Bro Bill
April 26th, 2007, 07:35 PM
THIS Generation
by Bill Harper
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
- Matthew 24:32-34, kjv :bible
In Matthew 24 Jesus prophetically spoke of a time frame He referred to as "THIS generation" and all of the prophetic events that must come to pass in relation to it. First of all, there are different interpretations about the time span of a generation. Most often we hear 40 years or 70 years because those numbers are so often prominent throughout The Bible. It seems to be an open question and perhaps the Lord purposely wanted it to be that way to keep the element of surprise in His Return.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about this prophecy. Skeptics abound today that say that the prophecy failed because all of these things were not fulfilled at the time of Christ which is what they thought He was saying. Others will maintain that all of the prophecies were fulfilled at that time and therefore this prophecy is irrelevant to the modern world and to Christians today but they have all misinterpretated what "THIS generation" means; they are extremely short-sighted in their interpretation at the very least, and most misinterpret the prophecy altogether.
In interpreting Matthew 24:24 we must consider the entire context of the passage beginning with Matthew 24:1 to the end of the chapter. The passage begins with Jesus' disciples showing him the impressive architecture of the Temple of God. Jesus prophesied to them that it would be destroyed (v.2). The disciples must have been stunned to hear this saying. Of course, they wanted to know when this would happen. Apparently they also associated this prophecy with the end of the age. However, Bible prophecies often have both short and long range fulfillments. So does Matthew 24.
Jesus warned about " false christs " ( vs. 4-5 ). By the time of the ministry of the Apostle Paul about 30 years after Christ there were already heresies being taught in the churches by false teachers which he warned the early Church about quite often in his epistles. There were also no shortages of would-be messianic figures among the Jewish zealots who wanted to overthrow Roman rule and this is what many of the Jews at the time of Christ were looking for in the coming Messiah. It was one of these false messianic-led rebellions against Rome which led to the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Roman general Titus in 70 AD. So in this sense Matthew 24 was a least partially fulfilled in Jesus' generation 40 years after his death, resurrection and ascension back to Heaven. However, we also see them in even greater numbers in our generation especially in the last 30 years. Remember the Rev. Jim Jones and the People's Temple; David Koresh and the Branch Davidians? There is also Maitreya, a New Age messiah allegedly living in London waiting to be revealed to the world. These are all false christs and they are fulfilling Jesus' prophecy today so we must consider that Jesus was looking into the distant future and also speaking of our generation, or "THIS generation", at the end of the age. Jesus indeed indicated there would be false christs and false prophets by the time of the Great Tribulation ( vs. 21-26 ) and they are again increasing in number today in proportion to the apostasy or falling away in the Church.
Jesus also prophesied of wars, rumors of wars and earthquakes, famines and pestilences (vs. 6-8 ). Many will say these are not unsual occurences and mean nothing yet they overlook that all of these signs have been increasing in frequency and intensity since the time of Christ. I can't give you the statistics right now but I have seen them and I have them somewhere. The most significant thing about the wars today is that they are focused in the Middle East because of Israel. At the end of the age these wars will culminate with the Battle of Armageddon. At the Second Coming of Christ there will be a great earthquake of such a magnitude that will shake the whole earth to the point where every tower built by man will fall and the islands in the sea will disappear. That obviously has not yet been fulfilled. I am sure that when Jesus spoke of these things to come he was not just referring to ordinary, everyday occurences but had a much larger picture in mind.
As we know the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD in fulfillment of Jesus' words in (vs.1-2 ). It must be rebuilt in the near future to fulfill the remaining prophecies regarding the Antichrist whose coming is to precede that of Jesus Christ and so it will be rebuilt according to Revelation 11:1-2 on the Temple Mount right next to the Islamic Dome of the Rock which is a constant place of strife and contention among Jews and Arabs today. It will be desecrated by the Antichrist which is what Jesus was speaking of when he made reference to the "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" ( v.15 ).
The Gospel also must be preached to the entire world before the end comes. In the days of the Apostle Paul the traveler, at his pace, it would have taken thousands of years to fulfill this prophecy although it began with him and the other 11 apostles. It certainly could not have been done in one generation and it wasn't. Today the fulfillment of this prophecy has been hastened in a very short time in " THIS generation" because of the technology or radio, television, the internet and other mass publishing and communication methods that are being used for evangelism. Of the course the old-fashioned way of missionary trips and personal one-on-one witnessing for Christ has not been abandoned either. The gospel has already gone out to all four corners of the world. The only question now is how long will God extend the Church Age and His offer of grace and salvation to sinners before His wrath and judgments are poured out upon the world.
Most students of Bible prophecy agree that the "fig tree" Jesus used as an illustration ( vs.32 ) is the state of Israel. Israel as a nation and a people were scattered or dispersed throughout the world by the Romans after they destroyed the Temple of God. The Jews were thus absent from the land for more than 1900 years until Zionist Jews began to return in the early part of the 20th century. In 1948 Israel declared and won her independence and once again became a united nation. Jews continue to emigrate there in great numbers. which also fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies. Israel will not be fully regathered until Jesus comes again (v.31 ) but the process has begun. The scattering and regathering of Israel is a fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies. Because the Jews were dispersed for the last 1900 years the remaining unfulfilled prophecies concerning them could not have come to pass until " THIS generation." It was after Jesus prophesied of the "fig tree", the rebirth of Israel as a nation, that He said to His disciples, "Verily I say unto you, THIS generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Israel is the key prophetic sign that we are living in the end times or are approaching it. We are the generation that has seen Israel reborn and that was 55 years ago. I believe we are the generation Jesus was talking about and that we are about to witness great things take place in that land.
If we are not that generation then it only means that God has delayed the coming of Christ for awhile so that others might be saved before the end comes. Part of this prophecy includes the rapture of the Church ( vs. 36-44 ) so Christians may be taken off of this earth before this prophecy is completely fulfilled. I myself and most Christians I know believe it will happen before the Great Tribulation. There is no single prophetic event that needs to be fulfilled before this can occur. That is why the early Church lived in anticipation of it and believed that their generation would see the return of Christ. Believers of "THIS generation" therefore likewise need to prepare and get ready because His coming is all that much nearer and the signs are all around us.
by Bill Harper
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
- Matthew 24:32-34, kjv :bible
In Matthew 24 Jesus prophetically spoke of a time frame He referred to as "THIS generation" and all of the prophetic events that must come to pass in relation to it. First of all, there are different interpretations about the time span of a generation. Most often we hear 40 years or 70 years because those numbers are so often prominent throughout The Bible. It seems to be an open question and perhaps the Lord purposely wanted it to be that way to keep the element of surprise in His Return.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about this prophecy. Skeptics abound today that say that the prophecy failed because all of these things were not fulfilled at the time of Christ which is what they thought He was saying. Others will maintain that all of the prophecies were fulfilled at that time and therefore this prophecy is irrelevant to the modern world and to Christians today but they have all misinterpretated what "THIS generation" means; they are extremely short-sighted in their interpretation at the very least, and most misinterpret the prophecy altogether.
In interpreting Matthew 24:24 we must consider the entire context of the passage beginning with Matthew 24:1 to the end of the chapter. The passage begins with Jesus' disciples showing him the impressive architecture of the Temple of God. Jesus prophesied to them that it would be destroyed (v.2). The disciples must have been stunned to hear this saying. Of course, they wanted to know when this would happen. Apparently they also associated this prophecy with the end of the age. However, Bible prophecies often have both short and long range fulfillments. So does Matthew 24.
Jesus warned about " false christs " ( vs. 4-5 ). By the time of the ministry of the Apostle Paul about 30 years after Christ there were already heresies being taught in the churches by false teachers which he warned the early Church about quite often in his epistles. There were also no shortages of would-be messianic figures among the Jewish zealots who wanted to overthrow Roman rule and this is what many of the Jews at the time of Christ were looking for in the coming Messiah. It was one of these false messianic-led rebellions against Rome which led to the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Roman general Titus in 70 AD. So in this sense Matthew 24 was a least partially fulfilled in Jesus' generation 40 years after his death, resurrection and ascension back to Heaven. However, we also see them in even greater numbers in our generation especially in the last 30 years. Remember the Rev. Jim Jones and the People's Temple; David Koresh and the Branch Davidians? There is also Maitreya, a New Age messiah allegedly living in London waiting to be revealed to the world. These are all false christs and they are fulfilling Jesus' prophecy today so we must consider that Jesus was looking into the distant future and also speaking of our generation, or "THIS generation", at the end of the age. Jesus indeed indicated there would be false christs and false prophets by the time of the Great Tribulation ( vs. 21-26 ) and they are again increasing in number today in proportion to the apostasy or falling away in the Church.
Jesus also prophesied of wars, rumors of wars and earthquakes, famines and pestilences (vs. 6-8 ). Many will say these are not unsual occurences and mean nothing yet they overlook that all of these signs have been increasing in frequency and intensity since the time of Christ. I can't give you the statistics right now but I have seen them and I have them somewhere. The most significant thing about the wars today is that they are focused in the Middle East because of Israel. At the end of the age these wars will culminate with the Battle of Armageddon. At the Second Coming of Christ there will be a great earthquake of such a magnitude that will shake the whole earth to the point where every tower built by man will fall and the islands in the sea will disappear. That obviously has not yet been fulfilled. I am sure that when Jesus spoke of these things to come he was not just referring to ordinary, everyday occurences but had a much larger picture in mind.
As we know the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD in fulfillment of Jesus' words in (vs.1-2 ). It must be rebuilt in the near future to fulfill the remaining prophecies regarding the Antichrist whose coming is to precede that of Jesus Christ and so it will be rebuilt according to Revelation 11:1-2 on the Temple Mount right next to the Islamic Dome of the Rock which is a constant place of strife and contention among Jews and Arabs today. It will be desecrated by the Antichrist which is what Jesus was speaking of when he made reference to the "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" ( v.15 ).
The Gospel also must be preached to the entire world before the end comes. In the days of the Apostle Paul the traveler, at his pace, it would have taken thousands of years to fulfill this prophecy although it began with him and the other 11 apostles. It certainly could not have been done in one generation and it wasn't. Today the fulfillment of this prophecy has been hastened in a very short time in " THIS generation" because of the technology or radio, television, the internet and other mass publishing and communication methods that are being used for evangelism. Of the course the old-fashioned way of missionary trips and personal one-on-one witnessing for Christ has not been abandoned either. The gospel has already gone out to all four corners of the world. The only question now is how long will God extend the Church Age and His offer of grace and salvation to sinners before His wrath and judgments are poured out upon the world.
Most students of Bible prophecy agree that the "fig tree" Jesus used as an illustration ( vs.32 ) is the state of Israel. Israel as a nation and a people were scattered or dispersed throughout the world by the Romans after they destroyed the Temple of God. The Jews were thus absent from the land for more than 1900 years until Zionist Jews began to return in the early part of the 20th century. In 1948 Israel declared and won her independence and once again became a united nation. Jews continue to emigrate there in great numbers. which also fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies. Israel will not be fully regathered until Jesus comes again (v.31 ) but the process has begun. The scattering and regathering of Israel is a fulfillment of several Old Testament prophecies. Because the Jews were dispersed for the last 1900 years the remaining unfulfilled prophecies concerning them could not have come to pass until " THIS generation." It was after Jesus prophesied of the "fig tree", the rebirth of Israel as a nation, that He said to His disciples, "Verily I say unto you, THIS generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Israel is the key prophetic sign that we are living in the end times or are approaching it. We are the generation that has seen Israel reborn and that was 55 years ago. I believe we are the generation Jesus was talking about and that we are about to witness great things take place in that land.
If we are not that generation then it only means that God has delayed the coming of Christ for awhile so that others might be saved before the end comes. Part of this prophecy includes the rapture of the Church ( vs. 36-44 ) so Christians may be taken off of this earth before this prophecy is completely fulfilled. I myself and most Christians I know believe it will happen before the Great Tribulation. There is no single prophetic event that needs to be fulfilled before this can occur. That is why the early Church lived in anticipation of it and believed that their generation would see the return of Christ. Believers of "THIS generation" therefore likewise need to prepare and get ready because His coming is all that much nearer and the signs are all around us.