Many Christians including believe we are in the End Time, this is the last generation, the generation that will witness the second coming of Christ. When ask what the reason? They will say based on the events and signs happening all over the world, it's no doubt that the world will soon end. But, in the midst of this, many Christians also believe that God is a not a bad person, he cannot destroy all the beautiful mansions, complex, glass houses, gold-plated houses, big churches, seven star hotels all over the world especially the big commercial cities like New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai etc. But, Jesus Christ reveals in the scriptures make, what will happen to them all?
Matthew 24:1-2
[1]And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
[2]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.
That is all shall be thrown down...
Ecclesiastes 3:1 reveals,
[1]To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
There is time to create, to destroy, time for something to start and time for something to end. Even Jesus Christ, God incarnate came the first time at the appointed time and according to the scriptures...
Galatians 4:4
[4]But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
[3]For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
[4]And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
In likewise manner, so shall this same Jesus Christ will come back again the second time at the appointed time and in accordance to the prophecy in the scriptures, but this will be in two stages, first at the Rapture and secondly at the Armageddon after which the Millennium starts.
Ephesians 1:10
[10]That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Acts 1:11
[11]Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
And also as long as a new earth and new heaven is promised in the scriptures, then this present earth and heaven have to pass away and give way for the new one..
Revelation 21:1
[1]And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
But, the question is this truly the last generation? Will Jesus come in this generation? If yes, can we see it in the light of the scriptures?
All this the Holy Spirit will answer correctly from His Word.
According to the prophetic signs and by Jesus’ statement in Luke 21:28-32. Two main points in Jesus’ words are especially revealed. When the great prophecy spoken of begins to come to pass, God’s people are to begin to look up, for redemption is very nigh!”– “No one can deny this Scripture in Luke is rapidly taking place; but still more evident are the words of Jesus in verse 32, Verily I say unto you, this generation ‘shall not pass away’ till all be fulfilled! This verse definitely means the generation that sees these things begin to come to pass, shall see them also fulfilled!”
Every Serious professing Christian knows that the hour is desperately late. More and more emphasis is being place on the Second Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. Bible students are attempting to interpret the “Signs” of His Coming. Jesus said to the Pharisees in His day, “Ye can discern the face of the sky; How is it that ye cannot discern the signs of the time?” Most of the people in that day were not able to discern the “signs” of Jesus’ First Coming. So also today, the vast majority of the people are missing or mis-interpreting the “signs” of Jesus’ Second Coming.Jesus was once asked by His disciples, “WHAT shall be THE SIGN of Thy Coming and of the End of the World?” (Matthew 24:3). He responded with a lengthy dissertation on the events to take place from that time to the End of the World and concluded with “the SIGN of the Fig Tree”.
And concerning the “fig tree” Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When its branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” (Matthew 24:32).
Therefore the “sign” of the “fig tree putting forth its leaves” would be “A sign” of the Second Coming of Jesus. Bible students agree that the “fig tree” represents Israel and that Jesus was indicating that it would be a “key sign” at the end of the world to awaken His [Gentile] elect (Matthew 25:5-6) to the awareness and consciousness of His Second Coming. From Luke 21:32, Verily I say unto you, this generation ‘shall not pass away’ till all be fulfilled!
A question comes forth, how long is a generation? Can it be know? Because, the generation that see this signs coming to pass, especially the generation that see the budding of the fig tree, putting forth leaves will be the last generation.
There are several clues in the scriptures which give us a key in determining the duration of the END TIME GENERATION.
First, the Greek word for generation is “Genea” connected with “Ginomai” which means to become; primarly signifying a begetting or BIRTH; or race of people possessing similar charateristics, pursuits, etc. Therefore, one definition of generation is that it refers to a particular people with their characteristic lineage and identifying traits, which distinguish them from all other races of people.
When the Lord Jesus used the word Generation in Matthew 24:34 or Luke 21:32, He was referring to the Jewish people identified by their particular religion and culture symbolized by the Fig Tree.
In Vine’s definition of generation, he says it signifies a BEGETTING OR BIRTH. In the context of Matthew 24 or Luke 21, The Lord Jesus is not speaking of an individual’s birth, but the birth of a nation – And that nation is the nation of Israel.
Since it is clear from Scripture that God’s end time clock is associated with the nation Israel and the city of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 36 and 37 and Daniel 9), then the years 1917, 1948 and 1967 are highly significant in calculating the end time generation. In 1917 the first official act by a Gentile nation to give Israel legal right to the holy land; 1948 was when Israel was reborn as a nation after 2500 years of exile; and 1967 was when they recaptured Jerusalem and declared it to be the eternal undivided capital of the State Israel. We must keep in mind that the last 7 years of Daniel’s 70th Week are part of the end generation, which ends Gentile domination of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
In addition when the Lord Jesus said THIS GENERATION, He was speaking of a certain time period as distinguished from all others before it. The Lord used the same stipulation in reference to the Hebrew people who came out of Egyptian bondage and their wilderness experience in Psalm 95:10 “Forty years long was I grieved with THIS GENERATION…”
The generation of Israel that experienced the exodus from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the receiving of the Law on Mount Sinai, and all the miraculous events of that period. It was a definite time determined by God and would be the foundation for succeeding generations of Israel. The same can be said of the generation when Israel returns to the land
DIFFERENT GENERATION PERIODS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
The Bible mentions several different periods that define a complete generation.
40 Years Period
A first period of determining a biblical generation is 40 YEARS. When God led Israel out of Egypt, He intended that they enter the promise land and conquer the Canaanites, but because of their disbelieve, they were required to spend 40 years in the wilderness. God said He was grieved with this generation forty years (Psalm 95:10).
In Deuteronony 2:14, God said that He waited until all the men of war died before He brought Israel out of the wilderness. According to the Torah (The Law), an Israeli male could not go to war until he was 20 years of age (Numbers 1:3). Therefore, when all the men of war had either been killed or died by the age of 60 (a 40 year period), God brought Israel out of the wilderness into the Promised Land. In doing this, God defined the generation of the men of war to be a period of 40 years.
When God destroyed the world in the flood judgment of Noah’s day, it rained for 40 days and 40 nights upon the earth. Moses was on the mountain of God (Mount Sinai) for 40 days when he received the 10 Commandments. Elijah fasted for 40 days when Jezebel was pursuing him. Jesus was led away by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for 40 days representing a complete period of testing. The number 40 seems to be associated with a period for JUDGMENT AND TESTING, both for an individual and a nation.
50 Years Period
There is another period that is significant in relation to God’s dealings with the people of Israel, and that is 50 YEARS. Every 50th year in Israel was the “Year of Jubilee” when all the land was to be restored to the original owner; all debts were to be cancelled; and all slaves were set free. It was the year of release and deliverance – a time for celebration and joy when families were reunited and given a fresh lease on life.
In addition, the 50 is associated with the “Feast of Pentecost” (meaning 50th day). Fifty days from the 16th of the month of Abib (March – April) was the Feast of Pentecost occuring in the month May – June depending upon the position of the new moon (Hebrew months in ancient Israel were based on a lunar calendar) and the barley and wheat harvest. It is interesting that the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai and the coming of the Holy Spirit both occured on the day of the Feast of Pentcost.
According to Bullinger’s book, “Numbers in Scripter”, the number 50 is also associated with judgment. The flood was upon the earth for 150 days (50×3).
70 Years Period
The third time period for determining the lenght of a biblical generation is 70 YEARS. Israel was in the Babylonian captivity for 70 years – a number associated with COMPLETING PROPHECY. In Daniel 9:24, Daniel is given the “Vision of the 70 Weeks of Years” where one week (Heptad in Hebrew) represents 7 years for a total of 490 years. God said that from the beginning of a decree to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem, 70 Weeks of Years would be determined upon the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem to complete all vision and prophecy (This is an important key). When this period is finished, Israel’s punishment for disobedience will end and Messiah will come to establish His Kingdom and redeem the remnant.
Psalm 90:10 says that the days of a man ‘s natural life are 70 years, and if by strenght, they may be 80 years. Therefore, the generation of man is 70 natural years.
However, God can certainly lengthen man’s life even beyond 80 years and has promised to give His people long life.
100 Years Period
Genesis 15:13,16
[13]And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
[16]But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Another period is 100 YEARS . When God gave the covenant to Abraham in Genesis 15:13,16, He told him that his seed (the Hebrew people) would be in bondage in Egypt for 400 years, but in the 4th generation, they would come out. That makes a generation approximately 100 years.
In summary, a Biblical generation is sometimes 40 years, 50 years, 70 years, and 100 years. 40 years seems to be a period for complete testing; 50 years is a period of release and deliverance; 70 years is a period when prophecy is completed; and 100 years appears to be the longest period for God dealing with Israel.
In our next article, we will apply the 4 time periods discussed above for each of the three possible dates for beginning of the last generation – 1917, 1947/48, and 1967 and see if we can glean any insight into the lenght of the end time generation.
Stay tuned...
DOMINALTI for CHRIST
On Behalf of End Time Hub!!!
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