'Some still living' disproves literal truth of the bible

No you're wrong. There is no way that you can prove that Jesus was ONLY talking to those people living and listening to the strict EXCLUSION of all other listeners.You cannot prove that anymore than you can prove that this post is intended for NO ONE ELSE except YOU on TODAY's date.

The Gospel of Mark specifically records Jesus assuring the listners that the scope of His warning goes BEYOND the immediate audience of 12 disciples: "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the Master of the house comes, whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrowing or in the morning.'

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Lest He come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch!' (Mark 13:37)By the words " ... what I say to you, I say to all" there is no doubt that it would be foolish to assume Jesus was not speaking to anyone else but those standing around.And the Gospel of Luke, taking up the same theme, reinforces that audience for the warnings are larger in scope then the immediate group if listeners: "You also be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming.

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And Peter said, Lord, are You saying this parable to us, or also to all?

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And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his service to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his masterm when he comes, will find so doing." ( Luke 12:40-43)Peter asks if the parable of His return is for them or for all believers. The answer of Jesus is that it is for all and any believers whom the Lord finds serving Him appropriately. The scope would include all Christians down through the ages as recipients of the warning.Furthermore there is a specific warning for the servants of Christ not to assume that the Master is delaying so that they can be morally lax: "But if that slave says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat the male servants and the female servanst and to eat and to drink and become drunk.

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The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which je does not know, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers." (Luke 12:45.46)Now consider Heritic's explanation that Christ's words have failed. Do they encourage the Christian to be more vigilant or less? If you think Heretic's explanation encourages the disciples to throw up hands and decide Jesus isn't coming, isn't Heritic's teaching against the spirit of Luke 12:45.46 ?So he cannot be trusted morally. And he cannot be trusted because Jesus said " And what I say to you, I say to all" Watch!' (Mark 13:37)Hereic's version is "What Jesus says to you 12 disciples is NOT what He says to all." So he directly contradicts the New Testament. It does not say that there were some standing there who would not die until they see the Son of Man coming with His angels. It says until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.Just like there is an animal kingdom and a mineral kingdom and a human kingdom, there is a kingdom of God. The life of humans constititutes the human kingdom. And the life of animals constitutes the animal kingdom. And the divine life of God constitutes the kingdom of God.The divine life with its glory was concealed within the shell of Christ's human nature. For that divine life and glory to radiate out and saturate His humanity was for Him to come in His kingdom of the divine life of God.Jesus was saying that some of those standing there would get a preview of this coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom. The scope of His coming in His kingdom is larger than the scope of His second coming. Yet it contains also His second coming.And we must not forget so soon. Jesus said concerning His coming: " And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" (Mark 13:37)You reader decide who you want to follow. Heretic here pursuades tha there is no need to watch for Jesus was only talking to believers who have long died.Jesus says what He warns to those alive then He warns to ALL - Watch!. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

Peter asked about who Jesus was talking about when He warned the disciples to watch for His return: "And Peter said, Lord, are You saying this parable to us, or also to all?" (Luke 12:41)The following words in verses 42 - 48 reaffirm that He was speaking to ALL His disciples universally.His explanation does not restrict the scope to the 12 but enlarges it to ALL disciples.And of course He had plainly taught about His second coming: "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" (Mark 13:37) Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

There is a strong case that the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 pre-supposes that perhaps all those original disciples would die before His second coming.In the parable the ten virgins with oil in their lamps await the return of the Bridegroom who respresents Jesus. In the parable ALL of the ten virgins fell asleep. Their falling asleep could represent them dying in faith. The New Testament says that Christians sleep when they die.Notice all ten fell asleep in the parable: "And while the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Behold, the brdegroom ! Go forth to meet him!" (Matt. 25:6) If the Lord meant that His second coming would be at the world's darkest hour - "at midnight" and that the disciples had all fallen asleep and all needed to arise the meaning would be clear. Jesus, in delaying His second coming would cause many first disciples to grow old and die, ie. sleep in faith. And at the second coming they would be resurrected to go forth and meet the Bridegroom.So there is some ground to assume that Jesus was teaching that the delay of His second coming would mean the passing away of the generation of disciples who were awaiting His return.God's intention was most likely that the Gospel and the church should be TESTED by many generations of trial, persecution, attack from within and from without, to prove the eternal quality of what He established. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul continually counts himself among the "we" he mentions, and he is talking to a particular group of people, living in his own time.Nowhere is the rest of the passages of interest is there any indication that Paul has stopped talking about himself as part of "we", nor are there any indications that he suddently stopped talking to only those who the letter is addressed to and to whom the entire rest of the letter addresses specifically.You are forced to try to save Paul from being an apocalypticist, which is what his own words show him to be, so you make up putative changes in tense and audience.A straight reading supports me and counter you.

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gragbarder:
The ASV, YLT, ESV, AMP, NASB, KJV, and NIV versions of the Bible all translate it as all the tribes [or nations] of the earth, not of the land.

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So I certainly do have Biblical support for my statement.

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You have the right to choose which English translation you prefer. I have support also for "tribes of the land" is an admisable rendering.

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You should have said, "Yes, you are right, and you were right, even when I pretended you were wrong."

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But the passage says that some would not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. You are reading "Son of man coming in His kingdom" and inserting "the second coming".

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Because that's what Jesus is talking about. Both there, and in the rest of Matthew when the coming of the Son of Man is mentioned.It's clear you don't believe the Bible. No, you believe a distortion of it, manipulated at will in attempt to make it say what you want it to say, rather than what it actually says.

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Lest He come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all. Watch!' (Mark 13:37)

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By the words " ... what I say to you, I say to all" there is no doubt that it would be foolish to assume Jesus was not speaking to anyone else but those standing around.

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So you just assume that Jesus was talking to you, some 2000 years in the future???Nope, the passage does not indicate that.

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And the Gospel of Luke, taking up the same theme, reinforces that audience for the warnings are larger in scope then the immediate group if listeners:

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"You also be ready, because at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of Man is coming.

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And Peter said, Lord, are You saying this parable to us, or also to all?

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And the Lord said, Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the master will set over his service to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his masterm when he comes, will find so doing." ( Luke 12:40-43)

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Peter asks if the parable of His return is for them or for all believers. The answer of Jesus is that it is for all and any believers whom the Lord finds serving Him appropriately. The scope would include all Christians down through the ages as recipients of the warning.

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Another unwarranted huge leap of interpretation. Jesus doesn't say anything about talking to people some 2000 years in the future.Bottom line.We have shown passages where Jesus indicates that Son of Man will come, with His angels, etc., (a) before some of those standing there with Him have tasted death, and (b) during the current generation.Now, you show us an equal number of passages where Jesus indicates that the Son of Man will NOT come, with His angels, etc. , until some 2000 years in the future.Until you do that, you lose. It's that simple.

The verses you provided only ONE of them deals with "this generation". The others do not. Second, "this generation" EVERY time refers to that time period being refered to. Third, the story starts in Matthew 23 and continues on in Matthew 25. "This generation" clearly shows Jesus refering to those he is speaking to. Of course I can. Its called CONTEXT. The key word that apologists love to ignore. First, in Matthew 23 it states who Jesus is talking to! After his long speech, in which it states Jesus is addressing the teachers of the law and the Pharisses, he then proceeds to say:35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.Notice the word "you". Hes still speaking to those standing in front of him. Then he proceeds to states "this generation".Its only through apologetics can one butcher the context of the Bible...of course only when there is a problem.In Matthew 24, Jesus is asked when the end times are to arrive. What does Jesus say to those asking him the question? Jesus states quite a few times "you", addressing his disciples.30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.So after all the signs arrive, Jesus will return. He will be COMING on clouds....This is quite clear, Jesus will be COMING on the clouds.He ends it by stating: 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d]is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation[e] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.The "you" is his disciples, again he adds "this generation".But lets go back a second....COMING on clouds, angels, gathering the elect...which is the arrival of Jesus and the end times.Mattew 16:
27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."Obviously, Jesus is speaking to those in front of him.Luke 21:25-28 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, becasue your redemption is drawing near."Again, Jesus is addressing those in front of him. Its the same story...the end times.....notice, "...stand and lift YOUR heads..".Its called context. The end times were to occur during their lifetime.Matthew 10:15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.Jesus is speaking to his disciples about the end times. The final judgement.17"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.Jesus clearly states his disciples will not be able to go through all the towns before Jesus arrives.Finally, the absurd statement that I cannot prove that your post is intended for no one else but me....You are correct. I cannot. But again, you've created another strawman.Even though you are addressing me. you may be also posting for others to read. The problem is that Jesus CANNOT be speaking to you and his disciples. Both of you cannot be alive and witness the end times. On top of that, I know Jesus is not addressing you bc he clearly states over and over whom he is addressing-his disciples.

Matthew 25 clarifies what "this generation" refers to. Its a continuation of chapter 24, which is a continuation of 23. Also, Matthew 24 states that those being talked to by Jesus will be witness to the end times. You are absolutely correct. Jesus is not just speaking to his disciples. He is speaking to everyone....at that time frame. How do we know? Bc Jesus clearly states his disciples would witness the end times! Matthew 16 and 24. Jesus cannot be speaking to you, since you are not born for another 2000 years.Jesus clearly lays out the time frame when he is returning: To some of those standing in front of him.Let me ask you, if I said I would respond to one of your posts soon....do you think I mean in a day or two...or years later?If I said I live nearby...do you think I mean perhaps a town or two over....maybe even a county...or halfway around the world?If I said the store is around the corner, do you think I mean a few streets over, a couple of blocks....or a few states? Again, correct. Jesus is not just speaking to his disciples...but to all, at that time frame. You're ignoring context. No other word creates such headaches for scripture as context. I've given other verses in Luke which clearly show Jesus was refering to his time frame. Do you need more?Luke 21 clearly lays out the signs of the end times. Jesus repeatedly states "you", refering to his disciples would be witness to these events.--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm glad you brought up that Jesus will return with his angels, bc Matthew 24 refers back to Matthew 16:
27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."Obviously, it refers to the end times. When? During his disciples lifetime. How do we know? Some standing there will witness Jesus returning with angels and rewarding mankind for their deeds. Not sure exactly what you are reading.....27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some WHO ARE STANDING HERE WHO WILL NOT TASTE DEATH before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Nope. When Jesus returns he is rewarding/punishing everyone. Matthew clearly states this. In fact, Revelation also lays this out:Revelation 22:12
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."Again and again, scripture states its "soon"! What is going to occur when Jesus returns, he will reward them. Which falls back upon Matthew 16, which stats when Jesus returns he shall reward each person for their actions. When? To some that will be alive that he is speaking to.Since you keep ignoring my question about Romans 16 and Phillipians 1, I'll address it for you.Romans 1-16 lays out exactly whom Jesus is speaking to. Paul then proceeds to say: 20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under YOUR feet.Notice again, it states "soon". The "you" refers back to those he is speaking to.Phillipians 1, Paul states who he is addressing in verse 1 and 2. He then states:10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,Notice the "you".

The point is that he is nor restricting his encouragement to that group. And I pointed out that in 1 Thess.5:9,10 Paul is also saying that Christ only died for the Thessalonians: " .. our Lord Jesus Christ, whjo died for us in order that whether we watch or sleep, we may also live together with Him"No one is saying that he "stopped" talking of himself or the Thessalonians. The point is that he is including a wider scope of recipients of his fellowship than just the receivers of this particular letter.This was the man's practice. For example, the letter he wrote to the Colossuans was also for the benefit of the Laodiceans, and vica versa: "And when this letter is read among you, cause that it be read in the church of the Laodiceans also, and that you also read the one from Laodicea." (Col. 4:16)Paul also indicated that his practice was to teach the same things in all the churches: " ... Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child nithe Lord, who will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church." (1 Cor. 4:17)Timothy was a co-auther of the letter to the Thessalonians. And Paul left instructions to him that what Timothy learned from Paul he should pass on to others: "And the things which you have heard from me ... these commit to faithful men, who will be be competent to teach others also." (2 Tim. 2:2)Certainly then, the teaching to the Thessalonians was part of this collection of instructions that Paul expected Timothy to teach and to pass on to other competent teachers even after Paul's possible death: "For I am already being poured out, and the time of my departure is at hand." (2 Tim. 4:6)No, rather you cannot prove Paul taught that Jesus only died for the Thessalonians who were reading his letter (1 Thess. 5:10). Nor can you prove that he taught Christ was only returning for the letter reading Thessalonians in 4:17 of the same book. A skeptic's daydream. As a matter of fact the second letter to the Thessalonians was a word of balance because some acted irresponsibly thinking that Jesus was coming so soon that they could drop working for a living.While the first letter is encouraging expectation that the Lord will come the second letter is a cautionary word to the irresponsible. Since they do not KNOW when the Lord will come, they should not assume to be lax or not attend to practical livelihood: "Now we charge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the things which were handed down to you and which you received from us... For we hear of some wlking among you disorderly, doing no work at all, but being busybodies.

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Now such ones we charge and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work with quietness and eat their own bread." (See 2 Thess. 3:7-14).As is human nature, some thought "Well if Jesus is coming maybe tomorrow, I can stop working a job."So the second letter balances the over zealous niavete. The Lord is indeed coming again. But we Christians must live as for the long term wait.Yours and Heretic's portrayal of a giddy apostle predicting that Jesus was coming so soon that nothing else mattered, falls flat in the larger tone of apostolic teaching.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

I am not able right now to discuss this too long.However, you are really confusing your personal desire to disregard the teaching of Jesus. If YOU do not want to receive His teaching, that is your business. Do not say because of this "He was not talking to you."You're wanting to not listen to Christ is not equal to Him not speaking to those today who will listen.And Jesus foretold that He had other sheep who were not of that immediate fold of sheep (followers). He said he would bring them also. "And I have other sheep, which ae not of this fold; I must lead them also, and they shall hear My voice, and here shall be one flock, one Shepherd." (John 10:16) Just because you do not want to be one of those other sheep that He will lead, do not assume that He has no other sheep.Some following sheep were in the first century. And other following sheep were in subsequent centries. And other following sheep may be of the time to come should He tarry longer.So speak for yourself Heretic. You don't want to be exhorted converning the second coming of Christ? Fine. Does not mean He was not speaking to others. Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

Jay, you're preaching. My actions of accepting Jesus or not has nothing to do with our debate. We are basing our friendly argument on what the Bible states. You've attacked my beliefs a few times, which have nothing to do with what Jesus said or did.Focus on scripture, not what you want me to believe.You have offered zero evidence to support your conclusions. You've ignored quite a few quesions.Lets try it this way. Can you provide any evidence that Jesus is to return 2000 years later?So far, the only evidence you have supplied is that Jesus was talking beyond those directly standing in front of him. Neither of us is disputing this. In fact, you keep focusing on this issue when we are agreeing with you. But you're either ignoring what we are stating on purpose or missing what we are trying to convey.Yes, Paul spoke beyond those he was addressing...but we are talking about a time frame.We have given you the time frame from numerous verses, which back up exactly as we are stating.Jesus may be speaking to his disciples and beyond just those standing in front of him....But when he states to those in front of him that they will "see", they will "run"...it may refer to others besides those within hearing distance...but it CANNOT mean those thousands of years later, when refering to the calamity of the end times. Edited by hERICtic, : No reason given.

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gragbarder:
In 1 Thessalonians, Paul continually counts himself among the "we" he mentions, and he is talking to a particular group of people, living in his own time.

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jay:
The point is that he is nor restricting his encouragement to that group.

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Paul continues to speak to just the group he wrote to. Nowhere does Paul say or indicate that he is talking to future generations, thousands of years from then.

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Jay:
And I pointed out that in 1 Thess.5:9,10 Paul is also saying that Christ only died for the Thessalonians:

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" .. our Lord Jesus Christ, whjo died for us in order that whether we watch or sleep, we may also live together with Him"

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I don’t see anything in there about people living some 2000 years later. Please, point out those words to me.

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Gragbarder:
Nowhere is the rest of the passages of interest is there any indication that Paul has stopped talking about himself as part of "we", nor are there any indications that he suddently stopped talking to only those who the letter is addressed to and to whom the entire rest of the letter addresses specifically.

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Jay:
No one is saying that he "stopped" talking of himself or the Thessalonians.

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So when Paul said, we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord he was including himself. Right.And when Paul said, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air he was including himself. Right.

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gragbarder:
You are forced to try to save Paul from being an apocalypticist, which is what his own words show him to be, so you make up putative changes in tense and audience.

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Jay:
No, rather you cannot prove Paul taught that Jesus only died for the Thessalonians who were reading his letter (1 Thess. 5:10). Nor can you prove that he taught Christ was only returning for the letter reading Thessalonians in 4:17 of the same book.

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Neither of which, even IF I had claimed them, would show that Paul was not an apocalypticist.Do you even know what an apocalypticist is? Learn something about it and then read the New Testament again and you will see how both Paul’s and Jesus’s — and others’ — statements fit it quite well.In 1 Thessalonians, Paul continually counts himself among the "we" he mentions, and he is talking to a particular group of people, living in his own time.Nowhere is the rest of the passages of interest is there any indication that Paul has stopped talking about himself as part of "we", nor are there any indications that he suddenly stopped talking to only those who the letter is addressed to and to whom the entire rest of the letter addresses specifically.You are forced to try to save Paul from being an apocalypticist, which is what his own words show him to be, so you make up putative changes in tense and audience. A straight reading supports me and counter you.BOTTOM LINE:1. We have shown passages where Jesus indicates that Son of Man will come, with His angels, etc.,(a) before some of those standing there with Him have tasted deathand(b) during the current generation.2. You need to show us an equal number of passages where Jesus indicates that the Son of Man will NOT come, with His angels, etc. , until some 2000 years in the future. Until you do that, you lose. It's that simple.

There is nothing in the epistle to suggest that future generations are excluded from the exhortation. There is nothing you can point to proving he could not be refering to future Christians.He closes the letter this way: "I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers" (1 Thess, 5:27)Brothers traveling through from other churches are not excluded. Brothers who become brothers in the future are not excluded. Brothers who Paul does not know or who become brothers after Paul has died are not excluded either.And should the church or the letter stand for 2,000 years or more brothers in those future generations are not excluded either.Just as Christ is said to have died for all the believers whether they be asleep in death or awake watching (5:10) so also He comes for all believers. Future Christians whom Paul does not know are not excluded. Why do I need to point to the number 2,000 or 1,000 or 500, or 50, or 35 or 15 or 10 or 3 or 1 or 1/2 or in one week or in three days ?It is open ended. It is not necessary to refer to a specific number of years, months, days, or hours. "We who are alive" simply means "we" of the unniversal household of faith. Where does Paul say "we only who are alive in the next 15 or 20 years" ? .He says "we" because he is speaking in that moment of time. It is perculiar how you keep harping on something which is of no major consequence.The universal household of Christian faith includes Paul. He certainly is part of the WE. He is one of "us".I can say the same thing. When Jesus comes again WE WHO ARE ALIVE will meet Him. That is inconclusive as to whether I will be personally alive at that time. I am still a part of the WE of Christian brotherhood regardless of how much time should elapse before He comes for "us". I don't know what you mean by an apocalypticist.
A Christian who expects and hopes that Lord will return soon does not necesarily insist that it must be so.Paul's epistles to Timothy and Titus are inoculations against future decline and apostasy. They prove that Paul took procautions for the possibility that the churches he raised up would be in for a long distance run rather than a sprint. You are still ignorant. The final words of the Apostle Paul are arguably his most important message. And his final writing was not about the soon coming of the Lord Jesus. Rather is was the Jesus was living within the innermost being of the Christians. "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you" (2 Tim. 4:22)This is Paul's final writing in the New Testament. It is not a reminder of the imminent second physical coming of Jesus. But it is a reminder that the Lord Jesus is the one who is with the believers regenerated human spirit. "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you."Because Jesus in His form as the Holy Spirit is within the believers they can enjoy the grace of Jesus. He can be their supply and their empowering for a daily Christian life.So Paul was more concerned the Timothy would never forget that Jesus Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit was with Timothy's innermost being with the empowering grace. This is the Christ to be enjoyed for the long run.It is very telling that Paul's final word was about the indwelling Jesus with His grace rather than the Jesus outside of man coming on the clouds of heaven. Wow. That looks final. I think it is more to the point that His words cannot fail even though He tarry long enough for the universe to wear out: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away." (Matt. 24:35)He will come and will not fail to keep His word. It is more secure than the very existence of the physical universe. The universe may wear out but He will keep His word.I think that is more the bottom line in Matthew 24. No I don't. Nothing is said about the number of years. So you cannot prove any number of years is the wrong number.It is that simple.Then again in chapter 24 we read: " And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matt.24:14)How many years did Jesus insist that will take ? He doesn't specify, does He?How many it should take may be less than how many it will take. However, no specific number of years is given for the gospel of the kingdom to reach the entire inhabited earth. So no number of years can be said to be the wrong number.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.

Oh, I am "preaching" and you are not ?? Give me a break.Ya preachin too, Preach! It is like this. It makes a stronger rational for you to ignore His words if you can convince yourself that He wasn't talking to ANYBODY alive today.You want company in your rejection. This may come as a shock to you but the Bible is not a book of stuff just to tickle your intellectual curiosity. It is all about drawing close to God and receiving God. Evidence is there. Plenty of it. Jesus specified no number of years which had to limit when He would come again.And the reference to " some standing here" was concerning the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. The scope of the Son of Man coming in His kingdom is larger than the second coming of Christ. It includes the second coming but is not limited to it.So the Gospel writers intentionally follow that teaching with the scene of His transfiguration which He previewed His coming in His kingdom. Why do I have to specify a number of years when He did not ?Matthew 24:14 says "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabted earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."Where is the verse saying that that cannot take more than X number of years ? He spoke beyond those he was addressing in space and in time also. Just as he says that Jesus did for all "us" Christians that we may live though Him. I pointed out that in the parable of the ten virgins, all drew drowsy and slept while the bridegroom prolonged his return. This certainly could be interpreted to mean that the original friends of the Bridegroom Jesus, would die before His second coming.If so I think you should admit that Jesus made precautions for the event that His second coming would be beyond the physical life spans of His original disciples.The number five, as in five foolish and five wise, speaks of responsibility. Whether we are alive or sleep in death, we Christains bear the responsibility to be ready for this second coming.The frequent usages of the word "you" in Matthew 24 cannot be insisted upon to mean ONLY the contemporary audience need take heed to the teaching.And there is no number of years specified beyond with which"you" no longer exist. Now if you do not want to be in the audience, that is a personal matter. It doesn't mean He is not talking to people who will listen in 2010 A.D.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.Edited by jaywill, : No reason given.