sovereigngrace
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True. But from the beginning of covenant history, God extended His covenant to both Jew and Gentile. (Genesis 17:12).
Therefore, confining the meaning of "generation" in Matthew 24:34 to the Jewish race is inconsistent with the heterogeneous ethnic composition of the nation of Israel from its beginning.
Which is why "generation" in that verse means "all of those living at that time", as shown in the lexicon to which I've linked previously.
As shown previously, verse 34 (not 36, my typo) is the demarcation. Everything prior to it refers to the 70 AD period, using the language of the ancient metaphoric apocalyptic idiom, of which there are numerous OT examples. Psalm 18 is equally as dramatic as Matthew 24, wherein David declares that the Lord came down (Psalm 18:9). Other examples have been cited by others in their posts.
In verse 29, Jesus declares that the phenomena which would follow would occur immediately after the tribulation of those days. There is only one other reference to tribulation in the chapter. It is in verse 21, referring to the tribulation of the destruction of Jerusalem and Judea, which is unparalleled before or after in the annals of history.
Everything after verse 34 refers to the Second Coming.
Jesus answered His disciples' questions in their entirety.
God focused His grace upon the physical children of Abraham from Abraham right up until the cross. That is beyond dispute.
Exodus 33:13-16: “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.”
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 confirms, “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 14:2 declares: “for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.”
Deuteronomy 26:18-27:1: “And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.”
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 tells us: “When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.”
Deuteronomy 33:29: “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.”
2 Samuel 7:23-24 says: “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.”
Psalm 135:4 records: “For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.”
Psalm 147:19-20: “He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation.”
Amos 3:2 confirms this, saying of Israel: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.”
Zechariah 2:8 declares: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
Acts 14:16 confirms that God “in times past (talking about before the cross) suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.”
Ephesians 2:11-12: "remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."
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