Post by Lee on Sept 28, 2014 16:03:59 GMT
GENERATION NOT PASS AWAY
WHEN the disciples said 'Tell us, when shall these things be," Christ had not been
speaking to them of his 2nd appearing, but of the impending destruction of the
City and Temple of Jerusalem. The immediately preceding context is this—
"His disciples came to show him the buildings of the Temple. And Jesus said
unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not
be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."
The question elicited from the disciples by this intimation was—
"Tell us when shall THESE THINGS be (the throwing down of the Temple
buildings)? And (another subject) what shall the sign of thy coming, etc."
Or take the narrative of Lk. 21:5—
"As some spake of the Temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and
gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which
there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
"And they asked him saying, Master, but when shall these things be, and
what sign shall there be that these things shall come to pass?"
The statement 'This generation shall not pass till all THESE THINGS be fulfilled'
occurs in the lengthy discourse that follows on the incidents connected
with the destruction of the Jewish state. True it is that in that discourse mention
is made of the 2nd appearing of Christ, but not as part of the 'things' connected
with the destruction of Jerusalem.
It is introduced as occurring a long time after Jerusalem should have been destroyed,
namely, after the expiring of 'the times of the Gentiles' This will be evident
to the simplest mind on the reading of the following statement, which occurs
before the appearing of Christ is introduced—
"They (the Jews )shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive
into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled"-Luke 21:24.
When the 'times of the Gentiles' should be fulfilled, then a sign of the impending appearing
of Christ should be (vs. 25-26)-
"On earth distress of nations with perplexity; the seas and the waves roaring;
men's hearts failing them for fear & for looking after those things coming, etc. ."
This is introduced parenthetically as a complement, or necessary finish, to the
picture drawn of the impending judgment of Jerusalem, but not as part of the
'these things' which the disciples asked about, & about which Jesus had just before
spoken: the destruction of the City and Temple. So when Jesus said—
"This generation shall not pass till all these things shall be fulfilled."
—it is not possible for candor to understand that he meant things he expressly excluded
from the lifetime of 'that generation' by placing them at the expiry of the
'times of the Gentiles,' and which could not occur in that generation by his own
description of their scope.
That generation did not pass without witnessing the 'these things' about which
the disciples asked. Forty years afterwards, the Temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem
laid in ruins. -March, 1879
WHEN the disciples said 'Tell us, when shall these things be," Christ had not been
speaking to them of his 2nd appearing, but of the impending destruction of the
City and Temple of Jerusalem. The immediately preceding context is this—
"His disciples came to show him the buildings of the Temple. And Jesus said
unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not
be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."
The question elicited from the disciples by this intimation was—
"Tell us when shall THESE THINGS be (the throwing down of the Temple
buildings)? And (another subject) what shall the sign of thy coming, etc."
Or take the narrative of Lk. 21:5—
"As some spake of the Temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and
gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which
there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.
"And they asked him saying, Master, but when shall these things be, and
what sign shall there be that these things shall come to pass?"
The statement 'This generation shall not pass till all THESE THINGS be fulfilled'
occurs in the lengthy discourse that follows on the incidents connected
with the destruction of the Jewish state. True it is that in that discourse mention
is made of the 2nd appearing of Christ, but not as part of the 'things' connected
with the destruction of Jerusalem.
It is introduced as occurring a long time after Jerusalem should have been destroyed,
namely, after the expiring of 'the times of the Gentiles' This will be evident
to the simplest mind on the reading of the following statement, which occurs
before the appearing of Christ is introduced—
"They (the Jews )shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive
into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled"-Luke 21:24.
When the 'times of the Gentiles' should be fulfilled, then a sign of the impending appearing
of Christ should be (vs. 25-26)-
"On earth distress of nations with perplexity; the seas and the waves roaring;
men's hearts failing them for fear & for looking after those things coming, etc. ."
This is introduced parenthetically as a complement, or necessary finish, to the
picture drawn of the impending judgment of Jerusalem, but not as part of the
'these things' which the disciples asked about, & about which Jesus had just before
spoken: the destruction of the City and Temple. So when Jesus said—
"This generation shall not pass till all these things shall be fulfilled."
—it is not possible for candor to understand that he meant things he expressly excluded
from the lifetime of 'that generation' by placing them at the expiry of the
'times of the Gentiles,' and which could not occur in that generation by his own
description of their scope.
That generation did not pass without witnessing the 'these things' about which
the disciples asked. Forty years afterwards, the Temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem
laid in ruins. -March, 1879