THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT
PASS
Greetings to my beloved Doves all and
John our shepherd…..
I have followed with appreciative interest
the studies on the number of years in a generation, per Matt (Sept. 5),
Eric Casagrande (Sept.6), and Ted Porter (Sept.
6), and others previously. How fortunate we are to have these inspired
insights!
I think it is pretty conclusive
that the wilderness wanderers and the rejecters of Christ’s first visit
for His passion, were under testing for some 38.8 years after which their
accounts were settled with the Ancient of Days. And by extrapolation perhaps
this current lot of un-believing Jews have the same number of years of testing,
counting from their cowardice and being of little faith during June of l967,
the man with a 38-year infirmity of John 5 being healed by Jesus just another
jelly bean for us to find as well as the woman with the issue of blood
for twelve years. Mind you when I’m out to lunch with the ladies and break
into one of these “witnesses” how they do roll their eyes…….”issue of blood…….really………”
Luke 21:32
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass
away, till all be fulfilled.
In reading the whole chapter
of Luke 21, Jesus covers a lot of ground, in answer to the deciples’ questions, sweeping over the immediate future for
the Jews culminating in the destruction of their temple in 70 a.d., and going on to describe events leading up to His second
coming to the earth in judgment, and great power, and telling US to look
up when we “begin” to see the sea and waves roaring and nations in distress
with perplexity over this………………. (sooooooooooooo………….is
this a hint that He is coming for us during hurricane season????? huh???)
But looking at the above
statement, Jesus appears to be referring to the end times generation, as
He indicated in His statements about “the fig tree, and all the trees”,
and that summer would be near, etc., for “this generation”.
Leaving that on a shelf
for a moment, in Matthew 23, He speaks to the generation at that time:
Matthew 23:36
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! 38 Behold, your
house is left unto you desolate.
Again, in Matthew 24, He
speaks to the end times generation:
Matthew 24:32
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.
Scattered around in the gospels are many instances where He gets
quite descriptive of that generation, an evil generation, etc., but by
far His favorite is “a generation of vipers”. (I kind of like that one
too…..)
Now, here is my point, before I become a nuisance:
In the book of Numbers (14:29), it is written:
“Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness:
and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from
twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me….”
Notice the carcases that should fall would have to be twenty years and
up. Those 19 and under were unaccountable by the Lord’s reckoning for
this generational sin, and were allowed to enter the promised land 38.8
years later.
The generation of vipers
addressed by Jesus when He foretold the destruction of the temple, was likewise
a generation of “adults”, lasting 38.8 years, excluding the “teenagers”
and younger, although they were affected by the judgment upon their fathers,
for He said, “all these things will come upon this generation”. That generation
did indeed “pass away”, in judgment.
Now, of the end times generation
(us), He says “this generation shall not pass away”. I think the
reason He said this generation would not pass away, is because in both prior
generations, the adult populations did “pass away”, in judgment. But the
end times generation would not “pass away”, like the fallen carcases in the wilderness or in the holocaust of 70 a.d. The end times generation of adults would live to see
Him setting up His Kingdom, and not all of them would pass away.
The state of Israel was declared in the spring of l948. Jerusalem was won in the spring of l967. Right there is the generation
of teenagers nineteen years and younger, for l967 – l948 = 19.
That means, that those
20 years old and above in l967 would be the adult generation which would
NOT pass away until “All these things be fulfilled”,,,,,,,,which
would be in accordance with the two prior adult “generations” dealt with
by God, lasting 38.8 years…..the two prior generations passed away, having
passed up the opportunity to secure His Kingdom, but “this” generation of
the end times would not pass away without seeing His Kingdom……..
My beloved son says, “If
He doesn’t come this year we’ll just have to say ‘My Lord delays His coming’……..”
But one thing I just love
about the Doves, is that we just keep watching and don’t give up !
Incidentally, I have asked
our Lord to give each Dove a little golden pin of a dove, with a name bar
under it, so we can for all eternity salute one another ! And, of course,
I asked Him to give John a much larger and bolder golden dove pin, with
all our names on bars under it……….
Your sister in Christ,
Arlene
__
Thanks, Arlene. :)
John