Let go to Matthew 23...
Matthew 23:34-35 KJV
[34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
[35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
The verses preceding these two gives the context and
qualifies these passages that we understand He is referring to
them as the offspring or children of Satan. In other words, they are of the same family, the
generation of evil. They aren't any different, despite their protests to the contrary. Sound familiar?
Matthew 23:29-33 KJV
[29] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
[30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
[31] Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
[32] Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
These are the verses that lead up to what I quoted. They illustrate that though these people believe that they are children of God, they are actually of the very same family of Satan that killed the Prophets. Christ is here talking to the
unfaithful congregation of His day, declaring them the generation (family) of evil that kills God's prophets. In other words, Satan was their father, and his deeds are what they do, as contrasted with the offspring or children of God. And as the Generation or family of evil, they are the exact same generation that killed Abel and the prophets of old. They are thus measured the same as that generation, because they are that generation that killed/kills God's prophets. They are the fruit of children of their father. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
Let go to Revelation and find out with Babylon the Great:
Revelation 18:24 KJV
[24] And
in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
How will she be responsible for all slain, including unsaved world, upon the earth?
Because it was the
generation of evil that were/are/will be responsible for the blood of God's prophets. It was
this generation, the
fruit or offspring of Satan, who killed them. Who's responsible for the blood of the Prophets? Satan, and all those ruled over by him. And the end-time Church is that same generation or family of Satan, and thus the same family that killed Abel, Jesus and Stephen. Again, see the context of the verse I quoted:
Matthew 23:30-32
- "And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
- Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
- Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers."
Those people were not literally alive when their
family killed the prophets, but God makes it perfectly clear that though they (like many today) protest that they are the Good God-fearing congregation,
in reality they are the children of Satan. They are the
same spiritual offspring of those who killed the prophets, and are measured the same as those who killed them. Who killed them? The generation of Evil, the same generation they are.
Selah.
Matthew 23:35-36
- " That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
- Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."
What Generation? Certainly not the 1st Century Generation of Matthew, Mark Luke and John of that Physical/literal Generation. But the Generation of evil, of which these in unbelief were. They were of that same kindred that killed the prophets, and thus will be judged the same for killing the prophets. That word translated generation is [genea] from the root [genos] meaning kindred or family. It's used to designate nations, because they are of one family or common ancestry.