Harnack's Great Reversal on the Dating of Luke and Acts

[NormanMcIlwain]

Writing on the omission of the phrase ‘the Abomination of Desolation’ in the Gospel of Luke (21:20-24), which appears in Mark and Matthew, Harnack provides the following concluding remarks:

‘ There is nothing in these verses that compels us to assume, or even suggests to us, that the destruction of Jerusalem had already happened. Everything is much better explained on the hypothesis that St Luke had omitted the " Abomination of Desolation" because he naturally thought that it would not be intelligible to his readers, and that he had replaced it by a prophecy of the destruction of the city. The fact that in the substituted passage he did not make use of more significant details than those which also appear in St Matthew and St Mark proves that he had not more accurate knowledge than they ; and he had not more accurate knowledge than they, because he could not have it—the event prophesied had not yet come to pass. It is no sign of new prophetic wisdom to foretell that the city would be encompassed with soldiers, and that this would be the sign of the pre-ordained desolation, any more than to give the information that a war will bring distress upon the land, and that in a war many will fall by the sword and that the rest will be carried away into captivity! Moreover, verse 28 sets its seal upon the fact that Jerusalem is not yet destroyed, for we read : " When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." Here everything is in the future, everything is accomplished in a brief space of time.

Hence it is proved that it is altogether wrong to say that the eschatological passages force us to the conclusion that the third gospel was written after the year 70 A.D. And since there are no other reasons for a later date, it follows that the strong arguments, which favour the composition of the Acts before 70 A.D., now also apply in their full force to the gospel of St Luke, and it seems now to be established beyond question that both books of this great historical work were written while St Paul was still alive.’

Harnack, A: The Acts and the Synoptic Gospels, trans. Wilkinson, J.R., New testament Studies, Vol. IV; Williams and Norgate, London, 1911: pp.123-124
Online: https://archive.org/stream/dateofactssy ... 7/mode/2up (Aug., 2016)

Having earlier in his career advocated a late date for the writing of Acts and the Gospels, and having been regarded as perhaps the most eminent NT scholar of his day, his comments and conclusions carry weight, even today.