This Generation Will Not Pass Away:

[Overcomer]

Jesus talks about the destruction of the temple and signs of the end times in Matt. 24:1-35:

1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 Do you see all these things? he asked. Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. Tell us, they said, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

4 Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Messiah, and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation,[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel"let the reader understand" 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now"and never to be equaled again.

22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Messiah! or, There he is! do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 So if anyone tells you, There he is, out in the wilderness, do not go out; or, Here he is, in the inner rooms, do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29 Immediately after the distress of those days


the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

30 Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Verse 34 has been the subject of many a debate. My questions are as follows:

What did Jesus mean when he said "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened?" Who is "this generation"?

[brianbbs67]

[Replying to post 166 by onewithhim]

I do see how your viewpoint meshes with mine, and I don't understand where you get the idea that when Jesus spoke of "this generation" he wasn't talking about his genuine followers. Why wouldn't my view be as correct as yours?

What you say about "a continual spiritual" generation does agree with my view, though I refer to the Last Days, whereas you refer to mankind since Cain. Could you explain that? It takes a while for me to get the picture on some things.

Thanks for your interest.

May I suggest, for starters, you study, and meditate on, Matthew 23:29-36.

Of course. Jesus used "generation" to refer to the people living in his day as well. It depends on the context of what he said to understand the true meaning. "Generation" could refer to people then or it could refer to people in another time period. Why does it always have to refer to people in one certain time period?

Because that's what happens when we confine ourselves to physical things of this world of time and space.

See how that works out with the word "temple".

Interesting good thought, but John then tells us the Temple Christ refered to was christ.

Christ in what sense, do you think?

John 3:19-25 NKJ

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 166 by onewithhim]

I do see how your viewpoint meshes with mine, and I don't understand where you get the idea that when Jesus spoke of "this generation" he wasn't talking about his genuine followers. Why wouldn't my view be as correct as yours?

What you say about "a continual spiritual" generation does agree with my view, though I refer to the Last Days, whereas you refer to mankind since Cain. Could you explain that? It takes a while for me to get the picture on some things.

Thanks for your interest.

May I suggest, for starters, you study, and meditate on, Matthew 23:29-36.

Of course. Jesus used "generation" to refer to the people living in his day as well. It depends on the context of what he said to understand the true meaning. "Generation" could refer to people then or it could refer to people in another time period. Why does it always have to refer to people in one certain time period?

Because that's what happens when we confine ourselves to physical things of this world of time and space.

See how that works out with the word "temple".

Interesting good thought, but John then tells us the Temple Christ refered to was christ.

Christ in what sense, do you think?

John 3:19-25 NKJ

What are you saying that passage conveys Christ as being - the temple?

Please clarify!

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 1 by Overcomer]

Verse 34 has been the subject of many a debate. My questions are as follows:

What did Jesus mean when he said "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened?" Who is "this generation"?

Who indeed.

I suggest the usual answers, whether of believers or of skeptics, fail to come to grips with the parameters set by Jesus, both here and elsewhere.

[brianbbs67]

[Replying to post 166 by onewithhim]

I do see how your viewpoint meshes with mine, and I don't understand where you get the idea that when Jesus spoke of "this generation" he wasn't talking about his genuine followers. Why wouldn't my view be as correct as yours?

What you say about "a continual spiritual" generation does agree with my view, though I refer to the Last Days, whereas you refer to mankind since Cain. Could you explain that? It takes a while for me to get the picture on some things.

Thanks for your interest.

May I suggest, for starters, you study, and meditate on, Matthew 23:29-36.

Of course. Jesus used "generation" to refer to the people living in his day as well. It depends on the context of what he said to understand the true meaning. "Generation" could refer to people then or it could refer to people in another time period. Why does it always have to refer to people in one certain time period?

Because that's what happens when we confine ourselves to physical things of this world of time and space.

See how that works out with the word "temple".

Interesting good thought, but John then tells us the Temple Christ refered to was christ.

Christ in what sense, do you think?

John 3:19-25 NKJ

What are you saying that passage conveys Christ as being - the temple?

Please clarify!

We are all a temple for the Lord to dwell. John just explains that Christ was referring to himself as the temple. Not the actual building at this point.

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 166 by onewithhim]

I do see how your viewpoint meshes with mine, and I don't understand where you get the idea that when Jesus spoke of "this generation" he wasn't talking about his genuine followers. Why wouldn't my view be as correct as yours?

What you say about "a continual spiritual" generation does agree with my view, though I refer to the Last Days, whereas you refer to mankind since Cain. Could you explain that? It takes a while for me to get the picture on some things.

Thanks for your interest.

May I suggest, for starters, you study, and meditate on, Matthew 23:29-36.

Of course. Jesus used "generation" to refer to the people living in his day as well. It depends on the context of what he said to understand the true meaning. "Generation" could refer to people then or it could refer to people in another time period. Why does it always have to refer to people in one certain time period?

Because that's what happens when we confine ourselves to physical things of this world of time and space.

See how that works out with the word "temple".

Interesting good thought, but John then tells us the Temple Christ refered to was christ.

Christ in what sense, do you think?

John 3:19-25 NKJ

What are you saying that passage conveys Christ as being - the temple?

Please clarify!

We are all a temple for the Lord to dwell. John just explains that Christ was referring to himself as the temple. Not the actual building at this point.

Yes, not a literal physical temple , the actual building all were familiar with, but a spiritual building that was an unfamiliar concept that includes so much more.

In the same way, we are all familiar with a literal physical generation, but find a spiritual generation an unfamiliar concept and therefore tend to reject it out of hand.

[101G]

[Replying to post 161 by 101G]

there are only "TWO" generation on this planet. the Righteous, or Good Generation, and the Unrighteous, or Evil Generation

This is true, because we will always have GOOD and evil on this planet until Christ return.

Exactly.

"This generation" is the "evil and adulterous" one, the "generation of vipers".

These two began with Cain and Abel, have always been here, and one will pass away at the return of Christ, and the other will live forever.

What about Exodus 1:6? A generation is mentioned that doesn't refer to good or evil, so it shows that when generations are mentioned it does not necessarily follow that good or evil is the only way we can think of the generations.

Yes, not the only way, but one of two viable scriptural ways.

So the question is, which way did Christ employ and use?

The "generation" as mentioned at Exodus 1:6.

GINOLJC, to all

this Generation is the "Evil" generation which started from Cain on down even today.
better know as the "wicked",

supportive scripture, Matthew 12:34 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh".

Matthew 12:39 "But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas".

Luke 11:29 "And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet".

Matthew 16:4 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed".

Matthew 12:45 "Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation".

Matthew 12:34 says it all.

PICYJAG.

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 161 by 101G]

there are only "TWO" generation on this planet. the Righteous, or Good Generation, and the Unrighteous, or Evil Generation

This is true, because we will always have GOOD and evil on this planet until Christ return.

Exactly.

"This generation" is the "evil and adulterous" one, the "generation of vipers".

These two began with Cain and Abel, have always been here, and one will pass away at the return of Christ, and the other will live forever.

What about Exodus 1:6? A generation is mentioned that doesn't refer to good or evil, so it shows that when generations are mentioned it does not necessarily follow that good or evil is the only way we can think of the generations.

Yes, not the only way, but one of two viable scriptural ways.

So the question is, which way did Christ employ and use?

The "generation" as mentioned at Exodus 1:6.

That reference is to a physical generation, which is not the one he employs and uses.

His usage in Matthew 24:34 specifically refers back to his detailed description of "this generation" in the previous chapter, 23.

[Zog Has-fallen]

What did Jesus mean when he said "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened?" Who is "this generation"?

When Jesus used the expression, this generation He always meant the generation of His contemporaries.

[Checkpoint]

What did Jesus mean when he said "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened?" Who is "this generation"?

When Jesus used the expression, this generation He always meant the generation of His contemporaries.

What he always meant was a generation that included some, but not all, of his contemporaries.

A generation not defined by its physical parentage but by its spiritual parentage.

[polonius]

What did Jesus mean when he said "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened?" Who is "this generation"?

When Jesus used the expression, this generation He always meant the generation of His contemporaries.

What he always meant was a generation that included some, but not all, of his contemporaries.

A generation not defined by its physical parentage but by its spiritual parentage.

RESPONSE: Isn't that an assertion without evidence?

MW dictionary -a group of individuals born and living contemporaneously