[JohnnyM]

"If futurist interpreters want to insist on taking Jesus' words literally... "

The interesting thing is that the preterists will take the "this generation" statement from v.34 literally, but in the same breath will say that Matt 24:21 is figurative or hyperbolic. In fact, v.21 occurs in the section of the discourse that is very literal (i.e. flee from your homes, there will be false Christs and wars, etc), but v.34 occurs in the part of the discourse that is very figurative amongst the parables.

Let us also note, that when Jesus prefaces a statement with "Truly I say to you" it is almost ALWAYS hyperbolic.

- Matthew 8:10 - Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel
- Matt 10:15 - Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city
- Matt 10:23 - "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes
- Matt 17:20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you
- Matt 19:23-24 - And Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
- Matt 21:31 - Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you

JM

[Godzilla]

The interesting thing is that the preterists will take the "this generation" statement from v.34 literally, but in the same breath will say that Matt 24:21 is figurative or hyperbolic. In fact, v.21 occurs in the section of the discourse that is very literal (i.e. flee from your homes, there will be false Christs and wars, etc), but v.34 occurs in the part of the discourse that is very figurative amongst the parables.

Excellent observation (and you stole my future thunder).

[Quix]

There you go again . . .

trying to be rational, Biblical, historically accurate and sensible with

REPLACEMENTARIANS et al.

[topcat54]

The interesting thing is that the preterists will take the "this generation" statement from v.34 literally, but in the same breath will say that Matt 24:21 is figurative or hyperbolic.

And they have a very good reason for doing so. It is not an arbitrary thing. It comes from carefully comparing Scripture with Scripture to discover how certain texts fit within the genre. Time texts are most often used in the Bible in a very literal sense. Compare "this generation" in Matthew 24 with the rest of the places it is used in the gospels, as well as with places like Number 32:13, “So the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.” This text is where the idea of a biblical generation equaling about 40 years comes from. In the rest of the gospels, the phrase “this generation” (and its variants) always refers to the contemporary generation living in the 1st century. You need a much stronger case to make it refer to some far future generation than the obvious and clear reference to 1st century Jews living in Judea.

The other language in Matthew 24 is highly symbolic and follows the pattern established with the prophets in the OT. E.g., Isaiah 13:10; “For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.” This language is used to describe the temporal judgment against the ancient nation of Babylon.