What are the Characteristics of a NT Christian?

[Neo-Scholastic]

Other christians have said it means everything until the second coming.  Wish you guys could get your stories straight.

So according to you people are allowed to express different opinions about everything from cellular biology to the the next day's weather but when it comes to religion 2.2 billion people must be in lock-step agreement about the meaning of one particularly difficult prophecy. If that is your objection to the Christian faith then I would invite you to reexamine your expectations and reflect on your motivations for applying this double standard.

Anyway, that passage, which comes from Luke, is in the context of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, the center of Jewish ritual worship, which as Jesus predicted in that passage was indeed destroyed during the generation to whom He was speaking. Elsewhere Christ specifically referred to Himself as the new Temple which was to become the center of worship.

If you are interested in doing a quick topical study, you might want to grab your concordance and take note of how people used the word, 'word', in various places across the entire canon. You will come to see that it very often refers to the authority or promise of the speaker, like when people give their 'word'. Or as in "In the "Beginning was the Word" because God's promise and authority are eternal. So when Jesus says "my words will not pass away" He is also referring to His divine authority and the promise of salvation in Him, the imperishable Temple.

I would also point out that none of this exegesis contradicts that to which SteveII linked. Scripture is rich and profoundly satisfying on multiple levels. There is something that speaks to the common reader and many rewards for deep study. Bobby Fischer once said that the game of Chess was greater than any player. How much more so for the Word of God!