“It is to me a wonder,” says Bishop Newton, “how any man can refer part of the foregoing discourse to the destruction of Jerusalem, and part to the end of the world, or any other distant event, when it is said so positively here in the conclusion, All these things shall be fulfilled in this generation.
As I put briefly in my Post #36 yesterday, Luke 21:
32 states, "Truly I say to you that
this generation will not have passed away
until all [
these things] shall have taken place."
--
https://biblehub.com/text/luke/21-32.htm
By verse 32's placement after verse 24, it makes it rather clear
that everything in v.24 (some very "
of lengthy-duration" items, including the "Jerusalem shall be
TRODDEN DOWN of the Gentiles
UNTIL..." aspect [compare Rev11:2, speaking of the time-period specifically leading up to Christ's Second Coming
to the earth, being
within the "IN QUICKNESS [NOUN]" time-period that John was going to be "SHOW[n]" per Rev1:1/1:19c/4:1--yet "future" to us)
MUST NECESSARILY BE INCLUDED in v.32's "ALL [these things]";
This, coupled with the SEQUENCE ISSUES within the Olivet Discourse (which I also touched on a bit, in yesterday's post), provide ample evidence that "the beginning of birth PANGS" (Matthew 24:4-8 / Mk13:5-8 AND DESCRIBED in Luke 21:8-11) must be PRECEDED BY the events spoken of in Lk21:12-24a,b (the 70ad events and "they shall be led away captive into all the nations..." [etc]), as spelled out by the words "BUT
BEFORE ALL THESE...".
This means there are TWO DISTINCT "SEE-[then]-FLEE" occurrences: one in the 70ad events (per Lk21:23,20) and one AFTER the 70ad events [I don't say "immediately after"] and also AFTER / FOLLOWING "the beginning of birth PANGS" [which "pangs" equivalent the SEALS--which themselves are part of the "IN QUICKNESS [NOUN]" time-period that immediately leads up to and precedes His Second Coming to the earth / RETURN to the earth Rev19, yet "future"]
..."
This generation shall not pass away TILL ALL shall have taken place" (Lk21:32) must necessarily INCLUDE everything having just been spoken of in v.24 (including its "UNTIL" thing expressed there--which is not referring to the so-called "Church age" as some conflate this to mean ["the TIMES of the Gentiles"... which started in 606/5bc and will not conclude until Christ' Second Coming to the earth.)
Regarding the phrase
"this generation" (
because v.32's "ALL" must INCLUDE everything v.24 had just covered), its force is moral (those opposing Christ will not pass away till His RETURN
to the earth at Rev19--
Compare Rev16:14-16/19:19,21/20:5 with that of Isa24:21-22[23] [<--the FIRST of TWO "PUNISH" words in this Isa passage, i.e. at His Second Coming to the earth, separated by TIME before the SECOND of the two "punish" words is carried out, i.e. at the GWTj])
That is, heaven and earth shall sooner, or more easily pass away than my words; the frame of the universe shall sooner, or more easily pass away than my words shall not be fulfilled.
Btw, Matthew 24:4-8 picks up at "the beginning of birth pangs" (
which come [sequentially] AFTER the 70ad events, per Lk21:12!) and proceeds from there... including ITS OWN mention in vv.33-34 of "so likewise
when ye [proleptic 'ye'] shall see all
THESE things" (
the things just described, that come AFTER the 70ad events, sequentially) and the same words "
this generation" (describing things which Revelation also includes in its "IN QUICKNESS [NOUN]" time-period [Rev1:1/1:19c/4:1] which specific,
future, LIMITED time-period
leads up to and concludes at Christ's RETURN
to the earth in Rev19).
So, based on the specific wording in these passages, and the
SEQUENCE ISSUES in His Olivet Discourse, I must disagree with the quote at top. = ) (...that's how prophecy works... One must pay careful attention to the details of the precise wording provided in Scripture--many times people tend to just blur things all together which are actually
distinct, thus coming to incorrect / inaccurate conclusions
)
Hope this post helps the readers understand my perspective on this particular matter. = )