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Why would Jesus change the setting of His answer? Why would He confuse His disciples by this paradigm shift? There is nothing in the passage to indicate that He switched the timing of His answer. "They will hand you (not them) over to persecution", "when you (not them) see the abomination of...

Yes, I know that is where we get the word "rapture" from, but I disagree with the "rapture" doctrine. Traditionally, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 has been interpreted to refer to the General Resurrection and the 2nd Coming. Verse 17 tells us that after the dead are resurrected, those who are alive...

I don't disagree with you on most of those passages. I also look forward to Christ's 2nd Coming. I still believe the 1,000 years of Revelation 20:6 to be symbolic. I believe 1 Thessalonians 4:17 points to our resurrection, not to a rapture (which I do not believe in). Clearly, there are many...

Actually, you cannot overcome the fact that Jesus said - and meant - "this generation", not some future generation. The only options are 1) Jesus lied; 2) Jesus was mistaken; or 3) those events did happen just as He said they would.

Then we would also need to ask Him why ALL the other times He used the phrase "this generation", He meant just what it normally means - the people He was speaking to, not a future generation. The "genea" argument doesn't wash either. Again, it didn't mean "race" in Matthew 11:16, Matthew...

"They" refers to those 1st century believers. Consider what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:27-28 "Some of you standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom". Some argue that this refers to the Transfiguration, but that was only a few days away...

Then why didn't Jesus say "that generation", or "the generation that is alive at that time", or something like that?

In Matthew 24:30, Jesus says that the sign of the Son of Man shall appear - not that the Son of Man will literally appear. From Acts 1, we know that Jesus will physically return in the same manner that He left - in a cloud. I don't see any problem.

That doesn't explain why Jesus said "this generation" if He really meant "that generation". The simple truth is that those events did come to pass in that generation. As Forrest Gump would say, "that's all I got to say about that".

We are in agreement there. Although He "came in judgment" in AD 70, Jesus didn't literally come to Jerusalem.

Actually, I believe this passage is about our resurrected bodies. I think the audience relevance depends a lot on the overall context. On another note, I believe Christ did "return" in judgment of Jerusalem in AD 70.

I had never considered immediate audience interpretation at all until around 2010. Now I believe audience relevance is one of the main keys to understanding the texts.

As I started to truly study eschatology for the first time (as opposed to just taking someone's word for what everything meant), I learned about audience relevance. What did the author mean to convey to his original audience? How would the original audience have understood the message? Right...

Fair enough, although I shared your view of what that passage meant until about 2010. Will you consider whether He might possibly have meant His present 1st Century audience? After all, we really should be sure of our beliefs, and let "iron sharpen iron" through our discussion.

Obviously this applies to all generations of believers. However, the context of the Olivet Discourse makes it just as obvious that He was speaking to their generation, and not to a future generation.

It would seem that each of us are fully convinced, and each bases our views on our study of Scripture. That's okay. Despite our different views on the "End Times", we agree upon the most important things of trusting in Christ alone for forgiveness of sins, our Heavenly future, and the future...

You do realize that Jesus is quoting a symbolic passage from the Old Testament, right? That is often your typical reaction, despite the evidence that I produce. My mistake. The reference to the tribes of the earth in Matthew 24:30 is the same as in Revelation 1:7. It's 1st Century Israel...

Of all the times Jesus used the phrase "this generation", He clearly meant the generation of people right in front of Him. Yet, you want to change how He used it when it comes to the Olivet Discourse. If Scripture is to interpret Scripture, we must be consistent.

If that were the case, Jesus would have said "that generation". Was He talking about a different generation in Matthew 11:16, Matthew 12:41-45, or Matthew 22:36? Not to mention the other uses of that phrase in the other gospels. You are trying to make a single exception for this, thus, you...

All of Isaiah 13 was an oracle against Babylon. From 729 B.C., Babylon was part of the Assyrian Empire. The ruler of Assyria assumed the title "King of Babylon". Babylon then became the capitol of the Neo-Babylonian empire which Nebuchadnezzar ruled after the death of his father. He first...