"last generation"
That may be true, but Jesus gave a clue in Mathew - He said, "the generation that sees the fig tree bloom". The diciples ask Him when the end would come.
The "fig tree bloom" is in reference to Israel becoming a state. That occurred in 1948 - 56 years ago. Since a generation is 40 years (or was at the time the Bible was written), 56 years could mean Jesus is late .. or it could mean that God understands the laws of longevity have changed and we still have a few years to go.
However, since I was alive in 1948 - it could be that my generation is the last one.
Check out Zacharia 14. He will set his foot on the mount of olives. They (Jews) will see the scar in his side and the scars in his hands and say, "Where did you get those scars? and he will say in the house of my friends and a nation will be saved in a day.
Whose calendar do we use to reckon the 2000 years? The year 2004 is the year 5765 on the Hebrew Calendar. That pushes things back another 35 years.
I think the "fig tree" Jesus refers to are the signs he gives in Matthew 24. Some of those prophecies had relation to the Roman's destruction of Israel (specifically the instructions for those Judea to flee to the mountains and the Abomination of Desolation mentioned in Daniel) in 70 A.D. and others had reference to the latter days, such as the appearing of the sign of the Son of Man and the gathering of his elect from the four quarters of the earth.
GW
I once heard a teaching where the six day war in ??? was the date of the beginning of the generation but I'm not sure if that's correct or not. It was an interesting theory.
I have not heard ANY theological theorizing about this, but what about if it means that He will come before the last baby born in 1948 dies? Given today's longevity, that might mean sometime before 2048. Just a thought.
I think Matthew 24:14 tells when the end will come. However no one except God will know when the Gospel has been preached to the whole world. I guess when the last person has heard the Gospel then the end will come.
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
Did you know that at almost the exact same time Israel became a state, the dead sea scrolls thing happened?
It will be sooner than when I began to write this epistle.!
Some hristians are really having a hard time in the Muslum world and other real bad situation now.