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"?

[myth-one.com]

All earthly governments will be replaced with The Kingdom of God government and its subjects will enjoy peace and good health forever.

Is that basically correct?

Yes, that is what we believe.

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

Thanks

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".
JW

OK, so what becomes of those who are non-meek?

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 198 by polonius.advice]

Do you have anything to say about my post #197?

RESPONSE"

You posted

He clearly excludes the disciples in his Matthew 23 description of who were then "this generation", and what it was that made them "this generation".

Really? How exactly doe he do that?

Your response did not quote from, or say anything about, my post #197.

It thus avoided the issue I raised there.

[Checkpoint]

Checkpoint claimed:

He clearly excludes the disciples in his Matthew 23 description of who were then "this generation", and what it was that made them "this generation".

Really? Where does Jesus say that? Where does it use the word generation at all in Matt 23??

Chapter and verse please.

Rather, the onus is on you.

Where does Jesus include the disciples in his Matthew 23 description of who he was labeling "this generation"?

RESPONSE: Please cite the message you are referring to.

I already stated the message is Matthew 23.

Please answer my question.

[myth-one.com]

All earthly governments will be replaced with The Kingdom of God government and its subjects will enjoy peace and good health forever.

Is that basically correct?

Yes, that is what we believe.

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".

So meek atheists may inherit the Kingdom of God on the earth?

[brianbbs67]

All earthly governments will be replaced with The Kingdom of God government and its subjects will enjoy peace and good health forever.

Is that basically correct?

Yes, that is what we believe.

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".

So meek atheists may inherit the Kingdom of God on the earth?

Yes. According to the Pope, they can. I wonder, though.

[Tcg]

All earthly governments will be replaced with The Kingdom of God government and its subjects will enjoy peace and good health forever.

Is that basically correct?

Yes, that is what we believe.

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".

So meek atheists may inherit the Kingdom of God on the earth?

Yes. According to the Pope, they can. I wonder, though.

Who doesn't wonder? The Bible itself doesn't make it clear. Is it based on belief as the unknown author of the gospel of John claims? Perhaps on works as the author of James claims. Meekness as JW claims?

Jesus himself told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor. Many Christians, for obvious reasons, claim that this wasn't the key to eternal life even though that is precisely what the rich kid asked about.

Evangelicals have been arguing for decades now if you have to accept Jesus as your Savior or as your Lord and Savior to inherit eternal life. Research "Lordship Salvation" if you are unfamiliar with this argument.

As we know from a regular poster here, some claim righteousness is what is needed.

I'm sure there are many opinions I've overlooked or am unaware of.

So which is it? It's not like we can even flip a coin as there many more than just two opinions. I suppose we could build a detailed roulette wheel and let "fate" answer this question.

This wheel wouldn't be needed if the Bible made the answer to this most important question clear.

It doesn't of course, so we are all left to wonder just as you are wondering.

[Checkpoint]

Checkpoint claimed:

He clearly excludes the disciples in his Matthew 23 description of who were then "this generation", and what it was that made them "this generation".

Really? Where does Jesus say that? Where does it use the word generation at all in Matt 23??

Chapter and verse please.

Rather, the onus is on you.

Where does Jesus include the disciples in his Matthew 23 description of who he was labeling "this generation"?

RESPONSE:
Matthew 16:28
Douay-Rheims Bible
Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, (obviously then of the same generation) that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.


So clearly Jesus was referring to Jesus generation not some future generation.
Of course, it never happened, it is one of a number of God breathed biblical errors.


ANOTHER PROPHECY REFERRING TO A DIFFERENT GENERATION WHICH ALRO NEVER HAPPENED , Matt 23

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. 33 You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?[g] 34 Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.


Your are confusing two different prophecies BOTH OF WHICH ARE INCORRECT.

Not at all.

These are two parts of one prophecy from the same speaker, about a group he calls "this generation", which includes their destiny.

This one prophecy is not incorrect; it is yet to be finally fulfilled.

"This generation" is not a physical generation" of a short span of years.

It is a generation of the long span of human history, beginning with Cain and ending with the new heaven and earth.

[JehovahsWitness]

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".

So meek atheists may inherit the Kingdom of God on the earth?

The Kingom of God will not BE on earth (feel free to review what we have already discussed here ); God's kingdom is a government that will be in heaven, it is the subjects (the citizens) living under that government that will be on earth.




RELATED POSTS


WHY does God call some to heavenly life from the earth?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 997#846997

THE KINGOM: Questions & Answers
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 077#816077

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 221 by myth-one.com]

Question : WILL any ATHEISTS survive Harmageddon?

• If the question is, will any individuals that presently identify as atheists escape being executed when Jesus kills off the wicked, that's certainly possible. Not all atheists will have had the opportunity to be properly educated as to the existence of God and it is for God to judge if a person is being willfully ignorant because they love wickedness or if they have been unwilling victims of of antigod propaganda and/or childhood indoctrination.

Atheist no more!

• Naturally there will be no atheists alive the day after God manifesting his power at Harmageddon (the destruction of the wicked), as any of them that have the potential to be deemed as "meek" will have promptly changed their minds as to the the existence of God, when they "see*" Him. Speaking of all humans (whether atheists or not) who lack proper repect for the Creator, the bible reports God as saying "They wil have to know that I am Jehovah" meaning all humans will, at that time, have to recognise YHWH (Jehovah) the God if the bible, as the supreme ruler of the universe. There were no atheists in the original paradise and there will be no place for such ones in the paradise to come.

* "see" as in see clear evidence of God's judgement

The essential question then becomes : will any of these "former" atheists, who changed thier minds when confronted with God's power at Harmageddon, be judged as having an excuse for their former worldview and subsequent lifestyles ?

That is for God (and not any human) to judge. That said, it should be kept in mind that an atheistic worldview has biblically already been deemed by God as "inexcusabe". While this is not to say we can write off all individuals who adopt such a view as irredeemable, scriptually the natural world is considered enough evidence for thinking people to come to the conclusion that there must be a Creator. So effectively God will be judging any extenuating circumstances which might allow an atheist to survive. God is thorough, so there is no reason to dismiss the possibility He will find some reason to spare at least some of them and offer them the opportunity to conform to divine standards.

JW



RELATED POSTS

Does God want people to know he exists?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 506#901506

Is there any Science in the bible
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 658#880658


Further Reading I was raised an atheist
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102010404


Source: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102010401#h=1



All the above represents my faith based beliefs as one of Jehovah's Witnesses

[myth-one.com]

All earthly governments will be replaced with The Kingdom of God government and its subjects will enjoy peace and good health forever.

Is that basically correct?

Yes, that is what we believe.

..., who will be included as subjects in the Kingdom of God on earth?

All those that God judges as "meek". Jesus said "The meek will inherit the earth".

What becomes of those humans who are not judged by God to be "meek"? {|=