Matthew 24:34—“this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled”

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled (Matt. 24:34).

Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom (Matt. 16:28).

ARGUMENT:

Isn’t this text implying that Jesus would return during the lifetime of His hearers? (yet still has not returned)

(I)

Prof. Herman C. Hanko

[Source: Covenant Reformed News, vol. 3, no. 12]

It seems to me that problems with interpretations of texts such as this arise oftentimes out of a wrong conception of Christ’s coming. Or, at least, if we have a proper conception of Christ’s coming, we tend somewhat to forget about it in discussing it.

We must remember that the Scriptures look at Christ’s coming, not so much from the viewpoint of the time, but rather from the viewpoint of the idea.

Christ’s coming is really one coming from the viewpoint of the idea, because Christ comes, sent by the Father, to bring salvation to His church and to the whole creation of God.

Yet that coming can, in a certain sense, be divided into two comings, because, although the idea is always the same—Christ coming to save—He comes in humiliation when He is born in Bethlehem, in order to establish the possibility of salvation. Having done all that is necessary for salvation to be accomplished, Christ ascends into heaven, where, from heaven, He actually does the one great work of salvation.

That work is finished when He comes again upon the clouds to make all things new.

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That work of salvation which Christ accomplishes from heaven involves various different works; and each work is, in its own way, a coming of Christ.

In the most fundamental sense of the word, Christ came on Pentecost when He poured out His Spirit on the church.

When Christ sends His Spirit to the church, He Himself comes to the church to dwell with the church and give the church all the blessings of salvation which He has earned for the church.

The coming of the Spirit is literally called the coming of Christ in John 14:16-18: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even, the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

Thus, in a way, Pentecost is the end of the world—from the viewpoint of its idea. That is why Peter can tell the people on Pentecost that the prophecy of Joel is fulfilled—a prophecy that speaks of the end of the world.

And so, many who heard Jesus speaking in His earthly ministry were still alive at Pentecost—as Jesus said.

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But Jesus’ coming again also refers to the death of a believer.

This, too, is literally stated by the Lord in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

If one stops to think about it, of course the death of the believer is the end of the world. It is the coming of Christ to take him out of this world so that this world exists no longer for him. It is the end of the world because it is the beginning of perfect salvation in heaven for that believer, for he is with Christ.

It is just as really the end of the world for that believer as the second coming of Christ upon the clouds of heaven.

All Christ’s coming is the work of salvation. What a glory is to be found in that coming of Christ.

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(II)

More to come! (DV)