Tag: evil

What Is the Mysterious Generation of Matthew 24? – March 23, 2023

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Debate abounds regarding Matthew 24:34. Is this generation those who were alive in Jesus’ day? Is it the Jewish race in general? Is it those who will be alive at the time of Jesus’ return? Much of how we interpret the entire chapter of Matthew 24 hinges on the understanding of verse 34.

What I would like to do is step back from commonly cited arguments for a moment, and instead focus on the plain flow of thought of Jesus in the immediate context of the narrative. Let us read Matthew 24:32-37.

“(32) Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; (33) so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. (34) Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (35) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (36) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (37) For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”

Notice first, that verses 32-33 regard seasons. Jesus beckons us to the simple truth that we are able to discern the coming of summer, because of the coming of spring. In general, we know that the season of springtime weather and plant growth points to the general time of summer. We mark the exact day on the calendar that a season changes, but we know that the weather and growth patterns do not follow a hard and fast rule. It can snow in spring. It can get be cold in summer. Flowers may pop out of the ground earlier than the calendar dictates because seasons are broad phases of time.

Jesus is first telling his disciples to discern seasons. He is beckoning them to look upon the events and foreshadowing of events of which He has spoken just previously – wars, earthquakes, famines, false teachers, antichrist influences, lawlessness, etc. These, the Lord says, are the beginnings of the birth pains (verse eight). These general occurrences will happen more frequently and more intensely as the season of Christ’s return draws nearer.

However, the Lord continues in the chapter to speak with specificity about the Abomination of Desolation that will come during the Great Tribulation (verses 15-21). Jesus warns His followers that the temple in Jerusalem that is to be rebuilt toward the end of days will be invaded by the Antichrist, as he ruthlessly pursues the Jews and all who refuse to worship him. Jesus reminds his disciples that those who live during this time are to run for the mountains to experience God’s divine protection. Then, the crescendo of events leads to the glorious second coming of the Lord, accompanied by signs in the heavens (verses 29-31).

On the heels of all this narrative, Jesus speaks of the season of His return (verses 32-33), before moving quickly to the day and hour of His return (verses 36-41). There is a great difference between a season and an hour. Seasons are broad, sweeping periods of time, while a day and hour are rather specific and narrow.

In between the season and the day/hour, Jesus declares, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:34-35) Notice how he uses the phrase “pass away” three times in these two verses. The emphasis is that: 1) this generation will not pass away until every detail of what Jesus has foretold happens; 2) heaven and earth will surely pass away; and 3) God’s Word will never pass away.

Do you recognize the flow of thought with Jesus mentioning “passing away” three times? He says, in effect, that there is a day that “this generation” will pass away, but it is not until every single Word that God has spoken about the end times comes true. He proclaims, in neat alignment with this thought, that heaven and earth will also pass away. The contrast is about what will not pass away – the Word of God.

In other words, Jesus is wanting us to know that not only will the world as we know it one day be gone, but “this generation” as we know it will also be gone. We must rely solely on the Word of the Lord. We are very apt to rely on things that we should not. We assume society will go on and on. We assume the universe will go on and on. The Lord makes clear that society as we know it – and the world as we know it – have an appointment of judgment with God Almighty. In the meantime, every single detail that the Lord has specified about the end times will come true. All of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled. All of the details in the prophetic parts of the book of Daniel will come true. All the events of Matthew 24 will take place. Every word of God as presented in the canon of Scripture will happen, and – after all of the events of the tribulation have concluded – then the ungodly social order that we have all lived under for so long, will be terminated. After the people are judged, then the created order itself will be judged and remade.

In fact, this is what we find in Revelation chapters 20-22. The Great White Throne Judgment is the final demise of all who have rejected Jesus and His righteous kingdom, followed by the making of a New Heaven and New Earth. I see the same flow of thought in Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:34-35. The current, godless age (this generation) will pass away first – after every Word of God is fulfilled concerning end times – then, the old heavens and earth will pass away.

The word for “generation” in the Matthew 24 text, is the same Greek word used in Mark 8:38, where Jesus declares, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” We see here the word “generation” used to contrast the current, evil age to the time of the return of Jesus Christ. This is precisely what we see in Matthew 24! The Greek “genea” can simply mean “an age, the period or the persons.”

I believe that Jesus is giving to the disciples in Matthew 24, a clear explanation of end-time events sequence. We are to watch for the season, knowing that serves as a warning that the day/hour could come completely unexpectantly within the season. The Lord also wants to emphasize that nothing He has told us will go unfulfilled. Though the evil society we have known has an end date, and the broken creation in which we have lived has an end date, the Word of God stands forever!

Whether we are the people who see the season or see the day/hour, we live during a godless generation (or age) that must meet its end under the judgment of holy God. Jesus and His Word is our only safety in all of this.

Surely, the society of people alive at the day/hour of the return of Christ, will be the evilest of all, under the tyranny of Antichrist and the great delusion the Lord sends (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). In a sense, that particular and literal generation also will not pass away until the Lord has fulfilled every word of His own concerning the end of time. We can apply the meaning generally to this evil age (as compared to the day the Lord reigns unhindered), or specifically to the evil time of society during the tribulation. Nonetheless, the interpretation still stands. The old has to go; the new has to come.

Are you prepared?

Being Good Does Not Save Us

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Here is a question, “Why did God destroy the earth by flood in Noah’s day?” Answer: “Mankind was very, very bad.” Here is a second question, “Why did God spare Noah and his family?” Typical answer, “Noah was a good man who obeyed God.” Let us get to the heart of both questions and both answers.

First, it is true that God destroyed the world by flood in Noah’s day because of evil. Genesis 6:5-8 says, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” The LORD was grieved that he had made man on earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

God chose to exhibit the reality of his divine justice because of wickedness. Evil always destroys; it is the absence of God’s goodness. We ought to be thankful that God demonstrates how serious the issue of sin and evil is, for it inevitably and ultimately brings death (Romans 6:23). We are mistaken to believe that Noah was spared this judgment simply because he was obedient or “a good man.” No man or woman is good by nature; we are sinners. There is no amount of good we can do and no proper way in which we can perform that earns the favor of God. We are very selfish by nature and – without the power of Jesus – quite capable of horrible evil.

Let me demonstrate that it was not the inherent goodness of Noah that saved him. If we remember when the flood subsided and Noah and his family were finally able to exit the ark, there were eight people in existence: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ wives. These eight people – Noah and his family – put their feet on the ground and then Noah built an altar. The Bible tells us, “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: ‘Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:20-21a).

Just look at that description of the only eight people in existence on earth at the time: “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.” This description sounds very familiar to the one God gave of all of humanity before he sent the flood! Yes, even Noah was a sinner by nature; even Noah had evil inclination. We ask then, what was the difference? Why did God spare Noah if he was just as much a sinner by nature as all the other people who were destroyed by the flood?

The answer is found in Genesis 8:20-21. If you read those verses again above, you will notice that Noah built an altar and offered a burnt offering immediately after exiting the ark. It was the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice that prompted God to say that he would not destroy the earth in this way again despite man’s nature. Why would the burning flesh of an animal please God? These Old Testament offerings were pictures, or a foreshadowing, of the soon-to-come offering of Jesus Christ himself for the sin of mankind. Noah knew God, and He knew the promises of God. Noah believed that the Messiah would come, and he offered this burnt offering in faith. He was looking ahead to the coming of Jesus! Noah was demonstrating his belief in Jesus as the one who can appease God the Father and bring us into relationship with our Creator.

Jesus was Noah’s salvation! Self-righteousness, good character, or self-effort could not save Noah or us. Only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, can save a man or woman from sin and death. Noah looked forward and believed that Jesus would come. We look backward and believe that Jesus did come. Thank God, both we and Noah look ahead to the Second Coming of that same God-Man, Jesus Christ, when, as Hebrews 9:28 proclaims, He will appear with full salvation. We will then enjoy the new heavens and new earth, a home of righteousness.

Make no mistake about it, though, Noah’s belief in Jesus Christ sent him into action! Because of his belief, Noah was willing to do God’s will. He, no doubt, paid a dear price for building that ark. He and his family worked day in and day out doing God’s will in a rebellious world. His belief prompted real action. In fact, real belief in Jesus Christ always prompts action; there is no other way to believe.