SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/26/2024 8:19 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “An
Unmistakable Application”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
24:33-34
Message of the verses: “even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
In my last SD I went into some detail in talking
about “this generation” writing my thoughts on what this is referring to. In John MacArthur’s commentary, and in his
sermon on this subject he has much to say about his feelings of what generation
Jesus is talking about and actually comes up with the same answer to this
question that I have for it, and that is that the generation that Jesus is
talking about is the generation that will see all these things happening, the
things that He went over in earlier verses.
So what generation is the one who will see all these things
happening? Well the answer in my estimation
is the generation that goes through the tribulation period, as they surely will
see all these thing that Jesus spoke about earlier in this 24th
chapter of Matthew.
In the 24th chapter of Matthew, also in the 25th
chapter we do not see anything about the church, or church age. In the book of Revelation we see the church
in chapters 2-3 as Jesus writes letters to seven churches. Then we read the following in chapter four “1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of
a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place
after these things.’” Again we
see the term “after these
things” and perhaps wonder what things is the angel talking about. The things in the first three chapters of
Revelation, and as stated the letters to the seven churches. Now I believe that the term "Come up here” is a
picture or the Rapture of the church, and one of the reasons is that you don’t
see anything about the true church again in Revelation as it is in heaven when
all these things that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24-25, and all the things
found in Revelation 4-19 speak of what will be going on during the tribulation
period. Now chapters 4-5 are an
introduction to what is going on in heaven right before the tribulation period
begins in chapter six. The point that I
am making is that the church will not go through the tribulation period,
however there will be new believers that go through it and those are the
generation that Jesus is speaking about in chapter 24 of Matthew.
I am not going to go over all the
different people’s opinions about what “this generation” is talking about. John MacArthur does go over then in his
sermon and in his commentary and you can listen to his sermon on this section
by going to his website gty.org and look for this particular sermon there.
I will end this SD by quoting from
the very last paragraph in MacArthur’s commentary as he sums up his thoughts on
“this generation.”
“This generation” will therefore be
composed of Jews and Gentiles who are alive a the rapture but not taken up because
they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Among that generation, however, will be many who will later come to
salvation during the Tribulation through the witness of the divinely called and
protected 144,000 Jewish believers (Rev. 7:3-8) and the supernatural preaching
of the angelic messenger (14:6-7).”
I have to add to this that once one
of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists leads a person to the Lord then that person
will also become a witness for Jesus Christ, and that is why there will be
many, many people come to know the Lord as their Savior during that time period
of the tribulation period. I have heard
some commentators say this will have the most believers in it than any
generation before it.
1/26/2024 8:51
AM
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