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"?

[Avoice]

[Replying to post 1 by Overcomer]

Unfulfilled.

Part of the wall still stands. It is an outer wall but it us part of the buildings if the temple. Ive seen it. I've touched it.

Those stones remain untouched. They stand as they did when Jesus said this.

They will all fall huh? It is fascinating how those stones are like the tribes of Israel. Yes, almost every stone fell. Yet there is that wall that remains standing. Just like the Jews. Must be the mortar.
What is even more interesting is there is a stone in the wall that weighs 600 tons. It is huuuuge. The largest in the great pyramids are like 50 or 60 tons. I think these numbers are accurate ir at least close to it

[Sojournerofthearth]

We are.

[Checkpoint]

We are.

A very short post, yet it begs a basic question or two.

who are included in this "we"?

It could be anything from a few select posters on this sublforum, or the whole human race.

[marco]

It means the same thing as if he said it to us today. We would have every reason to believe we would see those things happen. What reason would i have to believe otherwise? I dont. He didnt give a reason nit to believe otherwise. Christians believe otherwise. Though they have no reason. But if they don't lie to themself then Jesus is not the messiah.

Inside your attacks on Christian beliefs there's a lot of good sense, and what you say here is absolutely true. Jesus was speaking to ordinary men, possibly very simple men, not philosophers and theologians. "I'll be back before some of you are buried," carries one meaning for them, and for those that built a church out of Christ's unbroken bones, there is the ghost of a possibility of a rumour of another meaning, and this allows folk to watch television with one eye and keep another out for a man in the clouds. If Jesus did say what he's reported to have said - and this seems unlikely to be verbatim - then he meant what he said. And he was wrong.

[Avoice]

[Replying to post 528 by Sojournerofthearth]

He said "THIS" generation. That signifies there are others.

And since you say 'we' are you saying he will return in your lifetime? How sbout uour great grandparents - would they have said 'we' also? If yes, then it proves he is false. Also jesus said there were others not if that fold. What about them? Who are they?

[Revelations won]

Greetings,

I have enjoyed the dialogue between "Avoice" and "Check Point". I have not had the privilege of being in Jerusalem personally, but find it fascinating to say the least that there exists a 600 ton stone! I would be curious to know how that one was moved into place and from where?

Checkpoint also quoted the following: "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"?"

My comment: We should remember that Enoch, Elijah, John the revelator and possibly many others that we know not of were living in that generation and were thus a part of the generation spoken of. To my knowledge they have not yet tasted of death as they are "translated beings".

It was also mentioned that: Christ also said :

John 10:16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold : them also I must bring,AND THEY SHALL HEAR MY VOICE; and there shall be one fold and one Shepard.

Christ also said:

Matthew 15:24 "But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

From the above we learn two very important things.

First, that the OTHER SHEEP THAT WERE NOT OF THIS FOLD would be visited by him and that they WOULD ALSO HEAR HIS VOICE.

Second, that he was not sent, but unto THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

The above two items are literally fulfilled some of his other sheep of the House of Israel and duly recorded. Christ also taught those other sheep that he would also vista the "ten lost tribes of Israel"

In conclusion we should also remember what Peter taught regarding the scriptures and prophecy as found in :

2 Peter1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophesy of the Scriptures of any private interpretation".

Since prophecy was, according to scripture, not given by the will of man, but Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

It would appear to be reasonable that since prophecy was given by revelation from the Holy Ghost, then correct interpretation must also be given by the same gift of the spirit. What does that say regarding those who want to put their uninspired spin on any prophesy?

[Sojournerofthearth]

[Replying to post 528 by Sojournerofthearth]

He said "THIS" generation. That signifies there are others.

And since you say 'we' are you saying he will return in your lifetime? How sbout uour great grandparents - would they have said 'we' also? If yes, then it proves he is false. Also jesus said there were others not if that fold. What about them? Who are they?

No, it refers to a specific generation. All these things will have happened before the return of Christ.

Many come bearing the name of Christ but deceive many (Come in His name but do not teach what he taught)
Wars, Nations and Kingdoms rising up against Nations and Kingdoms (World War)
Famines, Diseases, Natural Disasters gradually in waves over time
Persecutions of God's People, False Prophets,
Sin increases and Love decreases
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached to all the world for a witness (against them) and then shall the end come. It has to go before Kings, Rulers, Presidents and Prime Ministers... then there is usually a period of 40 years to give them a chance to repent... So I'd say we're right there.

Time will tell.

[marco]

Many come bearing the name of Christ but deceive many (Come in His name but do not teach what he taught)

There are footballers called Jesus and they save remarkably well.

Wars, Nations and Kingdoms rising up against Nations and Kingdoms (World War)
Famines, Diseases, Natural Disasters gradually in waves over time
Persecutions of God's People, False Prophets,
Sin increases and Love decreases

Are these serious prophecies or just simple records of what happens to mankind century after century?

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached to all the world for a witness (against them) and then shall the end come. It has to go before Kings, Rulers, Presidents and Prime Ministers... then there is usually a period of 40 years to give them a chance to repent... So I'd say we're right there.

I assume you are being facetious, so let us smile. In the remote possibility you are not jesting, why would there be a need for some preaching? Would it be "I told you so!" I particularly like the informed use of "usually" as in "God usually has two eggs for breakfast."

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 533 by Sojournerofthearth]

So I'd say we're right there.

Time will tell.

It will, just as it has for 2000 years.

What it tells us is what we have ignored or skated around.

And that is what Jesus so clearly stated:

Acts 1:

7 He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or the seasons the Father has set by His own authority.

Matthew 24:
;

42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

[marco]

[Replying to post 533 by Sojournerofthearth]

So I'd say we're right there.

Time will tell.

It will, just as it has for 2000 years.

Presumably time has been operating for rather more than 2000 years.

What it tells us is what we have ignored or skated around.

Matthew 24:

42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

We expect stupidity from Matthew and he never disappoints, bless him. What human being watches for 2000 years? Even Methuselah would have run short of years.