Let us return to Matthew 24 at this point.

Thus far we have established that context throughout Matthew forces us to realize the only coming of the Lord that Matt 24:3 could refer to is was the then-near coming of Jerusalem's destruction in AD70. We departed from Matthew 24 at verse 31 since verse 31 spoke of the gathering of the elect from the four winds. In order to determine what that might refer to, we considered the futurist thought that the gathering together to Jesus in 2 Thess 2:1 is the one and the same gathering. And futurists, in turn, claim that gathering in 2 Thess 2:1 refers to the resurrection in 1 Thess 4:14-17. Since we showed that 2 Thess 1 speaks of a coming of Jesus in vengeance to recompense tribulation to the people who troubled the Thessalonians, this coming could only occur in the lifetimes of the Thessalonians to whom Paul wrote as well as their persecutors. So this context of Christ's coming in 2 Thess can only refer to the coming destruction in their lifetime as well. This, therefore, forbids us from allowing 2 Thess 2 to indicate a futurist concept of Matt. 24:31.

We also discussed the Greek term for "at hand", "enestemi", and noted that it is not the same Greek term used in Revelation, "eggus", when "at hand" is written. in 2 Thess 2:1, the word means "present", whereas in Revelation it is a totally different Greek word and means "near".

The NAS version reads it correctly:

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure.. to the effect that the day of the Lord has come." [NAS]

It seems to be that the gathering together in 2 Thess 2:1 is one and the same as Matt. 24:31.


Let's move on.

Matthew 24:32-34 KJV Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Pop-Dispensationalists have claimed the fig tree represents Israel.

Hosea 9:10 KJV  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

They claim Israel will once again become a nation and this will indicate the generation that sees this event will be alive when Jesus comes. However, good hermeneutics demands us read the context of the entire chapter and learn what this fig tree might represent. The fig tree putting forth leaves is distinctly said to be a metaphor for all the events taking place that Jesus listed in this chapter up to this point. Remember, he is answering the questions posed to him in Matt 24:3. Just as you know summer is close when a fig tree puts forth leaves, you know the "end" is near when all those events Jesus listed come to pass. And He said this would occur in their generation. So, the idea of Israel becoming a nation is not at all the meaning of the fig tree and its leaves. Verse 33 distinctly states what the picture of the fig tree represents. How could that be overlooked and be mistaken for Israel's re-establishment as a nation? Israel may have been represented as a fig tree in scripture, but Jesus distinctly interpreted the fig tree in verse 33, and it does not include Israel's existence as a nation, but simply everything He already stated in this chapter coming to pass.

Let's stick with the context in which the fig tree metaphor is presented.  The leaves coming on the tree represent the events Jesus listed. And they include the temple destruction, by the way. And just as the showing forth of fig leaves shows that summer is close, when these signs come to pass the disciples would know the end is close.

Much argument has gone on about what "generation" refers to in verse 34. Notice the contextual similarity between what is written in this verse, and what surrounds it, with what is written in the chapter immediately preceding this one.

Matthew 24:31-34 KJV And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.


Matthew 23:36-37 KJV Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. (37) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

What is more hermeneutically sound? Taking an old testament reference to a fig tree that applies to Israel to interpret Matt 24:32, or going the every conversation in Matt 23 that led to the questions the disciples asked in 24:2, and seeing the same terms used in 24:31-34 in answer to those questions in verse 3?

So, clearly the use of the term "generation" in chapter 23 should agree with its use in chapter 24.

In Matthew 23, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Scribes as hypocrites, and dealt a death blow when He told them the blood shed since the time of Abel's death to Zecharias' death caused a guilt that would be put upon their generation. He just stated they did and would do the same things their fathers did, and they proved they were associated with their fathers when they said, " If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets (Matt 23:30)." Jesus claimed that statement proved they admitted they were the children of those fathers. So they would fill up the measure of their fathers.

Matthew 23:30-32 KJV And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (31) Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. (32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Filling up a measure was a term used in Abraham's day, speaking of fathers.

Genesis 15:13-16 KJV 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; (14) And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. (15) And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. (16) But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Let us pause here for a moment and consider this amazing correlation:

God told Abram that his descendants would be bound in Egypt and not allowed into the land of Canaan, the promised land, until the iniquity of the Amorites was full. When we come to Joshua 10, we read where Israel did finally enter the land the Amorite kings came to fight against them. Formerly, Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem in Abram's day and blessed Abram. But the Amorite king over Jerusalem in Joshua's day was Adonizedek, similar in name to Melchizedek. In fact, it seems the Kings of Jerusalem, called Jebusi back then, took the title ZEDEK. So a King who should have done what his predecessor Melchizedek did in blessing Israel, was totally reversed as he fought against Israel! And these was a leader in Jerusalem!

It is no coincidence that Jesus spoke these words in Matthew 23 to religious leaders in Jerusalem who should have blessed Christ, as Adonizedek should have blessed Israel like his predecessor Melchisedek did, but instead fought Jesus just as Adonizedek fought Joshua and Israel. Christ's words about the iniquity of their fathers being filled up for judgment in their generation corresponds to God's words to Abram that Israel would not enter and conquer Canaan until the iniquity of the Amorites was full. This obviously implied Israel's entrance into Canaan would judge the Amorites as well as mark the beginning of Israel in the promised land! Similarly, the KINGDOM would commence 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, just as Israel entered the land forty years after they left Egypt, and a KINGDOM Establishment would occur when Jerusalem was judged. Joshua and Israel experienced their establishment in the Kingdom land of Promise when the Amorites were judged. Jerusalem was the focal point in all of that.

Joshua 10:1 KJV Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;

Joshua 10:5 KJV Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

Back to the issue at hand... The term "Generation" in Matthew 23 is applied to the then-living Pharisees and Scribes in contrast to their fathers. Their fathers committed sin they would repeat and bring to a fullness by crucifying and scourging God's people.

Matthew 23:30-36 KJV And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (31) Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. (32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. (33) Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (34) Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (35) That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (36) Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

If "generation" meant "race" or "nation" as futurists demand it mean (which they do in order to remove the then-imminent proximity of the coming and judgment in Matt 23 through 24), then those fathers would have been judged in the same degree as these descendants, because their fathers were of the same race or nation as they were! But "this generation" is used in this chapter to distinguish them from their fathers. That is why Jesus said they would fill up the measure of their fathers and incur all the blood-guilt from the time of Abel's death until Zecharias upon them, or "this generation". Clearly generation mean the people alive at that time. Why should the term set within the same terminology in chapter 24 be something different? Clearly it cannot mean race or nation in Matt 24:34. It means the people alive at that time. This is seen more clearly when reading Christ's words "ye" and "you" in reference to the people listening to Him when He spoke of who would see the events in Matt 24:4-9.

Matthew 24:4-9 KJV And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. (5) For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (8) All these are the beginning of sorrows. (9) Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Read what the newer versions of the bible say:

Matthew 23:36 GNB I tell you indeed: the punishment for all these murders will fall on the people of this day!

Matthew 24:34 GNB Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.

At this juncture of our study of Matthew 24 and Hermeneutics, I need to point out that Kingdom Eschatology does not disagree with a future second coming of Jesus. It just does not associate the signs of Matthew 24 with it. Matthew 24 is about the destruction of Jerusalem only. But this has been an opportunity for futurists to alarm their followers against Kingdom Eschatology, without relying upon a solid hermeneutic. It has happened so many times that it specifically needs to be addressed. Saints need to learn that they cannot believe anything unless there is a solid hermeneutic that walks them through the scriptures step by step to prove it logically.

Matthew 24:35-36 KJV Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (36) But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

These words have been applied to a yet-future coming of Jesus in churches everywhere today. "He can come at any moment. We better be ready for Him! No man knows the day nor the hour."

One of the first arguments against Kingdom Eschatology is that it does not teach there are any signs associated with the future coming of Jesus. People who first hear such a criticism usually initiate a knee-jerk reaction to it, and simply are convinced it cannot be correct. They decide to avoid such a teaching at all costs.

These people have not stopped to ask themselves why they believe Matthew 24 is indeed about the second coming.

People will usually not even ask that of themselves if they never heard of anything else all their lives, though. Most have never conceived if Matthew 24 could be about the second coming since they always believed it simply is so. There is not "could" about it in their minds. They have not considered it could be about anything else. This is usually caused by having simply heard nothing else that Matthew 24 could be about, without it ever being proved to them.

Psychologically, many people do not want to ask actually why they believed such things, for they may realize they never really had a solid foundation for their beliefs. And if they never had a solid foundation for that belief, what other beliefs do they hold that have no foundation? Fear keeps them from going any further in understanding why they believe what they believe. At this point, such people will shut you down, and you simply cannot prove anything to them they do not already believe. Some people are like that.

Whether or not the Lord's coming is imminent, we must ask ourselves why we think it is imminent. What scriptures told us it would be imminent? And whether or not there are signs associated with the yet-future second coming, which coming Kingdom Eschatology and futurism both agree will occur, what scriptures do futurists claim shows there will be signs associated with it?

Let's say that the only references to immanency and signs associated with His coming are found in passages like Matthew 24. Then let's say such passages are only about the AD70 coming of judgment against Jerusalem. If that is the case, it becomes an argument based upon circular reasoning to criticize Kingdom Eschatology for lack of signs and notes of immanency in the Lord's second coming. In effect, they are actually saying. "We are correct because we are correct." "Matthew 24 is not about AD70 because it is not about AD70." By proposing such an argument, futurists have not first proved that Matthew 24 and its signs and notes of immanency are not about the AD70 destruction of Jerusalem. They simply expect everyone to respond without reasonable consideration otherwise. Instead of explaining that Matthew 24 is about the second coming, their belief is without a real foundation.

For the sake of showing my point, let's hypothetically say for the moment that Kingdom Eschatology is correct: Matthew 24 is solely about the AD70 destruction of Jerusalem. If that is true then there are no signs associated with the second coming in the Bible. Those signs of Matthew 24 are obviously fulfilled, if I am correct. The rest of the Bible, however, still teaches a future second coming of Jesus -- it just doesn't associate any preceding signs with it.

So, can you see that an argument disproving Kingdom Eschatology must be more solid than by simply saying it proposes no signs preceding the coming of Jesus? There is no logical hermeneutic employed in such an argument.

Too many believers are easy prey for persuasion from any false doctrine since they have never been taught to study the bible for themselves, but rely upon and trust the pastor to do that studying for them. While there is a place and an extent we should trust the ministry to teach us truth, such ministry must employ sound hermeneutics while teaching their people. If a pastor cannot use a hermeneutic and show the people exactly why something is true or untrue, other than simply telling the people to agree because he is their pastor, that pastor is not proving anything.

Let everyone accept no teaching unless they do what the noble Bereans did when they were taught:

Acts 17:10-11 KJV And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. (11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Those Bereans did not rely upon any Pastor to do all their studying for them. They had to know the truth for themselves! A true pastor is not afraid of saints studying the Bible for themselves, since he will have taught them how to do so correctly and soundly.

The fact is that Revelation 20 shows the white throne judgment after a time of the saints acting as kings, as Revelation 1:5-6 says we have been made kings and priests since our salvation.  Obviously, the resurrection will take us to the white throne judgment, with no millennium to follow that resurrection.  1 Corinthians 15 teaches a physical resurrection, and makes no mention of a millennium afterwards.  

Before the resurrection takes us to the white throne judgment, we read in Revelation 20 of a time when satan is loosed to gather the nations together against the holy city, the Church.  (Hebrews 12:22-23 claims the Heavenly Jerusalem is the Church).  So, there actually is a sign that occurs before the resurrection!  It is a gathering of all nations against the Church!  And what some will inevitably, but mistakenly, attribute to the great tribulation of Matt. 24:21, will actually be the gathering together against the Church of Revelation 20:8-9.

Revelation 20:8-9 KJV  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  (9)  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

And this means there is also an immanency about the second coming that we should keep in mind!  Who knows when this time will come?



Continued... (click here).