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END TIMES AND THIS GENERATION

by Jeffrey Hagan  
4/02/2020 / Prophecy

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“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all of these things take place” (Matthew 24:34, ESV).

Introduction

Sadly, Church history is full of examples of false “prophets” and “teachers” who have garnered much public attention by claiming to know when Christ will return and how the things taking during modern times support their claims.

For instance, William Miller, founder of the Adventist movement, proclaimed the return of Christ to be in the year 1843. Of course when that didn't happen, things were changed and 1844 was then predicted as the year. And guess what? Christ didn't return then either.

The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, taught that Christ would come no later than 1891. As expected, he was wrong too. C. T. Russell, founder of the Watchtower organization (Jehovah Witnesses), also predicted the Second Coming of Christ. The date he decided to tag to his sensational claim was 1914. Another failed attempt.

Then, in Christian circles, along came Hal Lindsey and his book “The Late Great Planet Earth.” In this work he posited that the “signs” of Matthew 24 informed us that Christ would return in or around 1988. Lindsey, like many others have, reached this conclusion by simply making assumptions and sheer guesses. He said that the “generation” which saw the re-establishment of Israel (1948) would also see Christ's return. Due to a generation often referring to about forty years, Lindsey concluded that Christ would return to initiate the so called “rapture” right around 1988. Which didn't happen.

Further, he calculated that since the rapture would (supposedly) be followed by a seven year “tribulation” period, Jesus had to visually appear by around 1995, “and would then victoriously conclude the 'battle of Armageddon' and thus commence his earthly, millennial reign.” (1)

We also have the late Harold Camping, who published a book titled 1994? where he predicted, by way of his calculations, Christ returning on September 6, 1994. In addition, he stated that 2011 could very well be the end of the world.

Later, Camping revised his calculations, of course he had to, and placed the date as May 21, 2011, as the time of the Rapture and October 21, 2011, as the day the world end. Yet again, as he himself and all others before him, he failed. That time did not come. His predictions were false.

Then we have Tim LaHaye and his false teaching along with his very popular Left Behind series of novels, which he bases off his actual, far fetched eschatological beliefs.

Unfortunately, this kind of hype, silliness and nonsense hasn't stopped. Charlatans are still setting dates and predicting modern occurrences as “proof” of Christ's return and Rapture of the Church. All of this is what I refer to as Tabloid Christianity, or Tabloid Eschatology (which is the study of the end times).

Matthew 24

The major text these folks use in an attempt to “prove” their calculated dates for the return of Christ is Matthew chapter twenty-four and the signs they claim will accompany it.

When Jesus was leaving Jerusalem (Mt. 24:1, 2) his disciples pointed out the temple buildings. Jesus then said to them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down” (ESV).

Clearly the Lord was referring to the complete and utter destruction of Jerusalem, which would happen around forty years later as the Romans devastated and demolished the city.

While they were sitting on the mount of Olives, the disciples asked Jesus when “these things” would happen, and what would be the “sign” of his coming and of the end of the world.

Perhaps they thought the destruction of the temple and the end of the world would take place at the same time. If that was the case, Jesus wanted to correct their misunderstanding.

The Olivet discourse is basically divided into two major categories: First, Jesus was discussing the destruction of Jerusalem and the “signs” that would point to the occurrence of that particular event (Mt. 24:4-34). Second, he spoke of his final return and the actual lack of signs accompanying that event (Mt. 24:35ff).

It is very unfortunate that sensational, fictitious “teachers” of Bible prophecy “would take those signs that have to do solely with the destruction of ancient Jerusalem and attempt to give them a modern application in the context of a nuclear Armageddon!” (2) However, let me say with equal weight, it is just as wrong to proclaim that everything in Matthew 24 is limited to the destruction of Jerusalem.

Taking a Look at the Signs

The signs Jesus mentioned are found in verses 4-14 of Mathew 24. Time and space prevent me from discussing all of those in this article, but suffice it to say all of them were fulfilled within the time between the Lord’s discourse on the Mount and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Let me recommend just a few resources on the topic:

 

- A Case For Amillennialism: Concerning The End Times, by Kim Riddlebarger

- The Apocolypse Code, by Hank Hanegraaff

• Matthew XXIV, by J. Marcellus Kik

•  

Destruction of Jerusalem or Second Coming of Christ?

From this point on I am going to briefly and simply show that the signs of Matthew 24:4-14 do not find their fulfillment in the final return of Christ. I want to take a look at four pretty strong arguments showing the signs of Matthew 24:4ff relate to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

“This generation will not pass away ...”

First, Jesus quite clearly and plainly said, “Truly, I say unto you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Mt. 24:34, ESV).

The phrase “all these things” refers to the signs the Lord had just given. And “all these things” — the signs — were to occur before “this generation” passed away. So the question we need to answer is, what is the meaning of “this generation”? Dispensationalists frequently claim that “generation” refers to “race,” therefore, it's just an allusion to the Jews. So, they say, the Lord was explaining that these signs would be fulfilled while the Jewish race was being preserved. The Scofield Bible and related resources are popular for espousing this position.

However, this view of “generation” is at odds with the use of that word in the New Testament. In their Greek Lexicon, Arndt and Gingrich comment that genea (generation) basically refers to the “sum total of those born at the same time, expanded to include all those living at a given time, generation, contemporaries.” (3) There are several passages in Matthew that confirm this if you care to investigate them for yourself (cf. Mt. 11:16; 12:39, 41, 42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36).

Obviously, the signs of the Olivet discourse referred to circumstances and people of the first century.

Second, Hal Lindsey and others state that the descriptions of Matthew 24 point to an imminent world wide nuclear war. However, all one need to do is look at the context and it is quite clear Jesus was referring to a specific location and time long before we came into the picture.

Reflect on the following points:

-Destruction of Jerusalem: Jesus clearly specified that the coming destruction would involve the ancient temple area, “the holy place” (24:15), and the city of Jerusalem (cf. Luke 21:20).

-Flee to the Mountains: In verse 16 the disciples in Judea were warned to “flee to the mountains.” This directive has no connection to the types of scenarios brought about by the dispensational position, especially when you look at history. For instance, according to the historian Eusebius, Christians, before the invasion of Jerusalem, fled to Pella east of the Jordan River, and because of this they avoided the fate of the Jews. It is a perfect description for what was happening at the time.

-Don't go back to your homes to retrieve things: Jesus warns in verse 17, “Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house” (ESV). Again, an instruction such as this makes absolutely no sense in our time. However, it made perfect sense back then because the houses of old Jerusalem were flat-roofed and in close proximity to each other. Therefore, Christians would be able to escape by “the road of roofs” to the edge of the city and escape. (4)

-Pray for good weather: “Pray that your flight may not be in winter...” (24:20, ESV) implies a time when things were less advanced, far less technological, and travel would have to take place by foot or some kind of animal, therefore being exposed to the elements.

-Pray to escape on a day that is not the Sabbath: “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the sabbath” (24:20, ESV) would seem to point to the fact that the gates of the city would be closed on the sabbath (cf. Nehemiah. 13:18).

Third. The nature of the second coming: the illustrations given by Jesus in order for them to be prepared for his return don't allow for the possibility of signs being given in order to calculate the time it would take place.

Many examples and historical illustrations can be found where Jesus says there will be no indicators as to the time this would take place. In fact, it would catch people unaware.

-The flood: Just like the people in Noah’s time continued with business as usual “until the day” the flood came, “so shall be the coming of the Son of man” (Mt. 24:38, 39).

-Soddom: The people in Soddom were completely oblivious to the disaster that had come to them until “the day that Lot went out from Sodom,” even so “after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed” (Luke 17:28-30).

-Like a thief: Christ stated that he would come at an unexpected time, just as as a thief in the night carries out his crimes.

“But know this, if the master of the house would have known in what part of the night the thief would coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (24:43-44; cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Pet. 3:10).

-A time you do not expect: The parable of the virgins in Matthew 25 also show us the importance of constantly being prepared, because the bridegroom will show up at the most unexpected time.

There is not a single thing found in Matthew 24 that gives any support to the idea that Jesus gave signs that would usher in the end of the world.

Fourth. Only the Father knows the time: this is one of the strongest points regardiing the fact that Jesus didn't give any signs which would allow anyone to come up with any kind of calculation or maneuvering to discover the end of time.

Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angel's of heaven , nor the Son, but the Father only” (ESV). Jesus himself doesn't, or at least didn't, know the time of his Second Coming. Clearly the signs of Matthew 24 can't be used to predict the timing of his return.

This point alone forces their argument to collapse. Even though Jesus himself gave the signs of Matthew 24:4-14, not even he knew the timing of his return. Therefore, clearly the signs of Matthew 24 can in no way be used to predict his return.

Conclusion

Doesn't it seem strange, very strange indeed, the “prophets” of today can read Matthew 24 and predict the day and hour of the end of the world, but not even Jesus Christ himself, the one who spoke the very words, as well as being the one who will return, didn't even know the time?

It's preposterous, foolish and irresponsible for these so called preachers to be teaching such nonsense. God's Word exists for a reason, discernment is given for a reason. Please keep this in mind as you study not only this topic, but all of Scripture as well.

Let me be very clear, there are no signs concerning the end of the world. Jesus Christ could return at any moment, nothing more needs to happen. So, I encourage all of us to live life for that moment each day.

-Article adapted from “This Generation Shall Not Pass,” by Wayne Jackson found online at christiancourier.com.

(1) Ibid.

(2) Ibid.

(3) Arndt, William and F.W. Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: Chicago University, 1967)

(4) Edersheim, Alfred. Sketches of Jewish Social Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957)

 

Jeff Hagan is the President of True Grace Ministries and Theological Institute. Interested? www.preacherjeff45.wlxsite.com/truegracetheolgical

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