Introduction
The answer to the question of what “this generation” is referring to is, quite frankly, very simple. And many have made it, well, quite frankly, very complicated.
Everywhere Jesus uses the phrase “this generation,” He is referring to His generation then living and no other. For example, in Lke. 17:25, Jesus said that “He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” Which generation? Need we ask? It doesn’t get any more simple and clearer for us than this. Jesus meant what He said, and said exactly what He meant.
Just earlier, before leaving the temple in Mat. 24:1f, Jesus again had said to the Jews who were His contemporaries, “I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation” (Mat. 23:36). All what? What He had just told them in verse 35 would happen to them. Which generation? Of course, them! And, of course, the same is to be understood of “this generation” immediately referred to thereafter in Mat. 24:34. This is letting Scripture interpret Scripture and not reading into these words what WE think it is saying. Again, nothing could be more simple and clear. And when the disciples were to personally “see all these things” that Jesus had just spoken to them about, He immediately then says, “this generation [their generation] will not pass away UNTIL “all these things” have happened” (v. 34). Everything Jesus said would happen, was to happen before that generation then living would pass away. How long a generation is, is a moot point. But rest assured, the generation of Jesus and His disciples would not die out before all those things would take place that Jesus had foretold.
Simple Grammar Tells the Story
Now, the word “this” in grammar is called a “demonstrative pronoun.” And demonstrative pronouns are pointers, with the word “this” pointing to something more near or contemporaneous, while the word “that” points to something more distant or not contemporaneous. Any Greek expositor or English grammar teacher will tell you this.
These demonstratives answer the question, “Which generation?” But the very purpose behind using either the word “this” or “that” is to single out exactly “which” generation Jesus was referring to, distinguishing it from any other generation. As John Bray succinctly notes, “…in a real sense, verse 34 itself governs when it was to be understood when all these things would occur, rather than the other way around…”[1] In other words, we cannot let our own private interpretations of what we think these verses are saying in this chapter govern what verse 34 clearly articulates for us in no uncertain terms, not to mention the fact that Jesus told His disciples that they would actually SEE all those things for themselves.
Now the NIV gives us two examples of these varying usages of “this” and “that.” In Deut. 1:35, Moses rehearses what the Lord had specifically told the Israelites while still living in the wilderness, “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give to your forefathers.” There is no margin for error here in seeing this as referring to those Jews who were then living. Later on in Deut. 2:14, Moses also writes, “Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.” Here we can see Moses is referring to something more distant and in the past, as does the Psalmist in Psm. 95:10. So, here we clearly see an accurate understanding of “this generation” as opposed to “that generation.” One was the current generation then living, the other was that former generation which had passed away in the past. In speaking to Jeremiah’s generation then living in his day, God says to Jeremiah: “Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under His wrath.” (7:30).[2] And Jeremiah was present to see when God’s “wrath,” via the Babylonians, was meted out upon all those living in his day. “This generation,” was indeed, Jeremiah’s generation then living. Jeremiah was prophesying to his contemporaries, just as Christ was doing in His day.
To demonstrate all of this even further, one day I was doing a crossword puzzle where, as we all know, we are sometimes given a phrase in which we have to fill in the blank with the missing word. The phrase in this particular puzzle was: “the one here.” The answer was: “this.” So, “the one here” is “this” one here or present, as opposed to “that” one over there. Clearly, those who wrote this crossword puzzle understood what the demonstrative pronoun “this” refers to, unlike many ignorant Christians who only attempt to make an uneducated guess. The following puzzle on the next page in this crossword puzzle book again gave the statement: “the ones here.” The answer was “these,” this time using the plural “these” for the “ones” here. So, “the ones here” are “these” here, as opposed to “those” over there. Do you see that? This isn’t rocket science; this is just simple grammar 101. If Christians would just become more noble and educate themselves in simple grammar, they would spare themselves a lot of mistaken notions and guesswork about what the Scriptures are truly saying to us. So, instead of “guessing” what “this generation” is referring to, this little demonstrative pronoun actually lets us know exactly what generation Jesus was referring to.
Weymouth clearly recognized the importance of this little demonstrative “this” in Mat. 24:34, by even translating it in his translation as: “I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place.” This is not a biased translation based upon ones own eschatological viewpoint, but based upon an understanding of the text that is rooted in a proper understanding of the original languages and grammar. Greek expositor, A. T. Robertson, likewise says that Christ “had plainly stated in verse 34 that those events would take place in that [or their] generation.”[3] And with regards to Mk. 13:30 and Lke. 21:32, Robertson again says it refers to: “naturally people then living.”[4] Moffatt’s translation, Today’s English Bible, the New English Bible, the Amplified Bible and the Good News Bible all follow suit. In fact, the Good News Bible reads: “Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.” Good going for the Good News Bible! And, finally, bible expositor D. A. Carson writes, “This generation…can only with the greatest difficulty be made to mean anything other than the generation living when Jesus spoke…”[5]
So with that said, nothing of what Jesus said has to do with anything in our future. They were “all things” that would happen leading up to and into the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. And the little word “this” in “this generation” specifically tells us which generation would see all these things happen.
I wrote a little book that specifically deals more exhaustively with this subject, called: The Grammar Behind “This” in “This Generation.” It can be purchased at Lulu Press and from any bookstore. I also spend some more time in that book defining what the Greek word for “generation” means. And if you would like even some further commentary on the rest of the verses in Matthew 24, then I would suggest reading Adam Clarke’s commentary, or even John Bray’s book called: Matthew 24 Fulfilled (it is an excellent book).
Understanding the Rest of the Verses in Matthew 24 in the Context of Mat. 24:34
Now the problem for many comes when they read into what Jesus is predicting for the future in Matthew 24, things that He is not predicting with regards to our future. Things like: the budding of the fig tree depicting Israel becoming a nation in 1948; Christ’s Second Coming; the sun literally being darkened and the moon no longer giving its light, with the stars literally falling from the sky; the rapture; literal vultures eating dead carcasses, and so on and so forth.
So what about all these things that Jesus said which lead many to think or believe that most, if not all of this prophecy, is to take place in our future? Time and space will not permit me to go into great detail and expound upon everything Jesus says here in Matthew 24 (Adam Clarke’s commentary and Bray’s book mentioned above does a good job of that).[6] But I don’t want to just leave you hanging and in suspense either. So, I will just write a little bit on a couple of things, just to wet your beak and get you thinking differently about who or what generation Jesus is really referring to here in this “short analysis.” And remember, if we keep our minds focused on Christ’s words, “this generation” (i.e., His generation), we will not venture down a path that is not in keeping with this prophecy and conjure up some false prophecies about the future that are of our own making.
Adam Clarke succinctly outlines the events in this chapter as follows, as they relate to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.:
Christ foretells the destruction of the temple, verses 1–2. His disciples inquire when and what shall be the sign of this destruction, verse 3. Our Lord answers, and enumerates them―false Christ’s, verses 4–5; wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes, verses 6–8; persecution of his followers, verse 9; apostasy from the truth, verses 10–13; general spread of the Gospel, verse 14. He foretells the investment of the city by the Romans, verses 15–18. The calamities of those times, verses 19–22. Warns them against seduction by false prophets, verses 23–26. The suddenness of these calamities, verses 27–28. Total destruction of the Jewish polity, verses 29–31. The whole illustrated by the parable of the fig–tree, verses 32–33. The certainty of the event, though the time is concealed, verses 34–36. Careless state of the people, verses 37–41. The necessity of watchfulness and fidelity, illustrated by the parable of the two servants, one faithful, the other wicked, verses 42–51. (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible; in public domain at: Biblehub.com.Now, first of all, the budding of the fig tree isn’t used as a symbol for Israel becoming a nation here, for Jesus denotes this of “all trees” in Lke. 21:29. So we can get that idea out of our heads right now. And, secondly, the expression the “budding of all trees” was used by Jesus to refer to the events that would be seen that would lead up to Israel’s desolation, not their restoration. These events, like buds beginning to bud on a tree, were the tell-tale signs that the desolation predicted was eminent. None of this is about Israel’s future in our day. And there is also to be no presuppositions or a priori theological biases read into these passages that would lead us to believe that Jesus is alluding to a third temple that is to be rebuilt, after the second one that was destroyed in 70 A.D. Remember, it is “this (or their) generation,” not one in our time. If this were so, then Jesus would have said “that generation.” He doesn’t. He says all these things mentioned were to transpire in His generation, with His twelve disciples actually physically SEEING it with their very own eyes. And Jesus had repeatedly used these words “this generation” in many other instances to actually let us know what generation He was specifically referring to. Don’t take my word on all this. Take His word on it! To read anything else into Christ’s words is to only “add” to His words something that He himself has told us elsewhere to be very careful of doing, leading us to proclaim false prophecies based on false assumptions.
Now, it is in the context of “this generation” not passing away until all these things take place, that Jesus also says, “And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and THEN shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat. 24:30; Darby Bible Trans.; italics for emphasis mine).
Signs point to something. In the Bible, they are natural phenomena in the earth that God uses to reveal something to us—like the sign of Jonah being three days and three nights in the belly of the whale that pointed to Christ being in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. So, in a similar fashion, the actual event of the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome’s armies was to be in fact “the sign” Jesus is referring to that would point to the realization that He is indeed reigning as the Son of Man “in heaven” and coming on “on the clouds of heaven” with “great power and glory” to judge Israel. And Christ had just earlier alluded to all of this in Mat. 22:7, when He as a Prophet says of those Jews who rejected and killed Him: “The King became angry. He sent his soldiers, killed those murderers, and burned their city” (GWT). Because the Jews had rejected Christ and His followers, He had promised to judge them as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And they would indeed SEE this aspect of Him in a way that they had not expected to see. In their eyes He was to be a king who was for them, not against them. And they surely didn’t see Him as the Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world. They wanted a fighter, not a lover. But the “fighter” in Him would indeed come out when He became seated as King on His heavenly throne. They missed the day of His kindness and goodness. Now they were going to experience (or “see”) the severity of His judgment. And it was this “judgment” from Jesus that the Jews wanted to stone Stephen for saying, “this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place” (Acts 6:14). But the false witnesses, along with the rest of those Jews, denied such a claim; for in their eyes Jesus was dead! And this is still the argument today, no less, by many Christian brethren in our midst who claim: “How can the Messiah be the Prince in the second sentence of Dan. 9:26, if He was cut-off (or killed) in the first sentence of Dan. 9:26? In their mind also Christ is dead, and therefore He can’t be the “Prince” whose people in this particular case are said to destroy the city and sanctuary. But have no doubt about it, Christ now as a ruling and reigning King destroyed that place using the Roman armies, just as He alluded to in Mat. 22:7 cited above. They did it for Him! Just like the Lord says of Nebuchadnezzar whom the Lord also used to mete out His judgments upon other nations with, including upon Israel, and then say, “he did it for Me!” (Ezk. 29:20). And when the Lord used the Medes to destroy the Babylonians, He likewise exclaims: “You are My war club, My weapon for battle—with you I shatter nations…with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and maiden, with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials” (Jer. 51:20-23). Many more verses like these could be cited with regards to all of this, and they can also be read in my book called: The People of the Prince, the Coming One!
Now, storm “clouds” in Scripture are often used in a non-literal manner as a metaphor for the devastating armies that God uses to meet out His judgments upon other nations with. This is seen in Isaiah 19:1 of the Lord in the past having come down “ON A SWIFT CLOUD” to judge Egypt via the swiftly invading armies of the Babylonians. In Ezekiel 30:3-4, the Lord again speaks of judgment upon Egypt via the Babylonians (in v. 10): “For the day of the Lord is near—A DAY OF CLOUDS, A TIME OF DOOM for the nations. A SWORD WILL COME AGAINST EGYPT, AND ANGUISH WILL COME UPON CUSH…DARK WILL BE THE DAY AT TAHPANHES when I break the yoke of Egypt…SHE WILL BE COVERED WITH CLOUDS.”
In Jer. 4:13, the Lord again through the Babylonians “ADVANCES LIKE CLOUDS” to judge Israel. And in Ezk. 38:9, 16, God again talks about Himself using the armies of Gog to come against apostate Israel, with such wording as, “advancing LIKE A STORM; you will be LIKE A CLOUD COVERING THE LAND….You will advance against My people Israel LIKE A CLOUD THAT COVERS THE LAND.”
In Joel 2:1-2, the Lord again says concerning Israel: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—A DAY OF DARKNESS AND GLOOM, A DAY OF CLOUDS AND BLACKNESS. Like dawn spreading across the mountains A LARGE AND MIGHTY ARMY COMES.” In verse 20, this “army” is said to come from the north, and in chapter 1, verse 6, it is referred to as a “nation” (which are either the Assyrians or the Babylonians who are also likened unto “locusts” that devour the land; see also Isa. 33:4; Jer. 51:14, 27; Nah. 3:15-17; Jud. 6:5; 7:12).
In Zeph. 1:15-17, the Lord again speaks of judgment upon Israel: “That day will be a day of wrath—a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, A DAY OF DARKNESS AND GLOOM, A DAY OF CLOUDS AND BLACKNESS—a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord.”
And finally, in Lamentations 2:1, it says: “How the Lord has COVERED the daughter of Zion WITH THE CLOUD OF HIS ANGER! He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth.” How did He do this? Via the Babylonians. They were the "stars" that God cast down to the earth, similar to those whom Antiochus cast down in Dan. 8:9-10.
With regards to Mat. 24:30 cited above, even Jesus had told His disciples earlier, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before THEY SEE the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Mat. 16:28); in Mark 9:1, it is the kingdom “coming with power”; and in Mat. 10:23, the disciples would “not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” The same is also said later to the scribes and Pharisees of whom these prophecies in Mat. 24 were mainly all about. In Mat. 26:64, Christ tells them, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” And the same is repeated in Mk. 14:62 and Lke. 22:69, with Luke adding something very important for us to notice in the Greek, and even brought out in most of our English translations. Here Luke says of Christ’s words, “From now on…” Literally, this reads: “from henceforth” or “from this time forward.” So what all of these individuals were going to see, they would see in their own lifetime, not some 2,000 years or so later. They would surely “see” it alright, but, like I said before, not as they had expected to “see” it. And the same is true for countless others today who are expecting to “see” all this in a way that they will just never “see” it (at least not according to these verses). Those who would “see” it with the eyes of their understanding being enlightened, would be those who had been given the eyes to see and the ears to hear what Jesus is truly talking about here, even as Stephen rightfully understood it. In Matthew 24, Christ is talking about a judgment day and everything that would transpire right up until that judgment day. He is referring to the time when He would become seated with power as the King of kings at the right-hand of the Mighty One, UPON HIS ASCENSION to the throne after the cross, not some 2,000 or so years later (cf. Mk. 16:19; Acts 2:29-36; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 12:2; Rev. 3:21, et al). Christ would be “seen” by these Jews (and even by His disciples) as the ruling and reigning King of kings who metes out His judgments upon the ungodly. Judging isn’t just reserved for later, it is now going on every day all around us even as we speak; for “God is a righteous Judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day” (Psm. 7:11, NIV). And the judgments upon “Jerusalem,” “the land” of Palestine, the people (who are “the tribes” here) and the temple, would be “the sign” that the Son of Man is truly ruling and reigning “in heaven,” not on earth.[7] Remember, Jesus is talking to His generation then living, not one in our day.
Now, the same goes in all of this with regards to those looking for a literal darkening of the sun and moon, and with the stars falling to the ground; or even vultures eating dead carrion, etc., etc. In the prophets, the former language of the sun, moon and stars is often used for governments and nations with their leaders and people being overthrown and their “glory” being taken away as depicted by becoming “darkened,” and even becoming as “blood” in Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20 and Rev. 6:12. In Rev. 6:12, the sun is even said to become black as sackcloth, which depicts the mourning of people. And Israel is said to be indeed “mourning” over what will be happening to them in Mat. 24:30. In Isaiah 24:23, the moon is also said to be “abashed” (or disgraced) and the sun “ashamed.” These emotions can only be evoked of people, not of the literal sun and moon. Similarly, in Jer. 15:9, God says that “a mother of seven will grow faint and breathe her last. Her SUN will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated.” Sound familiar? Her “sun” setting, so to speak, is her fading glory like that of a flower that dies, or of the grass that withers. Again, we are not talking about the literal “sun” here. In Gen. 37:9, the sun, moon and eleven stars are seen as Joseph’s father, mother and eleven brothers. And in Dan. 8:9-10, it is said of Antiochus Epiphanes that he grew “to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth,” trampling them down (NASB). Any of the older commentators such as Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry and J.F.B. will tell you that Dan. 8:9-10 is referring to Antiochus trampling down many of the Jews with their leaders. And all this is recorded for us in First and Second Maccabees, and even in Josephus’ Wars of the Jews.
So, the sun being “darkened” and the moon no longer giving its “light,” along with the stars falling from heaven and even “shaken” up, all refer to the fading glory of a nation with her peoples who are shaken to the core and humbled. And Jeremiah was even noted as alluding to this earlier above, when he said, “He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth” (Lam. 2:1). These same words are also used to express the downfall of the Babylonians via the Medes in Isa. 13:10, and called “the day of the Lord” in verse 9; of the downfall of the Edomites in Isa. 34:4-5; of the downfall of Egypt via the Babylonians in Ezk. 32:6-12[8]; of the downfall of Israel via the Romans as expressed in Joel 2:28-32 (esp. vv. 30-31) and Acts 2:20 (of which Joel is quoted by Peter). And it is a combination of all these images that Christ picks up on in announcing Israel’s desolation that occurred in 70 A.D. And, finally, Joel seems to mention more times like this in the latter days in chapter 3, especially in verse 15. Revelation 6:12-14 also uses such language. But, again, none of this is to be taken literally.
In the latter language referred to above of vultures swooping over carrion, often such language is used in the OT prophets to depict armies overtaking nations and feeding on them with a frenzy, like birds do with dead carrion. Just read the prophets for yourself, and you will see this same language is often used in a non-literal manner. A couple of examples will suffice: In Jer. 48:40-44, the Lord who uses such language says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab. Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord. Terror and pit and snare await you, you people of Moab,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whoever flees from the terror will fall into a pit, whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare; for I will bring on Moab the year of her punishment.’” Of Edom, the Lord likewise says: “Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor” (Jer. 49:22). And finally, in Hab. 1:6-9, the Lord again says, “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; they all come intent on violence.” Now if literal vultures and carrion are what is being expressed in Deut. 28:26; Psm. 79:2 Isa. 18:5–6; Jer. 4:13ff; 7:33; 12:7–12; 15:2–3; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; Ezk. 29:1–5; 32:4 and Revelation 19:17–18, then no doubt in every context these references are referring to dead people laying about for the birds and the beasts to prey upon after the ravages of war. But I prefer to think of this phrase as being used as an “idiom,” as most tend to do. And in many places it is definitely being used in this manner in no uncertain terms.
And, finally, one being “taken” and the other “left” has nothing to do with “the rapture.” It refers to Rome’s armies (or any army for that matter) carrying off captives, while leaving the rest to die either by starvation or by the sword; and sometimes these armies even left behind some stragglers who were poor and weak (Nebuchadnezzar did this in Jer. 52:15-16). And so rather than just say “one shall be taken and another left,” Luke in no uncertain terms clearly indicates to us what Matthew and Mark are talking about in their gospels, by saying, “There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners” (21:24). And the demonstrative pronoun “this” in “this people” tells us again exactly which people this judgment was to fall upon. No one doubts that all of this described above occurred in the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. Josephus records it all for us. And he even records that the women ate their children, just as the Lord predicted they would in Deut. 28:53-57. And lastly, God had likewise said concerning the Babylonians overtaking Jerusalem in the past, “They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you WHO ARE LEFT will fall by the sword. They WILL TAKE AWAY your sons and daughters, and those of you WHO ARE LEFT will be consumed by fire” (Ezk. 23:25). Clearly, Jesus (or God) in Matthew, Mark and Luke was just saying the very same thing about Israel that was to take place via the Romans, just as He said it would take place in the past via the Babylonians (see also Jer. 20:4). Again, this is using Scripture to interpret Scripture.
Conclusion
Matthew 24 is basically all about the JUDGMENT (or “the end”) that was to come upon Israel in 70 A.D. And if we keep this in mind when reading this prophecy, we won’t come up with our own ideas of what we think this prophecy is talking about. And intertwined in all of this would be the preaching of the gospel to all the nations in order to start gathering God’s elect from the four corners of the world, an event that Paul even says in his epistle to the Colossians had already begun to occur by the time he had written his epistle in 62 A.D., eight years before Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D. (see Col. 1:6, 23). And we all know now in hindsight that the city and temple was indeed destroyed not long after the gospel had gone out into all the world just as Jesus said it would, and for which Paul also attests to. As such, “the end” that Christ was referring to is not our end. It was to be “the end” of the Jewish age or theocracy under the old covenant. Their “house” (or temple) was to be left unto them “desolate” (cf. Mat. 23:38), with every stone raised to the ground, even as it is to this day. And except the Lord build the house, they that labor, labor in vain. God isn’t behind such building programs anymore. He is now behind building up a spiritual house made up of spiritual (or “living”) stones (Eph. 2:20-22; 1Pet. 2:5). In light of all this, Dan. 9:24-27 is fulfilled; Matthew 24 (along with Mark 13 and Luke 21) is fulfilled; and the temple in Ezekiel 40-48, in 2Thess. 2:4 and in Rev. 11:1 is the Church, and which the Church has historically believed in up until the teachings of Dispensational Premillennialism came upon the scene in the late 1800’s. None of these verses have anything to do with future literal temples in our day. The days of literal temple building are over with brethren. We are now God’s temple (1Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2Cor. 6:16). And so all who say God is behind the Jews building more literal temples in the future (and who use His Word to promote such false notions) are false prophets and false teachers. They do not have the Spirit of Christ. They are the blind leading the blind, with all of them falling into the same ditch. Like the multitude of false prophets in the past who announced “peace” to Israel when a small handful of God’s true prophets announced otherwise, so too in our day there are more of those among us who hold out to Israel a future of false hopes and dreams that will never come to fruition. No doubt, someone is being the false prophet and false teacher here. You be the judge.
The only hope for salvation and “peace” today for the Jew is in Jesus Christ. “Today,” if they will hear His voice, is the day of salvation; not after the Church is raptured. And once the door of God’s ark of grace and mercy is closed, we shall indeed be taken while all the rest will be left behind only to suffer God’s wrath. If there is to be, as some believe, any latter-day en mass salvation of Jews, it is to be during this gospel era where they are part and parcel with the Church, and not a separate entity apart from the Church.[9] Christ has only one fold, not two, made up of both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Jhn. 10:14-16; 11:52). And contrary to the popular teachings of our day, the Church has not “replaced” Israel but is in fact inclusive of Israel; or rather, is really inclusive of Gentiles. And all must come through the same door by faith. And that “door” is Jesus Christ. Jews are not saved because they are “Jews,” but like the Gentiles they are saved because God has by His grace and mercy chosen to save some of us as His elect “children of promise” (Rom. 9:8; Gal. 4:28). Indeed, by the time Jerusalem fell, the trumpet call had gone out into all the world “to gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Mat. 24:31). And Christ will appear a second time, not to bear the sins of many, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him (cf. Heb. 9:28).
Footnotes:
[1] Matthew 24 Fulfilled, p. 214.
[2] In the NIV, two more instances in the OT of “this generation” referring to the current generation then living are in Ex. 1:6 and Jer. 2:31.
[3] Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 1, p. 194 (words italicized for emphasis and words in brackets mine).
[4] Ibid, p. 262.
[5] The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8, p. 507.
[6] See also my article in my blog called: The Coming of the Son of Man.
[7] The idea posed by many that Christ is just seated next to the Father, but not on a throne as King, is just simply fallacious. Just the few Scriptures mentioned in the main body of my answer above show that He is. God (or Christ) never speaks of the earth as being where His throne is to be. It is only referred to in passing as now being His “footstool” (Isa. 66:1; Mat. 5:35), and this will never change. Heaven will always be the throne of God and of Christ (cf. Psm. 11:4; 29:10; 33:12-14; 47:1-3, 7-9; 99:1; 103:19). Any idea that Christ will descend from heaven to make His throne here on the earth are the doctrines and traditions of men. These individuals are likewise reading into verses things that should not be read into them, siding with all natural thinking and reasoning Jews who have not the Spirit or mind of Christ. When Christ said His kingdom was not of this world, He meant it. If it were, He said, “My servants would fight to prevent my arrest” (Jhn. 18:36); an “arrest” that He says is by “the Jews,” no less (ibid).
The Psalmist writes: “His glory is above earth and heaven” (148:1, NASB). And Christ has said, “Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” (Lke. 24:26). What “glory,” might we ask? The throne of His glory! Where? In heaven, not on earth. The throne of His glory always has, is, and will be in heaven. It is Christ’s ascension as King upon the throne of David that has been established in heaven, not on earth; but is over the heavens and the earth nonetheless. Otherwise, Christ would not be seated far above all principalities, powers, mights and dominions—but below them.
The disciples had said to Christ, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” And, by now, we need not inquire what this “glory” is. It is also the same “glory” that John referred to of Christ, when referring to the words of Isaiah who saw the Lord (Christ) seated on His throne, high and lifted up (cp. Jhn. 12:41 w/ verses 38-40 and Isaiah 6:1-10). It is the “glory” spoken of by Daniel, where in his visions he saw “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He APPROACHED (or was caught up to) the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, GLORY and sovereign power…” (7:13f). He is the one whom Asaph alluded to, when he says, “Let Your hand rest on the man at Your right hand, the son of man You have raised up for Yourself. Then we will not turn away. Revive us, and we will call on Your name” (Psm. 80:17f, NASB). And as difficult as this may be for some to swallow, when Christ foretold of His future “glory” to come in Mat. 25:31, He was referring to this “glory” spoken of above and in the body of this article,[*] and for which He is NOW ruling over the nations as the King of kings and Lord of lords. It was “future” when Christ spoke about it, and thus the reason He uses the Greek future tense verb for our English, “He will sit.” It is now no longer “future,” it is present as Christ said it is in Rev. 3:21, and everywhere throughout Scripture. Christ is NOW seated on His thrown, judging the nations all around Him, inclusive of all unbelieving Jews, placing the goats (all unbelievers) on His left and His sheep (believers) on His right, making divisions among the people of the earth, just as He did with the Jews in Ezekiel chapter 9. As with those in Ezekiel, this judgment being described in Matthew 25 is going on right now as we speak, with the final outcome of each denoted in verses 34, 41 and 46. Also notice the place that He says all are ultimately to go, that it has been prepared in the past (perfect middle participle) for the Devil and his angels. The Devil and his angels aren’t even there yet, but many people are now there who will eventually be accompanied by the Devil and his angels at the final judgment and Second Coming of Christ (although dispensationalists see this as the final white throne judgment and not the Second Coming of Christ). And, of course, this is the Amillennial interpretation of all this, as opposed to the Premillennial or the Dispensational Premillennial view; though not all Amillennialists see the event being described by Christ in Matthew 25 as going on right now. This is more of a preterist understanding of all this, rather than a futurist understanding. And I am a partial-preterist who is an Amillennialist; not a full-preterist who already sees the Second Coming of Christ as having already occurred (with some even believing the millennium has already occurred). For more on all this, see my article, Full Preterism, Full of Baloney). Also, for a completely ridiculous and absurd view by many dispensationalists that see all of this in Matthew 25 as Christ’s “brethren” being natural Jews in a future seven-year tribulation, and the sheep and the goats being good or bad Gentiles from all the nations who either accept or reject these natural Jews, read my article, Natural Israel Not My Glory, part 5. It really goes into a lot of things that I have no time or space to talk about here. It should answer most of your questions.
[*] Mat. 25:31 parallels Mat. 10:23; 16:27; 24:30; 22:64; Mk. 9:1; 13:26; 14:62; Lke. 9:27; 21:27 and 22:69 which has already been proven to be occurring presently, not later. The Son of Man coming in His glory with all His holy angels in Mat. 24:31, to specifically judge the nation of Israel, is the same coming of the Son of Man in His glory with all His holy angels in Mat. 25:31, to judge all nations of both Jews and Gentiles. For the Greek ethnos for “nations” (whether used in the plural or the singular) is often used in the Greek Septuagint to translate the Hebrew goyim when talking either about the Jews or the Gentiles. Again, see my article or book referred to above called, Natural Israel Not My Glory, part 5.
[8] As noted earlier concerning the judgment upon Egypt as being “a day of clouds” that were representative of the hordes of armies that would come against them (Ezk. 30:3), here in Ezekiel 32, the Lord adds that “when I snuff you out [or put out your light], I will COVER the heavens and DARKEN their stars; I WILL COVER THE SUN WITH A CLOUD, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will DARKEN over you; I will bring DARKNESS over your land, declares the Sovereign Lord” (vv. 7-8). Pharaoh and his leaders (like Joseph’s father and mother) are represented by the “sun” and the “moon,” while the “stars” are the lesser people under them. And here God says He is going to “darken” or remove their glory by the “CLOUD” [of armies] that would “COVER” the land.
[9] See also my article in this blog called: A Short and Concise Analysis of Rom. 11:26—All Israel Will Be Saved!
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