Sinking the Ship of "Full Preterism"
by Joe Puckett, Jr.

Part One and .html" target="_self">Part Two

Sinking the Ship of "Hyper-Preterism", Torpedo #3: "Mellowing out on 'mello'"
A pivotal point that hyper-preterists make is that the Greek word [Greek text](mello) always functions as a time indicator, and that whenever we see this word we are to understand that the subject under consideration is ABOUT to, or on the point of happening. But my conclusion is that nothing is proven for the full nor for the partial preterist by the Greek word "mello". The debate must be settled with other considerations.

DDW Note: I don't have the Greek font ability or capability to transliterate the Greek fonts in the original. I believe the gist can be gotten even with those omissions which appear in this text as [Greek text]

A pivotal point that hyper-preterists make is that the Greek word [Greek text](mello) always functions as a time indicator, and that whenever we see this word we are to understand that the subject under consideration is ABOUT to, or on the point of happening. In other words, they suggest that where "mello" is used, then the prophecy under discussion is intended to be imminent, i.e. within that existing generation.

It would be foolish to deny that "mello" is used as a time indicator in many texts. But it is an exegetical fallacy to think that a word MUST mean the EXACT same thing in EVERY place it is found. For instance, the Greek word [Greek text] means divorce (as in ending a marriage) in Matthew 19:9. But the same word is used in Matthew 14:22 where Jesus "sends" the multitude "away". No one would argue that in this text the word means that Jesus was ending a marriage with the crowd. It is obviously used in a different sense even though the idea of "separation" is included in both texts.

D.A. Carson in his work on Exegetical Fallacies includes this concern in his section on "Unwarranted restriction of the semantic field", pg. 57. In it he said, "There are many different ways of misunderstanding the meaning of a word in a particular context by illegitimately restricting the word's semantic range…. We sometimes fail to appreciate how wide the total semantic range of a word is; therefore when we do not adequately consider the potential options and unwittingly exclude possibilities that might include the correct one."

But are there other options for "mello" besides an imminent ("on the point of") meaning? The vast consensus of lexical authorities suggest there are. Here are just a few.

[Greek text] (mello-): vb.; [Greek text] Str 3195—1. LN 67.62 be about to, to occur at adj. point of time in the future (Mt 20:22); 2. LN 71.36 must be, to be inevitable (Mt 17:12); 3. LN 67.121 wait (to extend time, implying adj. lack of decision (Ac 22:16); 4. LN 67.135 [Greek text] (to mellon), future (Lk 13:9; 1Ti 6:19+)

Swanson, J. 1997. Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor

3195 [Greek text] [mello /mel·lo/] v. A strengthened form of 3199 (through the idea of expectation); GK 3516; 110 occurrences; AV translates as "shall" 25 times, "should" 20 times, "would" nine times, "to come" nine times, "will" seven times, "things to come" four times, not translated three times, and translated miscellaneously 33 times. 1 to be about. 1a to be on the point of doing or suffering something. 1b to intend, have in mind, think to. (Enhanced Strong's Lexicon)

3516 [Greek text] (mello-): vb [Greek text] STR 3195—1. LN 67.62 be about to, to occur at adj. point of time in the future (Mt 20:22); 2. LN 71.36 must be, to be inevitable (Mt 17:12); 3. LN 67.121 wait (to extend time, implying adj. lack of decision (Ac 22:16); 4. LN 67.135 [Greek text] (to mellon), future (Lk 13:9; 1Ti 6:19=+ (Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament)

[Greek text]: impf. [Greek text], Ep. [Greek text], Ion. [Greek text]: f. [Greek text]: aor. i [Greek text]?— Pass., v. infr. 11:—to think of doing, intend to do, to be about to do, with inf., mostly inf. Fut., [Greek text] he was just going to give, Il.; [Greek text] [Greek text][Greek text] [Greek text] thou thinkest to strip me of the prize, Ib.; often with [Greek text], as, [Greek text] ; did you not think you might stop? could you not stop? Od., etc.; to be about to do (on compulsion), to be destined to do or to be, [Greek text] [Greek text] which were not to be accomplished, Il.; [Greek text] [Greek text] [Greek text]? [Greek text] the house was destined to be wealthy, Od.; [Greek text] [Greek text] if we were able to refer, Plat.

2. to express a certainty, [Greek text] it must be that I am hated by Zeus, Il.; [Greek text] [Greek text]I must have sinned against the immortals, Od.

3. to mark a probability, when it may be rendered to be like to do or be, or expressed by an Adv.,[Greek text] be like ye have heard it, Hom.; [Greek text] thou art like to know of it, Od.; [Greek text] aye, all of you were like to raise (i.e. I thought you would raise) a cry of submission, Ar.

II. to mark mere intention, to be always going to do without ever doing, and so to delay, put off, hesitate, scruple, mostly with inf. Pres., [Greek text]; Soph.; often followed by [Greek text]; Eur.

2. [Greek text] often stands without its inf., [Greek text] ; Answ. [Greek text]; why shouldn't I have seen him? i.e. be sure I have, Xen.;[Greek text] [Greek text] [Greek text](sc. [Greek text]) Thuc.:—so, when [Greek text] seems to govern an acc., an inf. is omitted, [Greek text] (sc. [Greek text]) the expectation of good things, Eur.: hence 3. the part. [Greek text] without an inf. (where [Greek text] or [Greek text] may be supplied),. [Greek text] the future time, Pind., Aesch,; esp. in neut., ?? [Greek text], [Greek text]things to come, the event, issue, future, Aesch., etc.:—so in Med., [Greek text] your strongest pleas are hopes in futurity, Thuc.

III. [Greek text] as Pass., [Greek text] that the necessary steps might not be delayed, Xen..[Greek text] [Greek text]while these delays are going on, Den. (An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Liddel)

To continue giving more lexical research would be redundant. But with these could be added Thayers, Perschbacher, Gingrich, etc.. The one thing they all have in common is that there is more than one option with regard to "mello".

But let's look at some examples of "mello" in scripture. First, let's look at some passages in the OT (LXX) that uses the word in ways that do not mean imminent (within one generation).

In no particular order the word "mello" in its various forms occurs in Job 26:2,Psalm 64:1, Isaiah 15:7, Job 3:8, Isaiah 47:13, Job 19:25, Proverbs 15:18, Isaiah 48:6, Jeremiah 36:10 (which in the Hebrew Bible is Jer. 29:10), Isaiah 28:24, Isaiah 59:5, Genesis 25:22, Genesis 43:25, Exodus 4:12. (This is every instance in the LXX). Out of these, the following examples will be selected to show that immediacy is not always intended.

Jer. 36:10, which in the Hebrew Bible is Jer. 29:10, uses "mello" to refer to something that would happen after 70 years (almost two generations).

Is. 47:13 uses "mello" to refer to an event more than 142 years. Isaiah lived until about 681 BC. Babylon was destroyed in 539 by the Assyrians. This text is predicting that event. So at LEAST 142 years stood between Isaiah's words and their fulfillment. (Almost 4 generations cannot be understood as imminent by full preterist standards. "Imminent" is understood by most to refer to something within a generation).

Job 19:25 "mello" refers to Job seeing his Redeemer "in the end". Even if this end is referring to AD 70 then this obviously is not referring to something immediate from Job's perspective. Thousands of years stood between Job and Jesus. For those of you who want it here is the Greek text for it, "[Greek text]."

Proverbs 15:18 is a general proverb and has no time frame in mind at all. There seems to be a lot of uses of "mello" this way. In other words it is always true and it is certain that, "A wrathful man stirs up strife. But he who is slow to anger allays contention." (18 [Greek text][1]) "[Greek text]" is the verb, present, active, participle, feminine, singular, accusative form of [Greek text].

Here is also a list of verses in the NT where the event was a long period away.

Mathew 11:14. In Matthew 11:10 Jesus quotes from Mal. 3:1 and refers it to the coming of John the Baptist. In verse 14 Jesus said that John was Elijah who the OT said was "to come" ("[Greek text]" verb, present, active, participle, masculine, singular, nominative) Note: Even though the present tense is used here, Jesus' reference to Mal. 3:1 makes it seem clear that John "is coming" from the standpoint of Malachi's prophecy, not from the standpoint of the contemporaries of Jesus, since John had already come from their standpoint. This is why some translations choose the past tense rendering, i.e. "who was to come", KJV, NIV, NASB. So again, hundreds of years stood between the prophecy of Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist.

Acts 22:16. The idea in this text is one of "delay" not of imminence.

2 Peter 2:6. Those who would ([Greek text]) live ungodly is referring to all those who are "intending" to living ungodly not those who are "soon" to live ungodly. Literally the verse could say "...an example of men intending to live impiously." (Alfred Marshal, Parallel NT in Greek and English). (Compare this usage also with 1 Timothy 1:16)

Acts 26:22. Here is a case where what Moses said "would come" happened hundreds of years before it actually came, i.e. the resurrection of Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel, vs. 23. Paul is comparing what he was saying now about what did happen to Jesus with what Moses said back then what "was going to happen" to Jesus, (NASB).

In conclusion, I suggest that nothing is proven for the full nor for the partial preterist by the Greek word "mello". The debate must be settled with other considerations.

[1] Septuaginta : With morphology. 1996, c1979 . Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart

Sinking the Ship of "Full Preterism"by Joe Puckett, Jr.

Sinking the Ship of "Full Preterism"
by Joe Puckett, Jr.