this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed” (6:9–10). “He who has ears to hear” thus suggests that the prophetic message will not be heard by all, but only by those with “ears to hear.”75
The apocalyptic aspect of this phrase then incorporates the notion that the prophets’ messages were not easily understood. The relative obscurity of their messages allowed them to further harden the hearts of those without ears and eyes,76 and to exhort those with ears and eyes to respond.77 It is this dual sense that stands behind the use of this phrase in the commands of Revelation 2–3. The apocalyptic vision of John and his message to the seven churches will only be heard by some. Those who hear must also “heed” and do the things “written in it” (Rev 1:3). Thus, this phrase served as a prophetic indication that the apocalyptic message of the prophets must be obeyed. Those without ears and eyes will only be further hardened in their unbelief and idolatry.
Jesus Uses “He Who Has, Ears Let Him Hear”
The importance of this discussion is that this catchphrase also appears in the words of Jesus. In fact, each of the Synoptics record that Jesus uttered this phrase.78 The most significant use of this phrase occurs in the parable of the Sower.79 This parable, which is one of only two parables in the Gospel of Mark, serves to lay a foundation for understanding the teachings of Jesus: “Do you understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables?” (4:13). Thus, Jesus employed this apocalyptic catchphrase both to associate his message with that of the prophets and to mark his coming within an apocalyptic context.
Therefore, in accord with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, Jesus arrives as an eschatological prophet who announces, by means of apocalyptic language, a message to the people of God. The difference between Jesus and the prophets is that, whereas the prophets announced that the kingdom of God was coming, Jesus announced that it was present in himself.80
The NT Uses Apocalyptic Language for Numerous Events In the Life of Jesus
Secondly, it is important to note that in several places the events of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, are depicted by means of apocalyptic imagery.81 The depiction of these events in apocalyptic language suggests that the biblical writers understood Christ’s first coming in terms of the arrival of the eschaton.
For example, Matthew records that while Jesus was on the cross, “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many” (27:51–52). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all note, “And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour” (Matt 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). And in Acts 2, at the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter cites Joel 2 to explain the significance of what has transpired: “‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all humankind; . . . And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come’” (Acts 2:17, 19–20).82
The use of such apocalyptic imagery—of stars falling, the sky darkening, and earthquakes opening the tombs of the dead—clearly places these events in an end times context. The problem for many at this point is that they associate the end times with the end. And indeed this is true. What, then, is the significance in pointing out that such language is also used of these key events in the life of Christ and the coming of the Spirit? This must mean that in Christ the end has begun!83
Thus, we should begin to view the entirety of the NT within an end times context. This explains why Jesus incorporated the language of the apocalyptic prophets. Moreover, the NT clearly places the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit in an apocalyptic context. In doing so, they relate these events to the inauguration of the fulfillment of the covenant promises of Scripture. With the coming of Christ and his baptism, the kingdom of God has begun and the kingdom of this world is coming to an end.
Any view, then, that presents the end times as something primarily future fails to account for the presence of apocalyptic language throughout the Gospels and the importance of such for the proclamation that in Jesus the kingdom of God has come.
Jesus as the End Times Prophet Who Announced the Coming of the Kingdom of God in His Presence and His Summons to Follow Him
The OT story ends with the people of God in a state of exile; or, more accurately as slaves on the land God gave them: “Behold, we are slaves today, and as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty, behold, we are slaves in it” (Neh 9:36).84 The promise of land is perhaps the key theme of the OT covenant. The OT promises that if Israel obeys the covenant then they will enjoy peace and prosperity on the land.85 But their failure to obey meant that they would be sent from the land into exile.86 Exile, however, meant not only their removal from the land, but also their loss of the presence of Yahweh.87 God himself would leave them. After all of this occurred, more prophets arose and announced that if the people repent God would restore them to the land.88 But it is not merely the people of Israel that would be restored to the land; God himself would also return to the land.
It is this context in which we must read John the Baptist’s proclamation, citing Isaiah 40:3, that he is the one who will “clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God” (Mark 1:2–3; Luke 3:4). The coming of Christ is indeed the fulfillment of Yahweh returning to the land. This is central to understanding the NT and the inauguration of the end times in Christ. Jesus was much more than God in the flesh who was sent to die on the cross and pay for our sins. Jesus was God in the flesh who was returning to be among his people!89
Thus, it was Jesus himself, the very presence of God among humankind, that established the beginning of the kingdom of God. This is the significance of Jesus’ proclamation that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).90 This is also why Jesus proclaimed that “the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21). And in Luke 11:20 Jesus announces, “But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” The presence of Christ is the fulfillment of the presence of the kingdom of God. And this entails the restoration of God among his people! Thus, what is announced in the opening of the Gospels serves to place the incarnation in the context of the inauguration of the kingdom of God.
Thus, the NT uses apocalyptic language to describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This apocalyptic language associates
