Is This Generation the Last Generation? July 3, 2013
A The “Olivet Discourse” was a prophetic message Jesus gave on the Mt. of Olives concerning the “Last Generation.”
1 Matthew 24:34 (NASB) 34 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
a The context is a Jewish audience that is the “fig tree” nation.
b The question of Jews is, is this the last generation?
c To understand this question we must understand what the term “generation” means.
2 In the O.T. there is an expression translated as “the generation to come.” - Ha Dor Ha Acharon
a The most direct translation is the “last generation.”
b “Acharon” means “last of an order” or “last.”
B Jesus knew “generation” would be a mystery to His listeners. (As it is today)
1 The context has much significance.
a Mt. of Olives (olive trees) look across the Kidron Valley with the Temple, the centerpiece of their attention.
b To this day, your attention is always drawn to Mt. Zion.
aa Construction began 50 years before Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, not be finished for another 20.
bb The completed development stood approx 1 year before the Romans razed it in 70 A.D.
2 Jesus told His disciples of future world wars, famines, earthquakes, diseases.
Matthew 24:7-8 (NASB) 7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
a What if this text is in the context of the latter-dau rebirth of the nation of Israel?
aa The disciples wouldn’t have understood His prophecy at the time.
bb Matthew 24:15 (NASB) 15 "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)
Jesus commented on Daniel’s prophesy with “Abomination of Desolation.”
Daniel 9:27 (NASB) 27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."
Daniel 11:31 (NASB) 31 "Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
Daniel 12:11 (NASB) 11 "From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
b What if He is describing the prophetic landscape of Israel’s regathering in the last days.
aa Matthew 24:29-30 (NASB) 29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
His second coming is mentioned.
bb Maybe these prophesies aren’t 70 AD but for a future generation.
c Matthew 24:32-35 (NASB) 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.
(Emph. “This generation” in v.34)
aa To this day we’ve not stopped trying to understand what He was saying.
bb Which generation?
I What Did Jesus Say?
A Preterist believe His words were for those alive when Jesus spoke these words.
1 John, the oldest living disciple, would fit the bill for “will not pass away until all these things pass away.”
a The wars, famines, disease, wouldn’t be global, not localized to first century Jerusalem.
b However, prophecy must agree with all other N.T. prophecy, esp. Revelation. (Clearly global in scope.)
2 What if “this generation” (v.34) is given the image of “the fig tree.” (V.32)
a When a tree is depicted as putting forth leaves, it’s getting ready to bear fruit.
b Israel in 33 AD was less than 40 years from being decimated, cusp of the dysphoria.
aa The prophetic tree is not dying, but growing.
bb I believe “this generation” is “the fig tree.”
3 The fig tree is the symbol of the Nation of Israel. - Jeremiah makes this clear!
a Jeremiah 24:5-7 (NASB) 5 "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 ~'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 ~'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.
aa The “good figs” could rep. the leaders of Israel returning to the land!
bb Not the leadership that returns from Babylon. (Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah) They fall!
cc This scripture points to Israel’s final return.
b They receive a new heart, revival, & the Spirit of the Lord.
B Jeremiah says they’ll be planted & not uprooted.
1 In 70 AD they were pulled up; Again in 135 AD, following the revolt of Simeon Bar Kochba.
2 In the final gathering they don’t get uprooted!
a Instead, permanently replanted.
b What do you get when you plant a fig tree?
aa A fig tree!
bb That’s Israel.
c This is the generation, restored Israel, to which Jesus may have been referring to.
II When was the fig tree planted?
A From 137 AD to 1878, Israel had dark years.
1 The dysphoria scatted Jews into the wind; Rome changed the name of Israel to Palestine.
a In 1878, a few Russian Jews began to return as Pioneers to Israel. (Deserts/swamps)
b Their efforts raised awareness of world Jewry.
aa In 1897, the first World Zionist Congress was held in Bask, Switzerland.
bb Plans were laid out to win back Israel, then held by the Ottoman turks.
2 WW1 brought Israel into the sights of British Politicians & generals.
a 1917, The Balfour Declaration gave Jews the promise to access Israel, this land.
b But before the promise of the Balfour Declaration could be fulfilled, the Jews of the dysphoria were forced to bear the insults of WW2, Holocaust, international anti-semiticisim.
c Following of 1947 UN mandate, Israel was declared her statehood on May 14, 1948.
B Metaphorically, Jeremiah’s description of the planting of figs mirrors Israel’s laborious restoration of the land.
1 She endured wars, holocausts, pogroms, weather, drought, financial needs.
a The Jews got Israel back after 1,900 of neglect.
b By 1948, the leaves of the fig tree began to sprout.
aa She was not recognized nationally as viable/strong.
bb What if Luke’s account of the O.D. Israel is placed in an international context.
cc Luke 21:29-32 (NASB) 29 Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. 32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
2 Not only are we to watch National Israel “the fig tree” but also all the other “trees.”
a In this context, Israel isn’t the only tee rising up - other trees arise at roughly the same time.
b On April 25, 1945, reps from 50 nations met in San Franciso at the “United nations Conference of International Organization.” - agree upon a charter signed on June 25, 1945.
aa 1948, membership grew to 58
bb 1949, 59 (Israel)
cc 1960, 99
dd 1970, 127
ee 1980, 154
ff 1990, 159
gg 2000, 189
hh Today the #’s remain constant since 2002 with 192.
c Luke 21:29 (NASB) 29 Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
B We have seen the multiplication of nations erupting in these last 65 years. (Summer is now at hand.)
Matthew 24:32 (NASB) 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;
1 Summer is harvest time! The fruit is on the trees!
a Matthew 13:38-40 (NASB) 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
aa “Age” in Greek is aion.
bb He is speaking of the grain harvest as a metaphor of the final judgement.
cc Summer is when fruit & grain are harvested.
2 Micah 7:1 (NASB) 1 Woe is me! For I am Like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers. There is not a cluster of grapes to eat, Or a first-ripe fig which I crave. (Clear!)
a Micah expresses the same thought as Jesus’ OD
b Israel will face tremendous persecution of the massive system during the Great Tribulation.
aa When nations spring forth as trees, the harvest judgement is near.
bb This is the generation of which Jesus spoke.
III Ha Dor Ha Acharon (The generation to come)
A Deuteronomy 29:21-29 (NASB) 21 "Then the LORD will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law. 22 "Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say, 23 'All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.' 24 "All the nations will say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?' 25 "Then men will say, 'Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 26 ~'They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. 27 ~'Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; 28 and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.' 29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. (This generation restoring Israel now.)
1 This is Israel’s complete destruction after years of neglecting their covenant with YHWY.
a 135 AD & 2 millennia of desolation.
b The land was devoured by Muslims, desolate by neglect.
aa From 135 AD to 1948, treeless, desert, swap.
2 1948, As the Jews returned the “fig tree” began growing!
a The “generation to come” can mean “hindmost, last in order, last in a series” or last.
b The prophecies of Moses, Micah, Jesus could all be pointing to last generation - the ones that prepare Israel for the kingdom age.
B Israel’s last generation inherited a desert/swap in 1948 & today the deserts began to bloom.
IV The generation following
A The Psalmist writes of the placement of the “last generation.”
1 He is focused on Mt. Zion, Temple Mount.
a Psalm 48:1-14 (NASB) 1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. 2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King. 3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold. 4 For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. 5 They saw it, then they were amazed; They were terrified, they fled in alarm. 6 Panic seized them there, Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth. 7 With the east wind You break the ships of Tarshish. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah. 9 We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple. 10 As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments. 12 Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers; 13 Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell it to the next generation. 14 For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.
b Jerusalem/Temple Mount are the focus of the Lord’s long term redemptive plan.
aa This Psalms opens with praise for Jerusalem & ends with the spreading of the news of the regathering of Israel to the world.
bb In v. 13 it uses a variation of “generation o come” phase bound in Deut. 29.22.
Deuteronomy 29:22 (NASB) 22 "Now the generation to come, your sons who rise up after you and the foreigner who comes from a distant land, when they see the plagues of the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it, will say,
2 In v.7 “Ships of Tarshish” these are merchant ships of the west.
a When the Jews began to return to Israel after the Holocaust (diplomatic perfidy) western ships put up a blockade of ships to keep Jews out of Israel.
b Failed.
B Psalm 48:13 (NASB) 13 Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell it to the next generation.
1 “To the generation following” -lit (I’dor Acharon) “last in order”
a Are to mark Mt. Zion’s chief features & foundations!
aa Exactly what modern Israelites have been doing.
bb Psalms 48, is an instruction/charge to survey & restore the ancient Temple Mount.
b Which generation does this? “The last generation.”
2 The biggest obstacles in rebuilding the Temple is not technological, but political.
a Progress, albeit slow, is being made.
b In 2005, the newly-restored Sanhedrin called for the preparation of a prefabricated Temple that could quickly be assembled on the Mount.
V Dark sayings
A Psalms 78 also gives insight to how “the last generation” is going what it is doing. (and will do)
1 Psalm 78:1-8 (NASB) 1 Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. 4 We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, 6 That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, 7 That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, 8 And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
a “The last generation” - I’dor Acharon
b He asks them to look & listen & understand the ancient words of Scripture... where they’ll find the “dark sayings.” (Vs.2)
aa Find the hidden inner meanings that will illuminate God’s plan for them.
bb Chiefly, the Messianic prophecies that have been hidden to Israel for many generations.
2 This “last generation” is told to look deeply in God’s word to be prepared for that which is to come.
B Psalms 102 also refers to the restoration of Zion. (Building stones!)
1 Psalm 102:1-18 (NASB) 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. 2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; Incline Your ear to me; In the day when I call answer me quickly. 3 For my days have been consumed in smoke, And my bones have been scorched like a hearth. 4 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of the loudness of my groaning My bones cling to my flesh. 6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake, I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop. 8 My enemies have reproached me all day long; Those who deride me have used my name as a curse. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread And mingled my drink with weeping 10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath, For You have lifted me up and cast me away. 11 My days are like a lengthened shadow, And I wither away like grass. 12 But You, O LORD, abide forever, And Your name to all generations. 13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion; For it is time to be gracious to her, For the appointed time has come. 14 Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones And feel pity for her dust. 15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory. 16 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory. 17 He has regarded the prayer of the destitute And has not despised their prayer. 18 This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
a The destiny for the “last generation” is to rebuild Zion.
b Israel’s place in latter days is to build the Temple!
2 When Jesus said “this generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled.” He’s speaking of the generation of the “fig tree” & “all the trees.”
Conclusion
A If the leaves are springing forth with Israel’s statehood in 1948, then this generation is now 65 years old.
1 We cannot know the actual date of the last generation, but Israel has aptly been called “God’s Timepiece.”
2 Scripture has predicted a coming series of wars in Israel & then the coming of the Antichrist.
B We are seeing prophesy come to life as Israel marches toward the establishment of the Temple.
1 The conditions surrounding the prophetic Israel have slipped or are falling into place.
2 We maybe living in the last generation.
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