Luke's Use of Mello in Acts

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Gary discusses a recent article responding to one of his articles about the Greek word mello.

The “age to come” most often refers to the new covenant age and not the eternal state. This is why Paul could tell the Christians at Corinth that “the ends [τέλη] of the ages [αἰώνω] have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). In Matthew 12:32 we find Jesus saying the following:

“And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or the age [about to: μέλλοντι/mellonti] come.”

The use of mellō indicates that the next age—“the age to come”—was “about to” come; it was not an event far in the future. Why does the “age to come” in this passage have to refer to the eternal state? No one will be speaking against the Holy Spirit in heaven. The verse could just as easily be read this way: “And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age [the growing old … ready to disappear covenant age], or the age to come [the new covenant age about to dawn].” In either age, speaking against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Consider Matthew 13:39-40, a passage that Sam Waldron says refers to Jesus’ Second Coming:

“And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.”

Once again, we are left with determining what age and what end Jesus is describing. I believe the “end of the age” is the end of the Old Covenant era that the writer of Hebrews tells us was “growing old … ready [near: ἐγγύς/engus] to disappear” (Heb. 8:13).

Prophecy Wars: The Biblical Battle Over the End Times

There is a long history of skeptics turning to Bible prophecy to claim that Jesus was wrong about the timing of His coming at “the end of the age” (Matt. 24:3) and the signs associated with it. Noted atheist Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) is one of them and Bart Ehrman is a modern example. It’s obvious that neither Russell or Ehrman are aware of or are ignoring the mountain of scholarship that was available to them that showed that the prophecy given by Jesus was fulfilled in great detail just as He said it would be before the generation of His day passed away.

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Gary discusses a recent article responding to one of his articles about the Greek word mello. Luke, the author of Acts, uses this word often throughout his history of the Apostles and the Early Church. Most places it’s used it means “about to be,” but there’s some dispute about what it means in several places, especially in Paul’s trials near the end of the book.

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