Douglas J. Deltondo, Douglas J. Del Tondo. Jesus' Words on Salvation. 2008.
The older school of Protestant theologians has a similarly astonishing solution. They limited the parable's validity to only the period of 33 AD to 70AD. Whittemore summarized the support for this. He canvassed all the opinions from major theologians that endorsed this idea. He was arguing that this parable was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem. Whittemore claimed it THEREFORE HAD NO FURTHER MORAL MEANING FOR ANY CHRISTIAN THEREAFTER. "We think, then, we must have shown to the satisfaction of every individual who shall peruse those pages, that this while parable was completely fulfilled at the time of Christ's coming to the Jewish state [at the temple destruction in 70 AD.]." His proof is the temple destruction took place "within forty years after the crucifixion" and this is when the goats were supposedly punished. (Thomas Whittemore, Notes and Illustrations of the Parables of the New Testament (Boston: J.M. Usher, 1855) at 347.) Even though Jesus speaks of this judgment for the goats being with the same "fire" for the diabolos 9devil) and his angels, Whittemore claims the diabolos can mean simply "adversary . . very often . . human beings" and that fire can mean simply temporal affliction, NOT HELL. (id at 350.) Whittemore says the diabolos is a reference by Jesus to the Jews of 70 AD, and the fire to the temple destruction that same year."
"TO SUGGEST THIS IS TEMPORAL AFFLICTION OF JEWS IN 70 AD IS FANTASTICALLY SILLY. . . CLEARLY, ALL OF WHITTEMORE'S NON-SENSE WAS AN EXTREMELY STRAINED READING SO AS TO REIGN IN A PARABLE DIRECTLY DESTRUCTIVE OF THE FABLE OF CHEAP GRACE." (PAGE 228.)
