Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you,
This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Heaven and earth have not yet passed away. To me, Jesus is saying that this generation would pass away when heaven and earth pass away. So, this generation cannot possibly have passed away yet.
Since the Bible is a historical reference to the nation of Israel and creation of the Church, we must look everything written from a historical point of view. When you look at Matthew 24 from a purely historical perspective, then it's clear that it means exactly what it says.
There is going to be tribulation, Jesus is going to return, and Judgment Day will occur before that generation of people all died.
We know that Jesus would not deceive His followers. When He said generation, He was speaking in a language that the people of that time clearly understood and they were expecting Him to return in the time frame that He stated. Jesus told His followers that everything was going to come to pass in their lifetime. After His prophesy of the last days and the coming day of the Lord He says:
"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Matthew 24:34-35)
"I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." (Mark 9:1)
"I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27)
Before this He told His followers: "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Matthew 16:27-28)
And why would Jesus tell Caiaphas that he would witness this?
"But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? And Jesus said, I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:61-62)
And why would Jesus lead His disciples to believe that some would be alive when He returns?
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:22-23)
Jesus told many that the events he spoke of would occur in their time.
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples.... Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.." (Matthew 23:1,36)
The High Priest:
"nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 60:64)
Peter, James, John and Andrew:
“ they (all the tribes of the earth) shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matthew 24:30,34)
"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken....this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. " (Mark 13:24,25,30)
"For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled... for the powers of heaven shall be shaken… This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." (Luke 21:22,26,32)
Nathaniel:
"you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. " (John 1:51)
Revelation predicted that even the Jews who crucified Jesus would see His return:
"behold, He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7)
Are those who killed Jesus still alive today?
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1-2)
“Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11)
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
“Do not seek a wife. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:27,29-31)
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18)
Would John tell people of that day it was
"the last hour" if it were 2000 years or more away?
The scriptures above show that the Apostles believed without any doubt that the end was very near. They make it clear that they believed they were living in the last days and that the end of the world as they knew it was about to come.
The Book of Revelation is about the destruction of Israel, Christ's victory over His enemies, and in the establishment of the Church. It prophesies the judgment of God on Israel and shows us that the ungodly will never prevail against God’s Kingdom.
The Book of Revelation makes it clear that all events were going to soon take place. There is no reason for anyone today to believe that the events prophesied in revelation would be occurring 2000+ years in the future.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1-3)
“I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” (Revelation 3:11)
“And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.” (Revelation 22:6)
“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7)
“And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.” (Revelation 22:10)
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12)
"He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)
Based on the verses above, common sense alone should tell us that the events spoken about in Revelation had to occur during the time of the Apostles and the early Church.
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.... For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written." (Luke 21:20,22)
If the prophesies as written did not come true, Jesus and those before Him would be a false prophets according to the scripture definition found in Deuteronomy 18:22.
"If the prophet speaks in the LORD's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared."
It's also important to consider that Jesus said the Kingdom of God would come without observation:
"Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The coming Kingdom that the prophets and Jesus spoke of was spiritual not physical. It has already arrived according to the Bible. Jesus dwells in all of those who believe. His kingdom is here and now.
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Gal. 2:20)
Matthew 5:18 should erase any doubt that Heaven and earth have indeed passed away.
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, UNTIL heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)
Notice that Jesus said heaven and earth had to pass away BEFORE the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law.
Clearly the physical heaven and earth have not been destroyed, but Jesus did say
UNTIL heaven and earth pass away the old Law could not pass. So that means that if the
"heaven and earth" spoken of was the physical heaven and earth then that would mean that the old Law is still in effect. But we know this is not true.
"But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the Law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans 7:6)
"In speaking of a new covenant,” He has made the first one obsolete;" (Romans 8:13)
We also have Jesus' own words as to when all prophecy was to be fulfilled in Luke 21.
In verse 22 Jesus spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem and said
"These be the days of vengeance in which ALL THINGS WRITTEN MUST BE FULFILLED." And in verse 32 He says "this generation will not pass away
until ALL THINGS TAKE PLACE." And finally, in verse 33 Jesus says that
"heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words will by no means pass away."
History tells us that in 70AD, within the generation of those Jesus spoke to, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the city was left ruined and desolate. The heaven and earth Jesus was speaking of passed away.
you said "taken at face value" yet you not the word you told us who Jesus was really speaking to. Now He was asked about the future the end no? He told them who asked what they would see and those that see that.. they are the last gen. Thats how I simply read and understand it. Also for the 1st time in history we are seeing all those things happen at one time. Knowing OT said Israel would become a nation in a day.. wow that happened and she is blooming.
