Some may say "The things which must "Shortly come to pass"" does not mean "the things which must come to pass in a brief space of time", as the Greek reveals, or "shortly" in English?
"For the TIME is at hand" does not mean "the TIME is "near", or "ready", as the Greek reveals?
"These be the days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written" does not mean His were the days of vengeance to fulfill all that was written?
"Some standing here who shall not taste of death" does not mean that some standing there with Him would have not put off the flesh before all came to pass?
"Now is the judgment of this world" does not mean "now" was then?
AND last but not least, that when Jesus said "this generation", He was not speaking of His generation?
Are you serious to say when Jesus said "this generation", you say He did not mean His generation? Did you learn this from the Bible? "End Timers", as I call them, they always say "this generation", and it is a red flag, an alert of a false prophet. I am not trying to be a wise guy here, But making a point about reading the Bible. Truth is, if you were with Jesus when he said these things, you would have understood differently than reading his words in a book. Jesus did not sit down and write a book. He spoke to people face to face and his words were recorded in a book. If you will please, take a moment to read this Bible study, hear His words, and just let them speak to you. That is all I ask. You may begin to read the Bible in a whole new way that makes more sense.
Let's look at the context of each time Jesus said "this generation"...
(Luke 17:25) But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Jesus suffered many things and was rejected by His generation. This can mean no other than His generation. Jesus said "this generation" many times in many different ways, not just once. It is clear what he meant by "This generation" here, isnt it.
Here are further examples. Hear His words:
(Mat 11:16-19) But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Jesus said "what shall I liken this generation", saying John came and He came, yet both were rejected. John came in the first century, Jesus came in the first century, Jesus was clearly speaking of His generation, the generation of the first century.
(Mat 12:41) The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.
Jesus said "this generation" would be judged, because He was there amongst them and they rejected Him. Jesus was there speaking greater things than Jonah. But did all the children of Israel choose to hear Him? No. Of course Jesus was not saying the men of Ninevah who lived in Jonas time would come back to life and judge them. That is to say the judgment would come from the hand of one who chose to hear Him, the Gentiles. The "Nations" (Gentiles) all around them. Jesus was clearly speaking of His generation, the same who repented not, the generation of the first century.
(Mat 12:42) The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus said "this generation" would be judged, because He was there amongst them and they rejected Him. Jesus there speaking greater things than Solomon. But did all the children of Israel choose to hear him? No. Only a remnant believed in him. Jesus said the Queen of the south traveled very far to hear the words of Solomon, and we know from the OT that this was "Sheba" who went to Solomon, she was the Queen of the South. Of course Jesus was not saying Sheba would come back to life and Judge them. The "Queen of the South" represented those who heard a message and believed, like Sheba, That is to say the judgment would come from the hand of one who chose to hear Him, the Gentiles. The "Nations" (Gentiles) all around them.
Again, Jesus was clearly speaking of His generation, the same who repented not, the generation of the first century.
(Mar 8:12) And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
Jesus said that the only sign His generation would see was similar to the sign of Jonah, that as Jonah was in the belly of a whale three days, after three days He would rise from the dead. The sign was given to them in the first century, "this generation" was in the first century...
(Luk 11:30) For as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Again:
(Luk 11:50-51) That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
Jesus was scathing the Pharisees and said the blood of all the prophets "shall be required of this generation". Jesus made this very clear to them. He came with a sword. He came with judgment. The axe was about to be laid to the trees, upon his wicked generation, the same generation that rejected Him, as Jesus reveals here...
(Luk 17:25) But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
Jesus was rejected by His generation, the generation of the first century. When Jesus said "This generation" in this scripture, and more than 10 times, He was speaking of His generation. That is the gospel truth. Jesus spoke of His generation almost 25 times saying just "generation" as well. Jesus even spoke of His generation in many PARABLES too, often times, almost every time, the parables were about the Pharisees, and they knew it!
Plainly:
(Mat 23:36) TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, ALL THESE THINGS WILL COME UPON THIS GENERATION.
(Mat 24:34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
(Mar 13:30) Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
(Luk 21:32) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
(I know what your thinking. See The figgy fixation of 1948)
Why His generation? Also, see this detailed document of the greek word and meaning for "Generation". Click here.
[Isaiah 53:7-8] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
[Acts 8:33] In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth...
That the light had come and was rejected of that generation was the condemnation of His generation:
Jesus said:
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Jesus said:
(Luk 21:22) for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
The time had come for the wrath of God to be poured out, for the blood of ALL the prophets. "Who can describe His generation"?, the generation of the Messiah. Jesus did quite well, saying "you"- "faithless and twisted"..."evil and adulterous"..."evil"..."adulterous and sinful"...and "faithless" generation. That about says it all. Life in first century Roman Empire was totally twisted.
Let's suppose for just a moment that Jesus definitely wanted the 1st century people He was among to understand that His coming was imminent; that He was even going to come in their generation. What sort of things do you suppose He could say so as to best convey that message? Well, I would think that an expression such as: "Verily I say unto you this generation will not pass" would be good, or even to his disciples: "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come" would be good, perhaps: "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom", would be good, or even: "These are things that must shortly come to pass" would be good. Surely, He could say: "The time is at hand, or near!" Or, He could even say: "Behold I am coming quickly!".
And if you are arguing that it all means Christ will just come real fast, there goes your thousand years sitting in a little chair in Jerusalem theology.
And Jesus did avenge the blood of all the prophets upon that same generation just as He said He would in Luke ch 21. Four years before the war began, there was this cry, ..."A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!"
And this is why. Pan ahead to 70 A.D. (from "Wars of the Jews")...
..."while the groans of those that were killed were prodigiously great every where, and blood ran down over all the lower parts of the city, from the upper."
..."And now the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it came on, they saw eight thousand five hundred dead bodies there."
Please see here. This is Part Two of this study: *The siege of Jerusalem
Jerry's final thought: JESUS was right. As for the others who say it since, they were wrong, generation after generation. Nothing they said would happen happened, and there is a reason for that. What good did their end time preaching do, generation after generation, when they were wrong? A sure sign of a false prophet is one who claims to be a speaker for the most high Lord God, but what they say would happen does not happen. It happens all the time, generation after generation, and they just make excuses. What if when Jesus said "this generation" he was speaking of His generation? That would change everything, wouldn't it.
What Now?
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
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