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Wednesday, October 21 2009
The English word generation originated from a Latin word meaning to beget or to produce (genesis originated from the same root). As the term is used in the Holy Scriptures, "this generation" can refer to people who were living at the time that the words were spoken, or it could refer to those who will be alive at a future time when a prophecy is fulfilled - or it can mean both (see the Fact Finder question below).
This example refers primarily to the people that lived at the time of the first coming of Jesus Christ (see also Why Two Comings Of The Christ?):
"11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets [see also Christ In The Marketplace], and calling unto their fellows, 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children." (Matthew 11:16-19 KJV)
"Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation"
These verses also refer to those who rejected Christ at that time, but notice how the context includes a yet-future time as well.
"12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth [see also The Son Rose As The Sun Set]. 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation [see When Will You Be Judged?], and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." (Matthew 12:39-42 KJV)
The use of "this generation" here applies to all who lived right from the time of the beginning, "from the blood of righteous Abel."
"23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the Damnation of hell? [see Where Is Hell?]23:34 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: 23:35 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. 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." (Matthew 23:33-36 KJV)
"This generation" in these verses is obviously speaking a in future tense, describing the time of Christ's return.
"24:29 Immediately after the tribulation [see The Great Tribulation] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 24:31 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 [see 'To Meet The Lord In The Air'].
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: 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:29-35 KJV)
Fact Finder: How is it that, in speaking of Christ's return, the term "this generation" could apply to any or all generations that have lived through all of human history?
See Could Christ Return Tonight?
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This Day In History, October 21
1520: On the first-ever voyage around the world, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan entered a passage off the southern tip of South America. Today it is known as the Strait of Magellan.
1520: The coronation of Charles V (Hapsburg) at Aachen.
1529: King Henry VIII of England was named Defender of the Faith by the Pope after defending the seven sacraments against Luther. The British church later rejected the papacy.
1532: Protestant reformer Martin Luther said, "For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant." (translated from German). See 52-Week Bible Reading Plan
1692: William Penn was removed as Governor of Pennsylvania amidst charges of him being a "papist."
1790: The French Tricolor was chosen as the flag of France.
1797: The U.S. frigate Constitution was launched in Boston. The ship is still in existence today, and is popularly known as Old Ironsides.
1805: The Battle of Trafalgar. British forces under Horatio Nelson battled Spanish forces off Cape Trafalgar, Spain. Admiral Nelson, age 47, was killed in the battle.
1824: Portland cement was first patented, by Joseph Aspdin of Wakefield in Yorkshire, England.
1879: The incandescent light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison.
1923: The first planetarium was opened, at the Deutsche Museum in Munich, Germany.
1940: At the start of World War 2, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill challenged Adolf Hitler in a radio speech, "We are awaiting the long-promised German invasion - and so are the fishes..."
1960: HMS Dreadnought, Britain first nuclear submarine, was launched.
1962: Day 8 of the 15-day Cuban Missile Crisis. U.S. President John F. Kennedy reached the decision to impose a naval blockade of Cuba. Up to that day, the existence of the Soviet missiles in Cuba had not been made public.
1967: A few months after the end of the Six Day War, Egyptian missiles sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat off Sinai. Israel responded by shelling the major oil installations in the Egyptian port town of Suez.
