So, in my view, the practice of making a statement such as
"Jesus said that the generation that is alive at the time
that Israel becomes a nation will live to see His Return",
is not only misleading, it is in fact false; it is putting
words in Jesus' mouth; and it is twisting the meaning of the
Scriptures. Lest someone misinterpret my words, allow me to
clarify that I am not saying that our generation, (I'm what
they call a "Baby Boomer"), won't still be alive when Jesus
returns. Perhaps some of us will be. The situation in the
Middle East is certainly becoming more aggravated; and as I
explain in some of my other articles, there are indicators
which seem to suggest that the time of Christ's Return is
drawing near. So all that I am saying, is that Jesus never
said that the budding fig tree represents Israel becoming a
nation in 1948, and it is wrong for anyone to say that He
did.

To reiterate what I said earlier, the 1948 theory is merely
one interpretation of what the fig tree may have symbolized;
but, as I have made more than clear, I don't believe that it
was meant to symbolize anything. It was simply a comparison
that Jesus used so that His followers, (including us), would
know that what He prophesied is indeed going to happen, and
that we are supposed to watch for the signs of the Endtime,
just as the Jews knew that summer was approaching, when they
saw the fig tree sprout its leaves. Period.

As we discussed in parts one and two, part of the confusion
concerning this 1948 doctrine, and the year 2,000 fiasco, is
a result of trying to apply a specific length of time to the
Biblical word "generation". To refresh your memory, the man
who wrote to me stated "if we use the biblical definition of
a generation as 52 years". That is his mistake right there.
He obviously picked up this idea from one of those preachers.
To my knowledge, nowhere does the Bible specifically say that
a generation is equal to fifty-two years. Fifty-two is simply
an average that these American preachers dreamed up, because
it helped to prove their year 2,000 theory.

In fact, it would really be impossible to assign a specific
number of years to a generation, because throughout Biblical
history, human beings have lived different lengths of time.
Adam lived to the ripe old age of nine hundred and thirty.
Abraham died rather young, comparatively speaking, at the
age of one hundred and seventy-five years. Moses fulfilled
his days at the age of one hundred and twenty. King David
died even earlier at the age of seventy. On the other end of
the spectrum, some people die at birth, or at a young age.
In short, it is foolhardy to try to assign a specific number
of years to a Biblical generation.

So exactly what is a generation in the Bible? The best way to
answer this question is by examining the original Greek word.
According to my Thayer's Greek lexicon, the word "generation"
is translated from the Greek "genea", which it defines as
follows:

----- Begin Quote -----

1) fathered, birth, nativity

2) that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a
   family

  2a) the several ranks of natural descent, the successive
      members of a genealogy

  2b) metaph. a group of men very like each other in
      endowments, pursuits, character

      2b1) 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 by each
successive generation), a space of 30 - 33 years

----- End Quote -----

Please note that aside from the transliteration of Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek words into English, the definitions
provided in Bible dictionaries and lexicons are subject to
the opinions, beliefs and prejudices of the author of the
work. Thus, the creator of the above entry states that a
Biblical generation was about thirty to thirty-three years
in length; which obviously conflicts with what these modern
Bible preachers are saying.

If we set aside these doctrinal prejudices, and take all of
the previous definitions at face value, then we can arrive
at the conclusion that a Biblical generation was variable in
length, and consisted of the time that passed from the birth
of one man, to the birth of his son, and anyone else who was
born in that man's family while that man was alive. In other
words, anyone who is born in that family while that man is
alive, is a part of his generation. In similar fashion, we
can say that anyone who is born in that family while the son
is alive, is a part of the son's generation. A generation is
simply all of the people who are living in that family at
any given moment of time. On a larger scale, anyone living
in the world during any specific time period, is likewise a
part of that historical, global generation.

Based upon the previous definitions and explanations, it's my
belief that when Jesus used the word "generation" in Matthew
chapter twenty-four, He was not offering us a subtle hint of
a specific number of years. He was simply saying that some of
the people who would be alive on the Earth at the time that
all of those Endtime events begin to occur, in other words,
earthquakes, wars, famine, pestilence, invasion of Jerusalem,
Great Tribulation, etc., would still be alive, and would see
His Return in the clouds of Heaven. Again, it has nothing to
do with 1948, or adding a magical number to 1948. That is all
manmade doctrinal baloney. Are you convinced of this yet?

But you really have to wonder, why it is, and how it is, that
this 1948 idea has become so deeply rooted with some American
Christians. Well, as I've already stated, I believe that part
of the problem is that too many of them allow themselves to
be spoon-fed by their popular radio and television preachers,
instead of studying and researching the Bible for themselves.
They adopt this attitude that the preacher must know what he
is talking about; after all, he went to seminary school, and
he is supposed to be the authority on these subjects. Sadly,
as I have said before, that isn't always true. These men are
not any more infallible than the Pope is. Let me also remind
you that when these fellows graduate from seminary school,
they have already been indoctrinated with some very specific
theological ideas from that school, and that is what they
begin to preach to their flocks, whether those doctrines are
Scripturally-sound or not.

As in other parts of the world, American Christendom consists
of a lot of different branches, flavors and colors insofar as
doctrines are concerned. Some churches and denominations are
very pro-Israel while others are not. The 1948 interpretation
of the Parable of the Fig Tree is clearly from the pro-Israel
camp, which just so happens to hold a lot of political power
and sway within the United States. It is precisely for this
reason that president after president has been such a strong
advocate and supporter of Israel. The American Conservative
Right is to a large degree comprised of older, conservative
Christians, and high-profile evangelical preachers in large
part control them, influence how they vote, and instruct
them doctrinally as well.

So the question is, where did this 1948 doctrine originate?
As I first mentioned ten years ago in my lengthy series "The
Kings Of The North And The South", there is in fact a verse
in the Bible which has been used by pro-Israel preachers to
support their 1948 view. That verse is the following, found
in the Book of Isaiah:

"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall
a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she
brought forth her children."
Isaiah 66:8, KJV

According to these preachers, the previous verse describes,
or prophesies, the birth of the nation of Israel in 1948,
following the "Diaspora". The Diaspora, or Dispersion, as it
is also known, refers to the historical fact that the tribes
of Israel were scattered around the world as a result of the
various invasions of ancient Israel by foreign armies, such
as the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. Of course, as I
explain in such series as "The Fruits Of Disobedience", the
invasions were in fact a part of God's chastisements against
them, due to their continuous disobedience to His Will.

At any rate, the Diaspora is believed by some people, (such
as certain Jews, as well as the aforementioned preachers and
their followers), to have come to an end when the Jews from
around the world began migrating back to the land of Israel
during the twentieth century. Furthermore, this migration is
believed to mark the end of "Jacob's Trouble". Jacob was the
original name of Israel, before God changed his name in the
Book of Genesis. Jacob was the father of the twelve sons who
became the first leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. I
discuss the return to Israel, and Israel becoming a nation,
in much more detail in the second part of "The Seven Heads"
series.


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files.  We Use Hermes II


--- Hermes Web Tosser 1.1