Bible prophecies

[Jenny A]

What you are saying is disingenuous. It's like Clinton and the definition of "is". Any ordinary reading of the Bible leads to the conclusion that Jesus meant his own generation. Everything else is a weird stretch.

Then why didn't He say 'my generation' or 'our generation', or 'your generation'? He said 'this generation'. I'm not seeking to define the word 'this' I'm seeking to qualify 'this generation'.

I speak of this generation and our generation pretty indiscriminately. When I say "this" (or any other pronoun) you should look to see what the antecedent noun is. There is no other antecedent but the people listening too him. So they are who he meant. If you doubt it look at some other verses:

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Matthew 16:28

And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.

Mark 9:1

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:27

Or are you going to argue "some" meant some other people somewhere else?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Jesus convinced Joseph of Arimathea, who stole Jesus' corpse and chowed down on it thinking he would gain eternal life.

[GrandizerII]

orangebox21, "this generation", unless context suggests otherwise (which it doesn't), means the generation at the time he spoke.

Yes, it's a failed prophecy because the whole of that generation perished without all those things he mentioned ever happening. Contrary to what he predicted.

In answer to your question at the end of your last response, Jesus said that some in those days would not taste death. This, to me, implies that he thought there would be no more death (for his followers at least) when the kingdom of God came.

[orangebox21]

I speak of this generation and our generation pretty indiscriminately.
When I say "this" (or any other pronoun) you should look to see what the antecedent noun is. There is no other antecedent but the people listening too him. So they are who he meant.

Good point, we should look to the antecedent noun. And the antecedent noun is the generation that witnesses 'these things'.

If you doubt it look at some other verses:

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Matthew 16:28

And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.

Mark 9:1

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:27

Or are you going to argue "some" meant some other people somewhere else?

No I am not going to argue that when Jesus says that 'some standing here will not taste death untill they see the kingdom' that he was speaking both to and of some of the people standing there. This is clear.

Why is your theology (understanding of the scripture) that Matthew 24:34/Mark 13:30/Luke 21:32 = Matthew 16:28/Mark 9:1/Luke 8:27

orangebox21, "this generation", unless context suggests otherwise (which it doesn't), means the generation at the time he spoke.

Read Mathew 24:29-34 straight through. The context is an answer to a question about future events. So any generation existing within these future events would be within the context. The generation is qualified by 'these things/these events.'

Yes, it's a failed prophecy because the whole of that generation perished without all those things he mentioned ever happening. Contrary to what he predicted.

No, He predicted that the generation that witnessed 'these things' would not perish until all 'these things' are fulfilled. A generation would have to both witness 'these things' and perish in order for it to be a failed prophecy. The generation He was speaking to did not witness the 'these things' and did perish. We are speaking of a conjunction not a disjunction.

In answer to your question at the end of your last response, Jesus said that some in those days would not taste death. This, to me, implies that he thought there would be no more death (for his followers at least) when the kingdom of God came.

No He said they would 'not taste death until they saw the kingdom'. This is much different than saying 'once the kingdom comes you will not taste death.'

[Bibliofagus]

What's the definition of generation in this context?
I'm asking because without a good definition the prophesy is basically meaningless.

[ShaMan]

I have a 100% accurate bible prophecy!

A while back I told my wife that I could see myself getting rid of my bible; and wouldn't you know it...
Almost two years later, I got rid of it! there - 100% accurate 'bible prophecy'

[RobbyPants]

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:27

Or are you going to argue "some" meant some other people somewhere else?

Pshh! The way you handle skepticism of nonfalsifiable crap is to meet it with more nonfalsifiability! I present to you: The Wandering Jew.

If the scripture doesn't line up with reality, just make up some stuff to fix that. As long as you can't prove that stuff is wrong, it's all good, right!?

[GrandizerII]

orangebox21, this generation means exactly what it means. Feel free to weasel your way out of this dilemma, but you're only fooling yourself here.

And again, Jesus prophesied that all those things he was talking about would happen before the generation perished. That generation has long gone and still nothing even to this day. So false prophecy.

[Tonus]

I'm asking because without a good definition the prophesy is basically meaningless.

Matthew 24 allows for a lot of ambiguity and therefore all kinds of interpretation. For example, in verses 1 and 2, Jesus predicts that the temple will be destroyed. In verse 3, the disciples ask "when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" They ask separate questions, and even the first part ("when shall THESE things be?") indicate that they may be asking about more than just the destruction of the temple.

From verse 4 to 12, Jesus predicts things that had been happening for many years before he came along (wars, unrest, famine, natural disasters, false prophets, persecution) and which have continued to happen for centuries since. Which is why people have been predicting the end times for hundreds of years based on the 'signs of the times' during their lifetimes. Verses 13 and 14 are more open to future interpretation: what does "the end" refer to? Was Jesus referring to the preaching work in his time, or the future?

From there it gets more confused, particularly if you go with some kind of split prophecy where part of it is for the near future (a reference to the destruction of the temple in 70AD) and part of it for the far future (the second coming). If we assume that he was referring to a second coming to rescue his followers when the Romans came forth to destroy the temple, then much of what follows makes more sense. But since he didn't return, the Christian has to interpret those parts as referring to some future time.

When is that future time? I think that for a great number of Christians, it is always "very soon" with the belief that it will happen in their lifetimes. Because the signs that Jesus predicted are all being seen around the world, it must be the end times. But he predicted things that are always happening, and so no matter how much time passes, you can point to the signs to indicate that the present time is the time of the end. He obviously got one thing right: many false saviors would come along and mislead many. At least one of them would continue to mislead them thousands of years after he died.

[orangebox21]

What's the definition of generation in this context?
I'm asking because without a good definition the prophesy is basically meaningless.

Full Definition Here

The original word for "this generation" is genea. Strong's concordance for this shows:

1) fathered, birth, nativity
2) that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family
a) the several ranks of natural descent, the successive members of a
genealogy
b) metaph. a group of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits,
character
1) esp. in a bad sense, a perverse nation
3) the whole multitude of men living at the same time
4) an age (i.e. the time ordinarily occupied be each successive generation), a
space of 30 - 33 years