20 Kingdom of God: Where the King Goes?

01:30:37 Practical Application: Living for His Return

Music Credits: 

Music from #Uppbeat 🔗 https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/aspire

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Podcast Keywords:
biblical languages, New Testament, Old Testament, Christ, bible study, Relationship with God, learn biblical languages, Biblical Theology, Christianity, Covenants, New covenant, old covenant, language acquisition, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew.